Al Krow

I'm guessing your MB amp will sound a treat with the ST! Combine with Helix (or a VTDI) for drive and you're then completely sorted?

The MS-60B was actually the very first pedal I bought (back in 2013 - apart from guitar pedals several decades before that!) I really struggled with the interface, though. The B3N was a big (literally - haha) step up. I kinda feel they've cracked it for me with the B1-4 and it's now sitting happily at the heart of my mini board. The best value pedal I've got, by some margin.

The B1-4 kinda feels like the spiritual successor of the MS-60B, but with a MUCH better user interface. It benefits from the same processing power as the B3N and also the same ease of editing patches. Particularly via the free ToneLib software.

Nope it's one stomp box, but nicely organised into 5 banks of 10 fx with the drum machine (eg for home practice) much more accessible. It also has global EQ and volume control which is super useful - can't remember if the B3N does?

Oh dear, that's a shame. The B1-4 which has the same suite of patches and the same generation chip as the B3N and is much more compact. I ended up trading my B3N in and have since replaced with a B1-4, and I'm really appreciating the smaller form factor. If you're in the Amazon return period it may be worth thinking about swapping them over? Just a thought.

Yeah, very fair. I wonder if someone like our own @Grangur might be able to refinish it for you at a fraction of the cost of what you were quoted? And there was a BB425 refinished in white + pattern (earlier on the thread) and it looked amazing! I'll see if I can dig out the pic... Here you go - it won't be to everyone's taste, I appreciate, but I love it!

But is that suggestion (the Eb bit rather than the lock your 4 strings away - which I agree with!) proving effective in your own 5 string quest Luke - as I know you were having similar issues to the OP in transitioning to a 5 string from your other thread? If it is, well and good! Personally, I didn't particularly see a need to focus on playing songs in Eb, which is pretty limiting and not necessarily something I'd be able to use a great deal with my band, given my guitarist much prefers E to Eb. Rather than advise the OP to stick with mainly one key, I'd recommend just getting used to playing 5 string in any key and make use of the low B for some of the lower E string notes (as well as the only B string notes, B to Eb).

Did you manage to get any footage of the sound Dave? What batteries were you guys typically using?

It sounds like you have experienced a range of string spacing 16.5 mm (Ibby) through to 19.0 mm, both normal and fan fret and fast very playable necks (Ibby again) and had some great 5 string basses. I'm a big fan of some of the basses you've already tried and +1 for the Yammy BB range mentioned above - the flat relatively thin neck is very comfortable indeed to play. I wouldn't recommend kicking off with a BB NE2 though, as wonderful a bass as that is! They are a small fortune new and you could be waiting a while for one to come up used. I know this is going to be boring advice - but I'd really recommend resisting picking up a 4 string and exclusively play a 5, that you otherwise really like, until playing a 5 becomes second nature. When it does I suspect it will "feel" right too.

Looking forward to it Steve.

Power, quality, responsiveness, EQ, additional feature sets (drive etc), price, tone, weight, size, finish, reputation of brand / reliability and design are all factors I take into account to a greater or lesser extent. Sure tone can be a very important factor when deciding to get an amp, but it's certainly not the sole factor (for me anyway) particularly as my amp doesn't have the biggest single impact on tone in my signal chain - and that's by quite a long way; a single drive or filter / synth pedal can easily swamp the nuance of tone that one D class amp brings to the party compared to another. Equally, and just to reiterate, the volume (i.e. size rather than watts!) of the unit wasn't really meant to be a major thread discussion point, it was more just an observation: other things being equal my preference has always been for compactness & portability and these have been key reasons in e.g. me taking a BF SC to rehearsals and gigs in place of my IMO significantly tonally superior Fearless F112. It's the same point about lightweight basses for some. We all have different priorities.

Just been having a sort out as part of listing a few pedals for sale and I realised that I managed to sell a few pedals over last couple of years without realising I had the box for them! If you have the pedals but are missing the box and would like, let me know and I'll get them posted to you. Tech 21 Red Ripper (tin) with original manual Boss LS-2 MXR BEF Please note that they're not "mint" in the sense that they have / had packing / sellotape on them.

Packet opened but quickly found they don't work on my other Gilette razor. 10 unused blades worth a tenner You'll need a Gilette GII handle to make use of - if you have, I can post them to you free of charge. Shame to chuck them away.

Awww - in which case the Fishman might be just the ticket for you? Feel free to make me an offer I can refuse - I can only say "no" 😉

Plenty of folk are willing to pay extra for the "mojo" of a road worn look! Great to see this BB community coming into play in this fashion!

Looking forward to hearing some sound clips from your new contraption!

We seem to have similar tastes 😀 - I've recently got the 2020 Proton, which I'm really liking, and a Helix (HX) and Becos (Stella) too. Although I suspect I'll never afford a Noble and have to make do and mend with a VT Bass DI! Is that a PT Metro 24 you've got them loaded on and what are you using for power?

@MattiZ, thanks for sharing that. Unusual to see anything but Yammy pups on a Yammy bass - I think they really are the core of the Yammy BB sound, and I'd associate EMGs much more with Spector. If you get a wanted ad up, you might strike lucky with sourcing some Yammy pups. If you were to get the bass refinished (which I suspect would turn it into a valuable looker), would you get it done in the same colour?

Nice board! And @GisserD's FI housing looks great! Quite a lot of filter and synth goodness on that board. Are you in a funk band?