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Yamaha BB 2005 - Quick Review I'm loving the Yamaha BB 2005 I picked up a couple of days back – turned out to be a very cheeky wedding anniversary present! It’s a June 2004 build and now has pride of place as the oldest bass in my herd. I’ve previously been tempted to get one on the relatively rare occasions that they have come up for sale but couldn’t really justify it when I had my NE2. If someone said to me that I could have 85% of a BB NE2 for 30% of the cost I would have probably laughed at them. But this bass is it and to find one in such good condition for such a good price and from such a great seller (thanks Rich!) saw me snapping it up on the day it was listed - super happy that I did! I gave it a decent work out through my BF BB2 / Bugera 1001M rig at band rehearsal last night and it sounded great. The bridge J pup adds to the grit of the Bugera amp and cuts through well; I'm tempted to describe the tone it delivers as "woody" but that probably means completely different things to different bass players! But it’s the neck pup where it really shone for me: a rich, warm, punchy tone that sat very well in the mix. The solo’d P pup on my 1025 is great at home but can sometimes struggle to cut through in a band mix and I typically then switch to PJ or solo J on the 1025; the J on the 2005 is more like the 1025’s P on steroids - really loved it! Like the NE2 it has a similarly powerful low end - definitely don’t need to boost the bass EQ! The treble EQ on the 2005 has a decent range and like the BB 604/5 and BB NE2, the sister basses in its range, it sports the variable NE mid cut. My 2005 weighed in at a fraction under 10 lbs, which is pretty much at the top of end of my herd these days, but it balances beautifully with no neck dive whatsoever which is outstanding for a 5 string bass in my experience and meant that “wearing it” for a couple of hours was unexpectedly comfortable. The Yamaha BB JJ range Must admit I’ve not previously looked in any detail at the full range of BB’s that comprise the Yamaha BB “JJ range”, headed up by the BB NE2, partly because the NE2 is the only one of the series still in production. They seem to have a similarity of thinking to the purely passive 424/5, 1024/5 and 2024/5 PJ range, with the purely active 604/5, 2005 and NE2 being the broadly equivalent basses. The budget 604/5 have a bolt on neck whereas the 2005 and NE2 are neck-through (plus other refinements as we move up the range). Just to keep us on our toes the BB 2004 is not JJ but the much sought after reverse-P/J config! With its reverse PJ, neck-through, NE2 shape and 24 frets, it looks great - particularly in white 🙂 - and ticks a lot of boxes for me. If I was still regularly playing 4 strings I’d certainly now be very tempted to get a BB 2004 too! For those of you who have never quite got comfortable with the more traditional Yamaha BB shape, but always wanted to try a Yamaha bass, this could be just the ticket...just need to find one!

I'd imagine Barefaced are quaking in their boots!

Time to panic buy.

I posted on the Amps & Cabs section to see if anyone could recommend a small speaker cab for use when staying away from home that would partner the Hotone Nano Bass amp. There were lots of useful suggestions, but nothing that quite matched what I was after. I love the PJB stuff, but and that would probably be perfect for the job, but I didn't want to spend any money on bass gear this year. With this in mind, I decided to spend money building my own travelling cab to my own spec.! What I was after is a small, not loud speaker cab for quiet practice that I could take with me when I wasn't at home. To be powered by something like the Hotone Nano or Vox Amplug, making it portable was important. I would usually just practice with headphones & a preamp, but the baby likes me to play along to songs for him ('Reach' S Club 7, 'Go Your Own Way' Fleetwood Mac, and 'Rockabye' Clean Bandit are particular favourites! 🤣). Last month when we stayed in a holiday cottage, and I used my Vox Amplug & the Blackstar Fly 3 extension cab that I'd modified to take a 1/4" Jack plug. The sound was okay, all things considered, but I wanted something less 'plasticcy'. The idea for the Teeny Tiny Bass Cab V.01 was forming. I had a couple of 3" 15W 4Ω FR hifi speakers lying around, and so decided to build my cab around those. Not being able to do the calcs for speaker internal volume and port requirements, I had the brainwave to scale down the dimensions of my Trace Elliot 2103H cab: 2x 10" speakers down to 2x 3" speakers = divide TE dimensions by 3.333333333333333333333 rec. Sometimes my genius astounds even me! I drew up my design & went shopping.

I could use my Focusrite thingy & mic... Just need a time when the howling, and farting and burbling have stopped. That's Mrs Teebs, not The Baby.

Barefaced don't wear boots. Barefaced wear sandals. With socks 🧦.

You could be right 😁

Does he? Does he really? Or are you just inflicting this on him? Cruel I call it*. Psychological torture. Banned by most civilised nations, that is. Put him in a little orange romper suit and you’ve got the Manchester version of Guantanamo Bay. Poor little tyke. *Not really. I think this is insufferably cute but where’s the fun in telling you that? I do think you’re at risk of putting him off the bass for life, though. Unless your plan is for him to lie there thinking “F_ck sake, Dad, stop murdering Reach, will ya? Pass it here amd let me show you….” Oh, and shouldn’t this be Tiny Teebs’s Teeny Tiny Bass Cab?

You're not wrong. I'm down to my last spare set. What am I supposed to do in another five years when I put those on?

Progress... * please note, the I am not a joiner, nor am I patient man. Engineers please look away.

Update on the sound: with the back panel & flip lid in place, and the bass frequency comes out, so now sounds much more bassy. Win for Teebs!

Cosmetic haddition...

Thanks to the people who vote even though not entering a song!

So a man who owes a good deal of his business success to Wood Woo-woo writes an article espousing Wood Woo-woo? Well, that's convincing. Sequere Pecuniam...

With thanks to @jezzaboy @Velarian @oldslapper @NHM @casapete @steve-bbb @Nicko Thanks to all your donations I have 2 all ready to be wired up and fitted with the strings. I can’t do this without you so a huge thanks from me and all the kids who benefit. Jon

Bit more progress this morning - amp head flip lid done.

Mace of Bass.

Erm... We shall see...

Newcastle last night - absolutely amazing. To be fair, I'd been following reports of the previous dates so I was prepared for Phil's voice. And I knew what the setlist was going to be, so I'd got over the disappointment of that. It turns out Phil's voice was - whilst still a shadow of its former self - far, far stronger than it was even a couple of shows ago. I was pleasantly surprised. There was only one song he had a sustained battle with, but it's not really one they can drop. He's relaxed and clearly enjoying himself, as are the band (presumably even Tony, but you'd never know). Nic Collins is dynamite. We had crap seats but the sound was amazing, especially for a Quality Street tin box like the Arena. The production was incredible (although we didn't get the full lighting setup last night - not enough room). If you're a fan, but you're not going because you want to remember them how they were... I strongly urge you to reconsider. The last domino? I actually have a feeling it might not be.

Next steps... And now the wait for speaker mesh, panel pins and bits begins. It sounds okay with the HotOne amp, but not much bottom end. It'll maybe be better when the 'lid' is on. Possibly get some better speakers if I reckon its worth it. Jobs remaining: 1 - make 'lid' & cover in vinyl; 2 - make speaker grille frame; 3 - finish corners; 4 - mount HotOne on lid; 5 - work out lid opening device!

The workshop area has been occupied lately with guitars being built or repaired, and other luthier nonsense, but we have a private concert to play this Saturday, so it's high time to turn this flat-pack into a combo. I've all the components ready and waiting (all except small screws for the corner protectors, but they should arrive Saturday morning, with any luck, and can be fitted later, anyway...). Here's some snaps of the last couple of days. First, the 'cube' gets clamped up, after having routed out the handle spaces ... The speaker baffle is used to check the installation of the shelf for the amp at the right height... 'Measure twice, cut once'; an excellent maxime... Nearly there; this is the 'port' being glued in. Not much space for the clamps..! The handles have been fitted, too, and the edges routed round, ready for the corner protectors.... Tomorrow should see the shelf fitted and the baffle glued in. It only then needs the back screwed on to make it functional, once we've passed the cable through to the amp, which will be bolted to the shelf. All that remains is to allow the glue to cure a little before testing. I may have time to paint it (well, a first coat, maybe...). If the corner screws arrive, it'll be complete, just in time..! Fingers crossed, then...

And the winner is... @Doctor J ..! Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... BC_Chal_Cert_2021_09.pdf ... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)...

Cheltenham Hall last night. Fantastic venue although not the easiest for sound. It was a long day there and back from Yorkshire, but worth it!

Just listed this - it’s lush, but I’m being sensible and the 350 covers the same ground. And as the 350 is sidelined because of the 1600…it seems futile to hang onto it.

Sorry to hear that. Best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery. How about some Jam songs?

We talking about the Teebling again?

I just looked on joinmyband and the first three bands to come up in my area looking for a bassist are Busted tribute, Nickelback tribute and Coldplay tribute. Unacceptable

https://hackaday.com/2017/05/08/a-queen-mystery-the-legend-of-the-deacy-amp/?fbclid=IwAR1m4Ik_uQrQTEbcBV4mMnosn5dEfSf36xcpVA2LZCYJX3bzNJpCwjTMdgg

F***ing edit button!

I know we’ve exchanged PMs but I would just like to say publicly what a brilliant thing it is you’re doing and I’m pleased to be able to contribute to your cause in some small way. The kids that receive the instruments will be enriched by the experience and some may even go on to bigger and better things as a result. Keep up the good work 👏🏼

A bit light on bass frequency at the mo, but some acoustic wadding might improve matters, as might some better speakers. However, it's pleasingly noisy for it's size & is definitely passable for home practice. 👍🏻

Looking good. It reminds me of when I made a pair of satellite speakers for an early HiFi system using Kef B110s and T27s. Mine were made from solid mahogany as per the HiFi News specsheet. (They later changed it to 5mm ply at around a quarter of the cost of the mahogany - but not before I'd built the speakers! ). Being a HiFi system the cabinets had lots of internal damping using a sort of bitumen/sand mix on the internal panels, and they were stuffed with a heavy black wool. I forget the names of those elements, but DIY HiFi buffs will no doubt know them. Dunno if damping will be of any use on your cab...? Had them for years, along with a home-built sub of my own design (). It was the size of a coffee table, and in retrospect should probably have had a bit more thought put into its design.

Labella every time for me, 760N are on the Jabba Fretless, I also use their Low Tension SS Flats on everything else, these are now on the Jabba Telebass, as I find rounds or anything else uncomfortable these days. In the past I’ve tried TI Flats, Dadario ground wounds, Status and a few others , but for me Labella are the clear winner. The SS flats are a little brighter and I find they work well on a fretted bass, giving a lovely slinky feel, as well as great tone. BassDirect seems to have the best selection as well as price and excellent service.

Here is the article that summarises all I've ever said about electric instruments for decades. An article by the great Roger Sadowsky : Waiting for the heretics comments...

Over 5 and a half hours of King Tubby? That's today sorted, then.

Great effort Mr Teebs , thanks for posting. I'm sure you will hear a difference when you fit the top and seal the cab allowing the ports to do their job.

Build Diary as promised. I warn those of a sensitive, meticulous, or prissy nature ( @Hellzerolooking at you here). https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/455411-teeny-tiny-bass-cab-ttbc-v-01/

More progress...

Vinyl fitting...

Use the correct screwdriver head. There is only one, anything else will want to push itself out of the head causing ruin as it goes.

Managed to have a loud rehearsal tonight as our singer couldn't get fuel...so we took advantage. So nice to open the amp up properly with a lot of speakers. Tonal nirvana for 2.5 hours.

For £300, I was delighted to get exactly the model I wanted in excellent condition strung with new and good quality strings, at the exact moment I wanted it, delivered. Especially as a few months earlier I had paid almost twice that for a bass that didn't suit me, that needed setting up and which came strung with twangy Daddarios that did the poor thing no good at all. Amongst the huge pile of money I've pushed in a bassward direction in that 12 months, that £300 stands clear as the only sensible, restrained bit. Once I had got my Matt Freeman up to a level where I am just about as pleased with it as I am with the 424, I had spent £600. No regrets, but still, it makes the 424 look an absolute bargain.

With a pick, the Vintage '62 pickup of the reissue seems slow to sound, dulls the crispness of the attack. The CS '57 on the postmodern seemed much better, as did the Aguilar on the Maruszczyk. For my taste, the fatness of the tone of Quarterpounder seems to come at the expense of clarity, doesn't seem to capture the resonance cleanly. The 1968 seemed perfect! (I was looking forward to seeing how much those thoughts changed when hearing them played unmuted fingerstyle, but the Steve Harris line was a bit too frenetic for that 😅 )