CameronJ

@ratman, if you’re in the market for a very compact yet highly rated power amp, check this little beast out: https://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-1000w-sumo-guitar-bass-power-amp-c2x23791314

Can’t get much greener than Yamaha grass.

I shall be blunt in my summary here - the construction quality of my BB735a is every bit on par with my VM5, and personally I prefer the BB735a in many ways. To clarify, it’s the Sandberg VT which is a P/J config. The VM is a P/MM config. Still, for the purposes of this comparison that makes little difference. Ignoring the body finishes (as they’re so wildly different) I prefer the neck feel of the Yammy as it has the most lovely satin matte finish vs the more glossy sheen of the Sandberg. Obviously this is down to personal preference. The VM has Sandberg’s own in house lightweight tuners but the BB has more “standard” offerings. It means nothing though really as my BB is still considerably lighter than the VM anyway! For a while I was a bit of a Zero Fret snob and aimed to have them on all of my basses, but I’ve outgrown that mentality. Both my Yamaha BB and my Dingwall Super P are without a Zero Fret and they both sound amazing. In a blindfold test I wouldn’t be able to hear or feel the difference between a bass with a Zero Fret and a bass without, all other things being equal. I’m sure there are people out there who can! I do prefer the preamp on the BB as I find it to be more intelligently laid out. Yes, it has a mid control which the VM doesn’t, but I also prefer having the active/passive toggle on a separate physical switch rather than a push/pull on the volume knob. Again, personal preference. For the record, it is possible to spec a 3 band preamp on a Sandberg. Just the other week I saw a VM for sale on Facebook factory fitted with a 3 band. The area where Sandberg will always win hands down is in custom finish options. Mine is an absolutely beautiful violetburst with open textured wood grain and a matching headstock. Yamaha’s production is obviously much higher volume so they just couldn’t compete with Sandberg’s level of customisation unless they did something like a Fender Custom Shop system. I doubt they’ll do this again as they’ve tried a semi-custom system in the past as has been documented earlier in the thread. TL;DR Put a gun to my head and ask me to choose between the two? I’m taking the Yamaha.

I find myself regularly passing comment on things for sale (mostly basses) even if only to say it looks nice!

Asked if he could do a 5 stringer. Sadly it’s a no-go

I run my treble/tone knob almost all the way off typically, but have the mid knob up about 70%-ish and bass up a whisker last centre in active mode. So passive is mellow thump and active is mid heavy for songs with a denser mix. Flick between the two settings at will. Obviously both have highs cut but they sound totally different. I may introduce more highs as the strings become more and more dead...then again I may not! Love the EQ points on the Yammy preamp - I believe the pre is the same on the TRBX basses too.

I think the award for smart thinking goes to @Muzz!

Ah, nice!

Indeed, but if it’s not the neck or the body then...🤔

Where on one’s bass can the “sleeve” be located?

I’m very confused

This. Throw Aguilar into the mix too.

Haven’t used mine live yet, but I’ll say that this thing is so customisable in terms of footswitch assignment, snapshots, connection of external controllers etc. that once you get to grips with how it all works it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll be able to set it up to suit you. With snapshots, you can fire off multiple parameter changes within a preset at the press of a footswitch, mid song, instantly. No awkward processing lag. That single feature alone is incredibly useful in a live context.

@GisserD when I eventually get an FI you’ll be hearing from me about rehousing!

I like the stock (D’addario EXL170-5?) strings on my 735a so much that next time I buy new roundwounds for any of my basses they will be the same! Really like the feel (and sound) of them.

Mothership is the word!

I think it’s gonna have to be my next purchase

Broughton make HPFs and LPFs. I think they even do a combined HPF + LPF pedal in a compact housing!

So it can receive note data via MIDI? How did I not know this? I think you’ve just fully sold the FI to me

Heresy!