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FS Yamaha BB1200 & OHSC **SOLD PENDING THE USUAL**
£500

Beedster

By Beedster,
in Basses For Sale

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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Took me 20 years to realise that Yamaha, not Fender, make the definitive Precision, and this is a great example from circa 1977! Anyway, I've been going around in circles as to whether this or my 2024 gets culled and much as I love this, for various reasons, it's probably lost the fight with its more recent and more expensive relative. Original pickguard included but not currently installed.


[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2709_zps89a8d2a2.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2710_zps069130c7.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2711_zps41381434.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2715_zps8517c1c9.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2714_zpsfb3f8cf8.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2713_zpsfe5dd4fb.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2718_zpse1cf7845.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2719_zpsf50bb0ba.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2712_zps19429bb8.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2720_zpsbf50695e.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2721_zps079aca88.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2722_zpsc2e57839.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2723_zpsabd45962.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2724_zpse6ba4f92.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2725_zps61d9556e.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2726_zpsc6b721c3.jpg.html"][/url]

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[url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_2729_zps57f5cdce.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited by Beedster
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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1405021969' post='2498073']
My one is from 1977 too! (but doesn't have the BB1200 on the headstock yet) :) great basses - not a clue why you would sell it!
[/quote]

Great bass for sure, competes well with the 2024 but I think the J-PUP on the latter makes it a slightly better all round option. I may keep both if this doesn't attract any attention!

Edited by Beedster
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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1405061916' post='2498343']
2 cracking Yamahas you have mate. I'd find it difficult to choose between them myself!
[/quote]

That's where I'm at also. The 2024 is a real Swiss Army Knife of an instrument with an extraordinary range of tones, especially given it's passive. The 1200 is more straight forward, simply a superbly well built, responsive, elegant and powerful Precision Bass. Don't get me wrong, the 2024 is similarly superbly well built, responsive, elegant and powerful, but at well over £2k retail it should be. The 1200 is far more of a wolf in sheep's clothing in this respect. What I really like about them both is that neither looks anything special, but both are superb professional quality instruments that belie their apparently humble aesthetics and origins. I'm tempted to keep both but I simply don't think I need to, it would be like owning two Pre-CBS Precisions, just unnecessary :)

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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And BTW, think yourself lucky that you can pickup a high quality YOB bass for £500, my realistic YOB options are limited to Fender and Gibson (seen any '64 Rics around...?), and despite the mythology, most basses I've played from that year have been absolute dogs, with the exception of my 64 Precision which came with something of a price tag attached :rolleyes:

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Bigwan Veteran

Bigwan

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I can imagine - a friend has had a refin'd '64 p bass. He's owned it since 68. It's just about the best thing I've ever layed hands on...

Really like the 1200, but I think your 2024 is sex on a stick. It'd probably be my choice of the 2 if I had the beer coupons available...

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1405067916' post='2498423']
Really like the 1200, but I think your 2024 is sex on a stick. It'd probably be my choice of the 2 if I had the beer coupons available...
[/quote]

My thoughts exactly, but these will no doubt change!

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Dingus Experienced

Dingus

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1405064250' post='2498370']
What I really like about them both is that neither looks anything special, but both are superb professional quality instruments that belie their apparently humble aesthetics and origins. I'm tempted to keep both but I simply don't think I need to, it would be like owning two Pre-CBS Precisions, just unnecessary :)
[/quote]

I totally agree with your assessment of Japanese-made Yamaha basses Chris, except I would take exception with the description of them of being of humble origins. Loads of top pro players have gravitated towards these basses right from when they came out, and they have featured on loads of recordings, especially after they became a popular choice with the L.A - based session players like Abraham Laboriel, Larry Klein and Nathan East from the late 1970'S onward :)

These first run of BB basses were very much high-end prestige instruments , and were very quickly recognized as such and adopted by the very best high - profile players of the day . Here is Paul McCartney playing his ( listen with headphones and you can hear what a great tone he gets) :

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gVQImhWP0[/media]

Paul Jackson with Herbie Hancock:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGHbNs5ykH0[/media]

Lee Sklar with James Taylor. Lee played this same bass on the studio version too, which features the bass very high in the mix if you want to check out what these basses are capable of sounding like in the right hands. :

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77G9VZSm5ZA[/media]

All playing exactly the same bass as you have for sale here.

These early examples from the first run of BB's are sought out by some Yamaha aficionados because Yamaha pulled out all the stops to see that the BB's were well-received and went to great lengths to see that they were crafted meticulously . The fact that these basses are so durable is testament to the superlative quality of their construction ( compare them to a well- used Fender from the same era and you will probably start to see what I mean) , and you can even see from the quality of the fitted hard case, this is a class act.

I am well familiar with the BB1200 as a drummer friend of mine from back in my younger days had one to use in his home studio and I used to play it regularly. I was always knocked out by the sheer depth of the tone and easy playability, despite having a slightly beefier neck than the bass I was using at that time. The tone has ( not surprisingly) got all the midrange grit and grind of a good P Bass, but the Yamaha has a much more extended bandwidth at either end of the frequency spectrum, i.e the bottom end goes much deeper than a Fender, and the treble is far more extended, too. I'm sure the neck-thru-body construction must contribute a great deal to that sound.

As I have occasionally been moved to comment before when top quality Japanese-made basses from this era come up for sale at incredibly reasonable prices, this is a chance for someone to pick up a very serious instrument for silly ( silly cheap, that is) money , especially compared to a lot of the ridiculously-priced tat from the mid- to -late '70's that a lot of folks are trying to pass off as "vintage". This is a bass that actually works properly , and will probably stay working that way for a long time yet. GLWTS.

Edited by Dingus
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jezzaboy Veteran

jezzaboy

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Got to agree with the comments above. I recently bought a 86 BB1100s from a good chap on here, and it has a lovely P bass tone. If you are looking for a 70`s P bass on a budget, look no further.

The Jap Yamaha`s are the real deal and great bang for buck. I wish I had sussed this years ago and saved myself ££££.

Edited by jezzaboy
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Dingus Experienced

Dingus

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Seeing as a picture paints a thousand words , check out this chap's videos on YT, featuring some excellent playing on a 1977 BB1200 exactly the same as this one for sale here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKCMvie0v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVjvT938gvM

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tredders Experienced

tredders

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I keep getting drawn back to this... I owned a BB1100s a while back and it was a great bass. Everything I read about the BB1200 tells me that this would a fantastic instrument, and that tone in the last 2 YouTube videos is just awesome...

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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Many thanks for the links above Dingus. The tone on 'It's Your Thing' is pretty much what I've been using live, tone rolled of a little on the bass going into a Phil Jones rig EQ'd flat, and it is quite simply effortless to-die-for P-Bass tone, full, fat, slightly growly and consistent. Macca's tone is great on some of those tracks also isn't it, always love hid effortless lines. I totally agree with all you've said above, Yamaha Basses have been perhaps the biggest shock I've had in gear terms, I always expected them to be a little sterile and uninspiring, which of course couldn't be farther from the truth. I can't see myself ever going back to a Fender now, unless it's an absolute gem, and of course the problem is that the search for the gem amongst the dogs is both expensive and time consuming (I've played some real dogs made by Fender - even at the very top of their price range and/or in what are supposed to be the classic runs, i.e., 60s/early 70s - whilst I've yet to find one amongst the Yamaha range, even the relatively cheap end).

Re weight, I don't have scales here but I'd say it's moderate, certainly not heavy but neither do I pick it up and think "damn, this is light". No trades thanks, and I'd prefer collection or meet-up as a few recent courier incidents have put me off that route. My BB2024 has just gone in for a long overdue warranty repair (something that I do find odd about Yamaha is that they appear to have a reputation for dodgy PUP selector switches), so I won't be able to move this on until I get that back, hopefully late this week/early next.

And if you think the tone on the BB1200 is good, wait 'til you hear the BB2024 :)

Chris

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1405248029' post='2499997']
I keep getting drawn back to this... I owned a BB1100s a while back and it was a great bass. Everything I read about the BB1200 tells me that this would a fantastic instrument, and that tone in the last 2 YouTube videos is just awesome...
[/quote]

Hi Mark, I'd say that the tone in those two clips, especially the first, is the out-of-the-box tone on the 1200, it's that good a bass.

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LukeFRC Grand Master

LukeFRC

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I picked up a bb1200 from 77 recently by accident, bid on eBay never expected to win. Well I did and not expecting to keep it... Can I just say I think beedster is mad to sell this. Really mad - a new £2000 fender doesn't come close to mine, I can only imagine how good the 2024 is, but mad!

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BB2000 Collaborator

BB2000

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1405175464' post='2499424']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKCMvie0v0[/media]
[/quote]

It's your thing is a great song - Ernie was only 16 when he recorded that bassline!

Just shows what you can do with 3 frets and a shitload of talent.

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LukeFRC Grand Master

LukeFRC

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1405175464' post='2499424']
Seeing as a picture paints a thousand words , check out this chap's videos on YT, featuring some excellent playing on a 1977 BB1200 exactly the same as this one for sale here:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKCMvie0v0[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVjvT938gvM[/media]
[/quote] utterly OT but when did they start adding "BB1200" to the headstock?

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pete.young Veteran

pete.young

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[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1405442153' post='2501940']
utterly OT but when did they start adding "BB1200" to the headstock?
[/quote]
From what I can tell based on researching my BB800, I think it would have been late 78 / early 1979 - I've seen pictures of plain headstocks on 78s and labelled headstocks on 79 basses.

I'd love to hear how this compares to my (bolt-on) BB800 from the same period.

Edited by pete.young
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