Surprisingly easy to get a great deal on a used Sandberg, particularly the 'Basic' models. The name doesn't do it any favours, that's for sure, and I guess they're just not that well known to those that don't frequent bass forums. I paid £350ish for mine and it's one of my favourite basses.
Modern PCs have Thunderbolt too. I'm just using a standard USB Focusrite 2i2 though and have no issues with latency. I think the extra bandwidth only really comes into its own when you have a lot of channels involved.
I gave the Parallax demo a good run through. I preferred the sound I was getting from my DP-3X, although of course the Parallax can get way nastier. But I also spent a good while creating crossover/compressor/distortion/amp/cab chains in Helix Native and got just as good results out of that!
Looking forward to seeing if this is just a hardware version of their existing plugins, or if they've gone all out to make a full multi-fx!
Does the keyboard have a MIDI port? Most do, if so it can be used as a MIDI interface which opens you up to using a wider range of devices to solve the problem!
Bluetooth has latency when it comes to sending encoded audio, but basic control devices are pretty damn quick. I notice no latency with my Buletooth keyboard and mouse for example!
Surprised they've discontinued the old ones still, even though the new 410 is almost half the weight of the old one - when they released them they were all about the fact that the ceramics sounded better hence why they were used. So they've either compromised on tone, or found a new driver that doesn't have the same drawbacks as whatever was available for them to use a couple of years ago!
Studio Spares sell a bunch of those cheaply, at different attenuation levels. I bought one for my old Orange Terror Bass which has the hottest DI known to man, but only got a -20dB one which isn't nearly enough!
I hear the IK Multimedia Blueboard is supposed to be compatible with Mainstage:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/IK-Multimedia-iRig-BlueBoardBluetooth-Pedalboard/dp/B00BIPL9JW
The design of the bass will make a difference too - some 34" scales like a Thunderbird are a longer reach to the 1st fret than some modern 35" scale basses, it depends on the position of the strap buttons and bridge.
The bridge piece on the low B on the Dingwall is about as close to the bottom edge of the body as it can go, whereas the Ibanez looks to be at least an inch further forward due to the extra room taken up by the tuning peg. So it might not feel like a 2" difference once it's all strapped on!
Which colour would you go for @Al Krow, Tropical Seafloor, or Pacific Blue Burst?!
I quite like the Tropical Seafloor one, shame the colour does not spread to the back though unlike the blue:
That chrome really shows off the difference in the forearm contour on the Japanese models - it’s more of a straight line on the 1024X, like the natural BB next to it.
I've not tried many Bartolini-equipped basses, but the ones I did left me cold. Whereas every demo I've seen of the Nord Big Singles has sounded really lively and growly.
Some of these new finishes are amazing too! I'd go for this out of the headless lineup at Andertons:
But love the finish on this SR too: