The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[CameronJ]

Re: the Yamaha store, yes the staff will typically plug you into one of the small Hartke combos but there are also a couple of much heftier Ampeg rigs on the opposite side of the showroom which they’ll happily plug you into if you ask! The first time I tried a 735a was through their Ampeg 410 stack and it was a glorious experience even at the low volume I was playing at.

Edited September 14, 2019 by CameronJ

[TRBboy]

Think I might just be going to the show actually, just checked and its gonna be nearly 4hrs each way for me on Saturday..... 😬

[Guest Corto14]

Hi everyone!

I want to share with you (and others who might be interested in these new BB's) my feelings after 2 months with my 734a.

The bass sounds very, very good. I'm not a super expert, but in passive mode sounds a little different from the active mode, which for me is a great thing 'cause this allow to have a lot of "different" sounds that should cover pretty much everything (circa). 

Very nice P tone but the j pickup soloed is very accurate, compared to a jazz bass (IMHO). I use with a Fender Rumble 40 and the two work very nice together.

The most important that i've noticed is the neck: I LOVE IT, it's fantastic! Beautiful and smooth, not crazy fast, just RIGHT. 

The only cons that i have found it's maybe that is not perfectly balanced, but it could be because of my strap.

 

[BenR24]

i might be willing to sell off my bb435 in great condition with the view to go to a p35 as my bass for all time, not been on for a while but skim reading through theres quite a few looking for a potential 435. 

It is a lovely bass which is why i'd happily settle with a p35 for the 'long term' (until i see something else as always)

 

[whamni]

2 hours ago, Corto14 said:

Hi everyone!

I want to share with you (and others who might be interested in these new BB's) my feelings after 2 months with my 734a.

The bass sounds very, very good. I'm not a super expert, but in passive mode sounds a little different from the active mode, which for me is a great thing 'cause this allow to have a lot of "different" sounds that should cover pretty much everything (circa). 

Very nice P tone but the j pickup soloed is very accurate, compared to a jazz bass (IMHO). I use with a Fender Rumble 40 and the two work very nice together.

The most important that i've noticed is the neck: I LOVE IT, it's fantastic! Beautiful and smooth, not crazy fast, just RIGHT. 

The only cons that i have found it's maybe that is not perfectly balanced, but it could be because of my strap.

 

The only Con I have is, I wish they had put the jack socket at the front like the Fender P lol, small gripe for what is a great bass.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, whamni said:

The only Con I have is, I wish they had put the jack socket at the front like the Fender P lol, small gripe for what is a great bass.

Haha - that's definitely going to split bass-land right down the middle! I think there are as many folk who prefer the jack placement on the side as they do on the top / front!

[dave_bass5]

Front for me as well, although I don’t really care either way when playing. Its more about when putting the bass on a floor stand, don’t want to go and knock my transmitter off. 
 

 

[TRBboy]

22 hours ago, BenR24 said:

i might be willing to sell off my bb435 in great condition with the view to go to a p35 as my bass for all time, not been on for a while but skim reading through theres quite a few looking for a potential 435. 

It is a lovely bass which is why i'd happily settle with a p35 for the 'long term' (until i see something else as always)

 

PM'd you last night dude. 😊👍

[Guest MoJo]

21 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Haha - that's definitely going to split bass-land right down the middle! I think there are as many folk who prefer the jack placement on the side as they do on the top / front!

Yeah, on the side/edge for me

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by MoJo

[2elliot]

This is now looking very close to a production model. The headstock is no longer blank. Excellent.  

 

[Al Krow]

Yeah! And just when I informed Mrs Krow I'd bought my final bass. 

How she laughed ☺️

But are they going to be doing a 5 string version?

[2elliot]

46 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Yeah! And just when I informed Mrs Krow I'd bought my final bass. 

How she laughed ☺️

But are they going to be doing a 5 string version?

It's a Peter Hook signature bass. Doubt it. 

[Al Krow]

15 minutes ago, 2elliot said:

It's a Peter Hook signature bass. Doubt it. 

Actually, for once...phew! I'm just about to run out of rack space and as the Greek has helpfully defined for us, that defines 'enough' basses doesn't it? 

So I guess I'll be leaving you 4some lovers to part with the readies on this one then! And I'll hopefully manage to avoid being caught hook, line and sinker this time around! 😁

[dave_bass5]

Can someone enlighten me about this possible purchase lol.

 

[dave_bass5]

Just read that Jack Bates from the smashing pumpkins has taken delivery of a P34. Wonder how he will get on with it. I know he loves his current bass 😉

[dave_bass5]

On 13/09/2019 at 22:50, Al Krow said:

Time-clock noted at 10 36pm on 13-09-19

I promise you, I will never sell it. Partly because it can never really be replaced later on. These are a very limited edition. 

[2elliot]

27 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Can someone enlighten me about this possible purchase lol.

 

It's the bass Peter Hook and Yamaha  have designed to replace his old BB1200s. He's been road testing it for quite a while now. Fingers crossed I'll get a close up of the bass this Friday in Middlesbrough. 

[dave_bass5]

17 minutes ago, 2elliot said:

It's the bass Peter Hook and Yamaha  have designed to replace his old BB1200s. He's been road testing it for quite a while now. Fingers crossed I'll get a close up of the bass this Friday in Middlesbrough. 

Cheers. It does look pretty cool in that photo. I’ll keep an eye on this one. 

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Cheers. It does look pretty cool in that photo. I’ll keep an eye on this one. 

You're going to end up fretting about this, mark my words 😁

[dave_bass5]

15 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

You're going to end up fretting about this, mark my words 😁

Lol, i like red basses.....

[Al Krow]

*Sigh*... and there was me feeling really pleased with the whole 'fretting' thing, given the angst you've just had over the height of the frets on your P34...

Wasted, I say, totally wasted! 😂

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

Just read that Jack Bates from the smashing pumpkins has taken delivery of a P34. Wonder how he will get on with it. I know he loves his current bass 😉

Saw a video with him playing the 734a, don't know if that's what he normally plays though

[TRBboy]

I'm still agonising over which model would be best suited to me... I'm chasing a more traditional vibe at the moment (but in a 5 string format!). From the videos I've watched, the 700 and P series sound a bit more.... Modern to my ears, I'm assuming because of the fillet of maple in the middle. This makes me wonder if the 400 would be best for me, with its more conventional solid alder body... Plus the 400 seems to be lighter than the two higher ranges, again presumably due to the maple. 

But I know the P35 would be best quality and probably feel nicest.... 

.... Plus the 400 is cheaper! 😜

Decisions, decisions! 🤔

Edited September 16, 2019 by TRBboy
Typo

[dave_bass5]

46 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

*Sigh*... and there was me feeling really pleased with the whole 'fretting' thing, given the angst you've just had over the height of the frets on your P34...

Wasted, I say, totally wasted! 😂

ah, I’ve cracked it.

Ive realised its not the frets, Its just the overall neck shape and size.
See I realised with my P Bass my hand cups the back of the neck, it fits like a glove, so my fingers are free to move without my whole hand moving. With the P34 being a bit narrower my hand extends further away and so my fingers need to be curled a bit more, and the hand is more floating rather than cupping the neck. Some would say bad technique, and I’d probably agree, but it’s how I play.  Its still a fast neck, but when I’m standing my fingers are curled even more. That’s where the lack of comfort is coming from. this also accounts for why I like playing 5 string, as the neck is a bit wider, but the sting spacing is normally narrower. 
Got a gig on Sat and I’ll take the P34. Might as well get a proper gig out of it before it goes. 

[Guest MoJo]

What strings are you guys running on your BB’s. I currently have Rotosound Swing Bass on both my BB425 and my P-bass and for 90% of the set, the BB sounds better IMHO in the mix. It’s only when we come to the ‘rockier’ stuff that the BB loses out to the P-Bass. It just doesn’t have that mid and upper mid bite that the P-bass does. I was thinking maybe a different string set might help. Thoughts?