The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[GreeneKing]

I've owned quite a few neck through basses (understatement) and with the sustain thing I'm not convinced. There are other factors involved in sustain, like wood density, type, neck layup, fretboard, strings and grain/grain orientation. I believe that a well mounted neck with all the other factors ticked is capable of more than enough sustain to compete. Then factor in the practical nature of 'endless' sustain in most modern music.

Edited December 4, 2020 by GreeneKing

[Sanshiro]

I wonder why Yamaha is producing so few of the BBPH.  357 worldwide, only 14 in the USA, I think there's a few more than that allotted for Canada.  Not sure about the numbers for the UK and European market, haven't heard anything on that.  The BBNE2 isn't limited to my knowledge and that's a much more involved instrument production-wise.  The BBPH is basically just a custom BB734A.  Maybe they think it won't sell as much because of that? 

[MM Stingray 62]

Just been watching U Tube and apparently Australia have only got five basses. Hopefully the majority of them will be coming to the uk.

[LukeFRC]

5 hours ago, Sanshiro said:

I wonder why Yamaha is producing so few of the BBPH.  357 worldwide, only 14 in the USA, I think there's a few more than that allotted for Canada.  Not sure about the numbers for the UK and European market, haven't heard anything on that.  The BBNE2 isn't limited to my knowledge and that's a much more involved instrument production-wise.  The BBPH is basically just a custom BB734A.  Maybe they think it won't sell as much because of that? 

I was looking at that - Where does it say it’s limited edition? I couldn’t see it on the Yamaha UK website

[jay-syncro]

Does anyone know where the PH signature model is made? 

[LukeFRC]

Like nothing from the U.K. says it’s limited at all. 

[krispn]

It could just be the first production run is limited and if there’s demand they’ll do more. Not uncommon practice especially on a sig model. I think the JMJ basses were quite limited initially rather than producing 10,000 units kinda thing. 

[Al Krow]

20 hours ago, hookys6stringbass said:

I love the reverse P too... I have reversed the pups on a P bass ...and I would have done the same to the 734a eventually...

What's your current full collection of BBs comprise in addition to your three 1200S? Do you have a 734A? If so, be interested if you can hear difference between a reverse P on the PH and a normal P config on the 734A when your PH arrives. 

Obviously there are going to be other factors impacting the tone from the different pre-amp and age of strings on both basses, so it may not be possible to precisely pin down the impact of the reversal of the P pup config.

[krispn]

Although not a Bb I have a p bass which allows me to have my p pick up in either  the classic Fender sweet spot or a reverse P position. As it’s in the same bass using the same pick I can say up you get a little more fullness in the G and D and a tighter sound on the E and A. It’s not gonna go into jazz bass territory but it’s a nice tweak and on some basses with the right pick up it can just sweeten the bass in a way which eq or preamp can’t quite nail.
 

As an aside It might be too subtle for some but if you can afford a cheapie bass get a local luthier (or even DIY it) to make a route to accommodate reverse p and experiment. A cheap HB bass would be an ideal candidate and it means you could experiment with pick ups and reversing them til your hearts content. 
 

Migh nab one of these Hooky BB’s and shift it on down the road. I think the 734 is a better looking model but for the prices these PHBB’s are fetching might be worth a punt!

[Al Krow]

@Chopthebass what's your ETA for your BB NE2?

I've recently invested in a wider 11cm / 4.3" strap by Minotaur, which was recommended to me by Mark from Talking Bass, together with a 4.5" from Levy which was double the price but I couldn't get on with so I've swapped for a second Minotaur strap. Makes just enough of a difference to my two heaviest basses, BB NE2 and a Spector Euro LX5, in terms of spreading the shoulder load to make them that much more comfortable to play. As a result my NE2 has been getting played more in the past couple of weeks than it's done since I've owned it! I'm loving it - such a great bass!

It occurs to me that the NE2 took quite a few design cues from Spector, which has been around a whole lot longer in its classic design form. Both are:

• neck throughs (vs bolt on for the BBs)
• sculpted backs, which makes them so comfortable to wear (vs the more normal flat BB bodies)
• JJs (vs P or PJs on the BBs)
• 24 frets (vs 21 on the modern BBs)
• both have 3+2 tuner layout on the headstocks (vs the 4-1 prevalent on the rest of the BB range)
• neither have body through stringing (present on the higher-end modern BBs)
• both are purely active with no passive option (vs active & passive on the 735A and purely passive on the rest of the BB range)

Key differences are other than obviously different body shapes the NE2 has a 3 band + Nathan East mid cut EQ vs a 2 band EQ on the Spector.

But it seems clear that the NE2 is actually much closer to the Spector than it is to the rest of the BB range.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, krispn said:

Although not a BB I have a P bass which allows me to have my P pick up in either  the classic Fender sweet spot or a reverse P position. As it’s in the same bass using the same pick I can say up you get a little more fullness in the G and D and a tighter sound on the E and A. It’s not gonna go into jazz bass territory but it’s a nice tweak and on some basses with the right pick up it can just sweeten the bass in a way which EQ or preamp can’t quite nail.

Thanks - so it does exactly what you might expect / want from it and, as you say, in a way you can't quite get with EQ or preamp changes. 

I think a reverse P plus J combo could be just excellent. It's what the "MA" versions of the BB range had and is currently available on Spectors (4 strings as standard) and Sandbergs (both 4 and 5 strings) - but a "standard" Berg 5er is still pretty boutique pricing from a Yammy perspective and certainly I couldn't justify the 3x price difference between a 735A and a Berg in terms of the everything else that the basses delivered.

There is one other more affordable bass that does a reverse P as a 5 string (and with 3 band EQ and 24 frets) and that is the Ibanez SR 655E. I almost picked one of these up used (went in 20 seconds flat to someone else, when I didn't!) But the consensus of opinion was that it wouldn't be noticeably different and possibly a bit of a downgrade from my Ibby SR 1825, which kinda made good sense given that the SR1825 is in Ibbys premium range whereas the 655 isn't.

[krispn]

Depends if you’re serious about trying a RP/J or just kicking tyres. There’s options out there which might be a step back in quality as you say but no less worth trying and they can always be shifted on for little ‘net loss’.
 

Honestly grab a cheapie and do some diy and experimentation at home. It’s a lot of fun and with a Ki0g0n wiring loom you don’t even need to be able to solder. A fun way to satisfy curiosity for very little money.  

[Cuzzie]

Or swap the nut and reverse the string order

[Eldon Tyrell]

3 hours ago, jay-syncro said:

Does anyone know where the PH signature model is made? 

Indonesia

[Eldon Tyrell]

3 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Like nothing from the U.K. says it’s limited at all. 

On Bass Direct's FB page, Mark mentions that there are 47 in the UK

[Eldon Tyrell]

2 hours ago, krispn said:

It could just be the first production run is limited and if there’s demand they’ll do more. Not uncommon practice especially on a sig model. I think the JMJ basses were quite limited initially rather than producing 10,000 units kinda thing. 

I think you could be right. Maybe it is a test rum to see how much interest there really is in a PH sig bass. Depending on the identified demand, they may decide to build some more. That's why they don't say themselves that it is a limited edition. 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, krispn said:

Depends if you’re serious about trying a RP/J or just kicking tyres. There’s options out there which might be a step back in quality as you say but no less worth trying and they can always be shifted on for little ‘net loss’.

Honestly grab a cheapie and do some diy and experimentation at home. It’s a lot of fun and with a Ki0g0n wiring loom you don’t even need to be able to solder. A fun way to satisfy curiosity for very little money.  

Haha - I'm not that curious and your confirmation from a "reliable" source is more than good enough for me. Take it as a compliment!

I'm currently much more interested in getting a herd together that I'm really happy with. And for the first time in a long while I very much am: 3 Yammys, 3 Ibbys and 3 'S specials' (and a EUB for good measure) - plenty to keep me going 😊

[MM Stingray 62]

Bass arrived this morning played it for a couple of hours and I love it. If you're looking to nail the Peter Hook sound and more this is the bass to do it just add a chorus pedal and your done.

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by marleaux62

[Eldon Tyrell]

2 minutes ago, marleaux62 said:

Bass arrived this morning played it for a couple of hours and I love it. If you're looking to nail the Peter Hook sound this is the bass to do it just ad a chorus pedal and your done.

 

 

Wow, this looks great and so much better than the ones I saw online and in YT videos. It is also signed by the man himself (in addition to the printed signature), cool stuff 😍

[MM Stingray 62]

Thanks Peter Hook personally signed five at the PMT store in Salford and I was lucky enough to get one.

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by marleaux62

[krispn]

39 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

I think you could be right. Maybe it is a test rum to see how much interest there really is in a PH sig bass. Depending on the identified demand, they may decide to build some more. That's why they don't say themselves that it is a limited edition. 

I still believe that they (the JMJ) isn’t a massive production and they do them in batches The PHBB will likely be the same one run wait and see how it goes. Most likely a batch each financial quarter 

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, marleaux62 said:

Thanks Peter Hook personally signed five in the PMT store and I was lucky enough to get one.

Fantastic - congratulations! Was one of the earlier pics you posted of you with the man himself?

[MM Stingray 62]

No that's not me he works for PMT he'd just done an interview with him in the store. The full  hour and a half interview is on U tube.

[hookys6stringbass]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

What's your current full collection of BBs comprise in addition to your three 1200S? Do you have a 734A? If so, be interested if you can hear difference between a reverse P on the PH and a normal P config on the 734A when your PH arrives. 

Obviously there are going to be other factors impacting the tone from the different pre-amp and age of strings on both basses, so it may not be possible to precisely pin down the impact of the reversal of the P pup config.

I did have the 734a... but sold it to fund the Hooky pro 6 ...  I could hear the difference between the 734a in the split position and the 1200s... 

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, hookys6stringbass said:

I did have the 734a... but sold it to fund the Hooky pro 6 ...  I could hear the difference between the 734a in the split position and the 1200s... 

Was the difference pretty much what krispn mentioned and what we would be expecting ie a tighter low B and E and warmer / mellower top strings?

And I guess @marleaux62can also mow confirm as he has both the 1024X and PH models, which are even closer in design to each other than the 734A and 1200S, and I think the PH may have a passive mode to enable it to be compared directly with the passive 1024X.