The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 Very unusual! That's lighter than my most of my Ibbys (except the 7.7lb Portamento) and would be completely gob-smacking in fact!

So either it was pretty unique and is worth an absolute fortune or there was a bathroom scale malfunction that d ay...😁

Yes, it was a real surprise. When  I received it I weighed it on the postal scales at work. These are calibrated so pretty accurate. It felt just as light as my Sandblasted P. 

And the icing on the cake was it cost £399 new. 

[Paul S]

16 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yes, it was a real surprise. When  I received it I weighed it on the postal scales at work. These are calibrated so pretty accurate. It felt just as light as my Sandblasted P. 

And the icing on the cake was it cost £399 new. 

Astonishing.  Weight was the single reason I stopped looking at Yamaha BBs.  I wonder how many you'd have to buy and return before finding a lightweight one again?

[dannybuoy]

I wish I weighed my BB415 that I picked up for peanuts brand new when they were end of line. It was light as a feather compared to the 1025X that came in to replace it - I should've kept it!

[dave_bass5]

48 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Astonishing.  Weight was the single reason I stopped looking at Yamaha BBs.  I wonder how many you'd have to buy and return before finding a lightweight one again?

I tried to get it back after the first lockdown but didn’t have an luck. It was from Dawson’s. 
I’d still love to have it back, but has to be that one as it was really just perfect for me. 

[therealting]

Nathan East talks about his 80s BB3000 about 4 mins in - I didn’t know it was him on Footloose!

 

[M@23]

1 hour ago, Paul S said:

Astonishing.  Weight was the single reason I stopped looking at Yamaha BBs.  I wonder how many you'd have to buy and return before finding a lightweight one again?

The only reason I sold my BB, too. I regret it big time, but had it weighed 9lbs, I’d never have sold it. 

2 minutes ago, therealting said:

Nathan East talks about his 80s BB3000 about 4 mins in - I didn’t know it was him on Footloose!

 

Yep, listen to the isolated track, unmistakably N.E. It’s been my favourite track to play for a long time and probably the only track in the set where i don’t have to embellish or change the original baseline for the sake of my own boredom night after night 😂 he’s even got a vocal in the bridge (“and put your feet on the ground”). I believe i read that it was Clapton seeing him tear that song up at Live Aid which made him immediately after the gig, ask if he’d work with him too!

[krispn]

39 minutes ago, M@23 said:

The only reason I sold my BB, too. I regret it big time, but had it weighed 9lbs, I’d never have sold it. 

Yep, listen to the isolated track, unmistakably N.E. It’s been my favourite track to play for a long time and probably the only track in the set where i don’t have to embellish or change the original baseline for the sake of my own boredom night after night 😂 he’s even got a vocal in the bridge (“and put your feet on the ground”). I believe i read that it was Clapton seeing him tear that song up at Live Aid which made him immediately after the gig, ask if he’d work with him too!

I’ve had to learn Footloose for a previous band - its got some great wee runs especially that bit before the break down. I thought it was widely know it was an NE part?

[Misdee]

If  my fellow BB enthusiasts will  indulge me while I go slightly  off-topic for a moment, I have a penchant for knarly-sounding P Basses, and my lockdown-enforced Youtube viewing has led me to conclude that the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude bass may well be the nastiest P Bass ever. I've never played one , but they look ( and sound) like a formidable proposition . I don't think I could ever use one myself due the the big neck, but you never know.

This new anniversary edition looks particularly sumptuous to me:

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Misdee

[Cuzzie]

2 hours ago, Misdee said:

If  my fellow BB enthusiasts will  indulge me while I go slightly  off-topic for a moment, I have a penchant for knarly-sounding P Basses, and my lockdown-enforced Youtube viewing has led me to conclude that the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude bass may well be the nastiest P Bass ever. I've never played one , but they look ( and sound) like a formidable proposition . I don't think I could ever use one myself due the the big neck, but you never know.

This new anniversary edition looks particularly sumptuous to me:

 

The neck is pretty flat in it’s radius so despite having a wide nut it may well be very playable for you.

I agree it’s a top notch bass, prolly the best Yammy make

[Al Krow]

@Misdee I had the opportunity to A/B the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude with a BBNE2 at the Yammy store in London back in 2018 (please see my post March 8th 2018, P13 of this thread) and wrote up a short review of each, in case of interest to you.

[Misdee]

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@Misdee I had the opportunity to A/B the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude with a BBNE2 at the Yammy store in London back in 2018 (please see my post March 8th 2018, P13 of this thread) and wrote up a short review of each, in case of interest to you.

Just had a read, very interesting. I have  had countless similar disappointments when it comes to trying acclaimed basses and being underwhelmed.

I too am unlikely to be playing the bass through two amps.  At the moment I am only playing at home , mainly through headphones. The best I could manage is to play it through two pairs of headphones, but I've only got one pair of ears. Maybe I could email Billy and ask him what I should do. 😄

[Misdee]

17 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

The neck is pretty flat in it’s radius so despite having a wide nut it may well be very playable for you.

I agree it’s a top notch bass, prolly the best Yammy make

I had a G&L with a similarly wide nut width and I just  couldn't warm to it, despite t having an otherwise very comfortable neck profile.  Same with  early 60's P Basses. I'd love to try an Attitude, though. I might be converted!

[Al Krow]

15 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Just had a read, very interesting. I have  had countless similar disappointments when it comes to trying acclaimed basses and being underwhelmed.

I too am unlikely to be playing the bass through two amps.  At the moment I am only playing at home , mainly through headphones. The best I could manage is to play it through two pairs of headphones, but I've only got one pair of ears. Maybe I could email Billy and ask him what I should do. 😄

Definitely worth getting your hands on a high end bass and trying out before taking the plunge (in fact any bass if you can, although the downside risk is clearly going to be a lot less with the more budget basses). Obviously how I found the BS Attitude was my own take on that particular model and plenty of others may have had the opposite reaction.

For the record, and as you will likely already have gathered (!) I was totally NOT underwhelmed by the BB NE2 which I managed to get hold of, used, a couple of months after that particular trip to the Yammy store; and I've since happily resisted several unsolicited offers to take it off my hands! 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Al Krow

[MM Stingray 62]

I had exactly the same problem I had a 58 P bass but the 44mm nut was just that bit to wide for me.

 

[Misdee]

Yes, the NE2 is a wonderful instrument, a truly high-end bass. I would put it up against any other prestige bass you could care to mention, both in terms of sound and construction. I love the modern-but-gutsy sound of the NE2 ,  but I've got a BB2025 because I prefer passive basses and it's fairly light for a five.

I must really like Yamaha basses, because I normally won't entertain anything less than 19mm spacing  on a five string  bass . 18mm is O.K, and overall I find the BB bridge/nut spacing more comfortable and playable than something like a Stingray 5 string. At least the strings don't keep slipping off the edge of the fingerboard. 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Misdee

[Misdee]

12 minutes ago, marleaux62 said:

I had exactly the same problem I had a 58 P bass but the 44mm nut was just that bit to wide for me.

 

Yes, a B-Neck  1 5/8 inch is the most I can handle in terms of width on a four string  bass. 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Misdee

[Al Krow]

My turn for a mini thread de-rail! 

I'm trying to work out the year of manufacture for a Yammy SLB-200 (definitely not a BB - haha!). Serial number is 005390 - any ideas?

I'll drop the Yammy store in London a message too, to see if I can glean anything from them.

[Cuzzie]

7 hours ago, Misdee said:

I had a G&L with a similarly wide nut width and I just  couldn't warm to it, despite t having an otherwise very comfortable neck profile.  Same with  early 60's P Basses. I'd love to try an Attitude, though. I might be converted!

It’s worth a go - you don’t have to play stereo one of the outputs is mono and then you can blend the woofer and split coil as to you choice, but the choice is there to Bi amp if you so wish.

It certainly isn’t a cumbersome neck, BS plays pretty fast, and the counter sunk bridge as well as the great construction do get you to go super low on the action if that’s your thing - it’s a real gem

[Cuzzie]

Also the G&L is a weird one and it depends which custom model neck you had as they did so many options.

If it was the #7 or 6 neck then that was wide and flat, b it bun a different way and not as playable, but quick in its own way - their standard was a #12 which is not great, neither P nor J and I have also played a #8 which is phenomenal.

A couple of the best necks I have played have had 44mm nuts but felt like they were 4mm they were so well sculpted - don’t compare the G&L to the Yammy on numbers - the Yammy will slay it on feel - but it may or may not be right for you

[matbard]

Santa came yesterday in Italy with a brand-new BBPH! ☺️

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, matbard said:

Santa came yesterday in Italy with a brand-new BBPH! ☺️

"Wall of shame" on the OP updated. This is fast becoming the single most popular model owned by BCers! Do you have any other Yammy BBs or is this your first? 

Has Mrs Santa allowed you to play it or are you going to have to wait for Thursday at one minute past midnight? 😁

Edited December 23, 2020 by Al Krow

[matbard]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 Do you have any other Yammy BBs or is this your first? 

Has Mrs Santa allowed you to play it or are you going to have to wait for Thursday at one minute past midnight? 😁

No, this is my first BB!

And yes, Santa allowed me to play, even because it is a self-present!

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, matbard said:

No, this is my first BB!

And yes, Santa allowed me to play, even because it is a self-present!

Well we obviously need 'proof' in the form of some pics 😁

How are you liking it so far and how does it stack up against your other basses?

I'm loving the fact that several have gone straight in with some of the top end models as your first taste of Yammy BBs!

[GreeneKing]

I'm awaiting some nut slot files and I'll be doing a little bit of fine tuning to my BBPH. It's not unusual for mass produced basses but the nut slots are slightly shallow, particularly on the E and A strings. I need much more pressure to fret the first fret than I should. Just a wee bit of filing and I'll take it VERY slowly.

I said in my initial review that the fret ends weren't sharp and they aren't as in cut your fingers sharp but they do feel rough edged to the extent that I notice when playing. So I'll do that at the same time. I've already got a file for this.

I've been playing my BBPH exclusively since I bought it and a couple of days back I picked up my modified 2008 MIM Jazz. I love this bass which, after owning well over 100 basses is why I have it. I used it with the same amp settings and it sounded lacklustre and lo-fi. That's with identical strings. The notes seems damped, quickly fading. I then went back to the BBPH and hi-fi and sustain was restored. I did a double check, it was in passive with the tone rolled half off. Such is the nature of the BBPH.

Peter

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by GreeneKing
Spelling

[Misdee]

5 hours ago, GreeneKing said:

I'm awaiting some nut slot files and I'll be doing a little bit of fine tuning to my BBPH. It's not unusual for mass produced basses but the nut slots are slightly shallow, particularly on the E and A strings. I need much more pressure to fret the first fret than I should. Just a wee bit of filing and I'll take it VERY slowly.

I said in my initial review that the fret ends weren't sharp and they aren't as in cut your fingers sharp but they do feel rough edged to the extent that I notice when playing. So I'll do that at the same time. I've already got a file for this.

I've been playing my BBPH exclusively since I bought it and a couple of days back I picked up my modified 2008 MIM Jazz. I love this bass which, after owning well over 100 basses is why I have it. I used it with the same amp settings and it sounded lacklustre and lo-fi. That's with identical strings. The notes seems damped, quickly fading. I then went back to the BBPH and hi-fi and sustain was restored. I did a double check, it was in passive with the tone rolled half off. Such is the nature of the BBPH.

Peter

 

For some reason-I know not why- the Japanese Yamaha workshop cut the nut slots on the shallow side ie the relief at the nut is higher than a lot of other basses. I have seen it on so many basses from them that I think they do it on purpose. The funny thing is that the basses seem to play well, regardless. A Fender with those nut slot heights would feel very stiff by comparison. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by Misdee