Cairobill

If you're within pickup/meet up distance, do feel free to make an offer on the bass!

Yup - it's the purest sounding thing!

Bermp...

On the off chance that any of my bass playing brethren are FM synth alchemists, here's the big poppa of the 80s FM game up for a sale at a competitive price, the YAMAHA TX802.

This is a clean one and in perfect sonic order. It's essentially a DX7 Mkii in a box with 8 separate outs for multi-timbral FM fun. It's a great sounding synth but I'm in warchest mode so it is on the block. Would prefer not to ship but never say never.

Price is firm and no trades please



 

3 hours ago, rmutt said:

I built this bass as a gift for a friend when I worked at the Yamaha custom shop in LA around '94-'95. I used  a Yamaha neck but it had nothing to do with the company. The black lines in the fingerboard are graphite to increase the strength of the neck and to make the strings speak better. I wound the pickups as well. The body is basswood with a maple veneer on top. It's great to see it after all these years!

That’s very interesting! How cool

2 hours ago, NickA said:

I had one of these; excellent basses.  I traded it for my fretless Wal ..not even because I needed to, just because I had some silly two basses policy.  I got £180 for it and the shop had it in the window for £270 the next day!  Regretted it ever since.

 

Now have a silly 4 basses policy..... but very tempted.

 

Love the playing btw ...and Patrice.

Ta! Not up for trade obvs (apart for a fretless wal  )

6 hours ago, pete.young said:

That's excellent playing, well done. 80s-tastic. Great sounding bass at a bargain price. I wish I could justify it but I am mostly playing upright these days.

Cheers all. It’s a lovely bass and v v playable. 

As a Bank Holiday bump is a special bump, here's a SLAP demo for this extremely fine bass to make that bump worthwhile...

It's no surprise that the BB2000 was a bit of slappers preference in the '80s. As a bit of an old slapper myself, it's one of the slappiest basses I've ever slapped...

And spookily, this thumb-forward track ('Forget Me Nots' by the awesome Patrice Rushen) was released in 1982...

.....the SAME YEAR THAT THIS BASS WAS MANFACTURED!
 

On 30/04/2024 at 17:25, Beedster said:

 

There was talk at the time that the BB2024 at around £2,500 (10 years ago) was as good as these, but having owned both, the BB2000 is infinitely better 👍

It’s also interesting how the BB3000 is elevated above the BB2000. I’ve played/owned both now and the 2000 wins for tonal welly in my book. The neck is also a perfect size for me. Not as skinny as the 3000 but not P bass chunky by any means.  Very playable.

RBX800AF?

Neck to body join is right...

But obvs loadsa tweaking on the body....

A cursory look at the late 80s RBX basses shows they're pretty much all PJ config. However, the body looks to be an RBX body with an added laminate and a generous amount of reshaping.

Whoever did the work obviously REALLY loved that neck. A very innovative cure for fret wear there

Well well. This is interesting!

My main bass in the late 80s was an RBX350 and it was a cool instrument. Judging by the neck join to the body this is the neck and original body from something from that RBX stable but obviously highly modified.

I would search for fretless RBX models from the late 80s with a JJ config to find out the original bass

 

The closest bass in the Yamaha line up for construction and feel would be the Nathan East I think. So 4K new (!)

Keeping this puppy

Awww. My second ever bass. Great instruments!

I need to make a tiny truss tweak on my 1982 BB2000 but don't have the truss rod tool. Can anyone in the know recommend a suitable tool for the job?

 

Woah mama. These early ones are such beautifully built basses

18 hours ago, Muzz said:

I'm loving my 414 so much it's actually perking some GAS, but I'm yet to be convinced that a more expensive BB would have a neck that I'd like; from my digging (fairly extensive, but not completely comprehensive) it appears the 414 has the slimmest neck of all of them (that weigh less than 8 1/2 - 9lbs)...I can't remember for the life of me what the neck on my BB3000A was like: I didn't have a problem with it at the time, but I've got fussier as I've got older (and I'm playing way more gigs)...

I sold my MIJ 3000A a while back... neck is 'skinny' but I'm not sure how much that is due to narrowness or shallowness. It definitely felt insubstantial compared to the BB2000. It was also harder to get around on and more fatiguing, at least for me. I find the BB2000 profile more comfortable and more playable.

Just picked up one of these basses and have to say, they're the best! 

39 minutes ago, soulstar89 said:

Definitely understand you on construction. Japans craftsmanship has always be so refined. Your mass has a neck through with ebony fretboard so it plays a big part. 

 

You seemed to have found a keeper. Delete all your saved searches on basses you are after and enjoy the beauty lol. 
 

oh how would you describe the jazz pickup? 

They are so well made. Very hard to build at that level nowadays without attaching a 5K price tag I think. 
 

bridge pickup is full sounding compared to a Fender. Sounds great

Yes, a broad palette but no compromise in the sounds. Very top tier bass.  
 

The neck is also important I think. Just chunky enough but still very fast. 
 

I’m tempted to conclude that the BB2000 construction plays a big part in the quality of the tone. You can hear the sound of the thing unamplified and feel it in your fingers. Solid!

On 25/03/2024 at 11:18, soulstar89 said:

Nice. I’ve a question. As the pickups are aggressive and punchy (I presume tone wide open) when you rolled off the tone does it more bassy/thumpy like a generic style p bass sound or holds the same aggression and punch but with less treble? 

It’s very versatile. I’ve been playing it regularly over the past few days and can confirm that it is one of the slappiest basses I’ve ever hit with my thumb (on the central setting). But it also does a great burpy 80s J bass thing and can do a decent Jamerson. Very broad. 
 

On the neck pickup setting, rolling off the tone removes some of the clank and growl I suppose? Leaving a pleasing thumpy P with nice definition to my ear

Love a Stingray
 

I now have a BB2000 as my main and only bass. Like other neck through Yamahas I've had in the past (TRB6P and BB3000A), it's one of the best put together basses out there. Very aggressive and punchy bass with those three sweet spot pickup settings. Endless sustain and even across the fretboard. Just an incredible instrument. 

 

I'm only commenting on the thread because I saw the title and the words 'Stu Hamm' flashed in my mind in bright neon and then I saw the content mentioning the man himself. Spooky!