whamni

I had to smile at the first and last photos, brilliant. I've used Trace Elliot since mid 80's and never had any problem, just great amps. I'm thinking of downsizing and only play small pubs an clubs now, so the wee Elf might just do the job for me.

most 5 sting basses are 18, but Music man use 17.5 , I'm told they do have a model at 18. I sold my Ray 5, I just couldn't get used to it, been playing 4 strings a long long time lol, it's amazing what a few mm can do.

Spacing on a ray is 17.5mm, Yamaha is 18mm

Try a 5mm, but whatever you do, make sure it's a snug fit

It's all down to psychology now

Think it comes in the next Windows update ! 😎 lol

Everyone replied to this but never really answered the question, apart from the finance side of it, I think Tubster was wanting to know how it sounded in a gig situation ! I don't have one, but I'm all ears to know how they sound at a gig and their reliability lol

Hope you like the bass, I used the stock string for some time, not a bad string, but I changed to Ernie Ball Super Slinky 2834 Nickel Strings 45-100 (Pink Bag) Then after that Ernie Ball Group 3 Flats 45 to 100, I still have them on, but depends what type of music you're playing ! I would say you'll have to set it up to your own liking, anyway best of luck with the new bass.

The only Con I have is, I wish they had put the jack socket at the front like the Fender P lol, small gripe for what is a great bass.

Dave I’m just curious to know what year your Fender is, I ask because I’m thinking it could be the radius of the fret board that’s causing the problem. You said you have both instruments set up the same, i.e. neck relief, action @ the 12th fret, string height at the Nut and first fret etc. If that is the case, they would play different because of the fret boards being a different radius. Because the Yamaha has a 10 inch radius, you can afford to set the relief, action and string height at the Nut a lot lower than you would with the Fender, resulting in a very fast playable Yamaha and still dig in without fret buzz. For reference, the Fender radius could be anything between 7.25 and 9 I have played and set up a variety of bass guitars over the years and it’s amazing the difference you get even between the same make and year of bass/guitar.

Could also be the feel of the back of the neck. I love the smooth gloss finish on my other basses Funny thing, I have noticed, the back of my 734 has lost it's matt finish and gone gloss ! At the gig last Sat night the neck got very sticky, so I used a baby wipe lol, cleaned the back of the neck, then a micro cloth, problem solved. Just wondering if that could help with your BB Hope you get it solved.

I'm sure you've read all this before, but it's strange the neck spec for the BB range is more or less the same ! I'm sure you're long enough at the game to have it set up the way you want it. I discovered with my 734 I can get the relief down to 0.20mm and action on E to 1.80mm, with no buzz. but then I use flats But if it don't feel comfortable to play, maybe it's time to move it on, just a pity as I think they are a great bass and I've played Musicman all my life !

Are you talking at the Nut or past the 12th fret ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wz0XbsqfOE

My 79' Musicman the batteries lasted years, the Sire 4 months, the Yamaha 734 since I started using Tesco own brand, they last forever, well a lot more than eight months.

I've been a Trace user since 1989 when I purchased a Series 6 GP7 Combo which I still use today, a great amp, serial number ends in 419, anyone know the year ? It's not that long ago since I replaced the caps in the power supply, they were starting to bulge ! I came across this article about Clive Button who designed all the trace amps and speakers, some great reading. http://www.clivebutton.com/ Thanks for this post, all good trace stuff lol

Sounds like you could have a dry joint somewhere, try tapping around to help find it !

Looks like you put them in upside down !

A small washer the same size as the magnet pole placed on the D & A poles

The switching system uses a small momentary button soldered on to the hidden side of the PCB and poking through the top of the enclosure Check to see if that's working, other than that it could be one of the IC chips

The date on my Sabre is 11th May 1979, I have it from new, sadly It's too heavy for me now, so it's on the wall. Best bass I ever played and I've had quite a few down the years lol

I changed the saddle on my 734 and it did bring out the top a bit more on the E, I have Ernie Ball flats on. These strings are fine for Country or jazz, but I'm not impressed with them for pop etc !

Forget about rechargeable, I discovered Tesco's own brand and they last a long long time.

@TJ Spicer I finally fitted the Dimarzio 148 Ultra Jazz bridge Pup to my BB734 and it has added lot more punch to the sound, but most of all, I have NO hum, happy days.