NBD - Yamaha TRBX305 Pewter

[Green Alsatian]

Hello folks,

I do believe this the first thread I've started in Bass Guitars - bit rusty at the old thread starting malarkey!

Further to my posting in the '5 String under £300 recommendation' thread, I took the plunge on Wednesday night, parted with £259 (free shipping) to why.buy.new on eBay and my TRBX305 in Pewter arrived today.

It arrived very well packaged (double boxed, with thick brown paper scrunched for protection). The Yamaha box has had previous shipping labels removed and taped back up, as per the description. Inside the box - you could tell it's been taken out of the foam sheeting and carefully put back in.

To the bass then - unmarked and unplayed. The protective film in place on the cavity cover, the plastic control label sheet is still on there and the battery hadn't yet been installed. It was still sealed, along with the wrench/instruction baggie.

B-stock in this instance means it's been taken out the package, presumably for inspection and then put back in and taped up. £259? Steal. I thought they had a couple, but they must have been sold, but they still have the TRBX304 in Candy Apple Red for £209 and the more expensive TRBX504 in Translucent White for £349.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-Stock-Yamaha-TRBX304-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Candy-Apple-Red-TRBX-304-/190939798981?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c74e61dc5"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c74e61dc5[/url]
[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-Stock-Yamaha-TRBX504-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Translucent-White-TRBX-504-/190939688336?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c74e46d90"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c74e46d90[/url]

As for the bass, I never 'review' anything until a couple of weeks to let the novelty/honeymoon period die down, so I'll post more detailed thoughts at a later date. Some initial thoughts for now:

- tuned up, plugged in. Seems pretty well set up out of the box, although I'll check the measurements/intonation tomorrow.
- I won't say I'm surprised at the quality, because I've owned enough Yamaha instruments to know that you're pretty much guaranteed quality that exceeds the price bracket. I'm not a Yamaha fanboy, just an observation on each Yammie I've owned.
- Feels a bit lighter than the RBX765A and RBX775 I used to own.
- The neck feels like a vintage-sized P-bass with a nut width of 43mm. It's not too thick in depth - comfortable, but certainly thicker than a 5-string Ibanez SR-series neck (I've owned an SR305 and an GSR205). 17mm string spacing is comfortable and not too cramped near the nut.
- Preamp seems good - bass not too boomy at full boost and the treble isn't too brittle when fully boosted. Sounds good with the controls set flat.
- The 5-way 'style' switch provides a handy bunch of presets - again, sounds good flat, but I've taken a shine to the 'Finger' setting in my initial noodlings.
- The YGD Pickups have a nice output and are well-placed for the expected 'P-like' and 'J-like' when soloed or favoured with the blend control. They sound a bit clearer than the aforementioned 765/775, but sound memory isn't a reliable judge.
- The low B seems pretty spot-on and is evenly matched with the other strings. Doesn't sound boomy and isn't floppy or buzzy. It feels like the Sterling Ray35 I used to have, and that was probably one the better low Bs I've played. (caveat - I haven't played a 5-string over £600)
- The strings appear to be D'Addarios and are a 130-45 set. Good, because I don't need to change 'em!
- On the subject of change, there isn't anything I feel compelled to modify on it.

Rules observed:

[uncle psychosis]

Good work that man. Enjoy.

[BassBus]

Funny thing life. Just been setting up my BB1100S and I see your thread. These are very nice looking basses and Yamaha necks are always good. You will enjoy this one.

[Myke]

Looks wonderful, I'm not too much of a fan of the pickup poles though but apart from that it looks wonderful

If it's anything like mine, it'll be a joy to play

[Green Alsatian]

Thanks for the replies, gents.

After further noodling tonight, it's definitely a comfortable instrument. Back of the neck is a satin finish, like the BB424X I had at the start of last year. As I have an affinity for wide-necked P-basses, this feels quite homely. It's only a little wider than the BB300 I had - that had a proper baseball bat of a neck.

I like the new body shape, preferring it to my old RBX basses - one of the things I liked on my RBX775 was the contour on the top, so I'm glad to see that stayed. I also like the fact that they went with the TRB-style headstock (the TRB5 being one of the basses I severely GASsed over in the mid-late 90s). Naturally the bass is more RBX than TRB.

Here's a shot of its innards - a rather tidy job with conductive paint shielding and an aluminium-backed cavity cover.

[Mornats]

Glad you like it, I bought the TRBX 504 from Hamfist a short while ago and love it. The set up is spot on, as was the set up on the other 504 I played in the shop a few weeks prior. The strings are indeed D'Addarios - I emailed Yamaha to ask them 105-45 on the 4-string basses they say (although they feel more like 40-100 to me).

The only thing I'm not 100% happy with is that the pickups don't give that single coil zing - obviously because they're humbuckers! So I'm losing a little high end zing and cut-through I think. Or I may just need to get used to it Great variation in sounds when you move the pickup pan even slightly off the centre spot. The centre spot gives a nice scooped sound - perfectly balanced in my opinion. I suspect your will be the same.

Funny thing is that I'd never have picked up a Yammy but my guitarist (Pinball on here) tried one and said I should give it a go. I'm now a convert!

[hamfist]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1382784890' post='2256503']
I bought the TRBX 504 from Hamfist a short while ago
[/quote]

I do miss that one a fair bit.

I just got so wrapped up in vintage Jap stuff, I felt the Yam was just lacking in a bit of character (and by "character" I mean the sort that can only be achieved through decades). As for the Yamaha's tone and playability..... Stunning. Perhaps stupidly, that wasn't enough for me at the time.

[RandomBass]

Looks rather nice, doesn't it? How are you finding that 5 way EQ selector switch - does it have noticeably different presets that are usuable?

Cheers

Geoff

[Green Alsatian]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1382784890' post='2256503']
The only thing I'm not 100% happy with is that the pickups don't give that single coil zing - obviously because they're humbuckers! So I'm losing a little high end zing and cut-through I think. Or I may just need to get used to it Great variation in sounds when you move the pickup pan even slightly off the centre spot. The centre spot gives a nice scooped sound - perfectly balanced in my opinion. I suspect your will be the same.[/quote]

I know what you mean as I've traditionally favoured single coils myself (same with guitars). That said, I do like the thicker sound you get with a humbucker - always useful to have at hand. One of the first thing I do with blended controls is to look for the sweet spot when you roll the control slightly towards the neck or bridge and hear the sound start to change. I like the bridge slightly favoured with the treble rolled back a little and a touch of bass boost.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1382801774' post='2256732']
Looks rather nice, doesn't it? How are you finding that 5 way EQ selector switch - does it have noticeably different presets that are usuable?[/quote]
It does indeed - I'm finding the extended contouring particularly comfortable for playing near the neck.

The 5 positions on the switch are indeed noticeably different:

Solo - quite a heavy boost in the lower-mid frequencies, significantly more overall output.
Finger - as mentioned above, I tend to boost a little and cut treble when playing finger (ie. almost all of the time!) so I think this is why this setting stood out initially. I still prefer this one out of the five.
Flat - no boost/cut except for what you do with the Bass and Treble controls. The best setting for exploring these two controls.
Pick - favours the higher frequencies, which allows you to cut through a bit more. I find this works just as well for finger style.
Slap - no surprises here, bass & treble boosted and mids cut. I'm pathetic at slap, but it's a really thick sound for finger/pick.

The Bass & Treble controls still function with each of the settings, allowing you to tailor your sound further. Even with these two controls set flat, you've got five instantly usable sounds to be getting on with.

[loushort]

[color=#282828]great basses I've been gigging two [color=red]304[/color]'s since November and they are great value for money
the five speed gear box is really handy for quick sound changes the solo boost gives that extra push over the cliff
when the rest of the band are getting too loud
I cant say enough good things about them great neck light weight etc [/color]
[color=#282828]thanks for the review on the 305 I was originally aiming for that model[/color]
[color=#282828]but PMT only had the black version in stock [/color]

Edited December 29, 2013 by loushort

[chrismuzz]

That's beautiful. Would have preferred the RBX style headstock though. Bet it sounds amazing!