Al Krow

@AndyTravis - congrats on the BB1600 mate, know you've been wanting to get your hands on for a while. Your first?

I was just re- reading @pete.young's very helpful comparison of the BB 2005 vs BB NE2 in an earlier post, which I'm about to get some hands-on experience on and really looking forward to. Happened to come across these two posts at the same time which kinda tie in quite closely with the MII vs MIJ discussion we were having regarding the 1024/5 vs 2024/5. I guess at the end of the day folk will take a view as to whether the feel of the 2024/5 justifies the massive premium that Yamaha were looking to charge over the 1024/5 and vote with their wallet (or indeed go for something else entirely!) If I could go into @Woodinblack's mythical store, where everything was free and I could choose one bass, it definitely wouldn't be a 2025 as I'm really very happy with my played-in 1025; it would more likely be an Alembic or Wal. Now where the heck is that store...?

As this is an analogue synth, I'm assuming it doesn't do presets or is that not the case?

All these new models and pup configs but any classic reverse-P + J 5ers in the range at Euro or Legend rather than NS prices?

Well I guess I'm going to be 19 short of having 2024 good reasons, too, next week but my bank balance is definitely happy about that 😁

The Jazz is definitely the brightest tone consistent with newest strings, then followed by the Ray (with the oldest strings), so the least slap zingy for me was the Yamaha. I'd personally have the P34 on solo bridge pup for slap, rather than the more mid scooped PJ setting, but that's a personal preference. Thanks for taking the time to record and share that and, while being a Yammy lover with zero Fenders in my toolbox, my vote went to the...Fender

Thanks for posting that! Enjoyed that a lot. Just to understand the base line: Were the strings identical in terms of make / model and the same age on all three basses? Which pup settings did you have the basses on and were the EQs all set flat?

I've got the previous series model BB 1025 (the 4 string version is the 1024) and I find the the J pup a little grittier than the current series you have and which may be just what you're looking for tonally - I certainly use it on solo J when I'm particularly looking to cut through rather than sit in the band mix. Two more PJ basses that I have 5 string versions of: A used Spector Euro LX4 would be superb, but they don't come cheap! Bit left field but likely to you impress for its outstanding value for money is the Harley Benton Marquess. Will cost you less new than many comparably spec'd basses used. The other key factor to bear in mind is whether you go for an active or passive bass. The BB 434 you currently have is purely passive, as is the 1024. The other two basses I mentioned are both active and active preamps can make quite a big difference to the sound you're getting from your bass eg in being able to push the mids to enhance how much you cut through, but this is also something you can usually do from your amp.

@acidbass that's absolutely brilliant! At the end of the day what you were doing over the weekend - playing live to such an appreciative crowd - is pretty much what it's all about as far I'm concerned! Any links to your band? (And just to keep it vaguely on topic - what particular fx are you using your Stomp for? 😄)

Downer about the Ciocks - they're usually considered to be very reliable and the two I had (before replacing with my cheap and cheerful Harley Benton IsoPro PSUs) never gave me any trouble, so that does sound like a bit of bad luck. The bit that particularly caught my eye about your post was you playing in front of a crowd of 6,000 - fantastic! Was that at a festival and are you guys regularly playing to such big crowds?

Fixed 😊 Did you end up getting one or both? Just to clarify I am very much NOT saying there is no difference at all. Maybe best I summarise where I have landed on this 2024/5 vs 1024/5 topic : the 2024/5 is the recipient of two sonic treatments which are designed to give the bass a "played-in" feel from day 1. A 1024/5 will also get a played-in feel, after it's been err...played-in, which comes for free from using the bass; the 2024/5 is MI-Japan vs 1024/5 MI-Indonesia. The cost of labour in Japan is significantly higher, which will lead to a higher product cost. But Indonesia has got a pretty good rep for making quality basses e.g. Ibby SR Premiums costing £1k+ are MI-Indonesia; pretty much everything else about the basses are the same - design, pups, woods, preamp and bridge; for the record I have not heard the 2024/5 A/B'd in a blind test with the 1024/5, played by the same bass player with a full band - that would be a key test for me. But tbh I'm not expecting to hear anything much difference between two pretty identical basses played by the same bass player and if I can't hear any difference, I sure as heck wouldn't dream of paying three times as much. Others are free to come to a different conclusion and spend their hard earned cash how they wish! In case any of you have never so much as laid eyes on either a 1024/5 or a 2024/5 - here's a decent A/B "bedroom" comparison of the 5 string versions. Recommend a good pair of headphones and to just listen without watching the clip - can you tell them apart (even without a full band blaring)? I guess my thinking these days is that once we have "good enough" kit, spending more money on gear is not going to make us sound any better. That will instead happen only as we become better bass players by spending time on technique, practice and, if we get the chance, regularly playing live with capable bandmates.

I've popped the question on timing to SA on the TB forum - be interesting to see what they say. But an expanded C4 with with a decent visual UI plus all the stuff you have to buy as extras currently under one bonnet would be a great bit of kit. The C4 has got a better synth engine / core synth tones from what I've heard from @Quatschmacher's clips than the SY-1. (Although he would probably still say that the FI is still the top of the pile in terms of synth engine). Where the SY-1 completely excels is in with its polyphonic glitch free tracking, which is just outrageously good!

My guess is that the unit is actually a clone of the Genz Benz Streamliner 900 rather than an Ampeg - given the design clues in terms of front panel look and also layout of the knobs which pretty much mirror the Streamliner's. If it is, that's quite a pedigree unit it's been modelled on (I'm basing that on the huge amount of love that unit got on bass forums, particularly BC). If it is a faithful Streamliner clone then the bass centre will be set at a more useful 55 Hz rather than a too low 40 Hz, but the 4KHz for the treble would still be as you suggested.

They're totally still widely available! 🙂

The other bit I've gleaned is that the SY-200 has 3 new modes compared to the SY-1: dual - combines lead & pad sweep noise ...looking forward to finding out what these deliver!

I'm interested to find out just how much more tweakable the 171 presets are on the SY-200 as compared to the 121 presets on the SY1. There appears to be an additional (and important) resonance parameter on the SY-200 in addition to the existing tone / depth which are already available on the SY-1; but what that is going to be able to deliver in terms of usable sounds will be key for me as to whether I'll be upgrading to the SY-200 in due course.

Question to fellow 1001M/T owners - have any of you chaps managed to suss out what the bass and treble EQ centre points are on the amp? Couldn't find any clues in the manual on this.

The difference of mid centre points in a full band context is going to be pretty subtle: I personally set and leave the mids at 450 Hz - that's a good centre point for me based on previous experience. It's more the interaction of the bass and mid volumes that I'll be focussing on.

Cheers Cuzzie - I agree the availability of the semi-para mids on an amp at this price point is yet another really neat feature, adding to the fantastic value its delivering. However finding the sweet spot EQ, for me, will be more a case of taking it to a few more gigs and getting comfortable with how its sounding with the band, particular bass, venue and playlist. This was my the first gig outing for this amp and I'm sure that you'll appreciate that tweaking EQ mid-set to find a sweet spot (with ear plugs in) and first time this particular band has played live after 18 months wouldn't have right at the top of my "to do" list! 🙂 I know some folk will happily spend ages faffing around with gear at rehearsal(s) but our focus, with just one pre-gig rehearsal, was very much making sure we were on top of the 35+ songs we were running through. But the overall mix on the gig sounded good from the feedback we got and the audience seemed to be having a very good time - so that was a big tick. We had a really fun time and it was great to be out gigging again. How did the 1001M fare on your first after-18-months outing?

Cheers Andy. I appreciate that Ricki and I going into an in depth discussion about two Yammy BBs is a bit off topic on this thread... 😁

Soz mate - don't follow your logic at all here. If the "instrument", i.e. vocal chords in this instance, the singers are using are the same - which they are not, no two singers have the same vocal chords, albeit siblings can sometimes come pretty close - you're now talking about how the singers are using their instruments. The comparison would be to say that a top class bass player is going to play the same bass better than Joe Average. No debate from me on that. But as I said, if you think you can hear a difference in sound from the same bassist playing a 2024/5 vs 1024/5 in a band mix, on a bass with pretty identical design, pups, woods and preamp (and assuming of course the same strings) you're welcome to spend the extra if you think it's worth it. Happy to disagree and I hope you enjoy your 2024 when you get one, I'm sure they are lovely basses 🙂

The 2024/5 and 1024/5 have identical woods, pups, preamps and design. If you can hear the difference between a 2024/5 and 1024/5 in a blind test, then good for you. In the hands of the same bass player in a band mix I certainly never could! And you're welcome to spend 3 times as much on one, as the other. Maria Callas and KJ have completely different set of vocal chords. You could just as easily compare Mick Jagger with Paul McCartney singing the same tune or any two well known vocalists - we'd be able to tell them apart in a band mix no trouble at all. It's a pointless comparison.

@Ricky Rioli not really sure of the point you're making - are you saying you'd rather get a BB 2024/5 instead of a BB 1024/5, despite it costing three times as much for a pretty identical piece of kit? You're of course very welcome to, but not something I would ever do. I would, however, spend more than the cost of a BB 2024/5 on a Ken Smith every day of the week.

Yes agreed, as discussed at length on here previously. But the fact one costs three times as much(!) as the other for sonic wood treatment to give it a "played-in feel", which should come naturally anyway from playing the bass in, and being MIJ instead of Indonesia, still makes no sense to me. And it never will - which is why I have a 1025 and not a 2025. But there you go!

Would the parallel between a BB NE2 and a BB 2005 be a BB 2025 and a BB 425? I didn't suggest the BB 1025 as it seems to be almost identically spec'd to the 2025 - I've never understood Yamaha's price differential on those two models!