gobasserk

Sandbeg is offering a line of 3kg basses ! https://www.sandberg-guitars.de/california-sl-tm-superlight/

That's right, I think I remember 3,9kg.

Well, it is not half the waight but even the smaller body does it's work. I can tell better tomorrow...

It is a Fender colour - it's a creamy yellow 😁 I think Fender calls it Yellowhite

Now that the 1000MA's are ready and set in the band this guy is left kind of unemployed. It is a 424 with matching headstock by the way.

In my opinion the 1000MA is a very overlooked and underrated bass. It is a bit lighter than all the 414/424 basses, it features a better bridge and I like reverse pickup configuration. The red inlays are a matter of taste but the overall body shaping looks so great... a very handy bass with a really good tone. I love them.

A passive 3000 is not easy to find and not cheap.

Everything original except paint job and string tree. The org. string tree looked like if it was made of a can of Coca Cola.

This is the first of several BB1000MA's I have owned. After 20+ years of this bass being my favourite tool for live and studio work, I decided to give it a makeover. During the time the bass was at the painter, I became very friendly with another 1000MA. But when I took this bass out of its bag yesterday, I immediately knew what I was holding in my hand again. This neck, this specific weight, which my arm immediately recognised... For me and what I do, this is the best bass in the world. And by God, I've had so many more expensive axes, but this is the bass of my life. The new paintwork should still be dark on the one hand, but on the other it should catch the odd spotlight on stage. I tell you, little sparks fly in the sunlight.. 🤩

As mentioned before, my black 1000MA had to go through some weird times... 😛

Beautiful bass !!!! 😍 I think the black 1000MA is going to get a silver sparkle finish this year. This is my first 1000MA and it had to go through so many amateur-ish optical operations in the last 20 years.. 😱 Foils, stickers, gold harware (including the transformation of the pu rings to gold) Maybe I can find some pics of the most cruel things done to this piece of wood somewhere 😉

I think (but don't know) everything new was done to make it even more attractive to Fender orientated bass payers. The downsizing, the std size pus, the body without pu rings. In my opinion, you'll get the best Fender tone when playing a Fender. It's so simple 🙂 The new line does not amaze me that much. Played an incredible BBP35 at Guitar Summit two years ago, no 4 string could match that sadly. I started with a 300 back in the 80s. Went up from 1600 to 3000 then came the Hifi years with active basses. When the BB series started new with the 414 I fell in love again with the series. My main bass is 1000MA for nearly 25 years now (this bass even smashed my 3000MA) and last year I found some 424s in mint condition that are just wonderfull. I remember putting a pu ring on a beautiful 300 in candy apple red, I should have kept that (heavy) bass 🙂

First of all, I don't want to get into a personal dispute, I just expressed my opinion. What I wanted to say fits the topic of what's new in BBs. With today's technology, an inlay doesn't cost a fortune to mass produce. And it would have been nice ( and even nicer than before when Yamaha used to do so ) and an incentive to buy. That's all. Let's not forget that I still love and play BBs! Well, the older ones 🙂

It is not ire 🙂 More disappointment. To do some inlays with todays technology is not an issue of a hundred Dollars.

I like the older shape better than the new one and most important... the new line lacks the presence of the pick up rings! THE symbol of the BB line. Gone. Like a Mercedes without a star 😉 Maybe to appear more Fender-ish. How easy the construction of some new pu rings (fitting std size pus) would have been. To just leave them out was easier and cheaper. To leave out the iconic fretmarks on the cheaper models... just sad. The new line has one positive effect- customers of a new BB are selling their old ones. Well, it is what it is. Edit: Concerning colours - just buy a second hand BB and choose a colour you want and refinish it. You'll get your dream bass with a totally mint appearance. No reason to wait for new catalogue colors - including a fitting headstock finish (!).