The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[jezzaboy]

My bad, it`s a gig bad but a rather nice one. Would set you back about £50 if you had to buy it I think.

 

The bass is really good. I have always preferred the Yammy P pickup to Fenders and it looks stunning. I don`t think you will be disappointed.

[Al Krow]

Spoke too soon, looks like the vintage white 1025 has been discontinued. Rimmers have emailed me to thank me for the short term cash flow boost to their coffers and they will be amending their website accordingly.

So that means (i) I am now technically no longer in breach of my one in one out rule for 2018  and (ii) still in the market for a 5 string P/J (ideally with a neck through).

[Al Krow]

New bass day: BB1025

They say you don't miss something until it's gone. Well that was very true in my case with a new 'end of line' BB425 I managed to get my hands on last year but then parted with, too soon, in a trade for another bass.

I came close to getting a Vintage White ('VW') BB1025 from Rimmers earlier in the year, which was the finish that I'd wanted (the same as my former BB425, in fact), only to find that stuff that was supposed to have already sold out had, in fact, sold out! 

The trouble with seeing the black 1025 for trade in the FS section each time it got bumped, is that it reminded me I'd really like to get my hands on a VW BB1025!  But not at the price the Yammy Store in London had listed theirs online for.  @dannybuoy mentioned a little earlier in this thread that they would be willing to price match, so I thought I'd see what I could negotiate. I was in town today and met up with @CameronJ for a pedal swap (returning a loaned bitcrusher and buying a couple more Source Audio pedals off him!) and persuaded him to meet at the Yammy store.

We A/B'd a new P34 on display with the VW BB1025. Why they only provide relatively under-powered Hartke amps to show off their wares, I have no idea! The P34 is indeed a lovely bass and had they had a P35 in stock I might have been half tempted, but they didn't and I managed to persuade them to undercut the Rimmers' price on the 1025 and to also include a really good quality Yammy gig bag (which seems to be a lot better than generic one included on the Rimmers' website). There was no way a P35 was going to be worth more than twice the price of a 1025 for me, which should make for an excellent gigging bass (and without being something I'll fret about the occasional ding along the way, which I probably would with a P35).

There are just a few differences between the 1025 and the 425. The 1025 has a better body construction with a 3 piece body & spline joint; a better bridge; nickel rather than plastic nut which should improve the articulation on the open strings a touch and the P-pups are split blade rather than split single. That's pretty much it. The PUPs on the 425 are a P-bass on steroids; they deliver a very impressive punch for a passive bass and I found myself dialling-back the mids a touch with the 425. The 1025 pups are more balanced in that regard.

So I think I have been fortunate enough to get my hands on very possibly the last new VW BB1025 for sale in the UK; I hope I've learned my lesson from letting my 425 go, too soon, and hold on to this one for a fair bit longer!

 

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by Al Krow

[dannybuoy]

Nice one. Those gig bags are standard by the way and they are very nice (even though they could do with being about 1cm longer inside!).

[Al Krow]

Cheers DB. You're spot on (again!) about the gig bag being a bit too snug!

Looking forward to putting the Yammy through its paces over the weekend.

[dannybuoy]

The P+J setting played agressively with lots of bends and slides etc to get the growl going sounds great into the M900!

[Al Krow]

Just now, dannybuoy said:

The P+J setting played agressively with lots of bends and slides etc to get the growl going sounds great into the M900!

Yes I was just thinking I seem to be following very rapidly in your footsteps with my gear!  

Whilst we're on the subject of growl and at risk of completely derailing this thread, hopefully for not too long, have you come across the any of the AmpTweaker range? Heard one of these briefly at a fellow BCers recently and he was raving about the pedal as his new goto dirt.

[dannybuoy]

They've been around for a while, but I haven't been blown over by any of the demos enough to make me want to take the plunge!

[Al Krow]

23 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

They've been around for a while, but I haven't been blown over by any of the demos enough to make me want to take the plunge!

Cool. Well we can get back to Yammys again then now

 

[bigsmokebass]

I do love my 1025 but being replaced by an active??? Surely that's what the BB700 series are for, Right? 

 

I don't know what to think of this as being an passive 5 string with great sound was the best thing about this bass. Imo, ofc.

[Al Krow]

52 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

I do love my 1025 but being replaced by an active??? Surely that's what the BB700 series are for, Right? 

I don't know what to think of this, as being a passive 5 string with great sound was the best thing about this bass. Imo, ofc.

+1 

I suspect that the 735A is perhaps not actually the spiritual successor to the 1025? Given that the P35 is mid way in price between the 1025 and 2025, and is a passive bass, it's probably reasonable to think of that as being the successor to both?

Now if Yamaha still made a P bass with a neck through like the old BB2000 (I think these were only ever 4 string?) in a 5 string, it would be perfect. But, as I've discovered on another thread, a neck through P bass 5er, unless it's bespoke and costing £££s, just doesn't seem to exist. 

But that aside, I'm pretty confident after my really positive experience with a BB425, the 1025 will be more than 'good enough'!  

Edited January 26, 2018 by Al Krow

[M@23]

Looks much sharper than the X variant, to me anyway. Good find! I'm tempted by a 735a, but also have a long standing want for a Yamaha 6...

[Al Krow]

23 minutes ago, M@23 said:

Looks much sharper than the X variant, to me anyway. Good find! I'm tempted by a 735a, but also have a long standing want for a Yamaha 6...

Thanks Mark! 

Hmmm a Yammy 6?! Which one have you got in mind?

My BB425 actually got traded for an Ibby 6, which I'm looking forward to restringing E to E in Fender Bass VI fashion but with sufficient string spacing on the lower strings to maybe include the odd slapped note, should the song require!

Edited January 26, 2018 by Al Krow

[bigsmokebass]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

+1 

I suspect that the 735A is perhaps not actually the spiritual successor to the 1025? Given that the P35 is mid way in price between the 1025 and 2025, and is a passive bass, it's probably reasonable to think of that as being the successor to both?

Now if Yamaha still made a P bass with a neck through like the old BB2000 (I think these were only ever 4 string?) in a 5 string, it would be perfect. But, as I've discovered on another thread, a neck through P bass 5er, unless it's bespoke and costing £££s, just doesn't seem to exist. 

But that aside, I'm pretty confident after my really positive experience with a BB425, the 1025 will be more than 'good enough'!  

I'll definitely have to get around to trying the P35. I've always said that, as much as I do love Fender precision basses.... Yamaha do it better with the BB's and I'll probably keep going back to Yamaha for this reason.

My 1025 is just my baby (hence the display pic) and I'll be in the market for another soon but a 4 stringer this time. Such a shame these are becoming more expensive for a P35 rather than keep the line going but with more options, than X for a scratch plate.... let's see what's to come as the Revstars have been given a few more colour options to each range. 

[Al Krow]

14 hours ago, bigsmokebass said:

I'll definitely have to get around to trying the P35. I've always said that, as much as I do love Fender precision basses.... Yamaha do it better with the BB's and I'll probably keep going back to Yamaha for this reason.

My 1025 is just my baby (hence the display pic) and I'll be in the market for another soon but a 4 stringer this time. Such a shame these are becoming more expensive for a P35 rather than keep the line going but with more options, than X for a scratch plate.... let's see what's to come as the Revstars have been given a few more colour options to each range. 

Haha controversial! "I do love Fender precision basses.... Yamaha do it better with the BB's"  Fortunately you're unlikely to get too many die-hard Fender P bass owners such as @Lozz196 spending too much time on the Yammy thread to put the alternative viewpoint! But, of course, I can't disagree with you on this given that I made a beeline for the 1025 myself in preference to a Fender P!

If you're looking for a 4 string bass P then the world is your oyster, right? Would you consider a Warwick Streamer Stage 1 or a Spector Euro LX (both do great looking neck through versions) for a slightly different take?

On 26/01/2018 at 13:36, dannybuoy said:

The P+J setting played agressively with lots of bends and slides etc to get the growl going sounds great into the M900!

Just been noodling: having a punchy P back in the stable and rattling the windows with the VK210 cab & M900 only dialled up to 2.5/10(!) has definitely put a smile on my face. I'm not quite confident enough on a 5 to be gigging with this tonight (as I've always gigged on a 4  to date), but I suspect it won't be long before this gets an outing...    

Edited January 27, 2018 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

Ok this was unexpected, but a very pleasant surprise:

I've struggled with the dirt on DG pedals / B3K and VMT on my otherwise excellent 'clean' DG M900 amp due to the 'high end fizz' that I've had to work quite hard to eliminate e.g. dialling back the Tone / LPF control to reduce the top end; cutting the treble; and cutting back the tweeter on the cab. That gets me a fair bit of the way there although it makes for a darker 'clean' than I would like.

The high end fizz is particularly present with the aggressive and bright Nord pups on my Ibby and slightly less noticeable with the also aggressive but slightly less bright Warwick MECs (both set of pups and basses I really otherwise like) and I've not really been able to eliminate this fizz with these two basses for love nor money.

With the Yammy 1025 P bass, this 'fizz' disappears automatically. To the extent that I can dial back in the dirt 'Tone' and importantly the treble also to get something that I would also use on clean. Hey presto a totally usable M900 and not just a great clean amp!

Well that's an added bonus. I'm starting to appreciate why @dannybuoy finds the BB1025 and DG M900 such a great combination!

[CameronJ]

How did I not know you had a DG M900, @Al Krow??

[Al Krow]

32 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

How did I not know you had a DG M900, @Al Krow??

Hah! Probably 'cos you've been a genie-us on tour for the past three months?

 

[Westenra]

Speaking of amps, what heads/combos are you guys all using? My little rundown is;

BB424x in Olympic white

Fender rumble 100 combo V3

TC BH250

As all I'm doing nowadays is practicing away with headphones I'm leaning more towards the TC.

[Al Krow]

9 hours ago, Westenra said:

Speaking of amps, what heads/combos are you guys all using? My little rundown is;

BB424x in Olympic white

Fender rumble 100 combo V3

TC BH250

As all I'm doing nowadays is practicing away with headphones I'm leaning more towards the TC.

Hah! There are a million and one possible responses to your Q none of which will be 'right' or 'wrong' (well except possibly a couple of amp manufacturers who can remain nameless ). You've got two very decent amps there which would seem perfect for home practice! 

[Westenra]

28 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Hah! There are a million and one possible responses to your Q none of which will be 'right' or 'wrong' (well except possibly a couple of amp manufacturers who can remain nameless ). You've got two very decent amps there which would seem perfect for home practice! 

Well you know how it goes, chasing the tone in your head! Just curious as I found the BBs to have a very warm/round feel to them which I feel wouldn't work too well with a hi-fi rig but always happy to be proved wrong.

[Al Krow]

8 minutes ago, Westenra said:

Well you know how it goes, chasing the tone in your head! Just curious as I found the BBs to have a very warm/round feel to them which I feel wouldn't work too well with a hi-fi rig but always happy to be proved wrong.

Which hifi rigs did you have in mind and how would you describe that tone you're looking for?

I'd kinda say the opposite: BBs have a warm round feel with punchy mids that should work well with just about any rig (I personally would steer clear of Orange as being too muddy - but that's just my personal preference).  My rigs are: Markbass 1x12combo, Mesa M6 2x12 combo and DG M900 + VK210 - and although my BB1025 is not long in the fold, I can't see it not working with any of them

[dannybuoy]

I think it sounds great through a fat warm amp as well as a hi-fi one, I reckon an active hifi bass + hifi amp can often be too bright/sterile sounding. I've used mine with an Orange Terror Bass for a long time but always had to use an extra drive pedal to liven it up a bit. My most recent band outing though I've been converted to the more hifi nature of the M900 as I needed a bit more top end zing.

However I have since been a convert to using the Orange using it's 'flat' settings as a starting point (bass and treble all the way off, mids all the way up) and it sounds a lot better, in case you tried one before Al with the knobs set to noon (as most people would)!

[BassApprentice]

1 hour ago, Westenra said:

Just curious as I found the BBs to have a very warm/round feel to them which I feel wouldn't work too well with a hi-fi rig but always happy to be proved wrong.

I have a Phil Jones Suitcase (which I would class as a Hi-Fi rig) and recently acquired a BB425 but yet to try them out together. Will let you know how it goes!

[Westenra]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Which hifi rigs did you have in mind and how would you describe that tone you're looking for?

I'd kinda say the opposite: BBs have a warm round feel with punchy mids that should work well with just about any rig (I personally would steer clear of Orange as being too muddy - but that's just my personal preference).  My rigs are: Markbass 1x12combo, Mesa M6 2x12 combo and DG M900 + VK210 - and although my BB1025 is not long in the fold, I can't see it not working with any of them

Ha I think you got my post the wrong way around! I love the warm round sound of my BB and my current two amps do that a lot of justice but the TC can be hi-fi if needed (but I don't dare turn the treble knob higher than 12 o'clock). How are you finding the match with the M900?