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Unless the bass is fretless you shouldn't be pressing down on the strings so hard that you come into contact with the fingerboard. For me fretted bass fingerboards are chosen for looks and nothing else.

I think the idea is that they replace your board completely, which is why the larger HX/Helix devices all have built-in PSUs. I simply take my Helix out of its bag and place it on the stage. Plug in the MIDI, PSU wireless receiver and output to the PA and I'm ready to go.

I've been looking at what little information is available about the more esoteric features of the Stadium and it looks as though if you want enough outputs to do packing playback seriously you will probably need the expansion box. The following will be important for me: 1. The ability the playback 4 channels of synchronised audio and send them to separate outputs. 2. The ability to synchronise Preset, Snapshot and parameter changes to the audio playback. 3. The ability to send MIDI program change, CC messages, and MTC/MIDI clock to external devices synchronised with the audio. 4. How quickly it loads a new "song" - ideally less than 5 seconds and is linked to Preset selection and Setlist order. So selecting a Preset also loads the corresponding audio and MIDI for playback, and the set order can be quickly changed using the Setlist function. 5. That it has sufficient memory to hold 4 channels of 24 bit audio for at least 1 hour of playback. 6. How easy it is to load all this information into the device from whatever DAW it has been created on. In the past I had a system that used standard MIDI files to control racks of synths and samplers as well as the guitar bass and vocal effects processors in order for my band to play live. While the playback worked really well, getting the information from the DAW into a format that the MIDI file player could use was massively convoluted, and once it had been done required me to run the "live" system to check that everything had transferred as I had intended. Also it then limited us to 16 channels of MIDI control rather than the potential 128 channels that a DAW plus MIDI interface could support. Ease of transfer (or not) could be the deal-breaker.

I had the fender classic 70s jazz bass that had Pau ferro fingerboard, I can’t say it felt much different to my other jazzes really, apart from being maybe smoother and lighter in colour

Shame they are still so big. IME both the Stomp and the HXFX are a little too limited, but the full size ones are too huge to go on a board. I should probably try the Stomp XL...

I had a fretless with Pau Ferro and I really didn't like it, it felt cold and brittle. I also feel like that with Rosewood a little but not as bad. Ebony for fretless is unbelievable and my preferred wood for fretless followed by graphite. For a fretted bass then I don't think it makes any difference as you are fretting onto the frets.

Thats the direction we are headed, or at least slowly trying to get there

Also had a fretless (Warmoth Jazz) with Pau Ferro board and neck, great to play and very hard wearing. As a fingerboard wood it's like a halfway house between rosewood and ebony really, definitely didn't find it dry although I think my bass (I got it used) had an oiled finish. As a neck wood it felt nice and smooth, I never needed to adjust it (it did also have carbon rods IIRC) and great to play, again not dry at all. Liked it and would have another, in fact if I was to spec a custom bass I'd probably lean towards it as it was both practical and visually appealing. I wish I hadn't sold the bass tbh!

Lol. I’ve still got one of those (in storage) and it really is unfeasibly heavy. When I recover it I am toying with putting the amp bit in a sleeve and dumping the cab as it is unusably heavy all together.

One of the most recognizable and enduring hits of the disco era. Also a good octave exercise Lipps inc. - Funkytown | Terry Grant

I just love reading old Trace Elliot brochures describing the 4x10 combo as a 'portable gigging solution'

I found a kijiji ad that was about six months old , someone in Cape Breton was selling a Dan Armstrong for about $450 Cdn. Messaged the seller , no reply. And made a post on Facebook about the one that got away. An old friend in California told he had a Chinese copy , and it was mine , completely unexpected. And when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised. Put a worn in set of flats on it , slightly tweaked the action , and have used it on gigs. The weight was lighter than expected but it does have some heft. Quite a chunky neck , I’m ok with that , I’m quite accustomed to various neck sizes , and I’ve found a good old school thump with flats and the tone rolled back. I quite enjoy it! 32 inch scale.