dave_bass5

Nah, you're stuck with an oversized thumb rest now :-).

Same here. Im now used to my 5 string and I find going back to my jazz quite uncomfortable to play.

Yes, i got two in the post today. I tried one out at work and it really gripped the desks in the office well. The rubber is quite soft, not hard rubber.

I saw this the other night and thought I'd take a chance. What a brilliant idea. I'm forever having to rest my bass against things at home, this is going to be a god send. http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/accessories-c2/stands-and-hangers-c70/planet-waves-guitar-rest-p6963

I normally have my E set to 2mm at the 12th fret. At the moment my current bass wont quite accommodate this but its still close. I find i get a lot more fret buzz caused by heavy handed picking. Playing finger style seems to work much better for me. Unfortunately im not very good at it at gigs. Ive never taken a measurement at the 17th fret, but i do tend to shim my necks so that the action above the 12 fret doesn't get any higher.

All my previous Yamaha encounters were either Keyboards or drum machines. I'd never played a Yamaha bass before this one. Before seeing the TRBX range I had looked briefly at thier other basses in this sort of price range, but most had that horrible pickup surround that makes them look like a Woolworths bass from the 70's.

I was all set to get ether black or white. In the end I went for the brown one. Normally I'd go for black, and it looked rather nice in the shop, but the White also looked stunning in the flesh. I couldn't decide so I went for a colour I'd never normally go for.

Nice one, I almost got one a couple of months ago. I ended up with a TRBX505 instead, which for me offered things the 305 doesn't, but played the same. I was going to sell mine as I'm not sure I really need 5 strings, and I do prefer Jazz basses, but everytime I pick it up I change my mind. I'll never love mine completely, but I do enjoy playing it, and even more looking at it.

Another vote for the Scarlett (mines the 212). It's been rock solid since I got it, and in fact it's my only audio interface now. Handles system sounds as well as DAW stuff.

I work in Hatton Garden and see them filming this quite a bit. We are just a few doors down from them. Nothing more to add really :-)

There seems to be a lot of ugly (to me) basses around that for some reason people have orgasmns over. These seem to be mianly boutique bass, where it looks like someone is trying way to hard to reinvent the bass.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1418239183' post='2628378'] I just dont see visual things like bindings, blocks etc as making a bass "110% better", fwiw I would buy one but not with any belief of it being any better during a gig than my others, my worst quality Ray is my black and white one, its also my favourite, go figure, lol [/quote] Rubbish. If it looks the part then it's worth every penny over any other perfectly playable bass ;-).

I do agree with the topic of this thread, but I really don't care if someone does spend over the odds, and think they are getting value for money by doing it. It's thier money and if it makes them happy good for them. If I had loads of spare cash I'd buy expensive basses, but be under no illusion why I'm doing it. Its a want, pure and simple. The Emperor didn't just have new clothes, he also got a new rig and some basses as well :-).

I get the impression that the higher the cost of bass, the more you are paying someone elses rent or mortgage rather than getting something that is better than other high cost basses. It's great to be able to help out the small business man but surely the cost to usability ratio goes right out of the window after a certain amount? Of course you get the honour of a name on the headstock that hardly anyone else has, but other than that what is it that you get from say a £4000 bass compared to a £2000 bass?

Ive used mine at every gig since i got it a few years ago. Im not sure if thats good or bad but if nothing else it elevates my rig a bit higher.

I've been playing a TRBX505 for the past month. I had never played a Yamaha bass before getting this so have nothing to compare it to. I did try both this and a TRBX305 in the shop and found the 505 to be the winner. What I liked was the active/passive mode, complete with battery LED, and proper EQ. So far I've done 5 gigs with it and it's a really solid performer. The string spacing/nut width is nice as I find Jazz necks much easier to play. The tone flat lacks character, but then I'm used to Fender tones so I'm still getting used to this. It does make a nice blank canvas tough, and the passive mode is actually very nice, and closer to what I'd say was a Fender/vintage tone. The bass even works without a battery in it, which is a weight off my mind as ive had a couple of situations in the past with dead batteries. Amazingly ive not had to even tune this bass up at gigs, and I use a very thin old gig bag. The turners seem rock solid, and are very smooth. It balances very well, no neck dive that I can detect

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1417075421' post='2616743'] If no pics, then at least a link to look at! [/quote] Have you looked on Thomanns website? That seems an obvious start to me ;-)

I take your point but it was like this before I shimmed it. I've done various truss rod adjustments as well but I don't want to throw everything else out just for this. the other stings are fine at the same point on the neck. I supose it might be a slighty high fret but I've placed a straight edge on them and can't see any issues. It's really not that bad, and only noticable at home, and when I play a bit harder with a thick pick. My other basses have the G string sitting at 1.5mm above the 12th fret, this has it at about 2.2mm. Yamaha recommend a high 3mm I believe so I'm doing well. The overal action is a bit higher on this bass, but that might be to do with the fact that I'm so used to vintage frets, so still getting used to the slightly higher frets this has. I've done 4 gigs so far with it and other than the battery dying at the last one (and me fumbling and getting lost at the first) I really have nothing bad to say about it.

Thanks guys. Yes, the Yamahas are excellent value for money. I supose the narrow neck isn't for everyone but it suits me down to the ground. The reason i shim my necks is for two reasons (on some bassses). I started doing it because I tend to rest my hand on the bridges. On some of the cheaper basses the saddle posts would dig in to my hand, so shimming the neck allowed me to raise the saddles to the point where the posts weren't exposed, but still keeping a lot action. The other, more common reason is to keep the stings more parallel to the fretboard at the higher frets. It's just a personal thing but I like to see the gap even and not getting larger.

Better than "in the bin" though ;-)

On Thomanns website

Thanks guys. Yes, it's a lovely looking bass. If it had vintage style frets then it would definitely be a keeper. For some reason I just prefer those frets and all my necks have them other than this one. I really can't see me getting rid of it though, if nothing else I want at least one 5 string bass, even if I don't use it all the time (at the moment I am).

I got this a few weeks ago but only just got around to taking shots of it. As we all know, no pics means it didnt happen so ive had to wait :-) Ive been meaning to get a 5 string for a while, and almost have a few times recently. Mainly Squier and Fender Modern players. What put me off those was that i really didnt feel i needed a new bass, i was more than happy with my Jazz bass. Then all of a sudden someone pointed out the Yamaha and on paper it seemed like a good idea. Its has a lovely narrow nut, feels really nice when strapped on (and when sitting), i love the brown stain look and best of all, its got a lovely passive tone, that works even if there is no battery in the bass. Lucky really as it went dead on me at the last gig so i had to do the last set in passive mode. Its actually quite warm sounding in passive mode, so good for the older Motown stuff we do. The overall active tone is quite modern, and quite bland. This is ok, its a good starting block. I guess im used to the Fender tone so im still getting used to it. Its working out really well at gigs. If i have any issues with it its the fact that i cant get the action as low as id like without fret buzz. Although a 5th sting and wider neck is a step up from what im used to, its very easy to play. I just wish i could get the action down a bit, especially on the G sting. Ive shimmed the neck (as i do with all my basses) and im sure a lot of people would say its a low action anyway. Yamaha suggest 3mm on the E at the 12th fret, i prefer 2mm. This is achievable but not on the G string (especially between the 5th and 9th fret). Still, its just me being picky really. Thinking about maybe getting it Plek'ed but i probably wont, due to the cost. This is the first Yamaha bass ive ever played, and while its not the last bass ill ever buy its a bass im happy to have. I doubt ill ever really love it, due to the tone and action, but its a bass that will serve me very well for a while. [url="https://flic.kr/p/pf4Ya5"][/url] [url="https://flic.kr/p/pf4Ya5"]Yamaha TRBX 505 Bass.[/url] by [url="https://www.flickr.com/people/30114189@N05/"]Dave Pearce (London)[/url], on Flickr [url="https://flic.kr/p/q9LVGC"][/url] [url="https://flic.kr/p/q9LVGC"]Yamaha TRBX 505 Bass.[/url] by [url="https://www.flickr.com/people/30114189@N05/"]Dave Pearce (London)[/url], on Flickr [url="https://flic.kr/p/pfijH2"][/url] [url="https://flic.kr/p/pfijH2"]Yamaha TRBX 505 Bass.[/url] by [url="https://www.flickr.com/people/30114189@N05/"]Dave Pearce (London)[/url], on Flickr

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1416929598' post='2615150'] The model is basically a Fender American Special specific to Thomann. [/quote] Yeah, I've seen it on thier website. Very nice bass and a pretty amazing price for a MIAO.

That does look like a lovely bass.....or will do with a different pick guard :-). I wonder how this stacks up against the Squier VM PJ.