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Replacement Yamaha BB Series Pickups?


tonyf
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Hi All,

Has anyone replaced the pickups in either of the Yamaha BB series or RBX series basses? The soapbar shaped humbucking ones?

If you have, anyone suggest a possible replacement? I've been looking at the Bartolini M5 series and I guess the EMG 45 would fit but it's the "ears" on the current Yamaha pickups that cause them to "look" longer than they actually are.

Cheers
Tony

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  • 6 years later...

Zombie thread alert!

The new super BB pickups will be a superb upgrade.

If you contact Yamaha, they are usually pretty helpful with this:

Contact details as below and the bass guy there is Alex (can't remember his surname.
Sherbourne House, Sherbourne Dr, Tilbrook, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK7 8BL
01908 366700

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[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1401119869' post='2460251']
Zombie thread alert!

The new super BB pickups will be a superb upgrade.

If you contact Yamaha, they are usually pretty helpful with this:

Contact details as below and the bass guy there is Alex (can't remember his surname.
Sherbourne House, Sherbourne Dr, Tilbrook, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK7 8BL
01908 366700
[/quote]

Hey Sean, just some quick questions.

Are the 1024/5 pickups the same as on the 2024/5? If not, would it make that much of a difference upgrading? Can you say how much you've payed for the pickup set?

Cheers
Marco

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[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1401291515' post='2462125']
Yes, they are the same pickups.
[/quote]

Ah, i'm about to pull the trigger on a 1025X, so the only diference between this and the 2025X is the wood treatment (and manufacture facility)? All the parts/components are the same but put together... er... in a "different" way?

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Don't kid yourself that the differences are few. One is mass produced, the other hand built by a master luthier in Yamaha's custom shop in Japan. It's not just wood treatments that differentiate the two ranges. There's a world of difference and it's outlined and detailed in a few threads. Hand selected woods, better species of wood, high quality paint finish, better fret job etc.

The BB202x basses are absolutely exquisite pieces of kit and are built to extremely high standards and are at least the equivalent of Sadowsky, Masterbuilt Fender, Sei etc. my two are the best instruments I've ever played bar none. They're also very good value for what they are and mega-bargains used.

The BB102x basses are excellent mid-priced instruments and compare well with Lakland Skyline series and similar. Nice instruments but wouldn't pass the blindfold test.

Edited by Sean
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[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1401291475' post='2462122']
I thought they were £200 for the pair?
[/quote]

You could well be right Sean, it was a while ago.

*edit. The 20's have nicer rounded contour's to the body instead of the straight ones of the 10's & 4's

Edited by Horizontalste
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Not being smug, just genuinely confused how they are priced differently when rumour is that they are the same thing. I've not seen an official statement from Yamaha the matter, just hearsay on forums that they use the same pickups.

Here's the email I got from Yamaha when enquiring about these pickups. This was 3 years ago so prices are probably not the same. Note it's £10 more for a BB2025 front pickup than the BB1025! I replied asking about the difference but did not get a response. Who knows for sure if they are the same.

[quote]Orders for Yamaha Instrument spare parts can be obtained from the following locations:

For UK Customer's: Yamaha UK Spares - 0844 811 1116 (Option 4) or via your local Yamaha Music Dealer.

For Republic Of Ireland Customer's - Yamaha UK Spares - (0) 15262449 (Option 4) or via your local Yamaha Music Dealer.

The part you have requested
Part numbers for the BB1025X

Front Pick-up - WP917300 not in stock it could be 6 weeks delivery on this and it is a retail price of £122.32 inc VAT

Rear Pick-up - WT766600 not in stock it could be 6 weeks delivery on this and it is a retail price of £79.51 inc VAT

Part numbers for the BB2025X

Front Pick-up - WR251000 not in stock it could be 6 weeks delivery on this and it is a retail price of £132.66 inc VAT

Rear Pick-up - WR254200 not in stock it could be 6 weeks delivery on this and it is a retail price of £81.62 inc VAT

Kind regards

Yamaha Customer Support Team
-----------------------------------------------------
Please note the following.

All prices quoted are excluding P&P. Please confirm this price when ordering.

Yamaha Music only advise qualified personal to attempt to repair any Yamaha Product.

For any questions regarding these parts, please contact Yamaha UK Spares directly.[/quote]

Edited by dannybuoy
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Car manufacturers do it all the time, same part, made in the same factory but with different part numbers because they are for different applications.
I guess the price difference is reflection of the bass they are intended for.

I guess we'll never know.

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Well, I contacted Yamaha to see if I could get some Super BB pickups and as of yesterday (typically) you can't get replacement pickups from them directly anymore. They put me in touch with a company called Sontec, based in Norwich, who does all the Yammy spares now.
Annoyingly, the P pickup from the BB2025/1025 (same parts code according to Sontec) is not available to buy anymore but they can still get the Super BB J type
bridge pup for £55.

I only wanted the P pup. Arse.

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