Yamaha Basses

[Tim2291]

We all know how great Yamaha gear is, there's an entire thread about the BB range. But why are they not more celebrated (talking to the level of Fender etc)? 

 

Is it down to the traditional view of "American is best" or is there another reason they aren't considered up there with Fenders etc?

Could it be that they make a lot of "entry level" or "beginner" equipment and never separated them with another brand name like Fender did with Squier or Gibson did when they acquired Epiphone?

Are they just not as well built? - my experience this is obviously not true, my RBX 270 and BBN5 are just as well built as any equivalent Squier or Epiphone.

 

[Doctor J]

Never underestimate the amount of money Fender, Gibson, etc spend on marketing, especially making sure their instruments are seen in the hands of popular artists.

[Tim2291]

2 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Never underestimate the amount of money Fender, Gibson, etc spend on marketing, especially making sure their instruments are seen in the hands of popular artists.

 

This is the kind of comment I was hoping for! Yamaha are a far older company who have been manufacturing things far longer than any of the "big" guitar brands so they obviously know what they're doing. I had always suspected it was down to marketing but was interested in the opinions of other bass nerds!

[Misdee]

To me, Yamaha is a prestige brand, just like Fender, Gibson,et al. From entry level to high end, they can give most other manufacturers a run for their money. 

[Tim2291]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

To me, Yamaha is a prestige brand, just like Fender, Gibson,et al. From entry level to high end, they can give most other manufacturers a run for their money. 

I 100% agree with you! Anyone who plays my cheapo RBX comments on how well it plays! Tonewise it could be better... but I am comparing it's tone to my Ibanez with Bartolini PUPs and preamp so maybe not a fair comparison! I'd probably be saying the same if I had an entry level Squier tbf!

[JohnH89]

Just picked up a new BB734a from the chaps at bass direct . Of all the basses I tried out , the set up from the factory and quality of manufacture are beyond compare . Across all musical instruments , Yamaha have been doing it brilliantly for years . If you want a label on your bass to impress people , buy a fender . If you want a bass to play and last for years , buy a Yamaha . 

[neepheid]

I'm bloody glad of "sleeper" brands like Yamaha and G&L.  I get to play great instruments and feel like I'm part of a wee, exclusive club, the membership of which swim in a slightly different direction to the mainstream - my kind of people.

[Tim2291]

8 hours ago, Wally Gogg said:

Just picked up a new BB734a from the chaps at bass direct . Of all the basses I tried out , the set up from the factory and quality of manufacture are beyond compare . Across all musical instruments , Yamaha have been doing it brilliantly for years . If you want a label on your bass to impress people , buy a fender . If you want a bass to play and last for years , buy a Yamaha . 

Genuinely the reason I have a Jazz bass is because it's what people expect you to use at gigs, probably because the marketing team put one in the hands of 90% of touring bassists!

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, Tim2291 said:

Genuinely the reason I have a Jazz bass is because it's what people expect you to use at gigs, probably because the marketing team put one in the hands of 90% of touring bassists!

 

What people?  Most folk at gigs I've played wouldn't care/notice if I used a rubber band stretched over a saucepan as long as it sounded good.  You must have quite the geeky/discerning audience.

[Rich]

I have always said that Yamaha basses offer nearly unbeatable VFM. My old RBX765A was an incredible instrument for its ridiculously low asking price.

I would take a BB1025x over any Fender bass**, any day of the week. And I would dearly love to have a TRB5P.

 

** with the possible exception of the Roscoe Beck 5 and the original Urge

 

[Misdee]

18 hours ago, Tim2291 said:

I 100% agree with you! Anyone who plays my cheapo RBX comments on how well it plays! Tonewise it could be better... but I am comparing it's tone to my Ibanez with Bartolini PUPs and preamp so maybe not a fair comparison! I'd probably be saying the same if I had an entry level Squier tbf!

If someone asked me to recommend an decent quality instrument for a beginner I would always point them towards Yamaha as their first line of enquiry.

 

By the same token, Yamaha pro-level gear is top-notch. I've played Yamaha basses that are easily as good as anything boutique builders have to offer, and they're more robust, on the whole. They make equally good guitars, drums, keyboards ect. Their recording studio and hi-fi equipment is very nice,too. As a brand, l don't think Yamaha has anything to prove to anybody.

Edited October 14, 2022 by Misdee

[Tim2291]

Just now, neepheid said:

 

What people?  Most folk at gigs I've played wouldn't care/notice if I used a rubber band stretched over a saucepan as long as it sounded good.  You must have quite the geeky/discerning audience.

Audiences don't care, as you say, you could be playing a twanger from rainbow and they wouldn't care as long as there is some kind of low note. It's generally the other musicians or producers!

 

I've pulled my 5 string Ibanez (flamed maple top, really boutique looking bass, bit like the Yamaha TRB's) out on an acoustic gig before and was asked to put it back away because, and I quote, "Ibanez make guitars for metal"... got the jazz bass out and they were happy. I mean, my Ibanez is a great metal bass... if I want it to be, but it is also far more versatile and useable than a Jazz bass in any situation!

[Tim2291]

Just now, Misdee said:

If someone asked me to recommend an decent quality instrument for a beginner I would always recommend Yamaha as their first line of enquiry.

 

By the same token, Yamaha pro-level gear is top-notch. I've played Yamaha basses that are easily as good as anything boutique builders have to offer, and they're more robust, on the whole. They make equally good guitars, drums, keyboards ect. Their recording studio and hi-fi equipment is very nice,too. As a brand, l don't think Yamaha has anything to prove to anybody.

Completely agree, it's amazing gear, most of what they make is brilliant! It does really seem that the fender popularity is down to marketing rather than actual quality!

[BassApprentice]

There are many better models out there than ones from Fender and Gibson, but we are creatures of habit and marketing. I believe most of it is down our Six String playing friends, they very rarely stray away from what's available in a local shop meaning anything else isn't "cool"

 

Yamaha, Sandberg and PRS have refined their own designs and are probably technically better than a Fender or Gibson, but since they only get a fraction of market share they aren't going to get in as many hands to understand the differences.

 

 

[Misdee]

To be fair, I think Fender's popularity is based on the fact that they are the originators of so much that we take for granted nowadays. Their invention and creativity is not to be underestimated. How much value for money they offer in the current UK market place is another matter in so much as their equipment is much less expensive in the USA and Fender are not responsible for the exchange rate and levels of taxation on retail goods in the UK.

 

I know Fender quality control can be a bit(very) haphazard, but they are still in many ways the most important guitar company in the world. The strength of a company like Yamaha is that they have taken the innovation of companies like Fender, learnt from it and built upon it, creating their own identity in the process.

Edited October 14, 2022 by Misdee

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, Tim2291 said:

Audiences don't care, as you say, you could be playing a twanger from rainbow and they wouldn't care as long as there is some kind of low note. It's generally the other musicians or producers!

 

I've pulled my 5 string Ibanez (flamed maple top, really boutique looking bass, bit like the Yamaha TRB's) out on an acoustic gig before and was asked to put it back away because, and I quote, "Ibanez make guitars for metal"... got the jazz bass out and they were happy. I mean, my Ibanez is a great metal bass... if I want it to be, but it is also far more versatile and useable than a Jazz bass in any situation!

 

Geez, still a lot of outdated thinking out there then.  I'm of the opinion that no bass is tied to a particular genre of music and the people who care about that sort of thing are listening with their eyes.

[Tim2291]

8 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

Geez, still a lot of outdated thinking out there then.  I'm of the opinion that no bass is tied to a particular genre of music and the people who care about that sort of thing are listening with their eyes.

Very definitely, although I don't think I'll be cracking out my Explorer for any Jazz gigs 😆! Weirdly though it would probably have a suitable tone, single P pickup!

[joe_geezer]

I own 5 Yamaha TRB mark 1s ... I would put them up there with NYC Sadowsky's I know as I have owned 2 of them and sold them both but kept all my Yamahas.. I use to play in a Jazz club in Paris & a chap that use to come and watch our gig owned a couple of Ken Smiths and said my Yamaha TRB 4 string always sounded much better than his Smiths... 

[Guest]

My current workhorse is a TRBX505 In diarrhoea-brown. I bought it a few years ago, cheap, as a backup bass because I'm playing almost exclusively 5 string these days. It's managed to outlive 2 Spectors, a BBP35, a Stingray 5, a BB735A, and a BB1025. My Fender Jazz 4 never got any use and is now sold. My Stingray 4 is to die for but hardly gets any use. 

 

It's got that "best bass for metal" body shape, but in the poo-brown colour it's actually quite understated and cool...and I've had more compliments on this bass than all the others put together! 

 

I do love the top end Yams, but they always left me wanting something more that I can't quite put my finger on. But to answer your original question, it's all marketing and nostalgia. The big names have it nailed, they always sign up the new acts and shove one of their guitars in their hands. (I mean, if I was Sam Fender, I'd have left it at least a decade before endorsing Fender guitars, just to f**k with them! I'd have been knocking down Gibson's door! 😂) They like to play the "we invented it" card, but others were doing the same thing at the time... Fender just had a more successful business model and an aggressive legal team. But then I know that by buying a Yamaha most of my cash will go into the quality of the guitar, rather than a sizeable chunk going to the marketing department. If I were to consider another bass from the Fender stable, it would be a Charvel. 

 

It feels a bit more rock 'n' roll to leave the £1500+ supposedly "good" basses at home and go out every weekend with a Yamaha marketed at beginners. One of these days I might spray it pink or rainbow crackle. And I might just buy another as a backup-backup. 

 

[thodrik]

I don't have much familiarity with the basses, but the Yamaha guitars like the Pacifica and now the Revstar are seriously good value. In general Yamaha just do not make poorly designed products: pianos, keyboards, guitars, basses, woodwind etc,  you name it and they will generally have produced a very good product for the price point and the top end stuff is generally outstanding. 

[TheLowDown]

My experience with Yamahas has always been top notch, definitely amongst the best for quality and value. If I had a choice between a Yamaha and a Fender, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the Yamaha even if the Fender was being offered at half the price of it.

Edited October 15, 2022 by TheLowDown

[BlueMoon]

I’ve been very impressed by the Yamaha TRB5ii - both fretted and Fretless. Great value for money and Japanese quality. IMO, they are easily as good as the average modern Fender.

[Guest]

I've had two Yamaha basses recently. Both beautifully made. One was boring to play and very comfortable, one was exciting to play and very uncomfortable. Both are gone.

 

I recently tried a budget Yamaha and was quite surprised by the iffy quality, until I realised it hadn't come from their Indonesian factory.

[fingerz]

Yamaha don't make any 'bad' instruments in my opinion. For me that's something that no other mass produced instrument has struck me with. An amazing company, I have an old electric piano, when it had an issue the support offered from them was exceptional. I have an old TRB which I de-fretted and is now my fretless bass if I need one for anything, I've toured it a few times and used it on shows and recordings. To me it is improved as a fretless, and I trust it, it's a workhorse, 23 odd years old now.

 

I think the OP's question about why they haven't ever really stood out is probably due to the lack of controversy around the brand. All others have played the 'all publicity is good publicity' card at some point and really tested brand loyalty. I think Yamaha have a lot of loyalty but it's never really been challenged. Their drum market to me is their strongest in terms of prestige, and again, IMO, their drums have the most 'character' of all their products. That's the thing that lacks for me in their basses, with all that amazing consistency, comes a slight lack of character, but if anyone asks me what bass to buy without trying, or knowing exactly what they want, I always say get a Yamaha. And on that point, Nathan East has recorded more bass and pleased more producers and artists than anyone, channelling all that talent and dedication though Yamaha instruments which sound phenomenal on all his work. So more fool me, but that's my five cents on the matter, they are one of the absolute top brands out there who just have been so good they've faded into the background a little bit, which we should commend them for!

[ezbass]

On 13/10/2022 at 13:22, Doctor J said:

Never underestimate the amount of money Fender, Gibson, etc spend on marketing, especially making sure their instruments are seen in the hands of popular artists.

In addition, never underestimate the hankering for the early golden days of electric guitar & bass by users. Guitarists especially are stuck in ‘50s when it comes to designs (not all obviously) and the big 2 feed this with an unending supply of reissues, year in, year out. Bassists are a little better, but not hugely. Look what happens every time Fender bring out a new, perfectly good design, it’s mothballed in pretty short order.

 

Perhaps when newer players become the go to guitar heroes, they will be a shift in manufacturer perceptions by users. Chris Buck, for instance, uses Yamaha Rev Stars extensively, Mateus Osato is mainly a Suhr player, Lari Basilio is an Ibanez user. These are some of the up and coming in the guitar world, the new breed of bass players (League, Dart, etc) still seem to be old school users (giving MM old school status in this instance).