GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome (Part 1)

@wellbi, not sure about EU, but over here there seems to be a load of Fender jazz bass bodies with Warmouth P necks to be had on reverb as well. Seems like a popular thing to do.

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I really LOVE the look of the Frank Bello bass from the side like that. I have not seen great pictures of them before, only catalog pictures, and never seen on in person. I really like how that edge is crowned, it looks so nice and sleek, just elegant with the matte black.

That does it Joe, you need to shoot that dog, and get another one.

You are looking for a J bass, with a P neck?
So by Jazz bass do you mean Offset body like a Fender Jazz bass?
Or
Do you mean Jazz pick ups, two single coil passive pick ups?

And by P neck you mean a 1.625 Nut width with a C profile or Modern C profile?

It is harder to specify P necks than Jazz necks. as P’s change so drastically, nut width all the way from 1.625" thru 1.75" at the nut. And C and modern C profiles, and others probably

What you Sire has is a Jazz neck, being 1.5" at the nut. sounds like that is what you want to get away from, you want a larger / wider neck.

sounds like your Squire is a Modified P bass, meaning a P bass body, with P/J pick ups, with a P neck, and probably 1.625" at the nut.

So do you want another P/J on a P bass body, or do you want a full blown J/J on a Jazz body, but with a P neck. That is the harder one to find. I am sure they are out there, but might not be from as well known brand.

Those two G&L that were linked above defiantly have J necks, they are 1.5" at the nut.

This G&L however, is like a P bass body shape, or similar to a music man stingray body, but it has pickups set around where a Jazz pick up bridge pick up is set, and the other one is about where a P bass pick up is, almost a Jazz bass pick up too.
These pick ups have many options, and you can bank the two single coils nearest the bridge and neck, and get jazz like set up. You can go full on hum bucker in both positions, or you can do a single bridge hum bucker in the P position, or the single hum bucker in the bridge position (like a stingray), and you may even be able to get a split coil P out of the bridge pick up for a straight P bass sound. These G&L pickups are awesome, and the pre-amps are killer as well, to allow for a very versatile bass.
AND
This one has a real P neck on it, 1.75 at the nut.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/L2KTBOW--g-and-l-tribute-l-2000-electric-bass-olympic-white

Now, if you want a Jazz looking bass, then this is not for you, but if you want a bass that looks like P bass with versatile pickups, then this might be fore you.

Actually, the Frank Bello might be JUST WHAT YOU WANT. It looks like a Jazz bass body, has P/J pick ups and is gorgeous.
And best yet, it has a 1.65 nut width. This might be right up your alley if you can fit it in the budget. Or if you can get a used one.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LFBJ400BLKS--esp-ltd-frank-bello-fbj-400-black-satin

AND

The Yamaha BB234 and BB434 are in. your price range and have a 1.575" neck, a P/J pick up config on a P bass body too. still not as big as a P neck, but it is a little meatier than a J neck.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BB234VW--yamaha-bb234-vintage-white

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BB434TBS--yamaha-bb434-tobacco-brown-sunburst

If you truly want a Jazz bass, with the offset body and the knobs in a row, BUT
With the fatter neck, then we need to keep searching. (unless you like the Frank Bello, cuz that has those two things going for it)

That said, Stingrays and Ray34’s are 1.6875 nut width.

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I am going for a standard J bass offset body, with a passive j j setup and a wider neck at least like on my Squier Affinity PJ.

ESP LTD Frank Bello FBJ-400 … but this one looks like someting I would really can live with … thanks T_dub … I iwll check everything out.

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Eric,
I finished setting up the new bass and it plays much better. I’m used to a low action and it feels much better now. There is nothing unusual about the bridge, it has one screw for the saddle height and one for the intonation.

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After a bit of research … I will wait for my next paycheck and pick some G&L or that sweet ESP. When I am thinking about it I will probably take a look on some 18V amped models. Preferably with switch instead of a knob. 2 weeks till payday is enough time for the research.

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Something for the Zoom fans perhaps?

Seems a tad pricy compared to the rest of their range though.

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Aw man. I was really excited when I saw this. Then I saw the price… $650!

You get a lot but it’s such a heavy outlay of cash all at one time.

Some weird decisions on this.

  • Micro USB instead of USB C
  • Only one out for amp/line/headphones
  • The Zoom website says it’s a 2 in/2 out DAI but the two outs are the amp/line/headphone jack and the DI connection.
  • Bluetooth seems to just be for unit control. Not for use as an input. (It does say you can use any Bluetooth adapter, it doesn’t have to be the Zoom BTA-1.)
  • Great looking upgrade for the screen but it’s designed for remote configuration. So I’m not sure how much this really matters.

It looks great, seems really well laid out, and the accessibility additions are a nice touch but that has more to do with the app than with the unit itself.

I know I’m being really nit picky with this. I’ve been waiting a long time to see what their next bass multi effects unit would be and I guess I’m just a bit disappointed with what they put together and the price tag they gave it compared to the more budget friendly units they’ve been putting out.

I was really hoping for an updated, more versatile, more user friendly B1Four or B3n.

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The “2 outs” in a DAI might also refer to the number of tracks it outputs over USB, not the audio outs. All mixers with audio interfaces often use that meaning.

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Also - yeah this is a bummer. They need to stop thinking of these as pedalboard devices - lots of people use them as studio units.

I’m just confused why they didn’t make a bass version of the G7, since the G7 has been a thing for a while. That’s all anyone wanted.

Yeah - just no. I’ll take the HX Stomp and Helix Native for the same price.

Sorry Zoom, you’re great but this one is a pass.

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I seem to remember someone saying you could load everything from the B3n/B1Four onto the G7 and use it for bass. Can anyone confirm this?

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Yeah, it seems they sort of went the Line 6 Helix or Boss type multi FX units, instead of sticking to their own sort of platform that was kind of part of their charm.
Price is consistent with those other units go for, staying on the lower end of them too, but still, you really have to commit to get this one, and know its what you want and will keep, and will be. your one and only thing.

To me its the same as VST plug in’s and working everything in a DAW. I like the physical pedals and pedal chains and tweaking around. This is closer to physical pedals than playing everything in the DAW, BUT the price tag does not make it nicer.

That said, I have probably $1500 on my pedalboard (If I paid full or new price for everything) plus the pedal board itself which was probably around $300 (that I got 2nd hand from a pawn shop for $45), so just cuz the unit is quite pricey, in reality, if you can get everything you want out of it, sound and connection wise, then it will actually cost the same or less then even many modest (Non Budget or Clone rip off lines) pedalboards you can put together.
A Pedalboard for about 5 pedals, ($50-$75) power supply($50-$100), a good Tuner ($100-$150), good Compressor ($100-$200), a Good OD / DI ($150-$400), a Chorus ($75 plus), Reverb ($100 plus)
$625 to $1100 for a board, power and 5 pedals, and only if you get an expensive pre-amp / OD / di will you have limited IR or Cab Sims
It would look like
Cheaper example
standard single tier pedalboard with a budget power supply, a PolyTune, a DynaComp, VT Bass, Small Bass Clone, HOF Mini.
Would be a great board that is very versatile, but would run over $650

expensive example
Dual tier pedal board - 5 output power brick -Boss Tuner - Keely Bassist Comp - Dark Glass AO Ultra - EHX Small Bass Clone - MXR Reverb
Another great pedalboard, with cab sims loadable on the DG AOU, but over $1100

No Octaver, no envelope filter, no wha or expression pedal, no more then what is there. Of course you can pick and choose what to ad over time, but that is more money you are throwing at it, and you can always add a pedal that strikes your fancy to this multi FX unit also, if you are gonna spend more money.

I can’t say that this is the unit for me, or if any on the market are for me, but if I were to be a gigging bassist, I think I would appreciate hauling around a unit like this then all my pedals, but that said, I still like my pedals.

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Yeah, that too

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I don’t know who they are going for here as a consumer. I would think a professional would want the quality of the HX for the same price Vs zoom. And a hobbyist spending that cash would do the same IMO. They should have either under cut price or added zillions of things the HX isn’t (which isn’t much).

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I just watched some of their marketing videos. For the same money as a HX Stomp it seems a bit of stretch. Considering how awesome the Helix is.

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Yeah, you really have to be a BRAND LOYALIST or a Zoom Artist to go for this at the same price point as other proven options on the market.
Or
Just have $650 left in the budget that must be spent, otherwise you get a smaller budget next quarter.

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So is the $650 tag the list price, or street?

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Looks like $499 US

Zoom B6 manual

https://zoomcorp.com/en/gb/multi-effects/bass-effects/b6/b6-support/

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The G6 looks like the same thing for Guitar, but its been out a while, comes with the same software, and cost $399?? Just saying, its not like they made new case our parts, so they are not adding expense, beyond to making the Bass 6 overall.
I think they would do themselves a whole lot better if they stayed at or below $400 with the B6

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This. :arrow_up:

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Yeah this was my impression.
I’d pay a little extra as bass is a smaller market than guitar and it’s a new product. But not the upcharge listed in the article.

Will be interesting to see what they actually retail for when they hit the shelves.

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