Al Krow

It was probably exactly the same model and bass (or maybe a NS5) - my memory is sometimes like a sieve when it comes to BC posts! 😁 Might have been an issue for me once, but certainly no longer the case. Besides, the JJ aesthetic on that white Euro 5 Classic is pretty jaw droppingly good and something that I could very easily put up with!

I agree the 35" was a bit of a stretch initially if you're used to 34". Who would have guessed 1" made such a difference? 😁 But it seems to have been very well thought through as a package: the longer scale certainly delivers a phenomenonal low B particularly on the bridge pup, but combined with the 17mm string spacing with slightly shallower taper, the whole fretboard playing experience is good and I suspect something you would quickly and easily get used to. I'm going to drop Spector a line to confirm that the reverse PJ pup config is a typo on their website, as Paul has helpfully pointed out. If it's not then, like you and 34" scale, this could be 'terrible news'!

That sounds tough Len - but it seems to me you're being a real star and definitely deserve bigging-up and a big thank-you for what you're doing; and you're certainly garnering a lot of admiration from these quarters for way you are supporting your family and neighbours.

I'm just wondering whether the lack of motivation to pick up the bass, expressed on here by several of us, goes deeper than a lack of gigs and is tied into worries about the impact Covid is having on the economy, job security etc.? That would be totally understandable and definitely not something that folk need to beat themselves up about.

Since getting a decent broad Minotaur 4.1" strap, I've been playing my Spector EuroLX more and have to fess it's sounding and feeling very good! I've got a couple of regular work horse gigging basses and I'm a huge fan of both, but right now I'm more than a little smitten with the Spector which I'm finding is putting these others in the shade. The Euro5LX EMGs, TonePump and laminated neck-through give a real weight, fulness and clarity to its tone, and the ability to switch from single to dual coil humbucker on either pup and "blend" them only further adds to the ability to sculpt the tone. Speaking of pup blending, we had a little discussion on selector switches vs blend knobs over on the Yammy thread and @Ricky Rioli commented that he preferred "a straightforward selector switch - I've a blend knob on my TRBX and find it totally useless - finding something perceivably different between 100% neck and 50%/50% is like searching for a needle in a haystack." I think there's a lot of truth in that statement! The parallel with the Euro 5LX is that blending is done by adjusting the volume of the individual pups, but it's definitely not linear e.g. if I have the bridge pup fully engaged then the neck pup doesn't really noticeably impact the sound until the volume is around 7/10 and then the blend increases as you get to 10/10 on the neck pup. But that's more by way of an observation than a criticism. Given how much I'm loving the Euro 5LX, finding one with a P / humbucker pup config would be a real treat to complement my existing twin humbucker. @cetera would you mind just checking in the broom cupboard if one of your "40" Spectors has a P / humbucker config and is currently going spare? 😊. Cue gratuitous pic of my solitary, but much appreciated, Spector...

Ah ok thanks Paul. The specs are taken from Spector's own website, so that's a shame. I think you have just saved me a small fortune (again)!

I think we discussed the Euro 5 Classic briefly before, but for some reason I hadn't clocked that they were being made in PJ configuration. They look fantastic - I'm very tempted!

YT video recently out. + Serious DSP allowing parallel routing for 12 blocks, decent screen (touch enabled => able to 'draw' your desired EQ profile) - No balanced XLR output (but need to check whether the 1/4" outputs are already balanced, anyway?) Looks interesting / promising.

First impressions?

Did you do Tequila as good as this guy?

You're a gent Paul. But actually it kinda does tie into what a lot of folk have said about motivation: playing bass with either of my bands to an appreciative audience is right up there in terms of what I really love doing. Working on technique, learning new stuff and generally keeping myself in good bass "shape" can be very rewarding in itself too, though. For sure some days it's harder work than others particularly with no gigs in sight and some days (or weeks) it doesn't happen at all. But overall, it's still very much a passion for me and one that I came to relatively late in life compared to many on BC, so it's got a long way to go before it ever becomes mundane! Sounds like more hot air from you Chris 😁

Thanks Chris - that's kind of you to say. It's a Yamaha BB P35, which really was a fantastic bass. Sadly @M@23 who I bought it off, myself, and @HazBeen who I sold it to all loved it for its tone and playability, but all three of us found it a touch too heavy for playing comfortably for a 2 hour set. I wish I had discovered the excellent Minotaur 4.1" bass straps, which Mark at Talking Bass recommended to me, sooner, and have proved a bit of a game changer! I'm now much more regularly picking up a couple of my heavier basses and rediscovering just how really good they are!

PS @Paul S Ami, who is a lead vocalist in both my bands is also fluent in Spanish (annoying right? 😁).

@Paul S good luck! Latin music is often such fun and happy music and La Bamba is right up there! Starting to get to grips with my Stagg EUB has been one of my main lockdown projects (I think I've got 12 numbers under my belt so far) and playing the bass line on La Bamba always brings a smile to my face.

Excluding VAT.

Well, that's the "basic" package. There are more advanced modules. Obviously.

Brilliant! That Jamerson tome (along with many others!) has been sitting on my shelf untouched for several years. Your post has certainly encouraged me to dust that off. What would be mega useful, if I could trouble you, is for your thoughts on which of the numbers fall into the "easy" "med" and "difficult" categories based on how you've found them? I think that would be a good way for me to approach working through the pieces. Please feel free to PM to avoid de-railing the thread, if that would be better.

We run intensive "how to work out what the bloody hell is going on with Yammy BB numbering" courses on the Yamaha BB thread. It's free to all BC members.

Thanks for that. Actually I liked the tone of the SB-1 a LOT, but that's probably 'cos it's not a million miles from my 1025 (which we're all bored to death knowing what a fanboi of, I am). What I would say is that the preamp on the SB-1 does sound better / livelier than on the 735A, but I guess you would hope that to be the case given the price jump (for a USA made). Are the G&L Tributes essentially the same bass but Indonesia rather than USA made? The SB-2 would be the config I'd go for as it's classic PJ, however it seemed to get mixed reviews on TB (and tbf you very rarely get a bad Yammy review) and from what I've seen they're not available as a 5 string? Btw - I loved that quote!

@EBS_freak and @Barking Spiders I note that you good gents' locations are not a million miles apart. Do you bump into each other from time to time and what are the neighbours like? Just asking for a friend 😈

G&L = high ouptut seems to be the consensus. Interestingly I think the 424/5 pups are also pretty high output and there's a lot of love for them across these pages, with folk managing to tame via the simple expediency of lowering pup heights. Speaking of lowering, if I can briefly do that with the conversational tone for a moment - would you ever consider an Ibanez to be an "Ibby"? Just sayin' 😁

As we know a selector switch isn't as versatile as a knob as it's just 3 positions vs multiple blend options with a knob. However it does work well IMO and makes it very easy to switch (excuse the pun) mid song if you want a different tonal flavour and / or fully engage the grit of your bridge pup etc.

What were the key differences in sound? The G&L Tribute seem to be similarly configured to the Yamaha TRBX series from a pup perspective?

I personally prefer my purely passive BB 1025 which is otherwise very similar to the active / passive BB 735A, so the 1025 has stayed in my herd and the BB 735A didn't. The OP was keen on an active circuit in his criteria though.

Cheers Gents. Yeah heard a lot of good things about G&L basses, but they seem to have a much "louder" fan base in the US than over here, although folks who have them over here seem pretty happy with them too!