dannybuoy

A cab sim is still pretty useful if sending a feed to the PA, but only if you can split it so that the cab sim only goes to the PA and not your amp. The Zoom doesn't have such flexible routing possibilities, although the Line6 Helix HX Stomp does! The B7K in both the Helix and the B3n are so close to the real thing you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have tested the Helix vs. the DI out of the M900 amp (which is effectively a B7K Ultra with a power section) and couldn't really tell the difference. I've also pitted the B3n against my real B3K and preferred the B7K model (even with the EQ set flat it sounds different to the B3K model). The Zoom units are worthy of purchase based on the B7K sim alone in my opinion! For a metal bassist on a budget I don't think you can do much better.

I tried all sorts on my BB415, after getting my 1025X I realised I liked those stock D'Addario nickels better than anything else I had been using before ,so have pretty much exclusively been using those since! Except a brief foray into Dunlop Super Bright nickels, which were far too floppy for my liking. Might try the NYXLs on the next change though to see if they are a significant step up.

Yes, it sounds much better than their more complicated ones that have the MM pickup too close to the bridge!

Not tried them on my BB mind, but I have TI flats on my Fender P and Sandberg Basic. Lovely strings.

No great ones, like all the ones on Google they all look plain black! It is a very subtle effect, not anything like the Musicman sparkle paintjobs I'm afraid! But looks obviously different next to the 1025X up close.

You're all making me wish I kept my 415! It was lighter than my 1025X and had a slimmer neck, black sparkle paintjob and painted headstock.

How about a Zoom B3n or B1Four. They have a model of a B3K and B7K that's very very close to the original, plus a ton of compressors and other toys. I'm going to be putting up my B3n for sale, but the B1Four is much cheaper and compact if you don't need multiple stomp switches that make it better for live use.

This - I'd get an amp with an aux in and headphone out. I do love my little practice devices and multi-fx boxes, but only because I already have an amp.

Curious to know why you’re thinking of replacing the B3n with the B1Four, Bas? Of course it’s cheaper but if you’ve already sunk costs into the B3n...

You are under thinking this! A standalone expression does not go in the chain, no signal passes through it. It just controls one or more parameters of whatever pedal it's connected to.

The mind boggles. Perhaps somewhere, out there in infinity, is another SR1205 owner with such a horrifically damaged body that they would like to upgrade to this as a replacement! But probably not in this universe.

The expression pedal is just an assignable knob for any of the FX in the B1Four. Those effects will of course affect the tone of any pedals prior to it in the chain, but that would happen with or without an expression pedal. If you were thinking that the expression pedal might be able to control a random parameter of another separate pedal via telepathy or quantum tunelling then I have to ask, what have you been smoking, and have you got any left?

News to me, I thought they were all active! In fact the first passive MusicMan bass I’ve seen is the new Joe Dart model.

Great comparison, thanks for taking the time to make that. First listen on my phone speaker, the 434 sounded like it had a lot more midrange presence and clarity, and I preferred it. Second listen in decent headphones, the 434 sounded like it had an overly boomy low end and the 1025X tighter and more balanced, and I ended up preferring the 1025X (which I have!). Will check it on good speakers next! Here's a another comparison, this time against the 735:

Even the old ones had slightly rolled edges compared to MIM Fenders I've seen that had such a sharp edge you could cut your finger on it! I've seen pictures of the Sire rolled edges and they look way over exaggerated to anything else I've seen, the way the frets curve around the edges. It also looks to my eye that all that extra curvature adds a few mm in width too, but I've yet to see one up close.

Another option is to keep the CV bridge and fit some threaded saddles.

We had a discussion on this a while back, but it seems not all CVS are the same then. I have a CV body and bridge (which I think you gave me!) and a genuine Fender vintage style bridge with threaded saddles, but the holes don’t line up!

If we’re going with a car analogy, the tyres would be the strings, and the engine the pickups. You’d be mad to not buy a car because you didn’t like the stock tyres, just as you would a bass and it’s strings. When it comes to the engine though, there are those that love buying and fitting various bits to make their car go faster. But most can’t be ar$ed with that and either leave it alone or get a different car instead. Same applies to pickups!

I had a Classic 50s P also and it was hands down the best sounding P I've ever laid hands on, it peed all over my Am Std and Roadworn. Just the neck was too wide with sharp edges, I wish I'd kept it and got a luthier to reshape it!

If you get the chance, get to a shop and try some. You'll never really know which one you might prefer until you get your hands on it. I sold my old white VM P to fund an American Standard, and ended up regretting it and preferring the sound of the Squier!

Tonal quality is subjective though isn't it - he's not fitting them with Glock pres and Delano pups because they are cheap and cheerful, he probably thinks they sound great. It seems to me that rather then say Yamaha, who have a few set finishes and specs, every time I look at the Sandbergs on Bass Direct they are different. Perhaps the dealer orders a big batch and specifies which colours and pickups etc they want in? It would certainly be worth asking Bass Direct what it would cost for a standard model with Black Label upgrades without going to the additional expense of a fully custom bass via the configurator. There's a 5 string superlight TT5 with Black Labels up there now btw!

I didn't know this, what about the other 500 manufacturers that copy Fender shapes?! New shapes have grown on me though, especially the P style. I prefer then now that they stand out a bit more, they look more modern without overstepping into ugly territory.