krispn

Here it is in action. The preamp sounds great to my ear...

Love this. I was super keen to do a dual p but didn’t want to mess with my number 1 p bass any further having routed it for a TBird pick up. I was inspired by the Alien Audio basses. Not sure if you’ve seen them but Chopper used reverse p for his bridge position. It’s been good to read the journey with this one.

It’s also worth saying depending on how I string my short scale I can coax a fine range of sounds from it. Roundwound strings and a pick it’s can be a nasty punk rock machine, flats, foam and a plectrum it can tic-tac all day long and my fav in the country band I gigged it in was old rounds tone rolled back a touch and it was the perfect combination of p like thump and comfortable enough on the shoulder and left hand for those one note per beat songs - man those country songs can get ‘busy’ on the left hand!

One of the reasons short scales are so popular is Fender have made a vested interest in promoting and pushing short scale basses. They’re revamped the line up, released Squier versions and stuck them in the hands of many of their endorsing artists. On a less cynical note home recordist and the like might find a short scale an easy transition from guitar etc if they’re wanting to nab a bass that’s comfortable to play and easier on the left hand. I have a Mustang (JMJ) and love it. It’s got a P bass like quality to it and I agree with @funkle that it doesnt have the same low end as my 34” scale p bass but it has a quality of its own. I can hear the difference in the lows from my ‘regular’ scale p bass. It’s not a negative and the Mustang brings a nice quality of its own while retaining that familiar p sound. It plays really well with octave down/synth. I should be notes that the Mustang has less wood, a nice chunky neck, a slightly thicker headstock etc so it has its own build ‘quirks’ and let’s face it is a different bass to my bigger p so I wouldn’t expect them to sound the same. I also owned/gigged a hollow body shortie years ago and loved the warmth it had especially with the neck position ‘mud bucker’ pick up. It was another ‘colour’ and while not ideal on every song for that band it has its place and filled out that sonic space that only a hollow short scale can.

The tidal preamp as used on Alien Audio basses and available as a stand alone stomp box pre is really good! Designed by Mo West from SWR it’s a very musical pre and has a built in drive. Worth checking out some alien audio bass demos to hear it on you tube! Chopper from Alien Audio talks about each tone control working on more than one frequency centre so boosting works on more than just 40Hz on the bass for instance. I’m not sure if the technical spec for the unit but I’ve played one and really liked it.

Question answered the 735 has got to be the more logical choice!

Well if mahogany and walnut is worth the the 2k spend go treat yourself. Remember you could tweak the spec on the Sandberg page too

The question is do you want to spend 2k on a bass and continually judge it against a lesser priced Yamaha which you’ll ultimately have already decided is better bang for the buck. This combined with having to buy new plus depreciation which is always a consideration if a new bass doesn’t work out. You’ve owned a 735 (and foolishly sold it) you know how it plays and feels, what it sounds like. If you’re serious about the Sandberg the Panther is not a very common bass so it’s not one you’re likely to find in most shops which means a leap of faith. Worst case scenario is replace the pick ups which by the sound of it you wouldn’t need to do as it’s a great sounding bass.

I thought you’d already nabbed another 735?

Your opinion is the only one that will matter - it depends if you’re trying to convince yourself that you’re already happy with the BB735 this time around or you’re just thinking out loud again. Ultimately get the bass that fits your tonal needs and playing style. The sandberg clip sounds a bit overly compressed but that’s to be expected I suppose as it’s an older clip but they both sound versatile. The subtleties could be lost in the larger signal chain and once you add drive filter and synth the feel and playability might be better deciding factors.

What are you finding currently works for your basses eq wise (ball park figures let’s say on your main gigging bass). You noticing and sweet spots in terms of amp settings. Be interesting to hear what tweaks you’ve settled on and what you’re hoping a MM will add. I really dig some 300-400 boost with the jazz!

It’s also pretty hard to shave off half a kilo or more but I get what you’re saying. I’ve played the SL and the preamp works well in giving a fuller sound. Defo worth a look if you get a chance.

My old bass! With an extra couple of hundred quid off what he paid. I’d say it’s quite the bargain plus I’m confident he’d be up for trades.

What specifically are you after tone wise? PJ or you wanting a meatier MM bridge pick up sound? I’ve personally gigged this pick up combo in a VM4 (tuned BEAD) and a 5 string 48. They are good pick ups but I was in passive mode 99% of the time so never really engaged the pre amp much but it certainly can be heard working once engaged. I found the bridge HB to be more jazz voiced where I think I’d have preferred a ‘bigger’ tone but I was conscious of that before I bought them. I’ve played the three band in other Sandberg basses over at the factory and it’s a very clean pre. My advice to you is nab a SL 5’er and spec a three band. The eq will make up for a slight loss in lows from the mass or lack thereof but for your desire to have a lightweight bass (sub 4kg maybe for the 5). The body wood can be a bit more prone to a knock but you look after your gear and it’s really well suited to slap which I know you’re keen to develop.

BB734 is a great bass - super nice to play (I tend to prefer the new styling) and it sounds good plus it'll easily take different pick ups if you fancy experiemnting but it really does sound good stock!

No

I should state for the record I’m sure the effects in the Boss sound great. Im sure they’re on a par with Strymon, Eventide Source Audio etc. (I didn’t hear anything in that last Boss video which would have me get one or sell my Stomp but I like the amp and cab sims for home use, they’re effective and appealing tone shapers in and of themselves and they make IEM more fun and ‘authentic’ for me and my band mates live and put out a FOH sound- I should add I love my amps and I love playing through them. Using the stomp amp/cab sims into my amps is fun too)! Whether a company’s thing is emulation of classic effects or just offering all varieties of an effect type you’re basically getting the same thing. There’s only so many types of effects and each unit will cover most of those irrespective of how they name it or what unit they say it’s based on. AK applauded stomp fans for defending their unit as now there’s competition but the boss unit has been about in one guise for a few years and pretty much passed under most folks radar. As for more blocks on the stomp it’s unlikely as it’ll be limited due to the processing power which I think has been a well discussed by now. The stomp was always a smaller, stripped down unit to integrate into a bigger board or offer a compact unit to cover gigging needs. I’d imagine most stomp users work within the limitations of the unit quite successfully and I don’t think the core would appeal to many of them as the amp/cabs are a big part of the appeal? I could be wrong but once the initial gas wears off what one is left with on the Boss units is a guitar multifx with a few patches for bassists...who might well be chuffed that Boss have thrown them a bone two years down the line.

A quick poll of bc asking if anyone has had a bit of gear die in recent decades should cover it 😀

Don’t think it’ll do the desired low gain drive/dirt

Yeah the link was dead for me too even from a few different sources. Guitar player (or was it guitar world magazine) might still have it rather than the bass emporium link. Strings can be an expensive road to go down too but it’s worth trying a few different sets. Dunlop’s are less expensive and Marcus Miller jumped ship from DR to Dunlop so his set might be a good starting point for a zingy alternative!

Strings are the way to go. Lo Riders might not give you the zing maybe sunbeams or hibeans if you’re going with DR. Ed Friesland has a great written review of DR string side by side comparison from years ago. Worth searching for? I think Lo Riders are meant to be warmer and not have the zing of the ‘beams’