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The Yamaha BB mega-thread


Al Krow

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1 hour ago, Muzz said:

Pimping my 414...

 

OK, after giving up on finding a VW BB3000A for less than a king's ransom anywhere, and realising that the majority of BB necks are a bit too chunky for me (1024, 424, 1100, etc), I've decided to stick with the VW 414 I picked up a while back... It's a specific bass for a specific band, and we've a few reunion-type gigs coming up, so a VW BB is a must.

 

So far, so meh, on to the interesting stuff...I love the pickups; the neck, while not exactly my broom-handle ideal, is close enough, and it plays pretty well. The weight's borderline, but doable. The only things I really considered changing were the tuners and the bridge; tuners for weight, and I play with the heel of my hand on the bridge a lot, so the BBOT is literally a pain, especially if the grub screws are protruding. So I lashed out £30 on a Fender bridge and £17 apiece on Hipshot Ultralites, and the bass feels a lot better. The whole quality of the thing has gone up a notch, and I'm very happy with it.

 

Aaaaand this is nowt without pics, so here they are:

 

1402196282_Yam1.jpg.0bc9f50af67a40a646e6580b255346d4.jpg

 

Yeah, I know it says 'Fender', but I don't care; it's a fantastic bridge for £30, and verrry smooth under the heel of my hand. The whole 'more sustain/more tone' thing is very contentious and very relative, but I do like it. I'd put one on anything for that money...

 

674304241_Yam2.jpg.de4c1e8998a8cc462721cae639059c77.jpg

 

And the new tuners; the screws fit into the original holes, and they tighten up nicely from the front. Good solid tuning. I also kinda like the tan lines... 

 

Total screwdriver/fitting time was under half an hour, total cost £98, and for that money, it's a big improvement... 😃

Back in my gigging days ( 5/6 years ago) I had the twin of this bass, I had the small Y hipshot tuners on it and they made a big difference, the bass balanced perfectly and the weight saving was significant. Nice looking bridge too, I swapped out the little height screws with some from another bridge so they didn't rake the flesh from my hands 👍👍👍

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16 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

This wee little (!) stomp box just moved in..... 

HOLY MOLY !!!!!!!!!!

Can't stop grining ! Neighbors calling the army 😛 

Never heard my BB scream like this! 

 

 

Tech21DPX.jpeg

That looks cool, what does the chunk knob do 

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27 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

This wee little (!) stomp box just moved in..... 

HOLY MOLY !!!!!!!!!!

Can't stop grining ! Neighbors calling the army 😛 

Never heard my BB scream like this! 

 

 

Tech21DPX.jpeg

Cool. There are some big DP-3X fans elsewhere on BC (and on Talkbass). 

 

Let's hear some recordings of it with your Yamaha BB!

Edited by Al Krow
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36 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

This is honestly where I’m at (sorry @lee650)

 

just, a dream.

 

1/3 jazz

1/3 precision 

1/3 stingray 

 

so, I have to finish the project 

 

this one is Lee’s fretless with the neck @Andyjr1515did for me, which means on Wednesday it’s back to fretless and gone 😩

787EB9C1-2B5E-48D8-8609-01B7EA62128A.jpeg

Well get that other body painted man! 

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Yeah. But they also elected to make the 424/1024/2024 in black/burst/white - so from a minor distance the £400/£800 and £2000 model all looked the same…

 

They get so much right, and so much wrong.

 

the Pacifica guitars get some weird and wonderful colours/flame tops etc…

 

bass land…Nope.

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7 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Yeah. But they also elected to make the 424/1024/2024 in black/burst/white - so from a minor distance the £400/£800 and £2000 model all looked the same…

 

They get so much right, and so much wrong.

 

the Pacifica guitars get some weird and wonderful colours/flame tops etc…

 

bass land…Nope.

Yeah I've always felt they lack imagination with the bass finishes. Perhaps they feel bassists don't need the groovy colours or fancy tops. 

My desert island BB would be a classic BB shape and neck through 5 string. Sporting  an Aqua finish and quilted maple top (like my old NE1) and the NE2 bridge with piezo and pre (as per TRB 5P) with a music man pick up in the bridge and a jazz lust like a Lakeland.

I'm hoping Yamaha are taking notes on my "signature" bass 😂

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10 hours ago, gobasserk said:

I will record something but want to do it over a cab not direct...the sound ist soooo ...-I don't have an expression in English ...🙈 😂
But for this I have to be alone in the house........... 🤣

Best pedal ever - simple

 

The DI has an inbuilt can sim to ‘tame’ and this is different to the ‘normal out’ or you can even run that into the front end of the amp

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1 hour ago, Cuzzie said:

Best pedal ever - simple

 

The DI has an inbuilt can sim to ‘tame’ and this is different to the ‘normal out’ or you can even run that into the front end of the amp

Yes, playing with headphones I realized that it sounds exactly like a cab recording! Fantastic! I started thinking if I bought a too expensive tool (as I often do when I got something new) 
I come from a multi effects pedal and the DP has great sounds but always only one, you can't switch as easy ...but then I realized...I need only that tone... I love it ! 

Edited by gobasserk
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The new pedal is one highlight in tough times for my direct homeland is in ruins since 5 weeks now ....

Germany 2021

5000 houses damaged, 500 gone or will have to be torn down. 180+ people dead...swimming away on top of their roofs into the night..still many missing. Well after 5 weeks they won't be found alive I think.. 

Edited by gobasserk
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2 hours ago, gobasserk said:

Yes, playing with headphones I realized that it sounds exactly like a cab recording! Fantastic! I started thinking if I bought a too expensive tool (as I often do when I got something new) 
I come from a multi effects pedal and the DP has great sounds but always only one, you can't switch as easy ...but then I realized...I need only that tone... I love it ! 

Keep tinkering with small incremental turns of the dial.

I certainly found the sweet spot between clean and the dirty tone to swap in between.

 

In addition with chink engaged make good use of your tone knob, this is another sound on tap with minimal fuss.

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