lowregisterhead Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 (edited) I had one of these in 1979, loved it, but had to take it back to the shop when the neck when banana-like within a couple of months. They couldn't get another one because Yamaha stopped making them in 1976 (things took a while to filter through to North-East Scotland in the 70's.) Then a couple of weeks ago I spotted this being sold by a dealer in Japan, and I think it's in better nick than the one I had nearly 35 years ago. The neck's been re-lacquered, but otherwise it's 100% original. It's bright, resonant, sounds great and is lovely to play. The body shape may be a slightly acquired taste, but it's the best jazz bass I've ever played, and gawd knows I've played a few. Makes me feel like a teenager rehearsing in my grandad's loft again... It's a Yamaha SB55, by the way! [url="http://s1141.photobucket.com/user/lowwregisterhead/media/SB55_zps0d7da426.jpg.html"][/url] Edited November 19, 2013 by lowregisterhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 looks great! When were these made then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Between 1973 and 1976 I believe. There was a slightly flasher version, the SB75, which had block inlays on the neck instead of dots, but all in all any variant of the model seem to be very rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Love these! I've seen Peter Vink perform with Yamaha SB's often. He still frequently uses an SB600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Thanks for sharing this bass with us, I love seeing these old "under the radar" basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Thanks Chris - it's not just a trip down memory lane, it's a real gem of a bass too. Some of the Japanese output in the 70's might be considered a bit suspect by today's standards, and I was worried I might be disappointed when it arrived, but it's really well built, plays beautifully and sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Holy smokes, that's awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK Jale Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Beautiful, haven't seen one for years. I guess it's like a less extreme Yamaha SBV bass with the horns swapped round... so it's a J with just a soupçon of Mosrite... really like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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