GreeneKing

I hope that some of you fine people may enjoy this build diary nearly as much as me. My bass journey has been quite long, 30 years or so and it's gone 'all around the houses'. I've owned more basses than most I guess, certainly well over 100 with a maximum at any one time of 27. I've played 4, 5 and 6 string basses, I used to consider myself a 5 string player. I even had a couple of years away from playing with basses gathering dust in my practice cupboard. I've now retired and on settling in to practicing more often I'm increasingly aware of how much of the basics I have still to learn and how much this is a good thing When the Covid thing allows I get together with 3 other fellas and we play covers, rock and blues in the main. A gig may happen one day. Then again it probably won't. As 70 homes in I'm increasingly aware of weight and I also have occasional fretting hand issues. I'm also aware that a good P bass covers all my needs. My Lakland P/J was my go to bass, always soloing the P pickup and always too damn heavy. I saw Mike's Birch's beautiful Funkmeister P 32" scale and I got to thinking..... Being an Essex lad and having met Mike Walsh and had some great service from him in the past I bit the bullet and commissioned a new build. The specs have evolved a little due in part to John East's P-Retro still not being available. I want the active option with passive tone control. So, to start: Body: Zoot Funkmiester 32" from swamp ash, chambered Neck: 32" Canadian 3 piece maple neck with ebony veneers and a Bi-flex two way truss rod with modern 'C' profile. Finger board: Ebony, compounded 16" radius and medium heavy fret wire side dots only Pickup: Haussel P pickup Bridge: Hipshot "Kickass" in chrome Machine heads: Hipshot "Ultralite" with Fender clover leaf buttons in chrome. String retainer: Hipshot "Ultralight" quick change E.Q. Noll B2059 2 band EQ with 18v supply and passive tone Top nut size: 40mm Bridge saddle spacing: 19mm Neck finish: Hi-gloss to front and back of headstock with smooth satin to rear of neck (playing area) Hardware: All other hardware in chrome finish. Other details such as finish to follow. Here's some photos from Mike showing the start of the build Peter

At the time it seemed a good idea......

TRB4P. Neck through, Piezo. 34" scale.

I know it's not a BB but why, oh why did I sell this (and so many others).

I'm awaiting some nut slot files and I'll be doing a little bit of fine tuning to my BBPH. It's not unusual for mass produced basses but the nut slots are slightly shallow, particularly on the E and A strings. I need much more pressure to fret the first fret than I should. Just a wee bit of filing and I'll take it VERY slowly. I said in my initial review that the fret ends weren't sharp and they aren't as in cut your fingers sharp but they do feel rough edged to the extent that I notice when playing. So I'll do that at the same time. I've already got a file for this. I've been playing my BBPH exclusively since I bought it and a couple of days back I picked up my modified 2008 MIM Jazz. I love this bass which, after owning well over 100 basses is why I have it. I used it with the same amp settings and it sounded lacklustre and lo-fi. That's with identical strings. The notes seems damped, quickly fading. I then went back to the BBPH and hi-fi and sustain was restored. I did a double check, it was in passive with the tone rolled half off. Such is the nature of the BBPH. Peter

I fitted the Dunlop Flats today. Here is a photo of the break angle of the 'old' D'Addario E string. It is much less than I thought and I've fitted through body. If they fail then on my head be it

Just got in from nearly 3 hours of socially distanced band practice. The BBPH was superb. Run through a EBS Microbass 3 and a hp filter into an EBS Fafner and an 8 ohm Accugroove 112 with a horn and 2 tweeters. It cut through the mix very well. Lovely tone and sustain like you’d hardly believe. I played it passive with the tone rolled down for the more bluesy numbers and active with a slight mid boost and treble cut for the more rocky stuff. It’s a great bass and I’m well pleased. Hopefully fitting Dunlop flats tomorrow. Peter

A question for BB owners that have the bevelled through body stringing, as opposed to the through body through the rear of the bass. Given that flats can get damaged if they are run through too great an angle, is it okay to use flats on the lesser angled through body stringing? I’ve been pondering string choice. My favourite strings are Dunlop flats. They aren’t at all dull or muddy and I’ve ordered some for my BBPH. I’ve also been experimenting with fretboard darkening using black leather dye, a popular choice. I practiced on my Mexican Jazz and it worked well. It did however leave the side dots sort of half and half tinted. I’ve decided not to risk it on my new BBPH

They do settle in. They are D’Addario nickels and I like nickels and D’ Addario. They stop making your fingers grimy after a bit and get less abrasive. I do have some Dunlop nickels 45 - 105. I might try them. Maybe DRs? Sunbeams? It’s getting expensive. My favourite go to string is Dunlop flats that are quite bright for flats but I’m not sure they’re the right strings for this bass.

Getting the chance to exercise the BBPH at war volume tomorrow night. I'll report back

There you go, memory not what it was. Yes I'd given up playing and transporting my bass. You're right Thankfully now enjoying my playing again and playing with other peeps occasionally.

I wish I'd never let my Mono bag go when I sold a bass and it needed a bag. Proper protection....

Thank you Agustin

What did you use to do that Mick? I was going to lemon oil mine just because I felt that it needed it but darkening would look good aesthetically.

I got mine from Kenny’s Music. One thing, the sandwich alder/maple/alder body construction. Is that normal BB practice? It certainly will add rigidity to the neck/body/bridge structure in lieu of a neck through construction.

No it fits just fine. I wasn’t expecting a gig bag so it was a bonus. I suppose at £999 I should have expected one

I don’t know. The last BB I owned was a 2024. It’s reasonable. Better than a Warwick gig bag but not up to Mono standard. I usually use a ‘Slickbag’ and it’s not quite on a par.

My BBPH arrived this afternoon and after about an hour of playing and 20 minutes of tweaking I thought I'd give a few first impressions. The fit and finish is superb. A typical Yamaha in that respect. No sharp fret ends, a lovely gloss finish with satin for the neck and headstock except for the face which is gloss. The back of the neck feels great to play and won't get sticky even on those hot and humid days I guess. I initially thought, urghhh, steel wounds and I immediately ordered some nickels. I hate the coarse draggy feel of some steel wounds. The action was okay, quite playable but I could see room for a little setup work. Fitting the supplied battery was interesting. The battery door is quite flimsy and thin and isn't attached by a ribbon. The battery pops in and immediately pops out again as it's sprung from inside. You have to hold it in place and use the door (that's now on the floor) to secure it properly. If the flimsy door were to fall off the battery would jump out. The tones available - awesome. I was completely blown away in passive and active doesn't add a huge boost but it gives greater control to sculpt the tone from the single pickup. I'm not sure what modifications have been made for Peter Hook's preference but bass and mids are very useable with extremes I wouldn't use and treble more so. The chosen frequencies seem great for what I do, pop, rock and blues covers. When tuning up I get a feel for neck stability as say my Fender will waver a little on the tuner while settling down with the one piece neck. The tuner was bang on, it's a lovely stable 5 piece neck! It's slightly neck heavy but nothing that a forearm on the body doesn't address. The tuners seem robust and function well. I initially found the centre detents on the EQ controls difficult to find but after adjusting the pots a few times the centre position was much more distinct. After playing for an hour I was finding the strings becoming pleasant to use. I realise that Mick has identified them as D'Addario nickels (strung through body) and I can go with that now and they are actually great. I won't change them now they've bedded in a little. The bass came with very little neck relief (a smidge) and a reasonable action, in itself a good sign. The saddles had been adjusted to follow the radius of the fretboard, a pointless exercise that can cause issues. I flattened them out and wound down the saddles a good deal. The action is now spot on, quite low, no buzziness and still only a tiny amount of neck relief. So the fretwork/neck is great. I'm very impressed. A couple of minor issues went away with playing and the quick setup I did took the bass in a very positive direction. Maybe stick a ribbon to the battery door? Oh and the proper Yamaha badge (no decal this) on the headstock is a nice touch for this motorcyclist. Peter Bass shed:

I've owned quite a few neck through basses (understatement) and with the sustain thing I'm not convinced. There are other factors involved in sustain, like wood density, type, neck layup, fretboard, strings and grain/grain orientation. I believe that a well mounted neck with all the other factors ticked is capable of more than enough sustain to compete. Then factor in the practical nature of 'endless' sustain in most modern music.

I'll let you know what mine looks like tomorrow.

The 3 pieces are I believe actually a sandwich of alder and maple in the width of the body i. e. Front to back.

Done

Have you posted on Talkbass? I'm happy to try that too if not. It's a US site. Peter