dannybuoy

You're not alone, I would have been very tempted to get one of those black stain fanned fret models if they'd have come with Nord's instead. Doesn't make sense to fit such 'polite' pickups to a bass that would appeal to the metal fraternity!

And it's white and gold! Aren't these 16mm string spacing at the bridge rather than 18mm on modern 5 string BBs? That would probably be a deal breaker for me, OK for pick playing, but I prefer a bit more space otherwise.

Indeed they are. Most jam nights don't play jams though, they play songs!

This is why you should stick to passive basses Al. If I'm not happy with my preamp I just use a different pedal and don't have to concern myself with what will fit inside my bass!

How come? It's already an active bass so should have a decent sized cavity and battery compartment, and John's pres are pretty tiny. Unless the existing one is a tight fit and totally different shape of course.

That M set is very high tension by the way, you might prefer the FLs. There are tons of flats out there though, personally I prefer TIs over La Bella. But yes, flats sound like your bag for sure!

For £500 you could get two basses - a used Squier VM or CV Precision, and a used SBMM Ray4!

I've never even heard of this unit, but I expect it's in a similar class to the Helix? Anyway it's just had a bunch of bass stuff added including 3 amps and 8 distortions: https://www.musicradar.com/news/boss-adds-gt-1000-bass-guitar-support-new-footswitch-modes-and-more-in-v3-update

An issue with last week's updates.

Are you only interested in the clean tones? The EQ on it is rather unusual, but 'musical', in that it doesn't sound like most common EQ circuits, but it does sound good! The low gain overdrive sounds on it are amazing, high gain not so much. Great for motown style sounds with the mids flat or boosted, or Sansamp BDDI style grit with the mids scooped. Swapping without trying may or may not be a good idea. If I were you I'd try and pick up a used Tone Hammer, compare them then sell the loser!

Just found those, they do indeed look quite similar! One review saying they sounded better than the Beyers, but a few more that that saying they sound totally different and not as good. https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_hd660.htm

I think the newer ones no longer have the Ac Bs Pre, but they do have a dedicated HPF that might be good enough to use one instance of instead of two!

You can set it to true bypass or buffered bypass. True bypass wires the output jack directly to the input jack in bypass mode, buffered sends it through a transistor. A lot of pros and cons to both approaches, but generally it's good to have at least one always on buffer in your chain as it changes the impedance which reduces the signal/treble loss you get over long cable runs. Some badly designed buffers colour the sound though so many prefer true bypass.

Lol, the BSF went straight back to the shop after 5 minutes, but the Mojomojo is on my board!

The Ampeg Scrambler is similar to the BSF, but better to my ears.

I'm not a fan of those noiseless pickups, they sounded a bit dark and lifeless next to the more traditional ones in the American Professional. I'd recommend getting to a shop to try some out!

Strings Direct sell official Fender necks and tuners, at least they did last time I looked.

Strings Direct sell official Fender necks and tuners, at least they did last time I looked.

NYXL are nickel btw, just mentioning as you were choosing between NYXL and some other stainless steel sets.

It's to make sure you have enough room behind the saddle when you intonate it, since the B saddle ends up positioned the furthest back. Bit of a crap design if you ask me, they should just reposition or enlarge the bridge so that it doesn't look wonky!

https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-limited-edition-light-ash-american-professional-jazz-bass-sienna-sunburst-rw-0179302747 Weighs around 7lb and sounds very lively indeed! Plus I've always wanted one in this colour with a tort guard....

I sanded one, smothered with tea and left it in the garden for a few weeks. Seemed to do the trick! Still need to finish the rest of the bass though!

Cut your losses, then incur more losses as you try out numerous units as replacements, only to buy another Helix. 😁

Have you tried any other preamp pedals with the FRFR setup? You could easily swap it out for a simpler unit, might sound better, might sound worse depending on the gear and your ears! Personally I've not sprung for the Helix because I don't use a lot of effects, and the few I do use sound better than what the Helix provides.