The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[Fil1ip]

Hi 

Are the BB734 China made? 

[2elliot]

27 minutes ago, Fil1ip said:

Hi 

Are the BB734 China made? 

Indonesia 

[Al Krow]

On 07/06/2020 at 13:16, sykilz said:

Can anyone help please? I have, as previously shown in this thread, a rather lovely BB414 that is simply my 'forever bass' and now I'm thinking about a 5 string to replace my old Washburn, I've been made an offer on a BB235 that is very tempting, but will have to buy untested, what are people's experiences, if any?? I only play at home and low volume jams with a guitarist friend, so the 'tone' and pickups are of less concern than the general feel and build quality, are they still as solid as my 2008 Yammy? Cheers!!

Looks like not too many 235 owners on here. But frankly I'd be gobsmacked if you found it to be anything other than a very well put together bass and excellent value. I guess we're going to need hear back from you rather than vice versa! 

[TRBboy]

On 07/06/2020 at 13:16, sykilz said:

Can anyone help please? I have, as previously shown in this thread, a rather lovely BB414 that is simply my 'forever bass' and now I'm thinking about a 5 string to replace my old Washburn, I've been made an offer on a BB235 that is very tempting, but will have to buy untested, what are people's experiences, if any?? I only play at home and low volume jams with a guitarist friend, so the 'tone' and pickups are of less concern than the general feel and build quality, are they still as solid as my 2008 Yammy? Cheers!!

You'd struggle to find a bad Yammy tbh. 

If it feels anything like my 435 you'll love it! I can't imagine it'll feel too different to your 414, apart from obvs being a 5 string, although I think the newer range do have a slightly thinner profile. 

[sykilz]

Excellent thank you. Unfortunately I recently had a bad problem with my back ( 5 weeks off work, couldn't even stand for first 4 days, not fun) , anyway a friend sent me some guitar parts to noodle over , I haven't played bass for maybe a year after retiring from covers band, but I thought about getting a 5 string because the extra low range would have worked nicely on the tunes. Hence looking for and finding a nice looking BB 235 for a decent price. However after playing for longer today I've been getting more back pain afterwards, I think primarily because the one fault of the BB414 is it's slightly neck heavy and not lightweight overall. So now I may have to go Ibanez and / or short scale. Will probably be best to wait until shops reopen to try them out. Blast. Thanks anyway.

[Al Krow]

@sykilz - sorry to hear about the back pain. 5 string basses will have heavier neck to body weight ratios than 4 string basses and more potential for neck dive.

Ibanez make some excellent basses: lightweight, quality build, and very playable necks. I do prefer their SR Premium range over the Standard range mainly due to the Nord Big Singles in the Premiums. Alongside my BB1025 my Ibby SR1825 has been my goto gigging bass for the last 18 months. Just be aware that Ibanez typically have relatively narrow 16.5mm string spacing on their 5 string basses (other than some recently released models), which can take a little getting used to.

[TRBboy]

The new Ibanez EHB range is lightweight and really ergonomically designed, just depends how you feel about headless basses I guess! 

I've been lusting after one of the SR Mezzo 5 strings for a while, and see they've had rave reviews on here..... I just don't NEED one really! 

[sykilz]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@sykilz - sorry to hear about the back pain. 5 string basses will have heavier neck to body weight ratios than 4 string basses and more potential for neck dive.

Ibanez make some excellent basses: lightweight, quality build, and very playable necks. I do prefer their SR Premium range over the Standard range mainly due to the Nord Big Singles in the Premiums. Alongside my BB1025 my Ibby SR1825 has been my goto gigging bass for the last 18 months. Just be aware that Ibanez typically have relatively narrow 16.5mm string spacing on their 5 string basses (other than some recently released models), which can take a little getting used to.

Thanks Al, I exclusively played a Washburn 5 string for maybe 10 years In the 1990's and that had same string spacing as the Ibanez's , although it was horrendously neck heavy, and I did briefly play a basic SR300 , and TBH I do prefer a nice tight string spacing, I find standard Fenderish spacing a bit less easy. Cheers.

[BassApprentice]

Couldn't resist as it's sitting in the living room for once. 

 

Toyed with selling and getting a 435 for the slightly smaller body, but it looks so good 😍

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by BassApprentice

[mikeycrikey]

It really does

[Fil1ip]

14 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

Couldn't resist as it's sitting in the living room for once. 

 

Toyed with selling and getting a 435 for the slightly smaller body, but it looks so good 😍

 

Wow looks nice 👌

[gobasserk]

Just home from picking up my second BB1000ma. Toggle switch non functional. Therefore reasonable in price.  Lucky day! 
Bought it to refinish it completely. Just can't decide the colour... 

Edited June 11, 2020 by gobasserk

[AndyTravis]

19 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Just home from picking up my second BB1000ma. Toggle switch non functional. Therefore reasonable in price.  Lucky day! 
Bought it to refinish it completely. Just can't decide the colour... 

Lava red or green sparkle - to match the inlays

[gobasserk]

Exactly the two colours I am thinking on! Switching to gold hardware will be another 200 Euros. 

[AndyTravis]

19 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Exactly the two colours I am thinking on! Switching to gold hardware will be another 200 Euros. 

Think red will be classier.

[Al Krow]

51 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Just home from picking up my second BB1000ma. Toggle switch non functional. Therefore reasonable in price.  Lucky day! 
Bought it to refinish it completely. Just can't decide the colour... 

That's just greedy 😁

[gobasserk]

Mh... I don't care if it is looking like a Yamaha classic or not 🙂 I always loved the matt green of the BB3000MA..... and a really yellow taxi / vintage white and gold hardware does look good too. 
Did a sound check, the toggle is set to both pus. And without knowing what bass I play I would not be able to tell which one is playing.  No difference at all.... 

[gobasserk]

Two BBs is greedy? 😛 

 

[Al Krow]

21 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Two BBs is greedy? 😛 

Nah, but two BB 1000ma's is!

[gobasserk]

Mh.... they are often cheaper than a BB425. So I can't agree 😉  Even less because my BB1000MA is my main axe since ..18 years (?)  ! 

 

[AndyTravis]

3 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Mh.... they are often cheaper than a BB425. So I can't agree 😉  Even less because my BB1000MA is my main axe since ..18 years (?)  ! 

 

Where do you find them cheaper than 425’s?! 
 

And by “classier” I mean smarter, less trashy than yellow 😉

[gobasserk]

They go from 250 - 300 Euros over here. This one came with a brand new case that I even don't need. All my cases are stored in a room and I just don't need them. I always use thick bags. 

[AndyTravis]

10 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

They go from 250 - 300 Euros over here. This one came with a brand new case that I even don't need. All my cases are stored in a room and I just don't need them. I always use thick bags. 

They don’t crop up much in the UK - think I’d like one

[gobasserk]

Due to the reverese PU they sound different than any 424/414/1024/2024 .. every time I play one of these basses I do notice that they do more deep bass but I am that used to the sound of the 1000MA that it is to much for me and I go back to the reverse bass. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, gobasserk said:

They go from 250 - 300 Euros over here. This one came with a brand new case that I even don't need. All my cases are stored in a room and I just don't need them. I always use thick bags. 

If you spot another one going locally, which you are not going to buy for yourself, then please do post a link on this thread. As Andy said they're pretty rare over here in the UK and it's likely to be of interest to a number of BB lovers.

The reverse P on the ma is a desirable alternative set up, for sure! Interestingly the Peter Hook model about to be released is also a reverse P.