andruca Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 (edited) Hi everyone 😘 I've been good in 2023, so the Three Wise Men brought me a 2000 made in Taiwan Yamaha SBV-500, which I had been craving for the last decade or so. Bass came from Japan for a great price. It's in good condition, has a small (non structurally compromising) crack going on from the E string tuner screw, apparently repaired (doesn't move and closer inspection reveals what looks like a glue line). Also it had a lot of surface rust on polepieces and screws (pickguard, pickups). Looked like it lived in a demanding environment (highly humid or beach zone, I guess). Nothing to worry too much about. I scraped it all away with sime sandpaper and steel wool (only steel wool for the polepieces). Also swapped the factory knobs (which I don't like) for those chickenheads. Took some time to scrub the back of the neck with some scotchbrite pads too, not that the finish was sticky bright, but it's even nicer to play now. Also I shielded the bass cavities. This is the 3rd bass I shield (did it to a G&L L-1505 and a cheap parts Jazz before). I WON'T DO IT AGAIN, NOT WORTH IT, no results really, hum reduction is negligible or inexistent. The sounds amazing. It's like a more aggressive Jazz Bass tone. Has a really skinny sharp C profiled neck (less than 20mm thick @fret 1), which makes it also play awesome. Here's some pictures (or it didn't happen)... This is how she looked all rusty... Thihs is how it came out after cleaning rust... This is the aforementioned crack... Time and coper tape miserably wasted... Detail of the scrub work on the back of the neck... And last, but not least, a bass cover vid (very appropriate song for the bass), so you can hear how it sounds... Edited January 9 by andruca 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Love the look of these! What is the scale? Medium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Nice - I had a blue one a few years back. If I was ever to dabble in these waters again I'd want an SBV-550 (the PJ one). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Nice! I've had two of these across the years and can't fault either of them. Last one was routed for active EQ but the standard passive tone is solid too. I keep an eye out in case one pops up close to me at a good price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andruca Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 (edited) 6 minutes ago, bloke_zero said: Love the look of these! What is the scale? Medium? Standard 34" scale. Looks small, I know, even my Stingray5s look like guitars on me 🤣 Edited January 8 by andruca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 19 minutes ago, BassApprentice said: Nice! I've had two of these across the years and can't fault either of them. Last one was routed for active EQ but the standard passive tone is solid too. I keep an eye out in case one pops up close to me at a good price. That wasn't my one, was it? Metallic blue, battery box added, EMG-BQC 3 band EQ, 3 stacked knobs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd56hawk Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Seriously cool look. If I see one this nice at Guitar Center or Sam Ash, I'm jumping on it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 6 minutes ago, neepheid said: That wasn't my one, was it? Metallic blue, battery box added, EMG-BQC 3 band EQ, 3 stacked knobs? Ha, that's the one! I sold it to a friend - had a few chances to buy it back. No idea where it's ended up now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Good enough for Time Lords... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I've had one of these for years, one of my favourite basses. Looks awesome, sounds like a Jazz on steroids, great player, pretty lightweight & balances a lot better than you'd think. Only a couple of changes from stock - I'm not a fan of a white scratchplate so I made the red pearl one, & the hi-mass bridge was gathering dust in my spares box, bunged it on for the hell of it. Not sure it makes any difference but looks nice! Got mine aaaages ago from a BC member (can't remember who, sorry!) who went through an odd phase of attempting to collect every model variant (including the ultra-rare Blue Jeans 5-string, if I remember), every colour, and the original 60s/70s SB5s & SB7s etc. Mine was one of several duplicates he ended up with! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Cool bass 😎 As seen here... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, bloke_zero said: Love the look of these! What is the scale? Medium? The re-issues like the one in the OP are 34". However the original 60s models are 31½". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Miki Furukawa of J-Rock band Supercar has her own signature version, the SBV-800MF. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Miki Furukawa of J-Rock band Supercar has her own signature version, the SBV-800MF. Is that basically an SBV-550 with a bound neck and black hardware, or am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 30 minutes ago, neepheid said: Is that basically an SBV-550 with a bound neck and black hardware, or am I missing something here? Essentially yes. The body colour is also unique to the SBV-800MF. There may be more differences (like neck profile etc.) but without having both versions to hand I wouldn't know. The other signature SVB - the BJ5B (BlueJeans Model) was completely different to all the other SBVs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurroundedByManatees Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Very cool! They have such a pleasently quirky but balanced design. It's one of those basses I should try once. Congrats with the purchase of this beauty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Fabulous bass, love it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Great basses , I spent some years looking for one , and then found one in Toronto. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Weird coincidence - After not seeing these anywhere since I last owned one, I wandered past The Music Shop in Inverness yesterday and there's a green SGV for sale. Cool looking thing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 They are indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andruca Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 Just early this week I laid down 2 bass tracks for my band (fast melodic HC), both in drop D. Really like the tone. Jazz Bass definitely, but more aggressive and "glassier" highs. And it plays amazing. Will link a drums+bass sample once I have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 An old friend in the states described his as sounding like a Jazz Bass on steroids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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