BassAgent Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 The year is 2001. 11-year-old me is at the local music shop to buy my very first fretless bass. There are two available. One is a Yamaha RBX270F, basically the fretless version of the RBX170 I started out on, 2 years earlier. The other one is an amber coloured Yamaha TRB 5IIF I instantly fall in love with. Even at my age I immediately feel: this is it. This is the one. I want this bass. But the TRB is over twice as expensive as the RBX and the RBX is also pretty cool (because it’s black, you know how it goes). So I got the RBX. No problem, I’m happy with my bass. Two years later I buy my first fretless Fender bass. The wish for a TRB was still there. I had a fretted one (also amber), I had a defretted version of the TRB I (the one with the slap cut), but never that one. The amber coloured, fretless one. Fast forward to late 2022. I visit Dutch bass player Phaedra Kwant for a second episode of my podcast Basgasten. We chat a bit after the recording, and happen to stumble upon the subject of the fretless TRB. She says “well, I have a fretless amber coloured TRB that I bought from that very shop around that time. And I still have it.” So she gets the bass and hands it to me. And I feel immediately: this is it. The one that got away. So I ask Phaedra to pleeeaaase think of me first should she ever sell it. And then it’s December 2023. I get a text message: “Hey man! How’s life? I’m seriously considering selling the fretless TRB. Are you still sentimentally interested?” And so, this morning, I went to Phaedra’s studio and take home the bass I wanted to take home almost 23 years ago. And it’s still as amazing as it was 23 years ago. 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Wow what a cool story! I don’t think I was playing bass at 11 let alone have known what fretless bass is. I hope to have this experience one day. There are two basses that “got away”. One was a Ken Smith at bass direct that eventually ended up in the hands of a very lucky BCer and the other was a one off Philipe Dubrielle jazz type bass which I’ve never seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Great story, great bass. And five string fretless at 11, I'm seriously impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 It is always great when such things come in full circle. These 2nd gen TRBs are incredibly well made and great sounding instruments, I used to have a fretted amber 5er and a red 6er which I used quite extensively at a certain point. I tend to think that selling the red was a mistake but then again I was gravitating towards tighter spacing and more compact basses (Spector) so it made sense at the time but the sentimental me still thinks of that bass from time to time 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Fantastic story with a happy ending !!, lovely looking bass, congrats John 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I always wanted a fretless TRB, great catch 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franticsmurf Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Brilliant story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 It’s like it was meant to. Nice one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 TRBs must be (one of) the most under-rated, and consequently the most underpriced basses in the used bass marketplace. I don't play mine anywhere near enough but that's true of all of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 1 hour ago, TheGreek said: TRBs must be (one of) the most under-rated, and consequently the most underpriced basses in the used bass marketplace. I don't play mine anywhere near enough but that's true of all of them. Well yes and no: the prices are going up in recent years. They're around 700-1000 euros now, sometimes even more. But around 13 years ago I struggled to sell mine for 450... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 (edited) There's a 6 string on gumtree at the moment for £750. https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/yamaha-6-string-bass/1472796217 There was a 5er for £500 last week, seems to have sold. Bargains do come up, normally when I'm skint, just being in the right place at the right time, I suppose. Edited January 21 by TheGreek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Nope...still there... https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/yamaha-trb1005-5-string-bass./1472356593 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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