CameronJ

Indeed!

That explains it.

It’s the little details that really get me. Things like the 3 ply pickguard which isn’t just a bog standard black-white-black but a much more pleasant black-aged white-black. A just visible 3 piece sandwich body construction, the barely visible 5 piece neck, gunmetal hardware and the “3D” circular metallic Yamaha logo on the headstock. Oh and the aged neck inlays (still not sure what they’re made of?)

And I suspect that mid switch could well be the game changer here...

Love the look of this! I think I may well invest!

The resistance was pretty easy re: BBP35. The active/passive versatility of the 735a just filled me with more delight. And I much prefer the matte black of the 735a to both the sunburst and the midnight blue offerings of the P35. Tom @ Wunjos did do me a nice deal which convinced me to abandon all thoughts of buying via the Yamaha Music Store. I’m a happy bunny - It’s an incredibly classy looking instrument IMO!

Forgive me Basschat, for I have sinned. On my way home with a matte black BB735a from Wunjo 😬 😈

I had a good experience with my Dunlop Mini Volume X pedal. Built like a tank which was very reassuring.

Agreed. If you ever think of selling, give me a shout 😬

Gah! I had the pleasure of playing that very bass at this year’s LBGS - was an absolute dream and I’ve had many a sleepless, GAS filled night lusting after it since. I was under the impression it had sold, otherwise I would have considered buying it myself!

Reggae/Ska, surely?

Ooh yes, that’s a classy setup you have there sir!

Assuming all goes to plan, my Wing should be completed around mid-January. Can’t wait! I’ve already given Jon Shuker a heads up on my plan to install my octaver of choice into the bass - he’s totally up for it so I’m a happy man.

Very useful info, cheers @ped. My neck carve will be a bit different to yours since mine’s a neckthrough construction but at least the body at the strap pin end is the same as yours so I know that’ll sit fine in the Hercules.

Presumably by “mini bass” you mean your Wing? If so, thanks for the tip!

It’s worth trawling eBay from time to time. Decent deals can be found on occasion.

That’s beautiful - probably my ideal Ray! It’s a shame the new Specials all have such dark necks/boards as I feel the roasted maple clashes with some of the body colours on offer. @Bob Lord, thanks for your write-up above. I found it a really useful read!

Thought I’d let all you Yamaheads know there’s a lovely BB734a selling on eBay for £450 at the moment: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323536362244

You mean a custom shape?

Beautiful bass but those strings?! Good god.

Indeed!

It’s been a while since I played that particular bass but from memory I think the passive circuit still worked even without a battery. This +1 and I must say, even without having a spoked truss wheel, the adjustment being at the body end is sooo much easier than at the headstock end. More space between the strings to rotate the Allen key, plus the strings themselves are so much more pliable at the body end so it’s just a less obstructed process, especially on a 5 string bass with a single truss rod.

If active with a passive option, a SEPARATE passive tone knob. The best implementation of this I’ve seen is the MTD Kingston Saratoga Deluxe preamp. Only the 3 band EQ works in active mode and when you switch to passive the EQ is bypassed and only the tone knob works. So at the flick of a switch you can instantly go from bright HiFi modern tones to subby tone-down thump. This system works better IMO than what a lot of other brands do, which is have the treble knob become the tone knob when switched to passive, meaning you have to keep changing the position of that knob if you want a really bright active sound vs a really dark passive sound, or vice versa.