Loaner bass - modified Yamaha Attitude LTD II

[Chris2112]

One supposes there might be a few fans of Yamaha basses, Billy Sheehan, Lace Sensor pickups or a mix of all those things to make this an interesting enough read. 

 

The Yamaha Attitude bass is one of those iconic instruments that has always fascinated me. Billy Sheehan has long been a favourite player of mine and I have long considered him one of the finest and most distinctive players in the rock field. I've seen him live a couple of times with Steve Vai and left those shows absolutely convinced he has mastered his art.

 

Anyway, about six or seven years ago my brother acquired this Seafoam Green Yamaha Attitude Ltd II through Basschat. I agreed with his reasoning, that if he was to get one it had to be Seafoam Green, because that is the colour and the one you'd know from performances like the Steve Vai live at the Astoria in 2001 etc. I'd seen it round at his house, played it briefly but never spent much time with it. My impression on seeing and hearing it is that it is so obviously a flawlessly made instrument. The famed Yamaha fit and finish on full display. 

 

I was lucky enough to borrow the bass from my brother recently. He's moved back to playing guitar full time and has amassed a fantastic collection of guitars since. His basses collection has been sold off over time leaving just a Warwick Thumb and the Attitude. The top picks of what he had, really, with things like a Pedulla MVP and Ken Smith BT5 having gone long ago. 

 

 

 

So, what do I think of this Attitude? Well, you'll notice that it's modified, with Lace Sensor pickups fitted to replace the original Dimarzio Willpower splitcoil (the 'woofer' pickup hidden next to the neck remains untouched). This is probably one of the only Attitude basses with a bridge pickup out there, but more on that in a bit. 

 

 

Hanging the bass on your body, there is a slight neck dive to where the bass settles. However, it will sit above level on a strap without holding the neck, so it's no leaden Thunderbird in terms of balance. It gives a feeling similar to a P bass, albeit a little more sleek and slim. The neck is an absolute joy. My initial impression was that it was thick, even for a 'super P', but the absolutely flawless carve and oil finish mean that it is lightning fast. It has a substantial profile, front to back, though it is not at all fatiguing to play. The fretwork it absolutely flawless too. It's currently strung with Billy's signature Rotosounds, which are quite a stiff-feeling string. I need to read up about those a bit more to see what is so special about them, I assume they're just Billy's preferred gauges. 

 

I've been playing it through my Markbass Jeff Berlin CMD151P combo amp, using either a Sansamp GED-2112 or EBS Billy Sheehan Deluxe Overdrive for drive. I had actually found that the EBS gives a better tone with the Attitude (hardly surprising, I guess, if you want that Sheehan tone). I was after a 'big' sound with punchy mids and bright treble meshed under a wave of just-there overdrive. Enough gain in it that it sounds 'naughty' but not so much that it gets screechy. I still like to be able to hear the notes in a chord further up the neck, for instance. I don't have a bi-amping solution or a stereo 2 to 1 cable to blend the Woofer pickup, although given the amount of low end that the splitcoil produces I don't think I need it. I would like to try that out at some point though, maybe when I've rejigged my spare room and moved my bass gear in there. 

 

The Lace splitcoil is hot, bright, and full of character. It's clean and absolutely noiseless. For a splitcoil, it sounds very tight and characterful, and when played over the pickup it is very much 'precision and then some' territory. Running both pickups together, I find a very punchy tone that works well for most any rock. However, despite finding this sound to be inherently pleasant, I haven't wanted to use it all that much. That is entirely at odds with my usual tonal preference, in which I would always want some bridge pickup blended in somewhere to help me cut through. When you've got this thing barking through the overdrive, you really don't need anything brighter than the splitcoil. Quiet the drive down and you could slot this into any mix but I really think a lot of the fun is running it hot like Billy does and really getting to grips with it. 

 

Oh yes, it also has a Hipshot D-tuner fitted on the E string. I won't say too much on that as they're well documented and discussed elsewhere, other than to say that it has been a bit of a revelation to me in terms of convenience. I may end up getting one for my Dolphin. Anyway, I have found this to be one of those iconic instruments that really lives up to the billing in every way. If you consider it as just a variant of a P bass - and it is, and that's how I use it - then it's absolutely brilliant. I never thought I'd say that about a Precision 🤔🤔🤔

 

 

 

[Ramsay777]

Always thought these basses looked so good. The addition of a bridge pickup is a fantastic choice imo, it'll be a versatile beast with all those options!

[LeftyJ]

Lovely bass, but disconnecting the woofer (and removing the pot) and adding a bridge pickup? Yamaha has a bass for you 

Yamaha Attitude Standard Bass | Reverb

 

Those Lace Alumitones are brilliant! I love the design, they barely incorporate a coil at all. Really clever design.

Edited September 24 by LeftyJ

[Chris2112]

Yes, the bass was modified before my brother bought it and has remained unchanged since. I was a little skeptical because I had little experience with Lace pickups, and I questioned if the addition of a bridge pickup in this context was useful or necessary. 

 

Well, for my tastes and usage, and I suspect for most players, I find myself more in need of bridge pickup than another neck pickup to bi-amp out for a big, bassy tone. I tried using both the pickups on full today for a bit, playing the same parts back to back and switching from just the splitcoil to the P/J split. Usefully, the volume balance for both pickups is very even. On something like my Pentabuzz, the splitcoil always dominates even when both pickups are running on full. The P/J mode on this adds a little more snarl and notably more 'tightness' in the low end, which may be a result of the inherent mid-scoop of running two pickups together like that. Either way, it makes an excellent noise, almost a Geddy-esque bark, and that's through the EBS Billy Sheehan pedal rather than the GED-2112. 

 

I suppose my results in playing this bass must be tempered by the pairing with that EBS pedal, it really does what it says on the tin and gives you that Billy Sheehan overdriven sound on tap, with an almost unseemly ability to let the clean tone through with the overdrive almost on top, rather than just blowing out a foul, brash overdriven sound into your amp. The EBS engineers clearly put the work in studying Billy's Pearce preamps to emulate their sound like this in such a small unit. Gushing about the Attitude aside, I really think that is the best pedal I've ever played through. I wouldn't be without one now.