LukeFRC Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 ill admit that i don't 'get'yamaha BBs- but for 200 squid that looks like a nice bass. how does she play/sound you need to tell us more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 (edited) i scanned through preloved.co.uk yesterday and even looking in south-east area alone there were several that would surely qualify edit - apart from 1st march 2012 obviously Edited March 29, 2012 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Bought a matching headstock Yam BB414 for less than £200. (Not my actual bass - someone on here's!) Stonker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1333008053' post='1595990'] but for 200 squid that looks like a nice bass. how does she play/sound you need to tell us more! [/quote] Now that I've had a chance to play this bass quite a bit, I reckon it's definitely the kind of beater/workhorse bass that I can easily live with. The reverse P pickup sort of tightens up the P-bass sound of it, the coils are in opposite positions so the lower strings are less boomy than a standard P and because your thumb rests a bit further back than with a conventional P you're striking the strings (a bit) nearer the bridge given that I use a pretty normal fingerstyle technique. This bass came in at £160 and so that still leaves me £40 for mods if I want; it certainly doesn't need a bridge, the tuners are bombproof although I'm never going to get a Hipshot X-tender to match but I'm thinking about putting a beefier pickup in it. There's nothing wrong with the one in there however when I A/B this bass with any of my other passive P-pup loaded basses it does sound quieter, more vintage I suppose. I'm used to punchy P pickups and this one is just too polite for my taste. I'd like to keep the original look of the instrument with the pole-pieces showing so maybe a Wizard Thumper will do the trick if someone has one second hand. I had a Wizard Thumper in a CIJ P bass (Sid) once and it was glorious. The tone control on this BB400S is really good, responds well and behaves like a tone control ought to, not like those dreadful ones where you have to roll it three-quarters before anything happens. I've got some paper-in-oil caps somewhere and might give one of them a go just to see. The neck on this is more chunky than any of my other BBs and it just feels right, I get on with lots of neck profiles so this is rarely an issue. Overall the bass sounds very woody and partly down to that massive bridge it sustains very well even with Rotosound Flats on it. We're recording rehearsal on Friday so hopefully I'll get some sound clips up over the weekend. Build quality is typical of early-80s Japan, it's very well put together and although it's obviously not made from Yamaha's premium wood stocks of the time, the quality is undeniable. It's not heavy either, it's under 10lbs. One thing that has struck me lately is that this bass is a real candidate for a re-finish. Edited April 12, 2012 by Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Why on earth are you willing to take up this mad challenge ? I hope you have set a sufficiently stupid challenge in return for him ? If not, why not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 [quote name='daz' timestamp='1334196180' post='1612492'] Why on earth are you willing to take up this mad challenge ? I hope you have set a sufficiently stupid challenge in return for him ? If not, why not! [/quote] It's been fun and I've learned a lot. His challenge is the same but for a guitar and the budget is £250. He starts after his summer holiday, his missus has said that she'll put a "trade" embargo on him if he spends any holiday cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Guitars are cheaper though from a basic price so why's he getting more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 [quote name='charic' timestamp='1334210790' post='1612510'] Guitars are cheaper though from a basic price so why's he getting more? [/quote] I've looked into the details of this and trust me, he needs the extra fifty quid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) I've recorded some samples... I said earlier that BB400S has a very polite pickup compared to what I'm used to; see what you think: BB400S stock reverse P pickup (rotosound flats as supplied with BB1300) [url="http://snd.sc/HAIGL9"]http://snd.sc/HAIGL9[/url] BB415 P Pickup [url="http://snd.sc/HAJ4tg"]http://snd.sc/HAJ4tg[/url] (TI Jazz flats - old, bought from [i]Paul, the[/i] in '08) BB1300 neck humbucker (Rotosound roundwounds - new) [url="http://snd.sc/HAJ9NC"]http://snd.sc/HAJ9NC[/url] BB2024x P pickup (Rotosound roundwounds- new) [url="http://snd.sc/HAJjV1"]http://snd.sc/HAJjV1[/url] When the Wizard Thumper I've ordered comes I'll do another sound file for comparison. [i]All samples were recorded using a Zoom B3 into Garageband with no effects and no level changes of any kind; all I did was swap basses.[/i] Listening back to them, they don't sound anywhere near as good as MP3s, the BB2024x was far meatier before the conversion and the BB415 wasn't as punchy. A lot to be said for how the processing affects the sound, I think. Edited April 12, 2012 by Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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