The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[CameronJ]

10 minutes ago, Danuman said:

I might end up getting a 735 some day if curiosity gets the better of me, but the 435 is absolutely brilliant. I suppose in comparison the 735 might feel a little richer, and the preamp should be a nice bonus, but I doubt there is much to be gained in the way it plays.

Agreed. They’re both top notch in terms of feel. As a 735 owner I’d happily own a 435.

[dave_bass5]

Just now, CameronJ said:

Agreed. They’re both top notch in terms of feel. As a 735 owner I’d happily own a 435.

As a P34 owner I’d happily gig my 425 if i needed the extra string. 

[krispn]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Me neither.

Get one of those Helixy Stomp gizmo thingies and you can drop tune or change to whatever key you like at the press of footswitch. 

Or buy a 5 string. Apparently Yammy make these too. And you can then take the key down by a whole 5 semitones and still sound completely authentic 😁

 

 

3 hours ago, gobasserk said:

Band decided to tune down half a tone. Bought DR Drop down tuning strings.  Rehearsal on wednesday ... put the strings on the 3000... sounds strange for me, I don't like drop tunings... we'll see if it will work out...

The advantage of tuning a 4 string down a half step to match a down tuned guitar is that you get the ‘freedom’ of open strings especially if the songs are quite riff-y and are written ‘in E’. Playing in Eb on a ‘standard tuned’ 5’er means that most notes will have to be fretted and you can sometimes lose a bit of the feel especially on those big riffs. Tuning down might be preferable to buying a new bass unless you’re after a good excuse to make a new purchase 😉

A side note...The Smashing Pumpkins famously wrote their song “Today” in the key of Eb on guitars tuned in standard tuning not tuned down to Eb which many people assumed at the time. 

[Cuzzie]

How does an Eb on a open string tuned down sound different/worse to an open E tuned normally and pitch shifted down via a device of some sort?

Or is it just being used to hearing it one key and shifting to another sounds ‘different’?

Edited July 8, 2019 by Cuzzie

[krispn]

I found playing the ‘Grunge’ classic’s in drop d on a 4 string way more fun and rewarding than playing on a five sting on the fretted low d. Just loses the feel of playing in drop d. Killing In The Name Of is another one which played on a 5’er is much less fun than on a 4 string in drop d! 

[Cuzzie]

It’s not just grunge though, most live acts across genres when they play their songs which were standard on the record, play with guitars tuned half a step down. Maroon5 always do, and loads of country, who are often D tuned

[BreadBin]

AC/DC tune down as well - the first time they soundchecked Hell's Bells after changing led to some hasty adjustment of the bell sample.

[Al Krow]

Yammy BBs & J pup

The J pup tends to be viewed as the poor cousin on Yammy BBs and rarely gets solo'd from what most folk have said.

I'm 'with the  crowd' on this and typically use the P or a blended PJ on my BBs when playing clean.

Was messing about with a couple of drive pedals today, and frankly the solo J with a drive pedal blows the P and PJ settings out the water in terms of delivering a meaty drive with great sustain. 

Guessing this may already be familiar to BB Land - but it was a very pleasant surprise for me and yet another facet to the capabilities of the Yammy BB.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

Must admit ive used the bridge pup solo’ed on a few songs now. Very powerful with a bit of drive on it. 

[dannybuoy]

The middle position is THE setting as far as I'm concerned, especially when drive is involved. I've never been able to get a solo jazz bridge pickup to sound good in my hands, even though I've heard others pull it off!

[CameronJ]

4 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

The middle position is THE setting as far as I'm concerned, especially when drive is involved. I've never been able to get a solo jazz bridge pickup to sound good in my hands, even though I've heard others pull it off!

I hear you. I’ve listened to so many bassists who sound absolutely godlike with a solo’d bridge J pup.

Not I!

[TJ Spicer]

I find solo J on these new BBs kills! In fact I did a recording session recently and inadvertently turned the pickup knob not the volume 🤦‍♂️ Tbh no one on the session noticed - including me. Still plenty of bottom with these new voiced pickups, something I rarely experience on a solo’d J.

[Al Krow]

31 minutes ago, TJ Spicer said:

I find solo J on these new BBs kills! In fact I did a recording session recently and inadvertently turned the pickup knob not the volume 🤦‍♂️ Tbh no one on the session noticed - including me. Still plenty of bottom with these new voiced pickups, something I rarely experience on a solo’d J.

Awww...TJ please do NOT get me started on only us bass players ever paying attention to our bass tone and everyone else being completely oblivious to it!! In your case it sounds like not even the bass player is paying any attention to his live tone 😁😂🤣

[Al Krow]

Yammy store in London seems to be having a bit of a sale on, although the prices of basses not in the sale seem to have gone up and some of them eye wateringly so!

[TJ Spicer]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Yammy store in London seems to be having a bit of a sale on, although the prices of basses not in the sale seem to have gone up and some of them eye wateringly so!

Their prices are no where near what they say they are. Speaking to them in store I’ve had Been offered the Attitude III for around £1.7k less than list price. And that’s just their offer without any harder negotiations. The sales guy said they won’t be beaten on price and will offer the lowest prices on Yamaha if you ask... Strange strategy to me, but makes making a deal with a real human the best option for once! 

[CameronJ]

Ok so I think it’s safe to say that Yamaha have their Ps and P/Js nailed, but does anyone know why they haven’t produced a J-type bass in so long? I mean purely in pickup config, not physical design. I’d certainly buy one! Especially at Yamaha price points and build quality.

Edit: the BBNE2 doesn’t count 

Edited July 21, 2019 by CameronJ

[bassfan]

Just now, CameronJ said:

Ok so I think it’s safe to say that Yamaha have their Ps and P/Js nailed, but does anyone know why they haven’t produced a J-type bass in so long? I mean purely in pickup config, not physical design. I’d certainly buy one! Especially at Yamaha price points and build quality.

Maybe there’s just too many in that market already to be worth the R&D? 

[CameronJ]

2 minutes ago, bassfan said:

Maybe there’s just too many in that market already to be worth the R&D? 

Perhaps. Though I don’t think there’d be a huge amount of R&D involved - they’ve already developed J pickups for the BB series. They have a very well-liked preamp system already in production and make nice passive circuits too. At most, they’d need a new body shape and a slight alteration to the existing bridge J pup to be more suitable for the neck position. Light work for a company with the resources Yamaha has.

But maybe with the likes of Sire on the scene producing great value-for-money jazzes on such a large scale, Yamaha would rather stick with their own niche. Obviously Sire do the P7 which is arguably a direct competitor to the BB734/5s but at a lower price point and with very different looks. If Sire did a P9 (P version of their V9 Jazz) then Yamaha might be in more serious danger in terms of price-point competition.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, bassfan said:

Maybe there’s just too many in that market already to be worth the R&D? 

Take your point about R&D Cam, but I think the first part of what bassfan said hits it on the head for me.

If you want a great PJ bass which brands would you think of? Well Yammy would be right up there for a lot of folk. The Yammy PJs are arguably as good as any on the market, certainly at the price points they pitch them at.

If you want a great J bass, well where do you start? The choice is endless and as well as being a very crowded space, Yammy could potentially just end up with a relatively run of the mill J-bass, which might even lower their stellar reputation with bassists if folk found them a bit meh?

I think Yammy have played a very canny game and done it well over many decades. They have a dedicated following with both their BB and Line6/Helix brands and quite a lot to digest and sharpen-up with Ampeg now in the fold.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Al Krow

[CameronJ]

All very true. Very many “Super Jazzes” on the market with comparatively fewer “Super Precisions”.

I guess the BB and TRB ranges have historically done well for Yamaha and with their recent acquisitions of Line 6 and Ampeg there’s enough to keep them busy as a company overall.

[Al Krow]

Besides they need to hurry up and get their replacement for the BB1200 / S into production asap and make sure that they have a 5 string option when they do!  

[AndyTravis]

BB350 (1990’s) 

BB1500a (1990’s) Active

BB - STD (1990’s Japan)

all J/J

 

[CameronJ]

27 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

BB350 (1990’s) 

BB1500a (1990’s) Active

BB - STD (1990’s Japan)

all J/J

 

I meant a somewhat more up to date option though. Preferably in a 5 string config as well!

Basically the feel of the 73x/P3x in a jazz bass.

Edited July 21, 2019 by CameronJ

[Cuzzie]

26 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

BB350 (1990’s) 

BB1500a (1990’s) Active

BB - STD (1990’s Japan)

all J/J

 

They look like Gibson rip offs

[AndyTravis]

25 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I meant a somewhat more up to date option though. Preferably in a 5 string config as well!

Basically the feel of the 73x/P3x in a jazz bass.

Just get a new pickguard cut with a j slot and have someone put another j pickup in?