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The Yamaha BB mega-thread

Al Krow

By Al Krow,
in Bass Guitars

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hookys6stringbass Rising Star

hookys6stringbass

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, marleaux62 said:

Bass arrived this morning played it for a couple of hours and I love it. If you're looking to nail the Peter Hook sound this is the bass to do it just add a chorus pedal and your done.

 

 

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Beautiful 😍 

What make and gauge strings does it come with

GreeneKing Mentor

GreeneKing

Posted
Posted (edited)

My BBPH arrived this afternoon and after about an hour of playing and 20 minutes of tweaking I thought I'd give a few first impressions.

The fit and finish is superb. A typical Yamaha in that respect. No sharp fret ends, a lovely gloss finish with satin for the neck and headstock except for the face which is gloss. The back of the neck feels great to play and won't get sticky even on those hot and humid days I guess.

I initially thought, urghhh, steel wounds and I immediately ordered some nickels. I hate the coarse draggy feel of some steel wounds. The action was okay, quite playable but I could see room for a little setup work.

Fitting the supplied battery was interesting. The battery door is quite flimsy and thin and isn't attached by a ribbon. The battery pops in and immediately pops out again as it's sprung from inside. You have to hold it in place and use the door (that's now on the floor) to secure it properly. If the flimsy door were to fall off the battery would jump out.

The tones available - awesome. I was completely blown away in passive and active doesn't add a huge boost but it gives greater control to sculpt the tone from the single pickup. I'm not sure what modifications have been made for Peter Hook's preference but bass and mids are very useable with extremes I wouldn't use and treble more so. The chosen frequencies seem great for what I do, pop, rock and blues covers.

When tuning up I get a feel for neck stability as say my Fender will waver a little on the tuner while settling down with the one piece neck. The tuner was bang on, it's a lovely stable 5 piece neck!

It's slightly neck heavy but nothing that a forearm on the body doesn't address.

The tuners seem robust and function well.

I initially found the centre detents on the EQ controls difficult to find but after adjusting the pots a few times the centre position was much more distinct.

After playing for an hour I was finding the strings becoming pleasant to use. I realise that Mick has identified them as D'Addario nickels (strung through body) and I can go with that now and they are actually great. I won't change them now they've bedded in a little.

The bass came with very little neck relief (a smidge) and a reasonable action, in itself a good sign. The saddles had been adjusted to follow the radius of the fretboard, a pointless exercise that can cause issues. I flattened them out and wound down the saddles a good deal. The action is now spot on, quite low, no buzziness and still only a tiny amount of neck relief. So the fretwork/neck is great.

I'm very impressed. A couple of minor issues went away with playing and the quick setup I did took the bass in a very positive direction. Maybe stick a ribbon to the battery door?

Oh and the proper Yamaha badge (no decal this) on the headstock is a nice touch for this motorcyclist.

Peter

Bass shed:

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Edited by GreeneKing
  • Like 5
AndyTravis Grand Master

AndyTravis

Posted
Posted

I got very close last night. But I went to bed and woke up thinking I’d made the right choice in not buying.

Then the two sets of pictures above have sent me under. Mad, it’s just a red Yamaha P...but I want one.

  • Haha 1
Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's not just a red Yammy P though is it? 

It's an active red Yammy reverse P with a knob missing. 

And Peter Hook likes it as much as his seven BB 1200S's. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
AndyTravis Grand Master

AndyTravis

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, hookys6stringbass said:

I ordered from PMT...said it was out of stock...expected to be waiting weeks... coming on Monday....

They’re stating “low stock” in Liverpool.

I’m going to hang on until I can see a couple at once, the grain through the trans looks much better in the pics above, but would want the one I get to be in my hands before purchase.

 

  • Like 1
Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Blimey! I haven't seen this much interest in a new Yammy bass for several years! 

In fact, not since they launched their last new line-up of Yammy BB basses back in 2017...

  • Like 1
Sarlscharisma Proficient

Sarlscharisma

Posted
Posted (edited)

I've never seen this level of interest both here and across the pond!  The demand is crazy.  Ive been a Hooky fan since the mid 80s and really chuffed the recognition for his simple yet effective style of playing

Edited by Sarlscharisma
  • Like 1
LukeFRC Grand Master

LukeFRC

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

10 due in local PMT soon.

Will get a call when they’re in.

to the new owners, is the gigbag as nice as the one which came with the 1024’s/714BS?

ta

Do we need to talk about a new home for the Sadowsky?!

  • Haha 1
GreeneKing Mentor

GreeneKing

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

10 due in local PMT soon.

Will get a call when they’re in.

to the new owners, is the gigbag as nice as the one which came with the 1024’s/714BS?

ta

I don’t know. The last BB I owned was a 2024. It’s reasonable. Better than a Warwick gig bag but not up to Mono standard. I usually use a ‘Slickbag’ and it’s not quite on a par.

  • Like 1
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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
53 minutes ago, GreeneKing said:

I don’t know. The last BB I owned was a 2024. It’s reasonable. Better than a Warwick gig bag but not up to Mono standard. I usually use a ‘Slickbag’ and it’s not quite on a par.

Bear in mind the Yammy gig bags (certainly the one I got with my 1025), whilst very good quality, was a half inch shorter than comfortable for the bass. Hopefully not an issue for the PH gig bags. 

Edited by Al Krow
GreeneKing Mentor

GreeneKing

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Bear in mind the Yammy gig bags (certainly the one I got with my 1025), whilst very good quality, was a half inch shorter than comfortable for the bass. Hopefully not an issue for the PH gig bags. 

No it fits just fine. I wasn’t expecting a gig bag so it was a bonus. I suppose at £999 I should have expected one :) 

 

Fil1ip Collaborator

Fil1ip

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, GreeneKing said:

No it fits just fine. I wasn’t expecting a gig bag so it was a bonus. I suppose at £999 I should have expected one :) 

 

Interesting as they are £899 in pmt, £999 guitar guitar and £1099 in gear4music 

  • Like 1
AndyTravis Grand Master

AndyTravis

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Fil1ip said:

Interesting as they are £899 in pmt, £999 guitar guitar and £1099 in gear4music 

My mate at PMT says there are 10 on the way, so I’ll pick one from those

Edited by AndyTravis
  • Like 1
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