The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[TRBboy]

Well my BB435 went off to its new home at the weekend, so my only bass currently is my BBN5.... That is until my new bass arrives later! 😂

[FinnDave]

The deed is done, my 1024x is now listed in the for sale section.

[javi_bassist]

5 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Well my BB435 went off to its new home at the weekend, so my only bass currently is my BBN5.... That is until my new bass arrives later! 😂

Well, the BBN5 is not a bad bass... Kind of my dream bass 😆😍

[TRBboy]

1 minute ago, javi_bassist said:

Well, the BBN5 is not a bad bass... Kind of my dream bass 😆😍

I'm not sure if you really like them or you're taking the mickey! 😂

They are GREAT basses considering they were pretty low-end. I refinished mine a few months ago. 

[javi_bassist]

3 hours ago, TRBboy said:

I'm not sure if you really like them or you're taking the mickey! 😂

They are GREAT basses considering they were pretty low-end. I refinished mine a few months ago. 

I trully love them. I will try to get one in the near future.

Wow, yours looks amazing. Is it like blue/gray? Love the new finish!! 

[Al Krow]

10 hours ago, FinnDave said:

The deed is done, my 1024x is now listed in the for sale section.

And lovely it is too, in a not so commonly seen vintage white. 

Thanks for popping in on this thread, and come back again soon! 😁

[joostone]

I've been working on this for months. But it's all done now!

I've talked about modding a BB into BB-Ray on this board before.

 

I've bought a BB-350 (which is an excellent player!! that neck!!) and modded it into a stingray.

I used this preamp kit: https://www.musikding.de/Classic-Bass-Preamp-Preamp-kit

This is a original stingray '77 clone 2EQ. And it sure sounds like a Stingray!

 

[AndyTravis]

@joostone 

that is absolutely awesome. Has a look of a sterling - you’ve done an ace job.

[Guest MoJo]

@joostone

Where did you get the bridge and how is it fastened to the body?

[TRBboy]

@joostone

Fantastic job, it looks great! What is the colour? Hard to tell from the pics. Congrats! 

[joostone]

On 29/06/2020 at 11:31, TRBboy said:

@joostone

Fantastic job, it looks great! What is the colour? Hard to tell from the pics. Congrats! 

It''s natural, here's another pic:

[joostone]

On 29/06/2020 at 09:02, MoJo said:

@joostone

Where did you get the bridge and how is it fastened to the body?

I got the bridge from Ali. It's fastened with screws, nothing special there. I only needed to allign correctly offcourse.

[Guest MoJo]

39 minutes ago, joostone said:

I got the bridge from Ali. It's fastened with screws, nothing special there. I only needed to allign correctly offcourse.

Thanks. It looks ace. I was just thinking to myself, ‘how’s he got the threaded inserts for the bridge to stay in the body?’

[TRBboy]

BB405 on ebay for £199, virtually the same as the BBN5 I think? Great backup or project bass for someone. 

[dave_bass5]

Cheeky plug for my P34. 

Due to no gigs, no job (soon) and trying to switch to keybaords, I’m finaly selling my nemesis 😁. Never not loved it, but my Fender P has caused many rifts in the relationship. 

 

[pn_day]

I've been enjoying a pre-loved Yamaha BB 425. The only thing I didn't like about it was it was a bit weighty, and had a slight tendency to neck-dive.

After much debate, I purchased the cheaper Hipshot Ultralite (Licensed) tuners - went the whole hog and get the Y-tuners to shave even more weight off, albeit at the cost of offending the traditionalists. 

I'm very happy with the results - the bass feels much better in terms of balance, overall weight and playability. 

 

[Guest MoJo]

On 07/07/2020 at 15:10, pn_day said:

I've been enjoying a pre-loved Yamaha BB 425. The only thing I didn't like about it was it was a bit weighty, and had a slight tendency to neck-dive.

After much debate, I purchased the cheaper Hipshot Ultralite (Licensed) tuners - went the whole hog and get the Y-tuners to shave even more weight off, albeit at the cost of offending the traditionalists. 

I'm very happy with the results - the bass feels much better in terms of balance, overall weight and playability. 

 

I was wondering how the bass would look with that type of machine head. I also have a BB425 and it’s a pretty weighty instrument. There’s quite a weight saving if you choose to use the Y shaped item over the clover leaf equivalent. It doesn’t look too bad to me. I could certainly grow accustomed to it 

Incidentally, what was the fit like in the existing holes in the headstock?

Edited July 9, 2020 by MoJo

[pn_day]

2 hours ago, MoJo said:

I was wondering how the bass would look with that type of machine head. I also have a BB425 and it’s a pretty weighty instrument. There’s quite a weight saving if you choose to use the Y shaped item over the clover leaf equivalent. It doesn’t look too bad to me. I could certainly grow accustomed to it 

Incidentally, what was the fit like in the existing holes in the headstock?

Hi MoJo. I was after the biggest weight saving, so went for the Y-tuners but actually like the look of it without the elephant ears. 

The fit was not great to be honest - even with getting the larger (1/2") size. I had to use a few turns of electrical tape on each shaft before inserting. However, once tightened up it is all solid and you cannot see the tape. 

 

[Guest MoJo]

11 minutes ago, pn_day said:

Hi MoJo. I was after the biggest weight saving, so went for the Y-tuners but actually like the look of it without the elephant ears. 

The fit was not great to be honest - even with getting the larger (1/2") size. I had to use a few turns of electrical tape on each shaft before inserting. However, once tightened up it is all solid and you cannot see the tape. 

 

Hipshot do an oversize bush for the genuine USA tuners and Bass Direct keep them in, but from what I understand, the Licenced tuners differ from the USA in the way that the threaded bush fits into the body of the tuner. IIRC the licenced tuner has an external thread on the bush and an internal thread on the body. I could be wrong 

[pn_day]

3 hours ago, MoJo said:

Hipshot do an oversize bush for the genuine USA tuners and Bass Direct keep them in, but from what I understand, the Licenced tuners differ from the USA in the way that the threaded bush fits into the body of the tuner. IIRC the licenced tuner has an external thread on the bush and an internal thread on the body. I could be wrong 

The ones I had were threaded - so that might be useful information for somebody deciding which to get. I went cheap, and had to use electrical tape to pad the shaft. If you get the USA ultralites then maybe you can use the oversize bush and no tape is required!

[yourfurryfiend]

I found the Ultralites were a must on my 1024. The balance was the achilles heel on an otherwise amazing bass, I went for the clover keys and thought they were enough of a weight saving to suit me YMMV.

I've been umming and arrghing over a 734a or Bbp34 since they came out. Can anyone please tell me how they compare? I've looked high and LOW! In theory they have the same pickups, but with the YouTube videos I've been obsessing over, the passive tone does seem fairly different, though I haven't found a direct comparison. The Bbp34 seems smoother and less aggressive, but it's not always easy to tell whether videos are recorded passive or active. Cheers! 

[Al Krow]

I've had the 5 string versions. I found that the BBP35 was a little sweeter tonally than my 1025, the flip side being the 1025 particularly the J pup had more of an edge. So I probably just preferred the P35 overall and on PJ setting and the 1025 on solo J.

The other feature on the newer series 3 models is the ability to blend in as much P+J as you want whereas it's all, 50-50, or nil with the series 2 models, but with a very easy to access selector switch.

I actually preferred my P35 over my 735A; it just had a better overall feel to it and of the two I was finding I would reach for the P35 every time. The 735A's big selling point other than being a fair bit cheaper than the P35, is obviously its active circuit. 

Having had all three, I would summarise by saying in passive mode the similarities between the basses far outweigh the differences. The P35 just felt like the classiest of the three. However I've only held onto my 1025, partly 'cos I'm a sucker for a vintage white finish but mainly  'cos it was a little bit lighter than the P35 and therefore more comfortable over a 2 hour gig.

[moley6knipe]

On 07/07/2020 at 15:10, pn_day said:

I've been enjoying a pre-loved Yamaha BB 425. The only thing I didn't like about it was it was a bit weighty, and had a slight tendency to neck-dive.

Ah! That’s my old BB, which I bought off @KotorTom.... and I *think* @Al Krow was the previous owner. Wonder how many of us have owned that one? They are great. Soooo much bass for the money but had to recoup funds from my dream bass purchase (Fender Dimension USA Deluxe HH Natural/Maple board since you didn’t ask 😃)

Good call on the tuner replacement - if I’d kept it for sure I’d have done the same. Like it! Hope it’s serving you well. One day a full fat Jap BB 5 string WILL be mine. 

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, moley6knipe said:

Ah! That’s my old BB, which I bought off @KotorTom.... and I *think* @Al Krow was the previous owner. Wonder how many of us have owned that one? They are great. Soooo much bass for the money but had to recoup funds from my dream bass purchase (Fender Dimension USA Deluxe HH Natural/Maple board since you didn’t ask 😃)

Good call on the tuner replacement - if I’d kept it for sure I’d have done the same. Like it! Hope it’s serving you well. One day a full fat Jap BB 5 string WILL be mine. 

Ah yes. Just checked back and I bought that new in Sept 2017 (page 7 of this thread including a long and gushing review!). 

It's the only bass I've had serious sellers regret moving on, so much so that I got another 425 which is now a "keeper" bass for Mr Bass_5.

The 425 has more punch in its pups than your average kicking mule! 

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Ah yes. Just checked back and I bought that new in Sept 2017 (page 7 of this thread including a long and gushing review!). 

It's the only bass I've had serious sellers regret moving on, so much so that I got another 425 which is now a "keeper" bass for Mr Bass_5.

The 425 has more punch in its pups than your average kicking mule! 

Yep, its a lovely, but heavy bass. Probably going to outlast my P34. 

The 425 is definitely a hotter sounding bass. Lots of growl and kick. The P34 is smoother and more ‘mature’ sounding.