The Yamaha BB mega-thread

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, EJWW said:

That's the theory, I'm tying it in with a new year's resolution to live clutter-free and concentrate on the things that matter like practice and making music.... 🤞 

 

I salute that intention my fellow Brummie bass player! I'll see if I can follow in your footsteps in 2022!

Are you in a band btw? Actually be really good to know how many of us Yamaha owners are managing to get to use our kit with bands and any clips of us playing live would be a nice addition to this thread.

I've posted this elsewhere, but I think it's the only gig I've got a recording of using my BB1025: 

 

 

[EJWW]

34 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

I salute that intention my fellow Brummie bass player! I'll see if I can follow in your footsteps in 2022!

Are you in a band btw?

 

 

Yes I am thankfully but the set demands my P bass and nothing more. So that's what I've settled for alongside the TRB. I reckon that other than fretless I should have all bases covered with these 2. Logical or what? Will it hold into 2022?

[Maude]

22 minutes ago, EJWW said:

Yes I am thankfully but the set demands my P bass and nothing more. So that's what I've settled for alongside the TRB. I reckon that other than fretless I should have all bases covered with these 2. Logical or what? Will it hold into 2022?

Ha, I bought a Variax years ago as that'll be the only bass I'll ever need. 

Why have I got two of them? 🤣🤣

[briansbrew]

4 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

A suggestion. Fill pickup routes.

 

Veneer top. New routes.

 

would lose the laminate look at the front, but would look lovely in a teal or something with that maple board.

I will definitely fill in the routes as it would be difficult to get anything to fit properly in there. Hmmm, liking the teal idea Andy....

[Maude]

If you were to put a veneer over the front and stain it teal, you could still mask the centre laminates on the rear to keep them visible, then lacquer or oil finish the whole thing. 

I did (I'm doing, still not finished) this to an old neck through Kay I was given. 

 

This is before lacquer. 

[briansbrew]

26 minutes ago, Maude said:

If you were to put a veneer over the front and stain it teal, you could still mask the centre laminates on the rear to keep them visible, then lacquer or oil finish the whole thing. 

I did (I'm doing, still not finished) this to an old neck through Kay I was given. 

 

This is before lacquer. 

Beautiful Maude, that will be a cracking looking Bass when it's finished. I will need to see my Guitar making friend who has all the necessary gear to do the route's and veneering...

[Andyjr1515]

2 hours ago, briansbrew said:

Beautiful Maude, that will be a cracking looking Bass when it's finished. I will need to see my Guitar making friend who has all the necessary gear to do the route's and veneering...

Yes, @Maude - @briansbrew is right, that is beautiful.

[Maude]

14 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Yes, @Maude - @briansbrew is right, that is beautiful.

Thank you Andy. 🙂

 

You're indirectly responsible for the look though 😁. 

I thought I'd try some calligraphy ink after seeing you use it frequently, and very good it is too. 

 

Full thread here if it's of any interest. There is a reason it's not finished but I won't bore folks here with it. 

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by Maude

[Munurmunuh]

Idle question.... has anyone tried wiring the P and J pickups of a typical BB in series? I'm guessing it would be too much of a good thing.

[Doctor J]

I had a non-Yamaha PJ bass to which I added a push/pull pot, which gave me both pickups in series when activated. It's definitely worth doing.

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, Doctor J said:

I had a non-Yamaha PJ bass to which I added a push/pull pot, which gave me both pickups in series when activated. It's definitely worth doing.

Interesting! What difference did you find having them in series? Nice touch being able to switch between parallel and series, as we, with the push / pull pot - more tonal choice from the same bass is always nice to have in terms of versatility. 

[Doctor J]

Parallel is a little mid-scooped, very controlled and useful tone we know and love.

 

Serial is growl central. Not an all-the-time tone but when you need that extra bit of aggression, that push over the cliff...

[Al Krow]

37 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Parallel is a little mid-scooped, very controlled and useful tone we know and love.

 

Serial is growl central. Not an all-the-time tone but when you need that extra bit of aggression, that push over the cliff...

Sounds like a tasty additional option! Wonder why it's not made more widely available? Turn your Yamaha into a Spector, when the context justifies. I mean what's not to like about having that at your finger tips?! 

 

Just need to get @Maude to do this as his next mod to his souped-up BB424...

Edited December 6, 2021 by Al Krow

[Hacksawbob]

I have a BB425 wired with two concentric pots VT VT + switch and BB305f wired VVT, I found both of these an improvement over the stock config with more blend options.

[Munurmunuh]

1 hour ago, Doctor J said:

Parallel is a little mid-scooped, very controlled and useful tone we know and love.

 

Serial is growl central. Not an all-the-time tone but when you need that extra bit of aggression, that push over the cliff...

 

Putting two pickups in series totally transforms instruments which I otherwise find a bit sonically underwhelming, eg Telecaster guitar. I would have been very interested* to hear what my TRBX would have sounded like with the humbuckers replaced with fat singles wired in series

 

(*but not interested enough to spend a fortune screwing up its resale value)

[Maude]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Just need to get @Maude to do this as his next mod to his souped-up BB424...

 

I'm on it. 😁

 

It's actually a mod which I really like. I've done it to my Longhorn, Jazz, 4005 and Hofner Artist. 

It really gives them a kick up the jacksie, especially on a bass with a wide pickup spread like the 4005. 

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, Maude said:

 

I'm on it. 😁

 

It's actually a mod which I really like. I've done it to my Longhorn, Jazz, 4005 and Hofner Artist. 

It really gives them a kick up the jacksie, especially on a bass with a wide pickup spread like the 4005. 

You going for a push / pull pot set-uo to keep both series and parallel options available like the Doc ordered for his? 

[Al Krow]

11 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Putting two pickups in series totally transforms instruments which I otherwise find a bit sonically underwhelming, eg Telecaster guitar. I would have been very interested* to hear what my TRBX would have sounded like with the humbuckers replaced with fat singles wired in series

 

(*but not interested enough to spend a fortune screwing up its resale value)

Well it was a great suggestion! Only took us 315 pages to get there... 😄 

[Maude]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

You going for a push / pull pot set-uo to keep both series and parallel options available like the Doc ordered for his? 

 

I don't even know which BB I'm keeping, let alone what I'm doing to it 😄. 

 

But yeah, if I do it I'd use a push pull so the series is just an added option. The Longhorn and 4005 got a mini toggle switch added to switch between series and parallel as it suited them better, but a BB would want a push/pull pot. 

[Al Krow]

50 minutes ago, Maude said:

 

I don't even know which BB I'm keeping, let alone what I'm doing to it 😄. 

 

But yeah, if I do it I'd use a push pull so the series is just an added option. The Longhorn and 4005 got a mini toggle switch added to switch between series and parallel as it suited them better, but a BB would want a push/pull pot. 

If you fit a series / parallel option to your 424X, together with the reverse-P J set up you've already put on it, and it then ends up sounding as kick-ass as we're thinking it might, why on earth would you want to move it on anyway? Instead, I'd give Yamaha a call and tell them (and or PH) you've come up with a masterbuilt option that they might want to check out...

[Maude]

But think how much better a reverse P, series/parallel modded 1024 would be. 🙄 😁

[Munurmunuh]

15 minutes ago, Maude said:

But think how much better a reverse P, series/parallel modded 1024 would be. 🙄 😁

Interesting to see how much difference you would experience if you swapped the 424's split coil for the 1024's

[Maude]

19 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Interesting to see how much difference you would experience if you swapped the 424's split coil for the 1024's

Yes, that would be the biggest difference between the two. The bridge, nut, body construction, etc must make a difference but the pickup is the biggy. 

I might record the 424, then fit the 1024 pickup in it a record again. 

If the difference is minimal then up goes the 1024 for sale. 

If there's a big enough difference then I'll see what I can get for the 424 and then carry out the reverse mod on the 1024. 

Whichever is the keeper gets the series switch mod. 

I actually prefer the look of my 424, the fretboard wood is far nicer and I think I prefer the less prominent neck laminates. I prefer the 1024's lacquered headstock face but that's easy to do. 

The 1024 bridge is nicer though. 

 

All first world problems I know. 

[Munurmunuh]

For several months I’ve had a P as well as my BB, and recently have been wondering if getting used to the sound of the P had been moving my tastes along a bit. In particular I seemed to be hearing a slight scoop in the BB tone that I hadn't detected before. And it's been bothering me.

 

And I've just realised that I've been taking the heavier right hand touch that the P has encouraged me to play with, and using it on the BB as well — and that's been wiping out the warmth of the BB's tone.

 

As soon as I told my fingers to think properly about which instrument they're playing, the balance of the BB tone came back.

 

When laid into, the BB (both pickups, GHS Boomers) starts to sound clangy, especially low down. When played with a gentle touch, the P (Dimarzio Model P, Fender 7250s) sounds insipid.

 

 

[gobasserk]

Hi folks..... after a loooong time of not touching my BB's I found a new band and tried the new material with my main BB and.... I think it is kind of a BB comeback!