iconic Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 A bit of background: [b]Description of the Yamaha RBX374 What ever your style, what ever your stage, the Yamaha RBX374 has the versatility and looks to fit what you’re doing. Unique, progressive looks and effortless playability make the RBX series Yamaha's best selling basses and the RBX374 features high-end spec including the heavily contoured 3D RBX body, black pro-spec hardware, twin humbucking pickups and active 2-band EQ that makes sure the looks, sound and feel all add up to a serious bass experience. Features of the Yamaha RBX374 Custom Pickups Twin humbucking pickups feature oversized pole pieces to produce a thicker low-end tone with increased bass response. The pickup covers feature built-in finger rests that are discrete and convenient. RBX Bridge The heavy diecast bridge transmits string vibration directly to the body for enhanced sustain. Easy adjustability makes the perfect setup easy to achieve. RBX Body The deeply contoured bodylines incredible comfort, easy access to high frets and stunning looks. Active Electronics The 4-control active EQ system features Master Volume, Pickup Balance, and a 2-band equalizer for massive tonal variation. Controls 1: Pickup Balancer 2: Master Volume 3: Bass 4: Treble Specifications of the Yamaha RBX374 ■Construction: Bolt-on ■Scale Length: 34" (864mm) ■Fingerboard: Rosewood ■Radius: 10" (250mm) ■Frets: 24 ■Body: Alder ■Neck: Maple(Bolt on) ■Bridge: Diecast ■Pickups: Newly designed Hum-Cancelled Pickup X 2 ■Controls: Master Volume 1, Pan-Pot and 2-Band EQ ■Colors: Black, Flat Silver, Red Metallic[/b][i][/i] I'm still very knew to bass, only started in April this year...bought myself a Yamaha RBX-374 as they rarely get a slating, mostly praise for what you get for you money and I seem to always be impressed by anything Yamaha, be it my hi-fi, my enduro bike , ohh, and I had piano lessons on a Yamaha when I was 8 years old so thought, may as well go for a yamaha bass too, if for no other sound technical reason! I know I like this bass, does everything I want for first bass and it's certainly way better than me! I sell cars for a living and sold a car to a guy, whom, whilst I was doing the paperwork picked up the RBX and asked if he could have a go, "of course" I said, telling him I thought it was broken as I couldn't a decent sound from it and wow, simply amazing.....that guy could play, turns out he is a session musician.....so I know the bass is far far better than my talents! Anyway, to the point....my friend who is also learning bass...... he plays a Fender jazz, don't know anymore about it bar that he paid £150 for it s/h and it's passive. He had a go on my RBX and he liked it straight off so much he wants to buy one now, I asked why and he likes the slim neck, light feel and the EQ's and simply found it easy to play...may just mean a RBX is simply easier to play than a Fender for us 2 beginners, I don't know I'm just thinking out loud? [color="#0000FF"]The question he asked the other day was, is the RBX-374 a jazz or a precision bass, um I don't know.....I think that having two pick-ups with adjustment for varying the sound from each pick-up & bass treble control sort of makes it both...I'm really not too sure, can anyone help?[/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 going on the features it doesn't have a great deal in common with either. IMO a P or a J bass is defined by its pickup configuration, body shape and neck profile, (obviously these all contribute to its tone), this has none of the features of either by the looks of it. That isnt to say that you couldnt get a P or a J tone (or at least something simular out of it) using its onboard electronics but I wouldn't say it falls under either category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjb Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 (edited) I'd say that it's Yamaha's take on the Stingray HH / Warwick $$ configurations. Yamaha make decent basses, I owned one back in the 90s. Edited December 19, 2009 by rjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I had a 375 for a while, and apart from the wide fretboard which I couldn't get on with, it was a great bass. Physically, the 4 will play more like a P with the wider fretboard at the nut. Tonally, though (and that's what really defines 'P-ness' or 'J-ness') it's like neither, as the pickups are completely different in nature to either P or J pups. The pups on the Yammy are side-by-side dual-coil humbuckers. The pups on the Jazz are single coil non-humbucking (like a Strat) and when both are on are in parallel. The pups on a P are two small units designed to be humbucking in combination and wired together in series. The Yammy neck pickup gets somewhere near the P sound but not exact, whereas the humbucker at the bridge, when solo'd has a sound all of its own. Personally, I like flexibility and it would have been nice to be able to have switched the pups to single coil, but I really liked the tone of those pickups. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I agree with the rest on here, tell your friend it's not a P or a J bass. It is a Yamaha RBX with a double humbucker ($$) configuration. There's more to bass life than Fender E.g. My Ibanez has a J/P configuration but that doesn't put it in the J or the P bass camp, it's in the Ibby Soundgear camp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 (edited) wow, thanks for the prompt and knowledgable replies guys.....and I thought there was only P or J to choose from...maybe there should be a another definition, but can't think of a short name for [b]side-by-side dual-coil humbuckers[/b][i][/i] SBSDCH's is a bit of a mouthful! Edited December 19, 2009 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Double Buck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 [quote name='iconic' post='688880' date='Dec 19 2009, 09:17 AM'][color="#0000FF"]The question he asked the other day was, is the RBX-374 a jazz or a precision bass, um I don't know.....I think that having two pick-ups with adjustment for varying the sound from each pick-up & bass treble control sort of makes it both...I'm really not too sure, can anyone help?[/color][/quote] It's neither. It seems pretty weird because at the end of the day, every bass in the world doesn't have to be a p or j bass. just like every car in the world doesn't have to be a ford focus or a vauxhall astra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveO Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 [quote name='iconic' post='688905' date='Dec 19 2009, 11:04 AM']wow, thanks for the prompt and knowledgable replies guys.....and I thought there was only P or J to choose from...maybe there should be a another definition, but can't think of a short name for [b]side-by-side dual-coil humbuckers[/b][i][/i] SBSDCH's is a bit of a mouthful![/quote] There is, it's the double buck ($$) I love my 375, it gets as much play time as the P (it would get more, but its got too many strings for everyday use ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 (edited) Oh, dear, so I know even less about bass guitars than I thought I did, so just how many bass variations are there then and what is the difference in tone, or is this just big a question to ask? This is what I think I understand:- J bass has a brighter, thinner sound P bass has a duller, fatter sound Double Buck...has a fatter richer sound going to a brighter but not so bright as a jazz with pup mix right over to bridge pup. Just to let you guys know I did google before I posted and couldn't realy find anything that made me feel confident as to know what was what, please enlighten me And thanks for your patience guys on what must seem a real rookie question. Edited December 19, 2009 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveO Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I think Edward's analogy to cars is a good one. There are so many variations out there that a definitive list would run to lots and lots of pages, and then the choice of amplification gets into the equation with all its associated tone colouring, and then you can start adding effects to tweak the tone even further. And then you can get into lengthy discussions about playing techniques, each one flavouring the tone in its own way... and all of that is subjective anyway, AND its extremely difficult to try to describe the nuances of tone using spoken / written language. Its not an impossible task, but I'm not surprised that you couldn't find anything conclusive in your search. No need to apologise by the way. Don't feel embarrassed about asking noob questions either, we were all new to this game once and the vast majority on here are only too happy to help Cant really help with your question though , after yonks and yonks of playing I'd say that your little list of tones is pretty much on the button. I wouldn't get hung up too much about it though. I've heard people on here get fantastic sounds out of crappy basses (and to be fair I've heard people make basses that cost thousands sound like they're made of paper and string.) To coin a basschat cliche, 'the tone is in the fingers' Keep reading, you'll pick it up in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 [quote name='SteveO' post='689396' date='Dec 19 2009, 09:23 PM'](and to be fair I've heard people make basses that cost thousands sound like they're made of paper and string.))[/quote] My ears are burning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveO Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='689406' date='Dec 19 2009, 10:54 PM']My ears are burning. [/quote] I would not be so ungallant as to name names, however none of the people I had in mind have been seen on here other than in Youtube clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 again, many thanks for the help guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxrossell Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 [quote name='iconic' post='688946' date='Dec 19 2009, 10:59 AM']Oh, dear, so I know even less about bass guitars than I thought I did, so just how many bass variations are there then and what is the difference in tone, or is this just big a question to ask? This is what I think I understand:- J bass has a brighter, thinner sound P bass has a duller, fatter sound Double Buck...has a fatter richer sound going to a brighter but not so bright as a jazz with pup mix right over to bridge pup. Just to let you guys know I did google before I posted and couldn't realy find anything that made me feel confident as to know what was what, please enlighten me And thanks for your patience guys on what must seem a real rookie question.[/quote] There is no real answer to your question. I've heard Jazzes that sound duller and fatter than some Precisions, and some Precisions that sound brighter and thinner than some Jazzes. I think the best way for you to approach this is to stop thinking about basses in terms of categories, and approach it in more of a model-by-model way. It's really not useful to have a preconceived idea of what a Jazz bass is going to sound like, for instance, because it might lead you to dismissing all of them, or thinking that it's the only thing you can use. Some people will tell you you need a bass with humbuckers for rock, but some bass players do just fine with single coils. Some people say that nothing is better than a Jazz for slapping, but others diagree. To employ an oft-used platitude, an instrument's sound is as much down to who is playing it than it is down to the pickup configuration, or the woods used - and then you have to factor in that the bass amp is probably going to account for the majority of the tonal character anyway. Really, it's all a matter of taste, and in some respects, how the bass feels to play is more important than how it sounds - as long as it sounds good, you can always change the pickups around if you want to improve the sound, but you can never change the way it feels to play. The RBX-374 is a good beginner bass. It's very good for the money. It's well-built, has a very good variety of sounds, and it's easy to play. With good strings on it, into a good amp, it sounds like a bass twice or three times the price. That's really all you need to know for the minute. Worry about the technical details when you've progressed a bit more with just playing the instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 (edited) Update: It turns out my friend bass is a Fender Squier Jazz of some sort, or 'Square' as he always calls it..we are out tonight for an indian, I hope his reading is better there, he may get an unwanted surprise! ...not knowing much is this simply a budget Fender Jazz? also found this on pick-ups: [i]Pickups consist of a magnet around which a copper wire is coiled. When the vibrations of a bass string disturb the magnetic field of the magnet, small voltage fluctuations in the copper coil are produced. These fluctuations are then transmitted to the bass amp, amplified and translated into sound. There are two prominent pickup designs based on the number of coils used in a pickup’s construction – single-coil and double-coil. Single-Coil Pickups Single-coil pickups have one coil wrapped around the pickup’s magnet. Single-coil pickups are often bright and clear sounding. A drawback is they can pickup external noise and give off a humming sound. Radio waves, computer monitors, and florescent lighting can all cause this humming/buzzing. If two single-coil pickups are used (as on a Fender Jazz bass) and the pickup volumes are set equally, the noise will get cancelled out. If you just use one of the pickups, you may pickup some noise. Double-Coil - Humbuckers Just as two single-coil pickups can be put together to cancel hum, a double-coil pickup can be created to cancel the hum within one pickup. These pickups are often called humbuckers or humbucking pickups for their hum-reducing qualities. Humbuckers tend to roll off some of the tonal highs when they cancel the hum and they usually have more output than single-coils. Split-Coil Pickups Split-coil pickups are basically double coil pickups split apart. This is what you see on Fender Precision basses. Instead of one double-coil underneath all 4 strings, the pickups are split in two — each under one pair of strings. Piezo Pickups Piezo pickups are less common on electric basses, but you may run into them. A piezo pickup senses the actual vibration of the string through contact with the string at the bridge contact point. These are often found in acoustic bass guitars. Since piezos don’t rely on magnets it is possible to use non-metal strings such as nylon strings. Piezos, without the right kind of pre-amp, can sound brittle and thin. Optical Pickups The newest kind of pickup available is the optical pickup. Optical pickups use light to sense the vibrations of the strings instead of magnets. These are still very uncommon, but may catch on. Other Pickup Terminology: Soapbar pickups refers to the shape of the pickup housing. They look like bars of black soap. Often found on 5- and 6-string bass guitars. An MM-style pickup refers to pickups created by and used on MusicMan basses.[/i][b][/b] cheers guys Edited December 23, 2009 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 [quote name='iconic' post='692055' date='Dec 23 2009, 08:32 AM']Update: It turns out my friend bass is a Fender Squier Jazz of some sort, or 'Square' as he always calls it..we are out tonight for an indian, I hope his reading is better there, he may get an unwanted surprise! ...not knowing much is this simply a budget Fender Jazz? cheers guys[/quote] Squiers come in sorts of flavours, they are essentially a budget Fender but some of them are fantastic basses in their own right. Do you know what type of Squier it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 A Jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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