GreeneKing

That is such a stunning looking BB. With a new build P bass incoming I'm almost tempted to ask if a BBPH may interest you....

I'm a sucker for neck through Yamahas (I've owned many) and that looks absolutely lovely.

Again Mike, thank you for the updates. Looking great

On 28/04/2021 at 17:08, AndyTravis said:

Don’t know. Think Beedster had it twice at some point.

 

Hopefully not at the same time

17 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

Should’ve bought it when I had the chance.

I should have kept it.....

Where is it now?

Thank you Mike

Another update from Mike. He has been working on the neck. 3 piece maple with ebony 'stringers'. Waiting for the glue to do what it does

I read an academic tome where a professor explained that what we ‘hear’ (our chosen response to sound) is not only affected by our ears and the brains response to them but is also coloured and conditioned by our brain in the first place.

So it’s complicated by our biases before we start to listen.

This is used to justify expensive HiFi to those discerning enough to tell the difference.

Right. Mega embarrassment time, plus a good dose of relief, no pun intended.

First Kenny's Music have been great. Strongly recommended.

I got ready to replace the original strap buttons and strings before shipping the bass back to them for assessment. 

I thought I'd have a go at turning the adjuster clockwise a few turns to see if the trussrod would start to function again. I shone a torch into the adjustment socket and lo and behold:- 

The focus isn't great but the actual adjustment Allen socket can be seen recessed about 3 or 4mm into a tube. I had been using a larger Allen key that was giving a notchy loose feel in the tubular bit and the impression that the trusrod was broken/detatched. A smaller Allen key in the correct socket is as smooth as silk and adjusts the relief like a dream.

So all is good, I am over the moon as I love this bass!

What a dummy. Hopefully this may help another basschatter? I've owned many basses, probably over 20 Yamahas and I've never done this dumb stunt before. Age?

Peter

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Is the neck different to the standard BB734 neck? Would Yamaha be able simply to replace it? 

I suppose it’s a possibility. From a video of the BBPH development it looked like it had an added ‘tang’ on the neck heel. Also I’d lose the PH headstock. I may ring Kenny’s Music today and see what gives. 

8 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

If you raise the saddle at the bridge to get rid of the buzz does it go up too much to make it nicely playable? 

I tried raising the saddle initially hoping that a small tweak would do it. It didn’t. The action was very low before as it came with almost no neck relief. Impressively it was very playable like this. I’m afraid a broken truss rod doesn’t have a ‘work around’ for me. It’s seen no force or strain. It’s such a shame as I love the bass and they are no longer available so far as I’m aware. Repair will be expensive and may well leave scars to the finish/ affect the playability. The string gauge was the same, 45-105 but when the relief is so minimal a slight change in setup can cause buzziness. 

I'm fairly upset. I love my BBPH. The playability, tone, EQ, weight, build quality and exclusivity are all great and collectively so much more.

I fitted some Newtone strings recently and was having some buzz on the G string when fretted on the 1st 3 frets. I guess the reduced tension of the Newtones just took what was already a very low action a little too low.

I went to slacken the trussrod, and it just spins away as loose as you like. Meanwhile the neck relief is almost zero.

I've just emailed Kennys Music and I await their reply.

I'm absolutely gutted 😥

Peter

9 hours ago, claustra said:

I have never played a BB2000 or BB2000A. They must be terrific as well.

If I behave - 🤞 -  I'll stick to the 1200s and the 2024 (I'd love a sunburst 2024x instead, but for the looks only).
I enjoy trying various basses, and I generally prefer maple boards, but those BBs really are amazing instruments.

I've let a white BB2024x with a maple board go to someone else a couple of years ago as I did not have the cash at the moment.

It was this one.

If it came up again, I'd sell my BB2024 and buy it. It would surely tick all the boxes for me.

 

Could I have been the original owner? I sold mine to Chris (Beedster). At the time it was the only maple board one I knew of. I bought it from Promenade Music and kinda wish I hadn't of let it go.

Peter

39 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

It'd be more accurate if it were aligned with a fret (look at the 12th fret on each bass there) but it's pretty much what I was thinking was the setup.

If the body size is the same then each bass photo is taken with a different 'zoom' ratio anyway, accounting pretty much for the 12th fret misalignment. Actual measurements from the bridge would have been more useful although less 'pictorial' methinks.

7 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

It's actually the other way around. The two coils are wired in series, which gives the P its mid-honkiness. Series wiring emphasises the low mids. The reason P basses work so well is that they're not overly low-end heavy. They tend to cut through because the emphasis isn't on low end or high.

That makes sense thank you. P bass aside I tend raise the mids. I was struggling with that preference and my love of P bass tone so now all is well  Ears eh!

The conventional P bass tone is, to my ears mid scooped. A good convention P (or P?/J solo'd on the P of course) bass has a unique sound and one that I love. Earthy, woody and sort of hollowed out. It makes me feel good. I'll play the bass and smile.

The only P I own at present is my Yamaha BBPH with the reverse P. The difference isn't subtle. More balanced mids and a different beast entirely. Clarity, sustain and bite are omnipresent. It isn't really a P bass at all.

Given modern electronics and cut and boost EQs a lot can be achieved but the instruments core tone is still important methinks. 

I have a P bass 'in the wings ;)'

Peter

15 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

it's almost as if I hadn't said that a few posts up!  

Yep I missed your post only seeing DannyBuoys where he asks if there's any other than Audere.

13 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Audere preamps are a good solution to the blend issue. Instead of passive mixing just before the preamp like most active basses, the preamp buffers each pickup individually and the blend then works more like the cross fader on a DJ mixer. Nice smooth transition end to end rather than impedance issues getting in the way that make it behave more like a 3-way switch.

I don’t know if there are any other preamps that take this approach? Only downside I guess would be that you wouldn’t faithfully replicate the tones you get from a passive bass.

From memory John East pre-amps have an 'active' style blend. 

Quote:

• Totally independent active and passive signal paths guarantee completely smooth blend when set to active.

3 hours ago, MirrorMan said:

Flats...on a Hooky?

In my defence Dunlops are pretty bright for flats but perhaps not quite bright enough.

46 minutes ago, MirrorMan said:

This is true.... Pics later! 

 

This is true..... Pics later today.

Enjoy, hopefully. I love mine. Going to switch back to nickel rounds from Dunlop flats though. What was I thinking!

45 minutes ago, Muzz said:

I'm very flexible as far as the Switch Vs Blend debate goes (I have basses with both), it was more that the 2024 switch felt like a £5 switch on an otherwise fantastically-made instrument...I wouldn't be surprised to find it's the same one as on my 414, which at £180 second hand is much more the price range for a switch like that. It's also too big a hole to replace with a smaller, better-made switch... 😕

Absolutely.

I sold my 2024 to Chris (Beedster) quite some time ago now. The switch was a little bit hit and miss, something I put down to dirty contacts from lack of use. Something that was resolved by flicking it a few times. It turns out it was defective and Promenade Music sorted it FOC. 

Not up to the high standard of the bass otherwise methinks.

10 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

@Ricky Rioli here’s something Dave Wilson did for @walshy in a similar vein 

Hmmm, is that THE EBMM peach?

We learn all the time. I hadn't realised that the original Aria SB1000 was so highly rated. Aria have made some great instruments.

Now sold.

1 minute ago, Muzz said:

Yep, I've replaced all the preamps in all my gigging basses with John East Retro/Uni-Pre ones. Not only are they the very best preamps out there, it also means I've got a standard set of controls when I look down mid-gig, and I know exactly what does what...

If I still had my 3000A, I'd have put a John East in there a good while ago...the only thing I'd do to the 414 (other than possibly put Ultralight tuners on it) would be to put a P-Retro on it, but they don't make them any more...

When I last spoke to John (quite recently) he was trying to source re-chargeable batteries for the P Retro so they aren't not made, just not available at the moment.

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I've kinda wondered whether I should have kept my 735A and just swapped the preamp with a John East 3 band. 

But I guess I already have several really good active basses and suspect I may still have picked up my 1025 at every opportunity! 

The beauty of the East Uni Pre is that a passive tone can be included giving all the benefits of active/passive with a decent blend.