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MattiZ

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Everything posted by MattiZ

  1. I wrote a longish BB235 review in this thread a while back, also made some comparative comments on both. At the moment I enjoy the 235 more. I practise on it, it is the instrument I’m most likely to grab when I start writing a song, or just feel like playing something. The 735A gets playd at band rehearsals only, it fits the band in question (loud stoner/doom type thing) quite nicely. 235 sounds great played clean, or with some modulation fx, or a bit of dirt. Its electronics have a bit more hiss than the 735A’s but that is probably the only real fault I’ve found. 735A likes dirt and behaves well at loud volumes, with octave, fuzz, distortion pedals into Darkglass MT900, but sounds a bit... neutral, almost boring, when clean. It could be the preamp, or the pickups - or the strings: it’s had the same Rotosound Flats set on from day one, and I’ve just started thinking they might not be the ideal strings for it. I’ve used and loved them on both my BB1200S’s (and I very much wished the 735A would turn out to be the 5-string 1200S, which it clearly is not), but they don’t seem to fit here. Now, I’ve been waiting for my order of Ernie Ball Cobalt Flat single B-strings since october and when they arrive, I’ll be able to reach the final verdict. I hope. Love those strings on every 4-stringer I’ve tried (passive, active, fretless, fretted), going to set up both 5ers with them and see what happens. Guess I didn’t really answer your question here, did I?
  2. Finally, my whole BB family together. L-R: 235, 300, 1200S, 1200S, 400S, 735A. Terrible pic quality, lightning conditions far from ideal.
  3. It’s still not the complete family photo - my BB235 and the other BB1200S stayed at home. Possibly some day next week I’ll have them all at my studio at the same time. The new (to me) BB400S is nice, I’ve played it several hours per day since I got it this tuesday. Like the sound, weight and playability, but the quality of both the DIY de-fret job and the nut is such that it is going to a luthier as soon as possible. Bumpy and buzzy fret(less)board, badly made replacement nut. And the finish... well, it is the original early 80’s dark brown, in very good condition. It does look organic. Like sh...
  4. Firmware update v1.4 available. Just a bug fix, no new features or effects, it seems. https://zoomcorp.com/en/gb/news/g11_update/
  5. Exactly. I’m fine with DIY - if somebody else does it. Never really played a fretless (only tried briefly), might not even like the feel. And it seems to be very hard to find any fretless basses for sale locally (not to mention any BBs). If there’s no other option, I might consider getting, say, a BB234 defretted, if I could find one in the first place!
  6. Not comfortable doing that. Electronics I can cope with, but any kind of woodwork, nope.
  7. My BB obsession is getting worse. Now I need/want a fretless one. What models are there? I know of BB400S, BB350F and BB614F (and BB404F, but that one has a different body style). There seem to be some converted BB300 fretlesses, and I once played a converted BB1200S. If there was a fretless BB234 available, I wouln’t hesitate. But sadly there is no such thing. So, what options do I have? And who wants to sell me one?
  8. For a while I thought this had become the official BBPH thread. Tried my best to fit in. By the way, did I mention I like the 235 a lot?
  9. Not much talk about this. Anybody here has one? I just found a slightly used G11 at a price I couldn’t resist. What helped me make the decision, apart from the price, was the fact it already has some bass effects, and I think it is reasonable to expect Zoom will continue offering updates, considering they’ve been doing so for a few generations of multi-fx. With the new G6 coming, things may get interesting. The G11 bass-specific fx are: - BassGEQ - Bass DRV - Dark Pre - AMPG SVT - AG 750 - SVT8x10 - AG4x10TW So, not a lot of them. Still, many Filter, Drive, Modulation and Pedal FX have Mix, Bal, DryMix or Blend parameters, which make those effects potentially useful for bass. I also have a B3n and G3n (plus MS-100BT, MS-70CDR, MS-50G) to make comparisons. I could post some of my findings if there is any interest, after having some time to actually play the thing.
  10. Lots of parallels here, compared to my experience with my two BB1200Ss and a BB735A. Not the same as the BBPH (a 5-stringer with non-reverse P), but close. They have somewhat similar top end sparkle, yes. Differences in low end, except 1200S has it tight and focused, but 735A feels somewhat phasey and scooped, possibly lacking something in the low mids (hard to pin it down exactly, just a feel). Could it be the difference between reverse and non-reverse P, and/or the pre-amp? I’m not sure. Different, absolutely. And I completely agree the 1200S is a ”tank” (or Imperial Starcruiser) to the light-weight 735A. There is nothing wrong with its build quality but it still feels much less substantial (and actually weights less than the 1200S). I also agree the knobs are not ideal (very heavy, unmarked and... uh, pretty ugly), neither are the pots themselves: they feel very stiff to turn, and the center detents feel very subtle, there is almost no positive click. And those inlays really are ugly, they look like cheap nicotine-stained plastic. Still, it is a good bass, it fits the band I play it in, I like it more and more after each band practise... ... but finally, getting even more off-topic but... I - still - kind of enjoy my BB235 more!
  11. Yes, I know. My (poor) excuse is, I almost got my ultimate dream bass (black Gibson Ripper, I’d hunted for years for one) - but was too slow. Next thing I saw after the big disappointment was this BB1200S in almost perfect condition...
  12. ’83 MIJ (the new arrival) left, ’84 MIT right. Black is beautiful, though In fact I slightly prefer the BB1200S’s dark translucent green. Both BB300’s are quite early examples (note the pot placement and body shape) but the MIJ is clearly the superior instrument. Light weight, nice neck profile, no neck dive. Just lovely. Full BB collection? Well: BB1200S x2, BB300 x2, BB735A, BB235. Got some of them at home, some at the studio, taking a group photo as soon as I get them all in one place.
  13. @Al Krow Well, I had pretty much decided to want a BB735A, but almost given up as it seemed they were completely unavailable. You helped me make the decision, and I’m happy I got the bass. I guess I was unrealistically expecting it to be the closest equivalence to a 5-string BB1200S, based on the 5-ply neck construction, the extra stabilizing neck joint system (and the Peter Hook association with the BB734A model). Well, it is not. Not even close. It is a good bass anyway. Had I not bought it, I’d still be gassing over it. Now, after a proper setup, two band rehearsals and several hours of playing, it already feels much better. No love at first sight (like the BB235A) but the beginning of a long friendship, probably. Oh, by the way, there seems to be this strange epidemic of self-duplicating BB basses. I think some of you have experienced it as well...
  14. I wish there was an obvious answer to that question. The BB235 was much better than expected. It had really good setup, and with Rotosound Monel Flats is a joy to play. The cheap ceramic PU’s are loud, clear and well balanced. Just one thing: the neck has too much of a D profile, I never liked those that much. On the other hand, the BB735A is not any better than I expected. In fact I had great expectations for it, maybe even too much. The setup was not good: some sharpish fret ends, nut so high I took it to a luthier friend for filing it down (even he made comments on the setup). The pickups are nothing special, and compared to both my BB1200S’s, the preamp sounds, well, quite generic. But: the neck has a lovely C profile, just slightly thicker with less shoulders than the BB235, exactly how I like it. Only played one band rehearsal with each yet. For now, I prefer the cheap BB235 - well, I’ve played it a few months already, the BB735A is brand new. Guess it takes a couple months to reach a verdict here!
  15. The BassDirect price was too good, but the Station Music was the cheapest of the two or three others I was able to find in Europe. With shipping & handling it cost me about 50€ more. Not too bad. That pickguard isn’t the prettiest thing ever, removing it might be a good idea. I’ll let you to be the trendsetter, though!
  16. It is already here! Delivered just six hours ago by UPS. But it isn’t the BassDirect one. That one had already been sold (I learned that their site is manually updated, they apologized and returned my payment promptly, so everything is fine). Instead, I found one at Station Music. They were very fast, took less than a week to arrive from Germany. Excellent communication too. And naturally it was their last one. https://www.station-musicshop.de/epages/64398533.sf/secc67440d84e/;SessionID=9150a388552f7496200d2c5a5eb42fc8?Locale=en_GB&ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2F64398533%2FProducts%2F4512&ChangeAction=SaveLocale&ChangeObjectID=249657897 Only played it for half an hour at home, and yes, it feels good. It needs flats, or rather, I need them - though the factory D’Addarios feel acceptable, I only enjoy flats. More to follow after some real playing. Also the final verdict on the BB235 and some comparisons later on. You already got yours? By the way, for some reason I seem to be unable to load pics at the moment.
  17. Agreed. All your pro-BB735A arguments are valid, I used each and every one of them to convince myself that I was about to do the right thing. And yes, they work, feeling happy now. No shipping information yet. But I guess it will take some time, every package from GB to Finland that I’ve received during the epidemic has taken several weeks to arrive (there’s been 4 or 5 of them). Not sure what to do with the BB235 yet. It is a nice bass, like it more every time I play it, but if the BB735 really is that much better... possibly end up keeping one at home, the other at the studio / rehearsal room. Might sell my BB300 instead as it gets no playing time at all (and its neck profile does not feel ideal, and the pickup seems quite weak, and so on). Remains to be seen. Anyway, looking forward to comparing the two 5-stringers extensively. Decision time comes later. Now that I remember, never completed my review of the BB235 earlier in the thread. Must do that soon!
  18. That was fast. What have I done?
  19. I know, you make perfect sense. I haven’t seen any black ones for sale anywhere in EU area for months, and the price is very good. Must resist. Or at least think about it for a while.
  20. Please, please, talk me out of placing an order for a matte black 735A right now! I’ve only just decided I like the BB235 quite a lot, after playing it for a few months, but find myself wondering how nice it would be with an active preamp. More like my BB1200Ss... I don’t need it! I want it! Aaarggh!
  21. ... and the next puzzle to be solved.
  22. My BB1200S getting new/old original machine heads.
  23. Just bought some vintage Yamaha parts from Gerry. Everything went as smoothly as possible, excellent communication. My BB1200S is slowly getting restored, thanks a lot! The package took three weeks to arrive from UK to Finland, we both feared it had disappeared on its way but that’s just logistics.
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