Sean

I'm going! I'll be bringing: 1 x Yamaha BB2024x 1 x Yamaha BB2025x 1 x Spector NS5-XL 1 x Mesa Walkabout Scout 12" combo 1 x Mesa Carbine M6 2 x Bergantino AE210 Assorted FX Looking forward to catching up with those of you I've met before and saying hi to those I haven't met yet. See you all soon. Sean

Cheers for the heads up on that. What about those Muse sounds? Is it capable of doing a soundalike?

Looking around at multi-fx units and not really seeing anything I like, the Octavius Squeezer looks like a great Swiss Army knife for my needs. I use filters, octaves, fuzz, always love synth sounds and have recently been asked to do some muse songs; Starlight, Uprising and another I can't remember the name of at the moment. Anyone know who stocks them? - Google hasn't turned up anything. Anyone using one to do Muse stuff? Thanks Sean

Yam for me. I'm yet to play better than a BB.

There's a BB424 for sale [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98388&hl=yamaha"]HERE[/url] at a very good price from one of our own forum members. The 424 necks will be much more resonant than the 414 ones and that thru-stringing will make a big difference on the 5-string versions.

[b]Manufacturer:[/b] Yamaha [b]Model:[/b] BB2025x “Super BB” [b]Colour:[/b] Vintage White [b]Price:[/b] £2300.00 (ish) [b]Introduction [/b] Back in February this year I decided that I'd had enough of my Markbass LMK amplifier and convinced myself that I had to follow my heart towards a Mesa Boogie as a more hefty replacement. I went to Bass Direct to try out some gear and was totally sold on the Carbine M6. Job done. While I was there I noticed a bass that I had first seen at Bass Day the previous November, the Yamaha BB2024x. I had seen them on the Yamaha stand but being the shy retiring type, I didn't check them out and at over two grand for a Yamaha hadn't someone in their marketing department got their maths wrong somewhere along the way? Anyway, Mark encouraged me to have a go, so I took it down, plugged it in and that was the end of that, really; never before has an instrument spoken to me like this. You know what it's like, it's like the bass is calling your name, you are like a sex starved sailor being beckoned toward the rocks by the seductive song of the mermaids only this time the mermaids aren't ugly seals they are beautiful young ladies! I loved it! I immediately asked Mark to order me a five string version and then I had to wait a few months until it arrived. It turned out to be a long wait but was it worth it...? [b]What is it? [/b] This is a five-string alder bodied bass guitar with a bolt-on maple and mahogany laminate neck, passive P and J pickups, volume and tone pots and a three-way selector switch. The instrument is made in Yamaha's custom workshop in Japan where they produce a few hundred instruments a year, including the high-end SG1820/SG1802 electric guitars and the high-end acoustics. This instrument is overflowing with technology and that leads me to be both excited and sceptical at the same time. Does the technology work or like bifidus digestivum and pentapeptides is a load of bunkum dreamt up by marketing types? The woods in this instrument are treated in an atmospheric chamber to age them so that they take on the properties of older pieces of nicely aged timber like extra resonance. Why not cut out the middle man and just use naturally aged timer, you may ask. Well, there's not a lot of it left and the stuff that is still around isn't very consistent, its resonant properties aren't homogeneous throughout the piece of timber. All the good old wood has gone. Another thing that Yamaha do to these basses is to vibrate them; once they have been built they are subjected to precise vibrations so that the stresses between components, paint, wood, metals are all hugely reduced and the instrument starts to take on the properties of a naturally aged instrument that has been played, dropped and transported for many years and all this without the relicing process. The bass is shipped with a high quality hard molded case with nice rubberised handles and clips that feels very military. All the usual case candy is included. [b]First Impressions[/b] Well, going back to my initial encounter with the BB2024x at Bass Direct my knee-jerk reaction was to order one so I was expecting first impressions of my BB2025x to be similar to what I had experienced with the four-string. This five-string, like many fives is just that little bit “more” than its four-string brother, I think the larger pickups and extra wood in the neck contribute to this a lot, it must be as these are the only differences between the two. The BB2025x is a very comfortable instrument to play as it's relatively light, hugs the body well and the first fret seems quite close as the bridge is positioned right back on the body. Scale length of this instrument is 34” and the low B is superb, it's about as good as any 34” scale low B I've played and gives a very "piano-like" tone. Yamaha have put a lot of thought into the forty-five degree string-through stringing system and it's paid off and proves that you really can have legendary low B strings on 34” scales. The vintage white finish is nicely applied as you might well expect and it's a very rich creamy colour that is set off well by the black pick guard. I'm a huge fan of the "Sid" colour scheme, it's easily one of my favourites along with Black/Black/Rosewood and I think the three available finishes of Black, White and TSB will be exactly what most people in the market for a bass like this will be after. One thing I'd like to see that doesn't seem to be in place at the moment is special orders; Yamaha made a maple fingerboard version of the BB2024x for James Lomenzo and also made his a P-P pick-up configuration but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism in place yet for Joe Public to have specials done. In my case this is probably for the best as it keeps me from living on the street [b]Quality[/b] The quality is faultless. The attention to detail is exactly what you would expect from a hand-crafted custom shop instrument. The fret job is outstandingly good, the rolled edges are just so and the satin neck finish makes playing effortless. The woods used in the neck are quartersawn and this apparently makes the neck more stable and stronger, the neck here seems to contribute hugely to the sound. The body shape is different to that of the factory-made BB basses, it's more sculpted and the top shoulder has been shaped very differently. [b]Sounds[/b] I initially tried this bass through my Mesa Boogie M6 Carbine with the EQ frowning and the gain at 1 O'clock to get a tiny bit of break up - nice and middy! The cabs are a pair of Bergantino AE210s with the horns in mid position setting. This bass was designed in collaboration with a lot of rock bassists; Marco Mendoza, Michael Anthony, Justin Meldal- Johnsen, Tony Kanal and others so you just know it's going to be a rocker's instrument from the off and it certainly delivers in spades. I don't understand what Yamaha have done in designing the all-new pickups for this bass but they have done everything right, it sounds epic. The best P/J sound I have ever heard. With the flick of a switch it can give you an enormous biblical Ben Hur of a P pickup sound. If that tw*t (you'll agree if you've seen him) on the Fender website describes the generic P pickup sound as a punch verses the J's karate chop then this P pickup is more like a truck driving through your chest. The tone and volume are very useable and give some nice variations that are very easy to use on the fly. Don't think of this bass just a rocker though, it's a very versatile instrument and suitable for pretty much anything but when played with a plectrum through a big hefty amplifier it takes on a huge personality that is very addictive. I find myself wanting to play Mike Mills lines from What's the Frequency and Living Well is the Best Revenge. I've had to go and order a dozen 1mm Tortex picks just for shits and giggles. The J pickup on this bass is fantastic, many people think that the J pickup on a P-type bass is a placebo and I have to agree, the Js are often of much lower output and serve to add very little except a bit of articulation to the P sound but this one lives on its own and is very well balanced in volume with the P. What strikes you most about this bass is how incredibly resonant it is. There are so many rich overtones coming from this and it is apparent that this must be from all that wizardry with the wood treatment. Just playing this instrument unplugged it sounds amazing and full of character and there has never been another bass I find so hard to put down. [b]Overall[/b] It's not a cheap bass by any stretch and doesn't have all the versatility and exotic sophistication of many active instruments in this price category but it is beautifully made, does what it's meant to do extremely well and sounds as good as anything I've played. It unapologetic, aggressive, punchy and absolutely adorable. Make sure you try one if you get the chance. Photos to follow as well as a good few edits and additions.

Ultra-comprehensive thread here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=294"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=294[/url]

[quote name='Beedster' post='950246' date='Sep 9 2010, 09:08 AM']Easy Sean (what is going on with you avatars by the way?)[/quote] Glynis Barber, Samantha Janus and Rita Simmonds? Not all my fantasies are about basses, man!

[quote name='Clarky' post='949828' date='Sep 8 2010, 08:23 PM']Any bass made in the Year of Clarky ('63) will sound superior. Fact[/quote] I'd like to believe this Clarky but I think the real reason is because we all have a guy-crush on Chris! :wub:

[quote name='Beedster' post='949778' date='Sep 8 2010, 07:17 PM']a day playing a beaten up '63 3tsb.[/quote] You obviously lived a blessed life, Chris!

[quote name='Bassmonkey' post='930610' date='Aug 20 2010, 09:29 AM']For what it's worth I have both a TU2 and a Korg DTR 2000 rackmount tuner and in my view the Korg knocks spots off the Boss. The Boss does that waver around a lot where it either doesn't respond to the note OR doesn't pick up on the key (floats around A, D etc when fine tuning the E) The Korg on the other hand is perfect. Also the Mute function is great. Only my opinion but Korg for me everytime Andy[/quote] I could have written this exactly! ^^^^What he says! I am really impressed with the TC Electronics Polytune too, much better than the TU2 as a stompbox tuner. When I gig my small rig, I take the TU2 with me but always end up using the Polytune app on my iPhone as it's much faster; obviously I can't do that between songs but I find the TU2 faffs about a lot before deciding what it's doing for you.

Welcome back, Mike. Glad to see you've got the bug back!

The BB1000MA is the Taiwan factory-made bolt-on neck lower priced Michael Anthony model that is very similar to the BB414. The BB3000MA hand built in Japan is neck through and has different pickups and hardware - it also has all the usual benefits of a hand-built instrument. Both are very nice basses and very usable indeed - if you can live with those inlays - there are chili peppers on the 3000 and red crowns on the 1000). Personally I'd either go with BB2000's BB3000 (BB3000MA based on this) that's up for sale here or OutToPlayJazz's BB424 (newer improved version of BB414).

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='945975' date='Sep 5 2010, 10:41 AM']I once helped Alan Gregg of The Muttonbirds carry his gear to the van.[/quote] Who do you stalk nowadays?

[quote name='JTUK' post='945968' date='Sep 5 2010, 10:19 AM']I accept punters compliments for what they are to me... a casual opinion of that person.[/quote] Absolutely right! There are some folks in bands that after hearing a few casual comments from drunken punters giving "advice" after a show want to rehash the set list, image, venue choice and get all doom and gloom about needing to change everything or we'll never get another gig, "that bloke knows what he's talking about; he's the ents sec down the Ex-Servicemens Club."

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='944899' date='Sep 3 2010, 07:59 PM']I'm a proper bass player, I'm too busy packing the gear away coz the rest of the lazy bastard band are nattering to; groupies, kit junkies, the promoter, my Mum (hang on that's not right ), the support band's parents, other 'so called' musicians, other bands with the generic "you're tight" observations, drunken idiots giving them career advice or any person not mentioned previously in order that they can avoid packing the gear away... do I speaketh the truth? [/quote] Couldn't agree more, Jon. Someone's gotta run the ship while the sailors have a run ashore. Cable coiling has to be done properly and as I've usually got the longest drive home I just want to get out of there. Proper bass player behaviour!

All the best to those of you going tomorrow - I can't get there but I shall be having a quiet minute myself.

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='940304' date='Aug 30 2010, 08:16 PM']I'm with you. Maybe we should start a support group?[/quote] I think that's her support group behind her in the shiny outfits! They are the trainee trannies; they only have half the gear on. Actually, I was looking for a new costume for gigging...

I have a BT10, same thing different shape. It's so handy for dropping down. You'll start looking for songs in drop-D like Slither and Killing in the Name and have a whale of a time. I use mine for Summer of '69 too :blush:

[quote name='The Burpster' post='939603' date='Aug 29 2010, 09:13 PM']I would hope you are aware but for those that weren't - the Shania vid is a pastiche of this Robert Palmer Vid from the 80's........ [/quote] No, I can't see the connection. No similarities at all.