Al Krow

I appreciate that Captain Hooke's analysis may only be hanging by a thread 😊 However I do believe it is the best approach here and nice to be able to dust off my physics A-level / undergrad notes for once! "Hooke's law is applicable not only to coil springs...but also to the bending of metal and some other materials, the stretching of wires like guitar strings, the stretching of rubber bands, and the stretching and compressing of chemical bonds." [Source: Hooke's law (xaktly.com)]

Very good! But potentially more relevant / correct than a theoretical analysis of tension based on the concept of mass-less strings?

Here you go, enjoy. Force is proportional to cross-sectional area i.e. the width of the string.

I think it could have legs. What lyrics would you add....? 😁

Actually that's a "deep" (and very fair) question! I've got as far as there is a correlation between string gauge and greater tension for a given string...

Most folk go in at the front with their pedal boards. A few still use pedals in the amps effects loop, but it seems to becoming more of a minority sport this century 😁 I think a key reason for doing the latter is to avoid any colouration from the amp's preamp section. But if you dislike your amp's preamp that much, worth asking the question whether it's worth bothering to keep the amp?

I actually think the 2+3 headstock might be the "right" answer in terms of balancing string weight / tension on each side of the headstock from an engineering perspective. Used by a Mr Ken Smith and actually also by Ibanez. Yup I wonder if Mr NE ever managed to lay hands on a Spector during his many years of playing bass and sneakily plays it at home when no one's looking? 😁

I doubt very much that Yamaha, or any other manufacturer, would willingly ever make such a confession to filching design ideas. So, yup, it's just where I've landed based on observation. Here's a cut and paste of my earlier post for ease of reference: It occurs to me that the NE2 took quite a few design cues from Spector, which has been around a whole lot longer in its classic design form. Both are: neck throughs (vs bolt on for the BBs) sculpted backs, which makes them so comfortable to wear (vs the more normal flat BB bodies) JJs (vs P or PJs on the BBs) 24 frets (vs 21 on the modern BBs) both have 3+2 tuner layout on the headstocks (vs the 4-1 prevalent on the rest of the BB range) neither have body through stringing (present on the higher-end modern BBs) both are purely active with no passive option (vs active & passive on the 735A and purely passive on the rest of the BB range) Key differences are other than obviously different body shapes the NE2 has a 3 band + Nathan East mid cut EQ vs a 2 band EQ on the Spector. But it seems clear that the NE2 is actually much closer to the Spector than it is to the rest of the BB range.

Agreed - 5 string Spectors are awesome! In fact a lot of design cues on the Yamaha BB NE2 have been taken from the Spector 5 string basses (and reflected in their Euro 5LX model which I have): I posted a detailed comparison of feature sets a while back and they have a lot in common! I guess, like Warwick, even Yamaha have discovered a trick or two from Ned Steinberger worth incorporating into their flagship models!

The reverse P + J does tick a lot of boxes as a pickup config. The Yamaha MA versions seem to be pretty rare (in fact @gobasserk probably has all of them! 😁). Spector, Warwick and Sandberg are some alternatives with the reverse P + J set up. The Spector Euro 4LX would get my vote if you're after a 4 string but they're not cheap, even used, and there's plenty of love for the other brands on BC too.

These guys are definitely upping their game on several fronts! In terms of some of the multifx seen on that amp, you might be interested in this new offering from them which came out just a short while back: MG-30 - NUX (nuxefx.com) Unusually amongst the sub £300 multifx's, this does parallel routing.

Looks like NUX have beaten them to it, although not in anything gig-able...yet. NUX Mighty Bass 50BT - Amps and Cabs - Basschat

I think that's 90% right, but sound engineers may want you to turn up with a Fender P etc. simply 'cos it's what they're familiar with.

Aha ok - so which brand / model were your fav £500 Indonesian basses?

Yamaha?

Controversial, but love it! So you're essentially saying that there comes a point when it really is all in the fingers once a bass gets to a certain decent standard? Couldn't agree more with that. For me it would be a Spector Euro5 LX (and tbf to @tegs07 that probably qualifies as a Jag XF rather than a Dacia); that's as good as a bass needs to get for me. Next step is for me to get as good as I need to for it, which is a way off yet! Zero temptation / desire to get anything more upmarket - in fact I'd probably be stressing too much about risking putting a ding in the thing to actually enjoy playing it. Go on, spill the beans, which was that "revelation bass" for you then?

Not if @Machines (of Skynet command) bought it, surely? 😁

Or equally buy a low mileage used Dacia...

Bear in mind that Primark are not online, so the stores reopening was the first chance for fans of their clothing ranges to get their product in months. Combine that with the need for social distancing and that probably explains the queues. Fast fashion, waste, consumer culture, exploitation of workers here and abroad and damage to the environment. Now that's a whole 'nother can of worms...

The patches on the B3N are usually identical to the ones on the B1-4, so I will have a look out for it. [Update] found it! It's right at the end of the drive effects. Will check that out shortly - thanks for the heads up!

Congrats on the new bass and welcome to the Yamaha club! A great deal of truth and wisdom in that statement for us all 😊

Ok cheers, that's a helpful steer. In which case I won't try too hard to sell the RD-8, so if it doesn't shift for close to what I listed it for I'll maybe get a bit more out if down the line. PS @sammybee if there are any YT tutorials on the Akai MPC that you particularly rate, I'd be all ears!

Cheers! Would you recommend me holding on to the RD-8 or no real point now that I have the Akai heading my way?

Sire do a very decent PJ as well: the P7 Mk2. A used one would be almost within your budget - worth stretching a little if you need to - I think you should be able to pick a very good quality used one up for around £350. It's a LOT of bass for the money and a fantastic first bass IMO.

If they're north of 10lbs, I'm going to struggle...