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The Yamaha BB mega-thread


Al Krow

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8 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:


I have a black one - about 1987/88…not sure what to do yet. I daren’t start playing it.

 

Looks ace. Love the 300’s.23104824-474F-4C93-8AA6-901F3DA395BF.thumb.jpeg.f2cf8e51c6001f4c0d04973baa0fe3c3.jpeg
 

 

is that hidden at work?


BTW - the recording of the BB1600 sounds immense. How does it compare to ... er I guess all the others you've had? 

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10 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

is that hidden at work?


BTW - the recording of the BB1600 sounds immense. How does it compare to ... er I guess all the others you've had? 

It’s home now - it was delivered to work.

 

The best comparison is that if the 1024 had a baby with the 414 while having the quality of the 1300.

 

that makes no sense unless you’ve owned all 3.

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14 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

It’s home now - it was delivered to work.

 

The best comparison is that if the 1024 had a baby with the 414 while having the quality of the 1300.

 

that makes no sense unless you’ve owned all 3.

Hands up if anyone in the world has owned all three of those? .... anyone.... Ok sir, you've played a 1024 and a 414 what about the 1300? No he didn't say 1200 though easy mistake to make, 1300. Played one of those. Ok sir, thanks for your input but you can sit down now. We're looking for someone who's played a 1024, a 414 and a 1300, anyone? Not a 1200. Yes madam, could you repeat that? you've had a baby. Useful to know but I think he was talking metaphorically. Oh yes sir what about you, yes I guess owning a 400 and three 300s at the same time would add up to 1300. But the problem is the only person who's done that is Andy too... A BB1000 and a BB300 - ah yes that's a better idea... So have you played a BB1000, a 300 a 1024 and a 414? could you help us? NO? Ok then. 
Right lets try this again in the morning.

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2 minutes ago, Maude said:

Not looking, not looking not looking... 

 

 

 

... Er, maybe just a quick look. 

 

 

Just done a Rod tweak on the black bb300. These old bb necks are just like home to me. 
 

Bloody brilliant, it’s got flats on it too. I don’t have anything with flats on…hmm. Might be handy…🥴😵💫😂

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Yamaha BB 2005 - Quick Review

 

I'm loving the Yamaha BB 2005 I picked up a couple of days back – turned out to be a very cheeky wedding anniversary present! It’s a June 2004 build and now has pride of place as the oldest bass in my herd. I’ve previously been tempted to get one on the relatively rare occasions that they have come up for sale but couldn’t really justify it when I had my NE2.

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If someone said to me that I could have 85% of a BB NE2 for 30% of the cost I would have probably laughed at them. But this bass is it and to find one in such good condition for such a good price and from such a great seller (thanks Rich!) saw me snapping it up on the day it was listed - super happy that I did!

 

I gave it a decent work out through my BF BB2 / Bugera 1001M rig at band rehearsal last night and it sounded great. The bridge J pup adds to the grit of the Bugera amp and cuts through well; I'm tempted to describe the tone  it delivers as "woody" but that probably means completely different things to different bass players! But it’s the neck pup where it really shone for me: a rich, warm, punchy tone that sat very well in the mix. The solo’d P pup on my 1025 is great at home but can sometimes struggle to cut through in a band mix and I typically then switch to PJ or solo J on the 1025; the J on the 2005 is more like the 1025’s P on steroids - really loved it!

 

Like the NE2 it has a similarly powerful low end - definitely don’t need to boost the bass EQ! The treble EQ on the 2005 has a decent range and like the BB 604/5 and BB NE2, the sister basses in its range, it sports the variable NE mid cut. My 2005 weighed in at a fraction under 10 lbs, which is pretty much at the top of end of my herd these days, but it balances beautifully with no neck dive whatsoever which is outstanding for a 5 string bass in my experience and meant that “wearing it” for a couple of hours was unexpectedly comfortable.

 

The Yamaha BB JJ range

 

Must admit I’ve not previously looked in any detail at the full range of BB’s that comprise the Yamaha BB “JJ range”, headed up by the BB NE2, partly because the NE2 is the only one of the series still in production. They seem to have a similarity of thinking to the purely passive 424/5, 1024/5 and 2024/5 PJ range, with the purely active 604/5, 2005 and NE2 being the broadly equivalent basses. The budget 604/5 have a bolt on neck whereas the 2005 and NE2 are neck-through (plus other refinements as we move up the range).

 

Just to keep us on our toes the BB 2004 is not JJ but the much sought after reverse-P/J config! With its reverse PJ, neck-through, NE2 shape and 24 frets, it looks great - particularly in white 🙂 - and ticks a lot of boxes for me. If I was still regularly playing 4 strings I’d certainly now be very tempted to get a BB 2004 too! For those of you who have never quite got comfortable with the more traditional Yamaha BB shape, but always wanted to try a Yamaha bass, this could be just the ticket...just need to find one!

 

Edited by Al Krow
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16 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

The £300 I paid on 30 Dec 2020 for a mint 424 was felt to be a bit steep.

Think £350 is top dollar on these - think I listed a couple for this but they had a brand new £60 Gotoh bridge apiece and new strings on each and I think a choice of pickguards.

 

anyhow - someone may pay £400 if it’s a specific model they’re after.

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