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The Yamaha BB mega-thread


Al Krow

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Just a quick note as ive been celebrating my ascension to a half Trav by putting another guitar hanger on my bedroom wall!

My arrival of a beautiful tobacco burst BB424 has promoted a further purchase of some Ernie ball cobalt flats (DR high beams on the 1025x) and yes, I started with Yamaha 21 years ago with a BBN5 then a BBNE1 (in aqua why did I sell it) and spent the interim with every posh make under the sun (11 years with warwick) and this year rediscovered how fantastic these basses are from my long time buddy "Trav" so yes "I'll never buy a fender again" there I said it 😂

20190319_184849.jpg

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I'm surrounded by Fender guys and it is like an illness 😛 They don't realise a better tone ... had severall Precisions... not one lastet long. On the other hand...maybe I am the sick person 😛 

Edited by gobasserk
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1 hour ago, gobasserk said:

I'm surrounded by Fender guys and it is like an illness 😛 They don't realise a better tone ... had severall Precisions... not one lastet long. On the other hand...maybe I am the sick person 😛 

I have to admit that once I started gigging with my 1970's MIJ P-bass, I was spouting off about, 'It's all I'll ever need.' I'd still stand by that statement. For the unit that I play with and the type of material we play, a decent P-bass does the job admirably. Recently however, I spotted a BB425, at what I thought, was a bargain price on eBay. An opportunity to make a few quid, was my intention. I'd had BB414's, BB424's, BB415's and even a BB1024 in the past so knew how these instruments sounded and played yet, once I got it home, I fell in love with it. I've ordered some DR Fat Beams for it and plan to gig with it for the foreseeable future. It doesn't have the mid punch of the P-bass, with the standard pickups, but does have a greater depth of tone and is warmer sounding, in my opinion. I shall probably still take the P-bass for the Clash and Stranglers numbers in the set, but will probably play the Yamaha for the rest

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@MoJo the BB425 is a ridiculously good bass for the money. Not surprised you've fallen in love with it. It's the first bass I had seller's regret over and I ended up replacing it. 

My current BB425 was, and is, actually the first black sheep in the Krow household, but is currently out on loan to a fellow BCer, so I couldn't include it in yesterday's family shot! 😎 

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12 hours ago, Al Krow said:

That is one handsome bass! 

Black and gold were made for each other. 

Well, I did some changes to that bass...one of my personel fav. is not liked by many.....! 😛 

Edited by gobasserk
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Last night I took my Nate Mendel P bass fitted with one of John`s wiring kits and a Tonerider pickup along with my BB 1024 down to the studio. For the first hour I used the P bass, nice sound through the Hartke rig. I then plugged in the BB and the difference was immediate: a good bit louder and aggressive, I had to turn the volume on the amp down a notch or two. Totally different sound form the P bass and a joy to be able to crank the olde girl up for a change.

Edited by jezzaboy
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I've had my black 1025x for almost two weeks now and have been playing it almost exclusively. It really doesn't have a bad sound in it and every turn of the volume or tone knob, or movement of the pickup selector, produces something discernably different. But there is something I've just noticed which hadn't struck me before. I can't get the frets to buzz. Not anywhere. I can play any string, any fret almost anywhere between the frets without any discernible buzz. If I concentrate, and press very lightly on the string just in front of the preceding fret, I can generate a small amount of buzz. But I have to really try for it. In normal use, it seems completely free. I don't know if it's the setup of this particular bass, or the inherent qualities of the material and construction, but this bass amazes me more and more every time I play it.

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1 hour ago, AdrianP said:

I've had my black 1025x for almost two weeks now and have been playing it almost exclusively. It really doesn't have a bad sound in it and every turn of the volume or tone knob, or movement of the pickup selector, produces something discernably different. But there is something I've just noticed which hadn't struck me before. I can't get the frets to buzz. Not anywhere. I can play any string, any fret almost anywhere between the frets without any discernible buzz. If I concentrate, and press very lightly on the string just in front of the preceding fret, I can generate a small amount of buzz. But I have to really try for it. In normal use, it seems completely free. I don't know if it's the setup of this particular bass, or the inherent qualities of the material and construction, but this bass amazes me more and more every time I play it.

Sadly it won't be the inherent magical properties of the bass, as good as they are, but rather how it's been set up: if you lower the string heights sufficiently by lowering the string saddles at the bridge, you'll be perfectly capable of getting string buzz. Unless of course your neck is super-bowed (I prefer mine only slightly bowed).

Glad you're loving your new BB though! :) 

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