simisker

Oddly enough, I had the opposite thought, as a life-long shunner of FSOs: "Well, if I HAVE to have a Precision in my collection, it's going to damn well say 'Fender' on it". So I bought a new licensed Fender neck and had a bass built around it [it was the only way to get a P bass with my preferred spec/visuals].

Seeing as this thread's become active again, I'd like to know what people's opinions are on this, as I'm in a similar boat.

Yup: a patch bay is one of those things that is a luxury until the first time you use one, at which point it becomes indispensable. If nothing else, your knees will thank you

I recently bought an FX unit from @Rosie C and it was a perfect hassle-free transaction. Excellent comms with rapid responses, the FX unit was exactly as described - in mint condition, boxed - and very well packaged. Wholeheartedly recommended. Thanks, Rosie!

I'm pretty confident it IS a Tune; something based on the TWB line, by the looks of it. That tapered headstock with an elliptical logo; the slender wide-set horns [very elegant, IMO], and that rear strap-button 'hook' area of the body, like a reverse Dingwall shape. In fact, here you go: https://reverb.com/item/51095896-tune-japan-phoenix-twxt-8-qm-tremoro-pink Edit 1: Phwoarr! Edit 2: "Tremoro"?!? 😄

The newer generations of bass players are keen on their downtuning. Other than going all in with radical fanned frets, I think a 35-inch scale is a shrewd decision in today's environment.

Do you use IEMs? What about an audio cue solution, rather than a visual one?

Oof - absolutely glorious! 😍 The black neck works a treat, as does the mirror-finish gloss on the body. Enjoy!

Ah, right. That'll help, then

I wouldn't raise your hopes up. It looks like they're pitching the Stadiums [Stadia!] at a price level above their HX equivalents. Rather than making the HXs undesirably obsolete, I think it'll just reinforce a market for something which offers 90% of the experience for 33-50% of the price. I think we'll only see a real change once the Stadium Stomps come out, if those were to be aggressively priced for the larger market. Note: this is my uninformed ad-hoc reckon. I am not John Maynard Keynes.

Oh, I can tell you that now: the new amp modelling will be indistinguishable from the HX's amp modelling in a blind AB test.

..

I had something more like this in mind, if I'm honest! [hat tip to the Maruszczyk 'Phoenix' configurator 👍]

Oh god... surely, SURELY someone must have done this to a collection of Thunderbirds! 🤞 EDIT: "4" would have to be a uke bass or an Ashbory or something, obviously 😁

Maybe you'll find something to your liking in one of the excellent Fat Bass Tone demos: https://www.youtube.com/@FatBassTone/videos Just check out any of the ones featuring the blue Ibanez SR. Also, the usual follow-up for anyone asking about MK1 replacements: in MK1-equipped basses, it's usually the preamp that's the weak link, not the pickups. See this recent Space 5 owner's post on Talkbass: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/cort-artisan-space-5-my-experience-one-year-later.1670985/