such Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 I realised I've had 4 BBs already. First a natural 605 bought for £160 on ebay in 2009, then a year or two later a raspberry red 415 that I won also on ebay at £115, but the seller contacted me right away saying he only wants £95 as he just noticed the pickup switch was shot. He happened to be Tony Williams of Steelers Wheel ("Stuck in the middle with you"). Then a wine red 1500a (£160), and a 350f from classifieds here (£150). The three I moved on are the basses I regret letting go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 On 21/04/2021 at 19:45, Al Krow said: We're clearly struggling with aging memories...for the life of me, I can't remember you ever commenting about me mentioning that before. its been a very long 12 months hasn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 7 minutes ago, such said: I realised I've had 4 BBs already. First a natural 605 bought for £160 on ebay in 2009, then a year or two later a raspberry red 415 that I won also on ebay at £115, but the seller contacted me right away saying he only wants £95 as he just noticed the pickup switch was shot. He happened to be Tony Williams of Steelers Wheel ("Stuck in the middle with you"). Then a wine red 1500a (£160), and a 350f from classifieds here (£150). The three I moved on are the basses I regret letting go. Used to work with Tony. “did I ever tell you I was in steelers wheel...” Nice bloke. The 1500a is a “should own one” bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 Just now, LukeFRC said: its been a very long 12 months hasn't it? It's certainly been different! Fewer gigs but FINALLY realising the bleeding obvious - what gear you have matters far far less than what you actually do with it. It really is all in the fingers! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 16 minutes ago, Al Krow said: It's certainly been different! Fewer gigs but FINALLY realising the bleeding obvious - what gear you have matters far far less than what you actually do with it. It really is all in the fingers! 😉 I'm looking forward to first practice/gig. Either I've forgotten everything, or a year of noodling at home on work lunchtime and I've improved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
such Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 1 hour ago, AndyTravis said: The 1500a is a “should own one” bass. They're fantastic. Preamp kind of difficult to understand, but capable. Native tone was much more dense than the Marcusowsky that was my main bass then. Chunkier. Marcus only came close when I put DiMarzio model Js in it. The Yamaha had a sweet chunky neck too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 7 hours ago, such said: They're fantastic. Preamp kind of difficult to understand, but capable. Native tone was much more dense than the Marcusowsky that was my main bass then. Chunkier. Marcus only came close when I put DiMarzio model Js in it. The Yamaha had a sweet chunky neck too. Marcusowsky? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
such Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 1 hour ago, AndyTravis said: Marcusowsky? I've had this Fender Marcus with a Sadowsky preamp for the longest time, only sold it on here like 5 months ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattiZ Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 (edited) My BB1200S is almost restored, for now. Some history: I found it in about a year ago in quite sad state: Original pickup missing and replaced with an EMG PJ set (with quite an ugly route for bridge PU, plus the original neck PU frame destroyed), volume and tone pots changed to 25K dual volumes (correct for active EMGs), knobs replaced with ill-fitting chickenheads, machine heads replaced with Schallers (very good quality but not as pretty as originals), scratched and dented all over. Oh, and a large poo brown wooden thumbrest was installed, had to remove it even before taking pictures, two screw holes remain. But what matters is it played beautifully and sounded acceptable. The EMG P was quite good but the soloed J and both PUs together did not do much. I even considered removing the J, getting the PU route filled and having (maybe the whole bass) refinished. Glad I didn’t. In late August I received a pagkage containing a set of original BB tuners, PJ pickup set off a MIJ BB1100S plus some other Yamaha hardware. Thanks a lot @jezzaboy! Still missing the reverse P pickup frame, I had to find a way to make a replacement. A friend helped with drawing and laser-cutting it, and it took lots of filing, sanding, buffing and polishing to make it look like a 40-year old piece of plastic, but finally I’m quite satisfied with the result. The P needed to be reversed (BB1100S being non-reversed), so some rewiring was to be done. That also meant new pots, 250K LOG for volume, 250K MN for blend. And two new original knobs - surprisingly, Yamaha still sells those as spares! Not cheap, not easy to get (it took 4 months for the order to arrive at my local Yamaha distributor. Finally, last saturday, I had everything I needed at hand. Some pics to show where I was at the beginning. More to come. Edited April 23, 2021 by MattiZ Stupid mistake. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattiZ Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 The Schallers had a different mounting pattern from the original tuners, so extra holes and imprints were left visible in the back of the headstock. Oh well. Just admire the impressive woodwork here, at the J pickup cavity. The P rewired and reversed, ready for assembly, and some stuff waiting for the next step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattiZ Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 (edited) Before & after rewiring, both PUs installed, final result. I must repeat that I’m deeply grateful to @jezzaboy without whom this little restoration project would not have been possible, as he provided me with most of the impossible to find parts. Thank you! Edited April 23, 2021 by MattiZ Dumb mistake. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattiZ Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Some issues remain: J PU poles are not flush with the cover, they feel so sharp it would be easy to split fingernails by hitting them, and the routing still looks hideous. I have no woodwork experience, but I guess the only way to clean it up would be completely re-routing the cavity, to fit a larger PU, like the soapbar-styled J like the one from BB1000S (or the older Yamaha SB Series basses). Anybody have one to sell? Or even if not the pickup, just the soapbar cover would do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 BB405 on Gumtree - is this a bargain? https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/yamaha-bb405-5string-bass/1378741389 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 8 minutes ago, TheGreek said: BB405 on Gumtree - is this a bargain? https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/yamaha-bb405-5string-bass/1378741389 Meh. £150 would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 4 hours ago, MattiZ said: Some issues remain: J PU poles are not flush with the cover, they feel so sharp it would be easy to split fingernails by hitting them, and the routing still looks hideous. I have no woodwork experience, but I guess the only way to clean it up would be completely re-routing the cavity, to fit a larger PU, like the soapbar-styled J like the one from BB1000S (or the older Yamaha SB Series basses). Anybody have one to sell? Or even if not the pickup, just the soapbar cover would do! The J pickup poles on my BB350 are the same. I'm thinking of taking it apart to see if they're mounted in wax. That way I might be able to manipulate them to fit flush with the cover. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 2 hours ago, TheGreek said: BB405 on Gumtree - is this a bargain? https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/yamaha-bb405-5string-bass/1378741389 I saw that, will give it another week and see if its still there and make an offer. Whats the big difference between the 405 and 605? Hardware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, BassApprentice said: I saw that, will give it another week and see if its still there and make an offer. Whats the big difference between the 405 and 605? Hardware? Ones active ones passive! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folkesy Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Lovely looking 405. I absolutely love my 605 and 604, fabulous bass guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 The 1024 on ebay has just ended at £304 with only two bids. I was hovering over the 'confirm bid' button but chickened out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattiZ Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 36 minutes ago, Horizontalste said: The J pickup poles on my BB350 are the same. I'm thinking of taking it apart to see if they're mounted in wax. That way I might be able to manipulate them to fit flush with the cover. It should be possible. At least, there was no wax on mine, the cover was quite easily removed. Didn’t realize there would be a problem with the sharp polepieces while I had the PU apart. I might not try to force them into the pickup - the polepieces are rusty and may not move - but instead cut some cardboard slices into proper shape to fit inside the cover, punch holes for the polepieces and call it a day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 (edited) Seen this? Edited April 23, 2021 by TheGreek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, Maude said: The 1024 on ebay has just ended at £304 with only two bids. I was hovering over the 'confirm bid' button but chickened out. Ffs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: Ffs My exact emotions. eBay app notified me with exactly 12 seconds left. F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 I had entered a bid I was comfortable with and was having that inner struggle whether to hit confirm. A mix of 'I don't need it', 'I've ordered a Jack Casady' and 'I think Reggaebass is after this' stopped me. Someone's got a bargain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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