The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[crabman]

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Are we missing a bit of the story?  

Sit down and make yourself comfortable....  I shouldn't post and watch TV at the same time!

I never had the pleasure of playing a 1025 or 2025, but I know they are seriously well regarded.  No idea personally how they compare to my BBP35 I'm afraid.  I just went by the internet reviews.  

[AndyTravis]

Don’t know if anyone’s after a fretless bb, but PMT in Manchester have a bb614f for £349, I got the distinct impression they’d take less.

It’s black, weighs about 9lbs and is in great nick.

 

[CameronJ]

Strung with three tapewounds and one flatwound? Or so it appears at least?

[AndyTravis]

4 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Strung with three tapewounds and one flatwound? Or so it appears at least?

Three are roto nexus or something like that (roundwound but black) and a nickel ‘g’.

[CameronJ]

23 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Three are roto nexus or something like that (roundwound but black) and a nickel ‘g’.

Hm. Curious. But easily changed!

[bassfan]

Ok.... I’m in the club. 

 

[AndyTravis]

That’s a beauty. 424? Lovely 

[bassfan]

7 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

That’s a beauty. 424? Lovely 

It is indeed 😃👍🏻

[Al Krow]

@bassfanwelcome aboard buddy! I see that my surreptitious loan of a BB 425, 'cos you wanted to try out a 5 string has singularly failed in convincing you of the benefits of 5 strings, but had other side effects like persuading you what a lot of bass for the money BBs are!! 

The 424/5 is a bit of a Ford Mustang in terms of the punch it packs. Be warned, you may find some of your other basses feeling a bit 'civilised' when you've played this a while. Happened to me with a rather nice German bass sporting Delano pups I once had... 

[AndyTravis]

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@bassfanwelcome aboard buddy! I see that my surreptitious loan of a BB 425, 'cos you wanted to try out a 5 string has singularly failed in convincing you of the benefits of 5 strings, but had other side effects like persuading you what a lot of bass for the money BBs are!! 

The 424/5 is a bit of a Ford Mustang in terms of the punch it packs. Be warned, you may find some of your other basses feeling a bit 'civilised' when you've played this a while. Happened to me with a rather nice German bass sporting Delano pups I once had... 

Jesus @Al Krow don’t try an attitude bass...if they did a legitimate 5 string version (not the 90’s p/j) it would destroy buildings.

Its more Civil War than Civilisation...my angry little 414 sounded subdued in comparison.

[bassfan]

It’s going to have to go some to make the the other basses in the fold feel subdued, that said they are all active and not passive so an unfair comparison. 🤨

[Al Krow]

5 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Jesus @Al Krow don’t try an attitude bass...if they did a legitimate 5 string version (not the 90’s p/j) it would destroy buildings.

Its more Civil War than Civilisation...my angry little 414 sounded subdued in comparison.

Dug out an old post from this thread (below) 

So I did already try an Attitude bass and I really wanted to like it, but it seems that my reaction to them is pretty similar to yours with the BBNE2.

But I was probably just playing with the wrong Attitude?

😂

PS the story didn't end well for me. @CameronJ seems to have played the same dastardly role in my BB bass life (he was the guy who first introduced me to BB 1025s, he then inexplicably sold his) that @bigsmokebass seems to play in yours. Cam then force fed me BB NE2 ads till I succumbed.

PPS That must make Cameron, Bassfan's BB grandad...

On 13/03/2018 at 17:44, Al Krow said:

Yamaha Signature Basses – Quick Review

Popped into the London Yamaha Store - wanted to try out a couple of Yammy signature basses which were on my "must try" list:

Yamaha Attitude Two (Billy Sheehan)

As an end of line model, this was going to be much more affordable than the Attitude 3 but we never got around to discussing price!

Unusually for a Yamaha the body shape was based on a Fender, but with very specific design changes such as the slab body and the stereo circuitry. So kinda felt like Rickenbacker meets Fender meets Yamaha.

The action had been set very low so this was very easy to play and yet no discernible fret buzz.

The five uppermost frets are scalloped to assist in the bending of the top two strings, something that Billy was fond of doing, but not something I can personally see much scope for using. To operate this in true stereo requires two separate amplifiers, and the electronics are consequently a bit strange and incorporate switching on / off the controls, but at least this also allows for mono operation which is all I had access to – although maybe next time if I try it again, or if one of you guys tries it out at the store, putting it through two of their Hartke combos may give a different feel to it. (Actually, drop that for me – I’m unlikely ever to be bi-amping my basses!)

Maybe it was the fact that the bass was not being bi-amped or the fact that the tonal range through the shop Hartke 75W and its pretty simple EQ seemed limited, but the Attitude left me pretty cold. I liked it less than the Rickenbacker 4003 I’d previously tried elsewhere, less than the Fender Jazz MIM I moved on this time last year and a LOT less than the end of line Yammy BB1025 I recently got from the same store.

Yamaha BBNE2 (Nathan East)

Was I really playing this through the same Hartke 75W amp I’d been playing the Attitude through?!

Wow - Warwick Streamer Stage II meets Yamaha! It’s a completely different beast to the rest of the Yamaha BB range.

BBNE2 pups are stack type Alnico V Humbucker pickups include a hum-cancelling coil. This is combined with active electronics and versatile controls e.g. in place of single tone control on the BB1025, the BBNE2 has a 3 band EQ for bass, mids and treble; mid cut frequency & mid cut on-off switch together with the usual pickup selector and volume.

In combination they deliver a wonderful, tonally rich sound (even through a 75W Hartke) which I’ll have to admit puts even my former Warwick $$ German Corvette in the shade.

It has a contoured body which provides a compact, comfortable body shape and I found the neck to be very playable.

Nice touches, which sadly aren’t found elsewhere further down the Yamaha range, include individual bridge pieces and 5-piece neck-through design (but both of which Ibanez provide as ‘standard’ in their BTB Premium range).

Ok I’m in love with this bass! Wasn’t helped by an unsolicited offer from the duty store manager to knock 25% off the list price! If any of you have a BBNE2 you’re looking to move on at some point – please give me a shout; I suspect you’ll be pushing at an open door! 😊

Usual YMMV, IMHO etc.! 

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, bassfan said:

It’s going to have to go some to make the the other basses in the fold feel subdued, that said they are all active and not passive so an unfair comparison. 🤨

Haha! For me the 424 is the one bass that will give actives a belly full.

Now why did I think you were a passive bass player? Clearly getting that particular wire crossed 'cos I know you're man of great Status. At least you're not burdened with an Attitude yet.

BB 734A for you next up, then matey. In fact there's one in the FS as we speak 😂

[bassfan]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Haha! For me the 424 is the one bass that will give actives a belly full.

Now why did I think you were a passive bass player? Clearly getting that particular wire crossed 'cos I know you're man of great Status. At least you're not burdened with an Attitude yet.

BB 734A for you next up, then matey. In fact there's one in the FS as we speak 😂

I’m not purely active. Just happens it’s panned out like that in the past year with the shuker and status. I played my jazz almost exclusively for 3 years.  

Ha! I’ve seen the 734a for sale. Unfortunately I couldn’t possibly own a “burst” bass... not overly keen on black basses either so the 734a will have to wait until they decide other colors are available 😂 I have another couple of itches need scratching before anymore yammys which may see the modulus looking for a new home. 

[CameronJ]

56 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

PS the story didn't end well for me. @CameronJ seems to have played the same dastardly role in my BB bass life (he was the guy who first introduced me to BB 1025s, he then inexplicably sold his) that @bigsmokebass seems to play in yours. Cam then force fed me BB NE2 ads till I succumbed.

PPS That must make Cameron, Bassfan's BB grandad...

Guilty as charged.

[bigsmokebass]

@Al Krow I don't know what I'm being dragged into here 😂🤷🏼‍♂️

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, Cairobill said:

...just bought a shiny starry night finished BB3000A which is quite simply top notch in every way. VERY well made instruments...

Just pulling you onto the main thread so as not to sidetrack the sellers's FS thread too much. But, how are you finding your new bass, a couple of weeks in?

Is this your first BB? If not, how does it compare to the rest of your current / previous herd?

I'm just so relieved they only have 4 strings, otherwise I'm not sure I'd be able to resist!!

One concern I've always had about 30+ year old basses is whether the necks warp a bit over time - is that just an issue that I'm unnecessarily worrying about?

 

[Al Krow]

To the great and good on this thread: could a Yammy BB 5000A be realtively easily modded to take a John East Uni-Pre 4?

The John East has 3 band EQ, sweepable mids and active / passive modes.

If so, I think I may just have landed on the idea for something that may be close to an ideal P/J bass for me!

Just to be clear the BB 5000A below is not in my possession (it's just for illustration). I'll be looking to get one if the answer to the modding question is in the affirmative, as it will give me a fall back if I find I'm missing the flexibility of a mid boost and the ability to switch between active and passive.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Al Krow

[Cuzzie]

What’s the back cavity 

[bigsmokebass]

From what I know and taking an educated guess, I'm going to say no. How did it feel and sound when you played it? 

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

From what I know and taking an educated guess, I'm going to say no. How did it feel and sound when you played it? 

I've just amended the earlier post, as it was clearly causing a bit of confusion - a BB 5000A is not yet in the Krow household and if the answer is 'no' in terms of being able to swap in something like the John East pre, may never be.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Al Krow

[dannybuoy]

6 hours ago, bigsmokebass said:

From what I know and taking an educated guess, I'm going to say no. How did it feel and sound when you played it? 

How come?

It's already an active bass so should have a decent sized cavity and battery compartment, and John's pres are pretty tiny. Unless the existing one is a tight fit and totally different shape of course.

Edited April 20, 2019 by dannybuoy

[Cuzzie]

Hence the point of my comments what’s the cavity size, what’s the current wiring schematics - that info you can get whether  you own the bass or not by searching on line

Then the answer is obvious 

[bigsmokebass]

Because the cavity is already a tight fit for what's already in there. Sure you can use the battery compartment for the battery but there's no way you're cramming the Uni Pre 4 in there without expanding the cavity. 

Edited April 20, 2019 by bigsmokebass

[dannybuoy]

This is why you should stick to passive basses Al. If I'm not happy with my preamp I just use a different pedal and don't have to concern myself with what will fit inside my bass!