The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[gobasserk]

For me it's like.... changing the org. wheel rim of the most beautiful car in the world... an e type Jaguar against a modern one, like for a Porsche one. It might go faster in the bend but will never look as cool!!!! 🙂 It will never be the same. 
But I know, that's only my view, there will be always guys who only go for speed and that's ok. 🙂 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, gobasserk said:

For me it's like.... changing the org. wheel rim of the most beautiful car in the world... an e type Jaguar against a modern one, like for a Porsche one. It might go faster in the bend but will never look as cool!!!! 🙂 It will never be the same. 
But I know, that's only my view, there will be always guys who only go for speed and that's ok. 🙂 

And you choose your partner based on the colour of their hair, I presume? Just to keep things real, of course. 

[gobasserk]

It's about being a fan of the style of an object that got iconic characteristics in a way. Not about partners.. To keep it realistic .. 😉

Edited March 27, 2019 by gobasserk

[therealting]

Would be boring if we all liked things exactly the same... I’m grateful for the diversity of tastes, as somehow the women I’ve dated have wanted to date me!

[Al Krow]

25 minutes ago, therealting said:

Would be boring if we all liked things exactly the same... I’m grateful for the diversity of tastes, as somehow the women I’ve dated have wanted to date me!

Don't sound so surprised 😁

- you're a bass player => highly attractive to anyone with a love for live rock music. 

- you play a Yammy bass => excellent chance of sounding great to anyone with ears. 

[Al Krow]

After the weekend gig and last night's rehearsal I'm still struggling to work out whether I prefer the sound of my Yammy BB 735A in passive or active mode!

But loving having both options on tap in a classic P/J BB 5er.

How are folk typically playing their 734/5As - actively or passively or both?! 

Edited March 28, 2019 by Al Krow

[gobasserk]

When I played the 734 in the store I was positively surprised of both sounds. I liked the passive sound (of the bass with fresh strings) very much and loved that the active sound did not make a total different thing out of it! I can understand that you like both sounds! 

[jrixn1]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

How are folk typically playing their 734/5As - actively or passively or both?! 

Love my BB735A!  Mainly as a P bass i.e. passive, 100% neck pickup.  Occasionally if I need more bite then active, 75% bridge, slightly boosted mids and highs.  Strings are Dunlop flats.
 

[CameronJ]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

After the weekend gig and last night's rehearsal I'm still struggling to work out whether I prefer the sound of my Yammy BB 735A in passive or active mode!

But loving having both options on tap in a classic P/J BB 5er.

How are folk typically playing their 734/5As - actively or passively or both?! 

I run my treble/tone knob almost all the way off typically, but have the mid knob up about 70%-ish and bass up a whisker last centre in active mode. So passive is mellow thump and active is mid heavy for songs with a denser mix. Flick between the two settings at will. Obviously both have highs cut but they sound totally different. I may introduce more highs as the strings become more and more dead...then again I may not!

Love the EQ points on the Yammy preamp - I believe the pre is the same on the TRBX basses too.

 

[krispn]

3 hours ago, CameronJ said:

I run my treble/tone knob almost all the way off typically, but have the mid knob up about 70%-ish and bass up a whisker last centre in active mode. So passive is mellow thump and active is mid heavy for songs with a denser mix. Flick between the two settings at will. Obviously both have highs cut but they sound totally different. I may introduce more highs as the strings become more and more dead...then again I may not!

Love the EQ points on the Yammy preamp - I believe the pre is the same on the TRBX basses too.

 

So where are the eq points set? I'm guessing 80, 400 and 800?

[krispn]

I’m using mine mainly in passive mode and with flats just now. It can still sound a bit ‘toppy’ in pj mode (especially with rounds but they’re new stings) to my ear but that’s more to do with my preferences than the bass to be honest and nothing a tone knob can’t remedy. I don’t really use the single coil on it’s own as again it’s not a sound I gravitate to although I’ve played about with it solo’d with the eq engaged. I generally keep the p/up balance either full neck or 70/30 ish favouring the neck p/up

I do sometimes ‘complement’ the eq with some para mids from my amp or an eq pedal depending on what I need on the night or the song. Again not a fault of the bass but I’m used to having a bit more control over the frequency I want/need to push and I’m normally adding it a bit higher than where I think the eq’s are set on the bass itself. 

In passive mode it sounds to me that the neck pick up is doing a nice solid low mid p bass thing with just the right amount of detail. It’s a good sounding pick up but I think mine has some some of weird thing happening on the A string and I’m wondering I’d anyone else has found their A string to sound a bit ‘phase-y’ - it’s hard for me to describe in it any other way but it’s got an odd quality to it. Not really noticeable in a mix but solo’d at home (I tend to practice/play at home via headphones) and it’s definitely not right to my ear. 

A DiMarzio Model P (and J perhaps) might be getting dropped into this one down the line if it continues to bug me. 

[hypercarrots]

On 24/03/2019 at 13:52, AndyTravis said:

I’ve asked what the Warmoth connection is.

catalog says: body and neck by warmoth

[dannybuoy]

2 hours ago, krispn said:

It’s a good sounding pick up but I think mine has some some of weird thing happening on the A string and I’m wondering I’d anyone else has found their A string to sound a bit ‘phase-y’ - it’s hard for me to describe in it any other way but it’s got an odd quality to it. Not really noticeable in a mix but solo’d at home (I tend to practice/play at home via headphones) and it’s definitely not right to my ear. 

A DiMarzio Model P (and J perhaps) might be getting dropped into this one down the line if it continues to bug me. 

Have you tried replacing, or simply refitting the string? If there's any twist tension along the length of the string it can make it sound a bit like it's going through a chorus pedal.

[hypercarrots]

On 24/03/2019 at 13:52, AndyTravis said:

I’ve asked what the Warmoth connection is.

also in the late 90s/early 2000s, semi custom yamahas could be ordered. they used warmoth parts.

warmoth logo on the top right

[bigsmokebass]

I did find this eventually from looking at the catalogues myself, just got side tracked by some desirable models to report back 😂 

I'm guessing having the Warmoth parts would be to keep costs down? Top them up for Custom orders? 

[krispn]

4 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Have you tried replacing, or simply refitting the string? If there's any twist tension along the length of the string it can make it sound a bit like it's going through a chorus pedal.

Yeah first thing I did was resting with the set it came with, then a new set and subsequently some flats. It's not my first rodeo

 

[gobasserk]

As I mentioned a few pages before with photo, I once bought a Warmoth neck for a 414 and the neck somehow did not feature the body well. I would LOVE to finally have a neck for the BB whatever body that still is hiding in a corner of a room here somewhere but it was a quiet expensive experiment with the 414  and it did not turn out well. So I am still hesitating to buy a neck.. 😞 

Edited March 29, 2019 by gobasserk

[jrixn1]

12 hours ago, krispn said:

mine has some some of weird thing happening on the A string and I’m wondering I’d anyone else has found their A string to sound a bit ‘phase-y’ - it’s hard for me to describe in it any other way but it’s got an odd quality to it. Not really noticeable in a mix but solo’d at home (I tend to practice/play at home via headphones) and it’s definitely not right to my ear. 

I had a similar issue on another bass caused by the string not sitting fully in the nut, due to the nut not being cut quite correctly.

[Al Krow]

Comparison of Sandberg VM4/5 with Yamaha BB 734/5

As a former Sandberg TM4 owner I've often thought, in hindsight, that I might have preferred a VM4 (and now a VM5) which also has the P/J set up I really dig on the Yammy BBs. The Delanos and the 2 band EQ are a bit of a sticking point for me with Bergs, but they're obviously (from a experience!) a really well finished bass.

I'm just wondering what folks' views are, who have owned both the VM4 or 5 and BB 734 or 5, on how they feel that the Yammy BB 734/5 stacks up against their Bergs?

Obviously a new Yammy is going to be half or less of the price of the Berg, so I'm kinda expecting the Berg to edge it?

@CameronJ and @krispn are you guys our resident experts on this one?

Edited March 29, 2019 by Al Krow

[bigsmokebass]

@Al Krow I wouldn't worry too much over the pricetag as I think you get a lot of bang for your buck with Yamaha anyway and prices often drop lower than the RRP. 

Pretty sure the BB1025 were RRP'd at around £1100 (give or take £100) and were selling for ~£500 by the end of their model shelf life. Still incredible basses and punch above and beyond their sale price. On the other hand, I've purchased basses in the past that really don't measure up to their pricing. For me personally, Rickenbackers are good basses but not for £2k+. Just one example and neither would a Rickenbacker, Sandberg or anything else really do what the Yamaha does for me either 

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

@Al Krow I wouldn't worry too much over the pricetag as I think you get a lot of bang for your buck with Yamaha anyway and prices often drop lower than the RRP. 

Pretty sure the BB1025 were RRP'd at around £1100 (give or take £100) and were selling for ~£500 by the end of their model shelf life. Still incredible basses and punch above and beyond their sale price. On the other hand, I've purchased basses in the past that really don't measure up to their pricing. For me personally, Rickenbackers are good basses but not for £2k+. Just one example and neither would a Rickenbacker, Sandberg or anything else really do what the Yamaha does for me either 

The BB 1025s were going for £810 new in the year before they were replaced (2017) by the new series and there were then some final stock clearance prices at around £550 to £600. I think the 1024s were generally around £50 less. 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Al Krow

[CameronJ]

35 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Comparison of Sandberg VM4/5 with Yamaha BB 734/5

As a former Sandberg TM4 owner I've often thought, in hindsight, that I might have preferred a VM4 (and now a VM5) which also has the P/J set up I really dig on the Yammy BBs. The Delanos and the 2 band EQ are a bit of a sticking point for me with Bergs, but they're obviously (from a experience!) a really well finished bass.

I'm just wondering what folks' views are, who have owned both the VM4 or 5 and BB 734 or 5, on how they feel that the Yammy BB 734/5 stacks up against their Bergs?

Obviously a new Yammy is going to be half or less of the price of the Berg, so I'm kinda expecting the Berg to edge it?

@CameronJ and @krispn are you guys our resident experts on this one?

I shall be blunt in my summary here - the construction quality of my BB735a is every bit on par with my VM5, and personally I prefer the BB735a in many ways.

To clarify, it’s the Sandberg VT which is a P/J config. The VM is a P/MM config. Still, for the purposes of this comparison that makes little difference.

Ignoring the body finishes (as they’re so wildly different) I prefer the neck feel of the Yammy as it has the most lovely satin matte finish vs the more glossy sheen of the Sandberg. Obviously this is down to personal preference. The VM has Sandberg’s own in house lightweight tuners but the BB has more “standard” offerings. It means nothing though really as my BB is still considerably lighter than the VM anyway! For a while I was a bit of a Zero Fret snob and aimed to have them on all of my basses, but I’ve outgrown that mentality. Both my Yamaha BB and my Dingwall Super P are without a Zero Fret and they both sound amazing. In a blindfold test I wouldn’t be able to hear or feel the difference between a bass with a Zero Fret and a bass without, all other things being equal. I’m sure there are people out there who can!

I do prefer the preamp on the BB as I find it to be more intelligently laid out. Yes, it has a mid control which the VM doesn’t, but I also prefer having the active/passive toggle on a separate physical switch rather than a push/pull on the volume knob. Again, personal preference. For the record, it is possible to spec a 3 band preamp on a Sandberg. Just the other week I saw a VM for sale on Facebook factory fitted with a 3 band.

The area where Sandberg will always win hands down is in custom finish options. Mine is an absolutely beautiful violetburst with open textured wood grain and a matching headstock. Yamaha’s production is obviously much higher volume so they just couldn’t compete with Sandberg’s level of customisation unless they did something like a Fender Custom Shop system. I doubt they’ll do this again as they’ve tried a semi-custom system in the past as has been documented earlier in the thread.

 

TL;DR

Put a gun to my head and ask me to choose between the two? I’m taking the Yamaha.

[Al Krow]

Cheers Cam, excellent post! 

[krispn]

2 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

I had a similar issue on another bass caused by the string not sitting fully in the nut, due to the nut not being cut quite correctly.

Another apposite observation jrixn! I've tried both an .80 and .85 A string (not at the same time) but both have the issue. I plan on trying a D string and listening for any 'overtones' but I've been super busy this week and have two long gig days today and tomorrow to get out of the way first!

@Al Krow

Differences between Sandberg VM4 and the BB734?

You've owned both and gigged the VM4 exclusively so you're in the best position to appreciate the differences and decide which you prefer. It's the whole 'different flavour's of ice cream' thing - they're both ice cream so win win!

My main bass is my passive P with my own little custom tweaks but the Yamaha is also great fun to play, great neck both in terms of dimensions and feel. The Sandberg is also a great bass and it's no hardship to gig any of them... however the VM4 will remain for sale and I'll happily keep my P and the BB for all forseeable bass duties - one with round wounds, one with flats

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by krispn
Spelling

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, krispn said:

 

@Al Krow

Differences between Sandberg VM4 and the BB734?

You've owned both and gigged the VM4 exclusively so you're in the best position to appreciate the differences and decide which you prefer. It's the whole 'different flavour's of ice cream' thing - they're both ice cream so win win!

My main bass is my passive P with my own little custom tweaks but the Yamaha is also great fun to play, great neck both in terms of dimensions and feel. The Sandberg is also a great bass and it's no hardship to gig any of them... however the VM4 will remain for sale and I'll happily keep my P and the BB for all forseeable bass duties - one with round wounds, one with flats

Thanks. The fact that you and Cam both would / indeed are choosing to hold onto your Yammys in preference to your Bergs says enough on the subject to me. 

(Fyi - I didn't have the VM4 but rather the TM4, which has a J rather than a P neck pup).