mr E

[Egg]

Folks, thinking about getting back into playing after a long gap and have narrowed my choice down to the Yamaha BB234 and the MusicMan Stingray. If you've played both which 1 did you prefer?

[mike257]

There's about a £1000 price difference between the two. Yamaha basses are always well built and decent instruments but a proper USA Stingray is a fantastic instrument on a different level altogether to that Yamaha. 

[Egg]

Cheers Mike 257, that might have swayed me  

[Egg]

Agh, Mike its the MusicMan Sterling not the Stingray, doh!!! 😯

 

[Egg]

Sub Series 

 

[dave_bass5]

What tone are you looking for? Each will give you a different tone.

Lots of love for the Yamaha BB range around here, but if you want a Stingray tone then the BB is not the one to get. 
It might be worth getting this moved to a more relevant forum, maybe the Bass guitar one 😉 

Edited April 7, 2020 by dave_bass5

[TheGreek]

The Yamahas are amazing VFM....you'll be hard pushed to find a bass of similar quality in the price range. 

That's where I'd spend my money..

[Teebs]

Yamaha for me - well built, pretty, good price.

I have the BB 434 and it's arguably the best bass I've got.

Good luck

[Roger2611]

As both @Teebs and @The Greek have already said, the Yamaha's are great basses, they have always had a great reputation as bass builders, the Sterling Sub is also a very good bass but probably doesn't have the universal approval that Yamaha seem to have.

Personally it would depend on the sound you want and prefer, the Musicman style basses do have a distinct sound to them, they are by no means one trick ponies but the sound isn't for everyone....I have an old USA built Musicman Sub which, after owning and selling at least 5 USA Stingray's, has finally given me the sound I want out of these basses. 

From personal experience of the Yamaha basses, I owned a 1024x a couple of years ago, it was a great bass but was very heavy (well over 10lbs in weight) and hence was sold on very quickly and it was also sold on by the guy who brought it off me....I am not sure what the current range is like for weight but, if weight is an issue, I would want to check that out before buying one.

[jezzaboy]

If you can manage to up your budget slightly, the Yamaha 434 is superb. It is a step up in quality from the 234 and is a bass that will do any gig. They aren`t as heavy as the old ones having a smaller body. I owned one and stupidly sold it on. Havent tried a 234 but I imagine they are decent.

The Sub series are nice and the newer ones have a better pre amp than the older models that were super hot and not in a good way. They are nicely finished in my experience. If you like the MM sound it will get you near enough on a budget.

If you want an active bass get the Sub, if you prefer a passive, go for the Yamaha. You can`t lose really, they are both decent budget basses. Good luck!