tom.android

I quite regularly play someone else’s 734a and think i prefer the 414 as 4 string. 234 left me a little cold. Confusingly I absolutely love (and own) both the 735a and 235. No idea why the 5 stringers in the 3 series do it for me but not the 4s? I’ve never tried a 415 or 1025 but they’re on the list!

Press the button marked ‘inst’ next to whichever input you’re using to switch between line or instrument level. Turn the gain knob right down. Should be more than possible to get a clean signal.

Except the BBN5 or BBG5, which I do believe are 19mm. Most BB 5s are 18mm. Not narrow, exactly. The only really narrow one was the 5000 which is so rare it’s barely worth mentioning.

I think it’s got to be the 1200, though.

I’ve never owned anything pre-90s vintage. As I slowly inch my way towards being 40 I’ve toyed with the idea of buying a bass from my birth year. What’s the best bass Yamaha made in 1985?

Just a pickguard and a metal plate is the only difference. Cosmetics only. A matter of taste. I prefer without. I prefer using active basses for function gigs because generally there’s no sound engineer and I want to have control of my low end, mostly. Without having to crouch down and fiddle with pedals. Otherwise I much prefer passive basses, in general.

1025, right? I sometimes wish my 735a sounded like my 1024. 1025 should be absolutely storming. To be fair to the 735a it sounds exactly like what I wanted it to at the time: like a good P with a 5th string. Recorded it was indistinguishable from my old Japanese 62RI.

There’s a BBG5a on gumtree at the moment, too

Yep. Shhhhh

I’ve been after a 605 for a while but stars are yet to align on the right price, location and finish. Assuming BBG5s deal comes good will report back.

Black, obviously

My BB obsession is approaching some kind of monomania. This thread is partly responsible. Currently own: 404 414 735a 1024 2004 Used to own: 424 Incoming: G5s

I’m always missing the 1 myself. Land on 2 if the band’s lucky

Sorry missed this where you said you’d already had a 414. A 1024 P pickup in a 414 would really be something. Such a perfect sound and one of the nicest places I’ve ever put my thumb.

Got my lovely, immaculate, caramel 1024 from Bassbros for £600 and that included a hard case and a fresh set of cobalt flats. Don’t disregard the 414. Easy to find and the biggest bargain in the second hand bass world. I used to own a 424 but I’d pick a 414 every time, having tried both. Perfectly balanced, slimmer neck, lighter, same pickups.

Your 424 already is a P, better than most out there and with a number of notable improvements over the original design. Get a ‘real’ P for the look but you’ll have to spend an awful lot to get a Fender/whatever that sounds better than your 424. ‘Indistinct’ compared to your jazz? Well, jazzes have a more articulate sound in general. You might need to EQ them differently. You might want to try different strings. Want something more civilised? Try a 1024.

Also, is that a Yamaha GX-1 over in the right corner? Crikey. Only about 5 of them in the world.

Thanks for the tip. I’d prefer to have the switch rather than push pull given the choice. Is there anything out there?

Oh! Also an ideal feature would be for the treble control to function as a tone when in passive. Basically I want the same as in a 735a.

Hi all, Considering trying a different pre in my BB2004 for 2 reasons: a) I want an active/passive switch b) the mid cut switch & knob on the stock pre is pretty useless for me So I’m looking for a 9v pre with the following controls: volume, blend, bass, mid, treble, active/passive switch. Functionally the same as found on the BB734/735a. Any recommendations? Thanks, Tom