2elliot Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) I've never had an issue with the body size or weight of any BB bass. They are called a broad bass for that very reason. The new one feels similar to my BB1100S in size, smaller than the BB300 & BB3000. The 3000 was light in weight, the 734a feels about the same. In passive mode the treble control acts as a tone control. It's band rehearsal tomorrow night. It'll be getting a work out then. Everything about it feels slightly better than the 1100s, which is very good and has been my go to bass... even over my Warwick Stage 1. Find one, try it... we are all different. I'm already convinced the 734a is a great bass. Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) I've never had an issue with the body size or weight of any BB bass. They are called a broad bass for that very reason. The new one feels similar to my BB1100S in size, smaller than the BB300 & BB3000. The 3000 was light in weight, the 734a feels about the same. In passive mode the treble control acts as a tone control. The body shape is one of my favourite ones, familiar yet different at the same time. Thanks for confirming the passive tone control, I thought I had read that somewhere but I wasn't sure. Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I think I may have snapped up the last BB1024 at GuitarGuitar as they're now showing out of stock after hitting the button last night. Should arrive tomorrow 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) woolf said: I think I may have snapped up the last BB1024 at GuitarGuitar as they're now showing out of stock after hitting the button last night. Should arrive tomorrow Hey congratulations! I see you're also a Warwick and MarkBass fan, so you're obviously a man of good taste! Did you manage to get it for a good price? Look forward to the pics and your thoughts on it when you've had a chance to put it through its paces. Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) Hey congratulations! I see you're also a Warwick and MarkBass fan, so you're obviously a man of good taste! Did you manage to get it for a good price? Look forward to the pics and your thoughts on it when you've had a chance to put it through its paces. £499, which I'm hoping will prove to be good value for money if it turns out as good as some reviewers have suggested... Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) £499, which I'm hoping will prove to be good value for money if it turns out as good as some reviewers have suggested... Sounds like a really good deal to me! I'm gonna take the liberty of sharing some comments from my mate Cameron, who took the trouble of letting me have his thoughts on his BB 1025X 5 string version a while back: My experience has been great so far. How does it feel to play? Well neck profile, string spacing, action and the actual finish of the neck all come into play here and these are the first things that attracted me to the BB, before I even plugged in. I got to try one out almost by accident at the Yamaha Music Store in central London and comparing it to the other bass models on the wall (TRBs, Attitudes etc) this one immediately felt so good. Very easy to play. For me, the BB ticks all the boxes comfort-wise. The body is fairly big (especially in comparison to my Ibanez) but I don't find it uncomfortable at all. In some ways I actually find it more comfortable than my Ibanez because the body shape is more rounded at the edges. Now, the sound. I don't think YouTube demos can really do this bass justice. This is my first ever passive bass and I was surprised to discover that it has a hotter output than any of my active basses. There is definitely some magic in those blade pickups! Obviously tone is so subjective but this thing definitely recreates "the sound in my head". To give you an idea of what I mean, I was lusting after a precision before buying this and now my lust is pretty much satisfied. The P-pickup definitely hits the mark for me, but with seemingly more grunt. I've read elsewhere that in basses with a P/J pickup arrangement the Jazz pickup at the bridge is often regarded as poor on its own, only useful for blending with the P pickup for a more defined sound. That really isn't the case with this J pickup. Again, like the P, it has more balls than a typical single-coil in this position so is actually quite useful musically on its own. The thing to be aware of about the controls is that instead of a pickup blend knob you've got a pickup selector SWITCH. I've got basses with blend knobs and basses with selector switches but my first ever bass was a Yamaha with a switch so I guess it feels like home to me. Some people prefer to have the specificity of a sweepable knob but to be honest I really enjoy the ease of having 3 distinct sounds available to me so quickly. The tone knob is so useable across its entire range and that's all I need for additional tone shaping. I never thought I'd say that...I used to be an active-3-band-EQ kinda guy but this bass may well have turned me into a passive convert! These are my personal opinions so take them with a pinch of salt but I love this bass! So I think you're in for a treat! I see there's another "final" BB 1024 going for the same price as yours at PMT Online. I'm seriously thinking about getting a passive P-Bass, hmmm...now do I go for that BB 1024 or get one of the new model BB 434s instead?! (Both have Split single-coil Alnico V neck pups and are retailing for the same price). Look forward to finding out if your thoughts on the bass are as positive as Cameron's! Edited February 24, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 And I still wholeheartedly stick by all of the above. You're in for a treat, Woolf. £499 brand new is an absolute steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2elliot Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 734a... it's a classy bit of kit. By far the easiest bass I have ever played. It's just right for me. Like a BB3000 in feel when on the strap but with an instantly playable 40mm neck. Sound?.. like a re fined BB1100s, smooth and even but has grind and bite when you dig in. I like it... Lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) Some of the new BB's have just landed here locally.. that could mean trouble Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jassbass Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Getting my bb235 tomorrow and a bb735 in october Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) Getting my bb235 tomorrow and a bb735 in october Congratulations - enjoy! I've just seen an "end of line" Yamaha BB425 on sale for £289! This is going for less than half the price of the new BB435. The new model has an extra volume control, is a bit lighter and thinner and has possibly better pups. I probably won't notice the additional volume control, but does anyone know the difference in weight between the 425s and 435s and how much of an upgrade to the pups the new models are bringing? Edited February 24, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Finally got to trying out the BB434M today and I've got to say I'm impressed. As a current owner of a BB1024x I wasn't sure what to expect but it seems like its a similar bass to the previous models only with a maple fretboard option, at last. The place where it was great was the pickups and the reconfiguration of their workings. Having come from the switch of the BB1024x I was unsure what difference to expect but much preferred being able to dial in as much Jazz pickup as desired on the new bass which in my case was only a little. Even the pickguard isn't irritating me as much as used to! Now to get saving.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Great news about the pickups. That was the one thing I was apprehensive about Yamaha changing so I'm glad they're good in the newer models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebuckets Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) Congratulations - enjoy! I've just seen an "end of line" Yamaha BB425 on sale for £289! This is going for less than half the price of the new BB435. The new model has an extra volume control, is a bit lighter and thinner and has possibly better pups. I probably won't notice the additional volume control, but does anyone know the difference in weight between the 425s and 435s and how much of an upgrade to the pups the new models are bringing? I don't know the difference in weight or pups but know that the 424/425 is a very good PJ bass and at that price is an absolute steal. sure its not spline jointed etc but neither are the wonderful vintage and modern P basses we all love.The new ones are really growing on me and having a jazz i like the idea of a PJ bass with VVT controls however the 425 is a true BB in the traditional sense and a bass that can cut it with models costing many times more Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) £499, which I'm hoping will prove to be good value for money if it turns out as good as some reviewers have suggested... I got the same deal and I love it. Did you get the very nice gig bag with it as well? Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I don't know the difference in weight or pups but know that the 424/425 is a very good PJ bass and at that price is an absolute steal. sure its not spline jointed etc but neither are the wonderful vintage and modern P basses we all love.The new ones are really growing on me and having a jazz i like the idea of a PJ bass with VVT controls however the 425 is a true BB in the traditional sense and a bass that can cut it with models costing many times more. Cheers, that's really good to know. Another mate of mine recently told me that I'd "be impressed with the quality and more especially, the monstrous tone" of the Yammy P/Js Like you, my other basses are really all J's or at least "not P's" and I've been on the look out for a decent passive P-Bass for a little while, although I thought this was going to be a 2018 purchase. But these final "end of line" offers do seem just too good to pass up! So I did a little phoning around today and I've managed to put down a deposit on a new "end of line" BB425, in Vintage White, for £280 posted from PMT Online. Really looking forward to it! Edited February 24, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I got the same deal and I love it. Did you get the very nice gig bag with it as well? The BB1024 arrived, with a lovely gig bag. This is the first BB I have owned and played, my early impressions are very good. It was setup well out of the box, only dropped the string height a little at the saddles and it was setup great for my liking. This really is a lot of bang for the buck - flawless build quality and an all-rounder of a bass, it really nails a whole range of tones, the P-bass tone this achieves is making me question whether my other P bass may be redundant. My fave though is def both P&J together - big fat round tone, and perfectly even across the range of the instrument. The output of the p'ups is also impressive. Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I haven`t touched the set up on mine since I bought it. I have kept the stock strings on it as well which is unusual for me. Glad you are liking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebuckets Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I haven`t touched the set up on mine since I bought it. I have kept the stock strings on it as well which is unusual for me. Glad you are liking it. my 1025 was set up superbly and like you I left the set up and string and it sounded very powerful Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 (edited) I haven`t touched the set up on mine since I bought it. I have kept the stock strings on it as well which is unusual for me. Glad you are liking it. The stock strings are great - D'addarios by the look of them - feel like stainless rounds rather than Nickel but I'm not 100% sure? Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I had a chance to have a go on the BB434M and the BB434 (rosewood) today. Black Maple - Teal rosewood. I think they are very good basses for the price. Out of the two I tried for some reason the rosewood version seemed to have a little more sparkle in the sound than the mapleboard, could of been down to the setup, the actiion was a little lower on the rosewood. it also seemed a little lighter in weight (my guesstimate) The pickups are pretty hot and noticed no drop off in sound when each one was soloed. Lots of bark out of them.The necks I thought were pretty big and fat a bit larger than I was expecting.. Only spent about 10 minutes with each but impressed. In my opinion the maple board might of looked a bit more atttactive if it had a bit of tint or coating on it.. I'm now waiting for them to get the 734A in so I can give that a try. The wallet hasn't had to come out just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) The necks I thought were pretty big and fat a bit larger than I was expecting... Lots of positives there! Picking up on your one "negative" point, if I may: it seems that the necks haven't really changed much, if at all, then from the old BB424s? Are you familiar / have you had a chance to A/B with the older generation model? Edited February 24, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jassbass Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 My bb235 has a slim neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) My bb235 has a slim neck One of the new series? It felt largeish to me and I often use a 50's Roadworn P bass and a 72 Fender P that's a bit of a slugger. Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jassbass Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) One of the new series? It felt largeish to me and I often use a 50's Roadworn P bass and a 72 Fender P that's a bit of a slugger. Unless the 434 is different to the 235 Edited July 30, 2019 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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