Thanks for the replies. I may well try some GHS strings then, although I might go for the roto Billy Sheehan set again as I like the light top and heavy bottom (I put my hipshot on there after I bought it and the 110 E-string work well with this device).
Wrong place for a bass review, but here goes:
My main bass is a warwick thumb BO 5 string. My band is starting to do a lot of long function gigs lately and it is a rather heavy bass to carry for 3 hours, not to mention neck heavy. So I was after something lightweight for these so chop and change with for long stints, plus something a bit cheaper for the half hour set rock fest/fun day type affairs that would be busy and perhaps risk of something getting damaged or worse nicked. My gear is all insured but that's not a license for people to rob me!
I picked up a cheap Olp TB4, based on a Traben last year. It felt nice, balanced really well and was incredibly light, perhaps too light. Even after upgrading the pickups it still didn't have the 'balls' I wanted, well, compared to a thumb! It also took far too much work to get it truly playable than I felt necessary.
I had heard about the Yamaha earlier this year when it was announced on Harmony Central and was very intrigued, although the initial expected price tag was over what I would want to pay for a spare bass. I had seen and played the guitar version a couple of years ago and the London Guitar Show and was equally impressed.
I saw the bass in my local music shop for a realistic and surprising price, so gave it a whirl. Very impressed by the weight, balanced well on a strap, felt nice although the action was a little high for my tastes. Frets were even and well finished (unlike the OLP), hardware is solid, maybe not top notch but good enough. Yamaha so I've been told cost cut on the easily replaceable part to bring down the cost to the consumer. I'd rather that that shoddy workmanship on the woodwork. Vol and tone pots are smooth and graduated through entire rotation, unlike many cheap basses. The single coil pickups are blade design which I like for string bending and radiuses to match the neck and strings which is a nice touch. Tone wise it's quite versatile, with the tone rolled off it's quite uprighty, every thing wound up it sounds almost active, so there's a lot of other tones in-between. The led's around the volume pots maybe a little gimmicky, but I can see them being useful on a darkened stage. I p/xd my olp for £100 and paid about £250 and walked out the shop with it.
I played it in rehearsal today though my Markbass LMII head though the rehearsal studio's TE 15" cab and was impressed. I had to severely tweak the amp's eq though, but that might be more fault of the cab than the bass (single 15" cone, no horn and on castors), but even so, it felt responsive, lively and cut through very well. I did quickly A-B it last night with my Thumb through my Pandora and it compares favorably. It sounds a bit smoother and less 'woody' than the warwick, but that's only too be expected. I feel confident that I could play a long gig with this one which I couldn't bring my self to do with the OLP.
I have a gig coming soon where I might use it wholly instead of the warwick when I'll also get to run it through my Markbass 1x12" cab which I'm more familiar with. Unfortunately the cab lives at my drummers house and I only get to play with it at gigs.
If you've thought about a lightweight bass I highly recommend trying one out. I would recommend playing it through your own amp if possible so you have a clearer frame of reference. Some people may not like the ipod aesthetics, but I don't mind. Although I find it suits the bass than the guitar version. I think us bassists are more open to modern looks and technology than our six string brethren.
