Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Yamaha TRBX600 series NEW


MDWagstaff

Recommended Posts

Hopefully better than the TRBX500 series.  I can’t say I was impressed at all with the 500 I had. It sounded quite bland and I didn’t regard the build quality to be any better than my Ibanez SR300, and I think the Ibanez actually sounded better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Marvin said:

Hopefully better than the TRBX500 series.  I can’t say I was impressed at all with the 500 I had. It sounded quite bland and I didn’t regard the build quality to be any better than my Ibanez SR300, and I think the Ibanez actually sounded better.

I have to agree. I tried one out in Yamaha Music London about 3 years ago. One of the staff set me up in a lovely isolated booth, plugged into a good mixer & PA at moderate volume and it just sounded a bit dull to my ears. A shame as I quite liked the ergonomics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried a 500 series last year and was most unimpressed with the sound and feel. I'm a huge fan of the original TRB I basses. They sounded and felt very special. I know the on board electronics could be a little noisy but it was easy to sort. I really wish Yamaha would take those basses in to account. I understand it's about moving forward as a company as well but the TRB I's were so right in my opinion, of course. The new Yamaha basses look ace but I have to be honest, the sound on the TRBX600 being demonstrated left me feeling cold. I'd still like to try one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most people gravitated towards the 500 series over the 300 due to it's nicer finish, active/passive switching, a 'grown up'  EQ rather than 'Fisher Price My First Active Bass' preset system, and the belief that the higher price reflected a higher quality bass.

However when I gave the 300 series a bash I instantly thought it was the better sounding instrument and those presets were pretty handy too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
On 16/01/2018 at 14:48, CameronJ said:

it just sounded a bit dull to my ears. A shame as I quite liked the ergonomics.

 

On 16/01/2018 at 15:33, mattbass6 said:

I tried a 500 series last year and was most unimpressed with the sound and feel.... The new Yamaha basses look ace but I have to be honest, the sound on the TRBX600 being demonstrated left me feeling cold. 

 

On 16/01/2018 at 16:44, dannybuoy said:

Most people gravitated towards the 500 series over the 300 due to it's nicer finish, active/passive switching, a 'grown up'  EQ rather than 'Fisher Price My First Active Bass' preset system, and the belief that the higher price reflected a higher quality bass.

However when I gave the 300 series a bash I instantly thought it was the better sounding instrument and those presets were pretty handy too!

I thought that rather than start a new thread, this one from a couple of years ago was worth reviving.

I bought a 604 in the summer - it had been a very long time since a bass was in my life, and so I wanted something with a very comfortable easy neck. So I was choosing between the TRBXs and Ibanez SRs. I prefered the TRBX, just. I think because the radius isn't quite so flat - 10" rather than 12". I've been practising multiple hours every day, and the neck has been just as comfortable as I hoped. 

How I've got on with the sound hasn't been so smooth - generally, I found it lightweight, tonally.

Firstly, the bass came fitted with Daddario Nickels 45-65-80-100 and I found that there was too much variation in character from string to string. I changed to 45-65-85-105. That helped, but I still had a sense that the character of the bass was best on the E, and got weaker as I went up the strings.

I didn't find anything in the active eq for me, so I took out the battery and felt pleased that I had picked a bass with an active/passive switch. I also found that the neck pickup on its own had masses more character than blended with the bridge pickup, and that even then, I was having to use the passive tone control a lot.

And then I swapped from Nickels to Daddario Chromes (45-60-80-105), and suddenly the bass finally felt like a bass - the A and D strings feel like they're at the core of the sound, with the E wonderfully deep beneath, and the G only a little brighter. The tone control is now not so important, and the sound of the pickups blended has a lot more character. 

With hindsight, my mistake was to buy a bass designed to be easy-going and versatile, when all I want is to make a deep, dark, rich tone. I really like the TRBX, physically its very reassuring in its quality, but I think a BB434 might have suited me better, despite being 2mm wider at the nut and 1.5mm thicker at 1st and 12th frets. 

Something I'm definitely not complaining about is the looks - always having that dark redburst finish to look at is very nice!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I've now added a BB424 to my TRBX604. The sound the BB makes is more my thing, but the size of its body and the thickness of its neck all make me very grateful for the TRBX being physically so much more manageable 😅

When my lightweight, thin-necked G&L SB-1 finally arrives (and heaven knows when that will be) I might move the TRBX on, but until then, there's no way I could do without it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I've now added a BB424 to my TRBX604. The sound the BB makes is more my thing, but the size of its body and the thickness of its neck all make me very grateful for the TRBX being physically so much more manageable 😅

When my lightweight, thin-necked G&L SB-1 finally arrives (and heaven knows when that will be) I might move the TRBX on, but until then, there's no way I could do without it!

I find the same thing as you. I've owned a BB615 (with upgraded pre) for over 10 years now and the sound is way above that of the TRBX, but the ergonomics of the TRBX605 are much better for me (I'm only 5' 3") and in the nat satin finish it looks super nice. Rather than move it on though, when gigs return I'm looking at ripping out the electronics and putting some Nordstrands in there

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

When I got my 604, to get the tone closest to what I wanted, I fitted flats, played passive on neck pickup.

Now I've a BB to satisfy that need, I'm able to be a bit more relaxed with the TRBX, letting it find the noises it wants to make.

I can't now remember where I read this advice but it's been good: with the TRBX 500/600 3 band eq, boost the mids and cut both the highs and lows. I've found that works especially well with the pickup blend 50/50.

However the Chromes are now wrong for this sound (too bassy, and their husky quality is fighting the tighter focus the eq is trying to create) so I'll try a 45-105 set of Rotosounds next, either Roto Bass RB45 or Swing Bass RS66. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

I've just learnt that my very beautiful TRBX604 has sold at Bass Direct. As I tried to picture who might have it now, I ended up having a pleasant bit of nostalgia for the second half of 2020, when it was my only bass and I was getting reacquainted with the physical demands of a bass. It broke me in gently, and sharing locked-down life with such a handsome slice of wood helped sweeten the frustrations of getting my playing up and running again.

 

A part of me is still very exasperated with my not finding any joy in the 3-band preamp and my disinterest in its versatility. I hope whoever has it now appreciates everything I appreciated about it, and also all the things I failed to appreciate 😄

 

F1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...