Yamaha TRB history

[TheGreek]

What month was mine built? 0FP 2075

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by TheGreek

[BassAgent]

3 hours ago, TheGreek said:

WOW!!!

 

TRB 5IIf arrived this morning. Beautiful and amazing to play. Came set up with the lowest action on any bass I've ever played and fitted with flat wounds. No wear on the fretboard whatsoever. 

Though I only had 10mins playing it I was very impressed with the tonal quality...such gorgeous tones. 

I've experimented with fretless several times but this is inspirational.

What do you think??

 

 

That looks amazing! Enjoy it

[lucatus]

Hi guys,

 

I'm trying to find some info about the weight of the different TRB's and can't really find anything.

I've owned a few of these and, as I grow older, I'm trying to be sensible about whether or not I should try and get another one, or if they are out of bounds due to the weight. A few years ago I had to give up a lovely mark 2 6 strings because of the neck pain it gave me.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Cheers

 

Pablo

[joe_geezer]

I've had a few trb's mk1's over the years, there seems to be actually 3 versions of the mk 1:

 

1. satin / thin stain finish (gold logo on headstock)

2. natural polished finish (mother of pearl logo on headstock)

3. high gloss finish (mother of pearl logo on headstock)

 

All the mk1 trbs are made in Japan, have ash bodies and rosewood fingerboards  (probably brazilian) & quarter sawn maple necks with 6 bolts to connect the neck to the body.

 

I would recommend version 1 then 2 then 3, then mk2, here's why:

 

The satin version has the best tone imo & is slightly lighter than version 2. The tone is clearer, so they might have made revisions to the pickups and or electronics OR it might be that the thin stain allows the wood to effect the tone. The construction is as good if not better than any high end bass, hard to believe, right? I've owed NYC Sadowskys, Statii, Warwicks & The mk 1 is up there with them, if not surpassing them.

 

Version 2 of the Mk 1 series has excellent construction, sounds great and balances perfectly. Its a little heavier, maybe just a 1 Ib, it's negligible, there is some extra laminates showing through on the headstock of some dark blue stained wood. The 4 string is only available in a natural high polish natural ash finish & the 5 & 6 string basses are available in a darker tan color high polish stain.

 

Version 3 of the mk 1 series is the worst imo, its heavier than version 2 revision & the construction can be inconsistent. I have owned a 6 string which was very well made & a 4 string which had a larger gap in the neck body pocket and just didnt feel as high end as the previous 2 versions. 

 

The Yamaha mk 2 versions, made in Japan are all 35" scale & are similar to the mk1 revision 3 in build specs but they do not have the slap cutaways. Also the 4 & 6 strings versions all have soap bars pickups unlike the originals which have the single coil size pickups. They are only available in high gloss finishes - blue & a red sunburst.

 

All later versions are not made in Japan & are of lesser quality & are probably mass produced in factories with less specialist builders. 

 

This just is my opinion but if you require a 35" scale then get the mk2 version otherwise try and get your hands on any version of the mk1, even the 3rd revision of the mk1 will be better than a mk2 or mass produced trb.

Edited November 29, 2021 by joe_geezer
version

[Philthy_T]

On 28/11/2021 at 08:19, joe_geezer said:

2. natural polished finish (mother of pearl logo on headstock)

I just wanted to thank you for finally providing me with some sort of details on my bass guitar!
I've had my TRB-4 since 2000, which I traded for a 1999 Fender American Series Strat with a set of DG20 David Gilmour EMGs. My guitarist at the time wanted to entertain the idea of a straight trade for my Strat -- he mentioned he had a Yamaha bass, and me being curious, I said sure, bring it to rehearsal so I could check it out...

Well, as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it! It reminded me of a guitar I saw Verdine White playing once. It also felt amazing, and the sound was SO punchy! So I thought 'Hmm... Strats are a dime a dozen -- nothing special, even with Gilmour EMGs -- and he may be getting the better deal here... why the hell not!' I mean, I fell in love with it immediately. Not to mention, I still haven't seen another TRB, aside from mine...
My son had my bass for several years, and I almost completely forgot about it, until he brought it over my place recently (he picked up a nice Peavey T-40 in great condition). I just completed a full setup on it, and man, this thing feels amazing!

Thank you SO much joe_geezer, for answering some questions I've always had about my TRB-4. Now if I can figure out this weird serial number that's been driving me nuts for the past week...

 

Edit: I forgot to add... I signed up to Basschat specifically to say Thank You for providing this information on the TRB!
Thank you very kindly!

Edited December 7, 2021 by Philthy_T
Forgot my keys

[joe_geezer]

2 hours ago, Philthy_T said:

I just wanted to thank you for finally providing me with some sort of details on my bass guitar!
I've had my TRB-4 since 2000, which I traded for a 1999 Fender American Series Strat with a set of DG20 David Gilmour EMGs. My guitarist at the time wanted to entertain the idea of a straight trade for my Strat -- he mentioned he had a Yamaha bass, and me being curious, I said sure, bring it to rehearsal so I could check it out...

Well, as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it! It reminded me of a guitar I saw Verdine White playing once. It also felt amazing, and the sound was SO punchy! So I thought 'Hmm... Strats are a dime a dozen -- nothing special, even with Gilmour EMGs -- and he may be getting the better deal here... why the hell not!' I mean, I fell in love with it immediately. Not to mention, I still haven't seen another TRB, aside from mine...
My son had my bass for several years, and I almost completely forgot about it, until he brought it over my place recently (he picked up a nice Peavey T-40 in great condition). I just completed a full setup on it, and man, this thing feels amazing!

Thank you SO much joe_geezer, for answering some questions I've always had about my TRB-4. Now if I can figure out this weird serial number that's been driving me nuts for the past week...

 

Edit: I forgot to add... I signed up to Basschat specifically to say Thank You for providing this information on the TRB!
Thank you very kindly!

Thank you for the feedback & glad it helped out & a bonus you're on the best forum for bass now!

[Philthy_T]

On 20/10/2021 at 04:39, TheGreek said:

What month was mine built? 0FP 2075

 

 

Looks to be September.
The LETTER-TO-NUMBER reference chart says the P represents the number 9, ergo the 9th month.

And the 2075th production model of 2000 (if I'm following the chart correctly).

[Twincam]

I've worked on a good few yamaha trbs. And one thing that's struck me is they have always set up very well. In fact all yamaha basses I've worked have been very good in this way. 

I like the trb sound too. Yeah the treble had hiss but don't think it was/is that bad. 

 

Quality instrument! 

[joe_geezer]

My 4 Yamaha TRB Japan made MK 1s :

 

- The brown 'distressed' bass is my main bass for nearly 20 years, spent 7 years with this on the Jazz scene in Paris as well as busking in the Metro & playing many gigs over Europe. The preamp broke at some stage and had to do a salvage job, I call this my "Sid Vicious" bass  It's still the best sounding TRB i've ever tried.

- The Blonde bass I bought about 4 years ago from USA ebay, it is has the mother of pearl Yamaha inlay in the headstck and blue laminate strip. Very nice playing and sounding bass. 

- The 5 string bass I got a year ago and that was owned by Eric Claptons ex bassist, sounds and plays amazing. Not sure if this is due to Eric Clapton having great bass techs lol This also has the mother of pearl yamaha logo

- The blue bass was advertised on here & Its my most recent purchase, i actually got this from the seller on ebay as thats where i saw it first. Its a very light bass but needs a set up . but plays and sounds great.

 

 

As you can see, my preference is for the natural finishes and not the gloss finished mk 1's. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by joe_geezer

[ScotJam Bassie]

Greetings TRB players and owners!

I am seriously thinking of getting a TRB 6 string. Is the only version with an ebony fingerboard, 34” scale and 19mm string spacing the TRB JP I ?

 

Any opinions on the 35” vs 34” versions of the JPs? Ebony vs rosewood boards on TRB 6 strings?

 

I currently play a 60th Anninversary Fender Jazz, a G&L L2500 (34” 17mm spacing) and a Lakland 5 string Jazz (35” 19mm) which was my main bass for over 10 years, so I am fairly comfortable switching between different basses, but recently I’ve been getting a bit tired of the stretch on the first 4 frets of the 35” scale since playing the 34s.
 

There is also the option of a TRB 1006j, but 35” with 17 mm spacing sounds a bit of an odd combination.

 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by ScotJam Bassie

[joe_geezer]

52 minutes ago, ScotJam Bassie said:

Greetings TRB players and owners!

I am seriously thinking of getting a TRB 6 string. Is the only version with an ebony fingerboard, 34” scale and 19mm string spacing the TRB JP I ?

 

Any opinions on the 35” vs 34” versions of the JPs? Ebony vs rosewood boards on TRB 6 strings?

 

I currently play a 60th Anninversary Fender Jazz, a G&L L2500 (34” 17mm spacing) and a Lakland 5 string Jazz (35” 19mm) which was my main bass for over 10 years, so I am fairly comfortable switching between different basses, but recently I’ve been getting a bit tired of the stretch on the first 4 frets of the 35” scale since playing the 34s.
 

There is also the option of a TRB 1006j, but 35” with 17 mm spacing sounds a bit of an odd combination.

 

 

My Advice is get a JP MK 1 34" scale. It was good enough for JP to record on most if not all Chick Corea's albums on GPR label as well as most of his solo albums. I think the 35" is just no good for a 6 string because the tension of the high C string is too taught / tight. Some folk complain about floppy B strings but again, thousands of albums were recorded and are still recorded with 5 strings with a 34" scale and sound great & unless you have Stanley Clarkes  hand size then i'd stick to 34 (btw Stanley actually plays a 30" scale bass)

[ScotJam Bassie]

6 minutes ago, joe_geezer said:

My Advice is get a JP MK 1 34" scale. It was good enough for JP to record on most if not all Chick Corea's albums on GPR label as well as most of his solo albums. I think the 35" is just no good for a 6 string because the tension of the high C string is too taught / tight. Some folk complain about floppy B strings but again, thousands of albums were recorded and are still recorded with 5 strings with a 34" scale and sound great & unless you have Stanley Clarkes  hand size then i'd stick to 34 (btw Stanley actually plays a 30" scale bass)

Thanks. Yeah that makes sense, the B on my 34” G&L sounds perfectly ok. I find that the difference between a B on a 34” or 35” has more to do with brand of string, gauge, touch and pickups. I have big hands, but 34” just feels more comfortable. 

I think the spacing on the JP l is also 19mm? I guess the other option would be an old TRB 6, and get an ebony board fitted, but that could get pricey!

 

I’ll need to keep my eye on the classifieds for my next trip back to the UK. 

[joe_geezer]

9 hours ago, ScotJam Bassie said:

Thanks. Yeah that makes sense, the B on my 34” G&L sounds perfectly ok. I find that the difference between a B on a 34” or 35” has more to do with brand of string, gauge, touch and pickups. I have big hands, but 34” just feels more comfortable. 

I think the spacing on the JP l is also 19mm? I guess the other option would be an old TRB 6, and get an ebony board fitted, but that could get pricey!

 

I’ll need to keep my eye on the classifieds for my next trip back to the UK. 

I would advise against modifying any Yamaha Mk 1s. They are so well built and constructed that changing the fingerboard will decrease the value and probably the playability. Just save up for a JP 1 if you want ebony or be happy with a rosewood. All Yamaha MK 1s have fender style string spacing, if you don't like that then you won't like Yamahas, take a look at the Ibanez Prestige series . all made in Japan and have tight string spacing for smaller hands.

[ScotJam Bassie]

36 minutes ago, joe_geezer said:

I would advise against modifying any Yamaha Mk 1s. They are so well built and constructed that changing the fingerboard will decrease the value and probably the playability. Just save up for a JP 1 if you want ebony or be happy with a rosewood. All Yamaha MK 1s have fender style string spacing, if you don't like that then you won't like Yamahas, take a look at the Ibanez Prestige series . all made in Japan and have tight string spacing for smaller hands.

Yeah, you are right about modifying and devaluing classic basses. I’ve never really liked any Ibanez 6 strings that I’ve tried so far, the necks are usually too thin, and I am not keen on how they look, although the SRSC806 single cut is a nice looking bass with 19mm spacing, but the sound clips I heard online didn’t sound as big and full as TRBs do. 

[joe_geezer]

44 minutes ago, ScotJam Bassie said:

Yeah, you are right about modifying and devaluing classic basses. I’ve never really liked any Ibanez 6 strings that I’ve tried so far, the necks are usually too thin, and I am not keen on how they look, although the SRSC806 single cut is a nice looking bass with 19mm spacing, but the sound clips I heard online didn’t sound as big and full as TRBs do. 

Nothing (IMO) comes close to Yamaha Mk 1 tones but at the price that your hand needs to navigate a considerably wider fretboard. 

[aguacollas]

I can only speak about the Yamaha Trb JP. It is amazing, I love the ebony fretboard and sound. If the Trb Jp has all you want, I recommend you buy one. I was considering buying a Trb1006 or similar, I am still paying for it, but after receiving it and two days playing and getting used to it, the JP confirmed that was the right bass to buy. 
 

There’s some magic in those pickups I can’t explain, I guess it’s the Trb sound  I have read about for years. 

[joe_geezer]

On 28/06/2022 at 22:32, aguacollas said:

I can only speak about the Yamaha Trb JP. It is amazing, I love the ebony fretboard and sound. If the Trb Jp has all you want, I recommend you buy one. I was considering buying a Trb1006 or similar, I am still paying for it, but after receiving it and two days playing and getting used to it, the JP confirmed that was the right bass to buy. 
 

There’s some magic in those pickups I can’t explain, I guess it’s the Trb sound  I have read about for years. 

 

Yep, The JP1 is basically a TRB mark 1 with a fancy top + ebony fingerboard. The original TRBs have an even more expensive fingerboard = Brazilian Rosewood, which is now endangered, banned from exporting and if you can get it as an option, prices are ridiculous. 

 

Yea the TRB Mark 1s and JP1 are great instruments.

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by joe_geezer

[BassAgent]

A few weeks ago, I played a bass that I had probably played in 2001 for the last time. At the time I was 11 years old and was looking for my first fretless bass. At the local music store they had two Yamahas (I really wanted a Yamaha because I already had a fretted Yamaha): an RBX270F and an amber TRB5IIF, which was quite a bit more expensive. I really liked the TRB, though, and réally wanted to have it. Unfortunately my parents found it too expensive at the time and I got the RBX which I really enjoyed for a few years.
Two weeks back I interviewed a bass player for my podcast. She has quite a nice collection, including a fretless amber TRB5II. I told her this story, and she said: well, I bought this exact bass around that time in that very shop. There weren't many of these basses around then (especially there) so chances are pretty big that it's the very same bass. It still felt...special. Somehow. 

So now, I'm trying to buy the bass that I wanted to own 21 years ago. I hope it's going to work out. That would be quite something.

[ScotJam Bassie]

Does anyone on here know if regular long scale D’Addario or other brands of strings will fit on the 35” JP2, or do I need the super/extra long strings? I use regular long scales on my Lakland 35” 5 string, so I was guessing they should work on the JP2?

Edited December 26, 2022 by ScotJam Bassie
Typo

[ScotJam Bassie]

I finally got a new TRB 6 JP2, it’s my first 6, so string crossing is going to take some time. I dig the 19 mm spacing, and it sounds fantastic, what a beautiful bass. 
Does anyone have any preference for strings, especially to get a bit more volume out of the C string? I have D’Addario EXL 170s on it which are pretty nice, but I may try some Curt Mangans on it. 
 

One slight issue is that I like low action, I adjusted the neck, but the C string saddle is all the way down. And the other saddles are very low... The nut also seems to be cut quite high on this bass, (not sure if this is just a Yamaha thing?) compared to some old Fenders and My Lakland 5. Anyone tried filing down the nut slots, or shimming the neck on a JP2? 

[TheGreek]

6 minutes ago, ScotJam Bassie said:

The nut also seems to be cut quite high on this bass, (not sure if this is just a Yamaha thing?) compared to some old Fenders and My Lakland 5. Anyone tried filing down the nut slots, or shimming the neck on a JP2? 

 

@Grangur noted this on the BBG5 he bought this week. Might be worth sending him a PM.

[Lixou]

Heya guys

You all have beautiful basses!!! ❤️ 

I'm selling a Yamaha TRB 6 - JP 1 from 1996.
Is anyone interested?

 

[TheGreek]

You should post it in the "basses for sale " thread.

The Mods may take exception to your post here and remove it. 

[joe_geezer]

5 hours ago, Lixou said:

Heya guys

You all have beautiful basses!!! ❤️ 

I'm selling a Yamaha TRB 6 - JP 1 from 1996.
Is anyone interested?

yea post it in the for sale forum and i might be interested, please also include the weight...

Edited October 2, 2023 by joe_geezer

[joe_geezer]

3 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

You should post it in the "basses for sale " thread.

The Mods may take exception to your post here and remove it. 

Good point!