RickyV Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I am a new player (about 5 months) and have been self-teaching with the help of one or two decent on-line tuition sites. My weapon for these early months has been an Encore P-Bass (yes, I know!) and this has got me off the ground but I have been constantly scanning Ebay for a suitable (cheap) upgrade. I think I have finally come up trumps with a Yamaha RBX270J in a natural wood finish, complete with a quality padded Warwick Rockbag, lead and spare set of Rotosounds all for the princely sum of £35! Having cleaned off years of grime on the fretboard and polished up the frets it is looking and sounding sweet (photo attached). [attachment=163561:Yammy Bass.jpg] As I have saved myself a bit of cash here, has anyone with experience of Yammy basses got any recommendations for upgrades or would you suggest I just leave as is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) That is a bargain! I would say if it ain't broke, don't fix it... modding is a slippery slope! Welcome to the forum, btw. Edited May 25, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I would agree with discreet, but then again what harm could a pickup upgrade do? Also welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyellowcar Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Incredible value. The first bass I 'owned' (Ignoring the beater I borrowed for the first 6 months of playing) was an RBX170, it did exactly what I needed, and aside from some buzz from loose tuners it is still going strong 10 years later, or at least it was last time I saw it at my brother's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 We had a similar bass in recently for a setup and it needed a few basic things doing, couple of frets sitting high, a few slightly protruding fret ends, action was high and intonation was way out. All this was fixed in about 20 minutes though and it really transformed it. Made it so much nicer to play A pickup and/or wiring upgrade might be nice but, as others have said, maybe just play it for a for a while and see how you get on with it. A really good setup may make it nicer to play than installing new pickups (although some luthiers will chuck in a set up for very little if you are getting pickups done at the same time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1401040662' post='2459434'] That is a bargain! I would say if it ain't broke, don't fix it... modding is a slippery slope! Welcome to the forum, btw. [/quote] This but the best mod you can do to any bass IMO is fit a decent set of straplocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 You beat me then - I thought I had a steal with a candy apple red 270J for £50 two years ago but £35 definitely pips that! I think you'd be wasting money upgrading the pickups in it as the stock ones are really good and give you everything you'd need from a PJ configuration. I toyed with the idea of modding mine, but was perfectly happy as-is and I've tried a few PJ sets on basses in the past EMG-X and DiMarzios. All down to personal taste of course, but experiment with the pickup heights and new strings first - you may find you don't need to do much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Get it setup nicely and have the frets checked over for wear. As you have only been at it five months I wouldnt bother with a Pick up upgrade this early in the game. Just enjoy it and have fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 For £35 you got a bargain. I know a guy who gigs one of these on a regular basis and through a decent amp, you could never tell it is a budget bass. Yamaha basses are really good bang for bucks. As for upgrades, get it set up and a decent set of strings on it. I wouldn`t spend money on better pups as the standard ones are decent enough unless in the future you feel like having a go at modding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanditSid Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I had a fretless RBX270 for a while and the only mod I did was shielding the control cavity in copper foil, that made quite a difference in electrically noisy rooms or stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nodd Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I had a bass player colleague I was 'Mentoring' through the early stages of bass-playing. I found her a similar Yamaha as her first proper bass. It was a great starter and adaptable as well as playable. Grab it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I have one of these. Leave it well alone, trust me - they are great basses - a proper work tool, blend control[i], [/i]mixing two [i]more than adequate[/i] pick-ups, great neck - nice weight and balance. Use it as it is. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyV Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Thanks all for all your advice and I am now even happier with my purchase. Sounds like I have struck lucky at that price. I actually felt guilty taking the bass from the guy selling it when I picked it up, but that's auctions for you I guess. Anyway, I will be off to get a proper set up on the bass now as recommended [b][i]but how much should I be expecting to pay for this??[/i][/b] I might also just replace the plastic control knobs for some nice black metal ones just because, well....they're plastic! Thanks again all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planer Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Looks like you struck gold there bud, I thought my Yamaha was cheap! I haven't had mine set up yet, but it's on the cards. The places I have looked at so far are asking £50 - £70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Bargain. The padded bag and spare strings are probably worth the best part of £35 on their own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurbs Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Wow, great bass at a great price. I also had a RBX 170 and it was perfect. Forget your 2k Bongo's... most people at gigs wouldn't know the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggo Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Nice bass for less than a good night out! Great stuff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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