Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

The Yamaha BB mega-thread


Al Krow

Recommended Posts

4 hours ago, razor5cl said:

BB players, what's your posture like when sitting or standing with these basses? I've found recently that compared to my last bass, my BB734 sits much nicer in the "classical" position when sitting down, that is with the bass on my left leg and the neck angled upwards. I think it might be because of the shape of the rounded part of the body where the input jack and pots are. Might have to invest in a footstool or something to lift my leg up slightly to make it more comfortable.

With my previous bass I always had my strap fairly high up but I find that with the BB I might even need it even higher (which is an issue since my strap is already at its shortest!) since at the moment I find my picking hand is a little bit strained as it is.

There was a thread on this a while back. Playing with it on my left leg is something I'd never considered a thing until I saw that thread. I tried it, and instantly hated it - my back is twisted, the 1st fret harder to reach, the bass doesn't feel balanced, and the jack plug is sticking into my right leg!

I play with it on my right leg and prop my foot on a footrest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dannybuoy said:

^ BB425 has the laminate neck and thru-body stringing also. Which pickups are best would be down taste I suppose, I've not compared them!

But as the previous owner of a black BB415 and current owner of a black BB1025X, I say get the black one! :D

Yeah a good point, pickups are subjective. I was never a big fan of the ceramic pickups in the 41x/42x series, but I love these new alnico V ones, they sound like really high end pickups, really tonally balanced, and great output! The next guy might not like them compared to the older ones.

As a guy I used to work for often said, "one man's coq au vin is another man's chicken in a basket!" 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dannybuoy said:

There was a thread on this a while back. Playing with it on my left leg is something I'd never considered a thing until I saw that thread. I tried it, and instantly hated it - my back is twisted, the 1st fret harder to reach, the bass doesn't feel balanced, and the jack plug is sticking into my right leg!

I play with it on my right leg and prop my foot on a footrest.

Same here. I tired it and can see the advantage of doing it like that, but I too felt too twisted and didn’t bother trying again 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

There was a thread on this a while back. Playing with it on my left leg is something I'd never considered a thing until I saw that thread. I tried it, and instantly hated it - my back is twisted, the 1st fret harder to reach, the bass doesn't feel balanced, and the jack plug is sticking into my right leg!

I play with it on my right leg and prop my foot on a footrest.

I feel like I need to experiment with a footstool either way. When sitting conventionally with the bass on my right leg it's not too uncomfortable but I find myself crossing my legs to give it a big of extra height, and then after about 20 or 30 minutes sometimes my leg goes numb! Can't be too healthy.

I think more experimentation is needed, but it's much of a muchness anyways since I mostly stand even just practicing in my bedroom, I find it much more comfortable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Yeah a good point, pickups are subjective. I was never a big fan of the ceramic pickups in the 41x/42x series, but I love these new alnico V ones, they sound like really high end pickups, really tonally balanced, and great output! The next guy might not like them compared to the older ones.

As a guy I used to work for often said, "one man's coq au vin is another man's chicken in a basket!" 

About a year or so ago, I picked up an Ibanez BTB1605 for a bargain price. It was equipped with Nordstrand Big Singles, which sounded very modern and are highly regarded but I struggled to get it to work in my band and the Ibanez would sit on its stand at a gig while I played my Vintage V4. I have found that the tone of a P-bass works best for the band I'm in at the moment. My BB425 doesn't quite do the P-bass tone. Having a Behringer BDi21 in front of my Rumble 500v3 helps it get closer. I was wondering if the BB235 or BB435 can produce a decent growly P-bass tone

Edited by MoJo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, MoJo said:

About a year or so ago, I picked up an Ibanez BTB1605 for a bargain price. It was equipped with Nordstrand Big Singles, which sounded very modern and are highly regarded but I struggled to get it to work in my band and the Ibanez would sit on its stand at a gig while I played my Vintage V4. I have found that the tone of a P-bass works best for the band I'm in at the moment. My BB425 doesn't quite do the P-bass tone. Having a Behringer BDi21 in front of my Rumble 500v3 helps it get closer. I was wondering if the BB235 or BB435 can produce a decent growly P-bass tone

Similar to me really, after my recent encounter with a Fender Player Series Jaguar, I realised that a passive P/PJ sound worked way better with my band, than the active, humbucking basses I have been using. But I missed the B string, which is why I returned and ended up buying the 435. These new alnico pickups definitely help achieve that traditional P bass tone with the neck pickup soloed. Even with bright strings and the tone rolled back, it's definitely there. Got that real mid range presence, warmth but clarity. 

As the 235 has ceramic pickups (like your 425), I would imagine it would sound quite so 'traditional' and will inherently sound a touch more scooped and modern (though not excessively so). It depends how much you want that classic tone I guess. 

I seriously think the 435 is worth the extra over the 235 though, I'd say the pickups are worth that alone, but then there's the other benefits too! 

Whatever you decide, it'll be a great instrument, but I suppose you just need to figure out what's most important to you, and whether you feel that's worth the money or not. 😊

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@MoJoThat's a good question!

I think Yammy do their own take on the P bass tone and it's a little less 'flat' than the classic P bass, but of all the BBs I've tried my 425 came closest to the classic P bass 'thud'. 

If you want something more growly / complex than the 425 then my 1025 and P35 have both provided that. I think of the new line up the 735A has the closest sound to these.

Although I absolutely love the P and PJ tone from my BB1025 / P35, neither of them will give you the delicious 'growl' of the Nordy Big Singles which I get from my Ibby 1825 which is definitely a J/J bass not a P/J bass.

I think you're right to thinking about adding a bit of dirt as the easiest route to get you to the 'sound in your head' and maybe the question is what dirt pedal would be the right one to give you the growl that you're after? I'm sure our fellow BB crew will have some useful thoughts to share on that subject!

Edited by Al Krow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MoJo said:

About a year or so ago, I picked up an Ibanez BTB1605 for a bargain price. It was equipped with Nordstrand Big Singles, which sounded very modern and are highly regarded but I struggled to get it to work in my band and the Ibanez would sit on its stand at a gig while I played my Vintage V4. I have found that the tone of a P-bass works best for the band I'm in at the moment. My BB425 doesn't quite do the P-bass tone. Having a Behringer BDi21 in front of my Rumble 500v3 helps it get closer. I was wondering if the BB235 or BB435 can produce a decent growly P-bass tone

Interesting. Ive always needed to use a BDDI (started with a BDI-21) in front of my amps when using passive basses. When i got my 425 i stopped using it. Then i got my P34 and again, found i didnt need it. Two sonically different basses, but both with the same charterer. I definitely get a growl of sorts from both, but to my ears the P34 is more Jazz like, and neither really gets that 'woody' Fender tone.

To my ears both, but more so the P34, have a sort of jazz vibe, even with just the neck pup. Its almost like when you have two pups on the jazz, with the bridge pup lowered a bit. I find it more noticeable with a pick, as the upper mids seem to be more apparent. Not a complaint at all, just an observation.

Edited by dave_bass5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please humour me for a moment...

So I found a serial No stamped on the back of the headstock on my orange 414. A 9 digit/letter code which looks like:

OLI 179852

Based on the info on this site: http://mycoolguitars.com/mij/yamaha-guitars/yamaha-guitar-serial-numbers-dating-your-guitar/

O= 88/98/ I don't think it's that old so possibly 2008?
L= May
I = Possibly 11th?

Then my decoding falls apart....anybody help?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/09/2019 at 20:47, AndyTravis said:

Well, finally sorted the Attitude bridge on the orange bass...took much longer than planned as I wanted a luthier to do it for me but got all sorts of “nah shove a badass on it” or “it’ll be £140 to do that”.

Some patience and a half hour later...

 

BF1B65B4-6125-40CF-B278-0AA174488DB1.jpeg

4D98B177-1039-49B7-B2B8-824AF512774E.jpeg

 

That's one of the best looking basses I've ever seen!! 😍

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Guys - you seen this? Looks very good value to me and if I didn't have a couple of them already I'd be snapping this up!

 

That's really nice! I already have A Yamaha/Hiscox case I bought for a Yamaha bass I had years ago, now using it for my new BB! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, richardd said:

Thanks guys,for the bump,But maybe putting my 1100s up for sale so case will go with it fits like a glove .😊

That will be a really nice combination - and you'll also have something very secure to post the bass in, should you need to!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...