Upgrading the hardware on my Yamaha BB414 Opinions needed!

[CraigPlaysBass]

Ok, So I have decided I would like to upgrade the hardware on my yammy, mainly for aesthetic reasons but also because... I want to .

As it is the 'Wine Red' model, I am planning on going with black hardware as the wine red means dark red fading into black.

Now the important bit, I am a bit of a noob when it comes to the advantages and disadvantages of different bits of hardware.

So, what is the difference between four of these:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SET-CLASSIC-STYLE-BLACK-BASS-MACHINE-HEADS-FOUR-4-ASIDE_W0QQitemZ350320026200QQcategoryZ42455QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8141446384694062279"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SET-CLASSIC-STYLE-BL...446384694062279[/url] at £14.49 for the four.

And these:

[url="http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=118"]http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=118[/url] at £54.95 for the four?



Next, the bridge:

What is the difference between a cheap ebay bridge:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-4-String-Bridge-for-Fender-Bass-Guitar-New_W0QQitemZ350310905722QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item519028377a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-4-String-Bridg...=item519028377a[/url] at £12.46

A Gotoh 201 bridge:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gotoh-Bass-Guitar-201-Bridge-4-String-Black_W0QQitemZ130367154795QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=e285ce1b1200a0aad2a13901ff5f96ad"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gotoh-Bass-Guitar-20...2a13901ff5f96ad[/url] at 31.99

or a more expensive Badass 2, which I won't buy because it is too large a percentage of the overall value of my bass:

[url="http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=98"]http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=98[/url] at £78.95



Any thoughts would be muchly appreciated. I would also love to hear recommendations of other hardware (within budget, I'm looking to spend < £100 in total.)

Also if anyone is selling any hardware (black) and would like to offer a reduction to an honest young bass-player trying to make his way in a world of spoilt guitarists it would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Craig



(my bass as it is currently, excuse the phone camera quality)
[attachment=43693:27022010104.jpg]

Edited February 27, 2010 by CraigPlaysBass

[BassBus]

Like anything in life, if it looks too good to be true it probably is. With the machine heads, the cheap ones will just be painted metal. The paint will likely wear away over time. The expensive ones are Gotohs which are a very reputable brand, one of the best I think. If you put the cheap ones on your Yamaha you might actually be downgrading the quality of parts.

I own a Yamaha BB1100s from the 80s and the parts on that have been just fine. Your bass is the passive modern equivalent so parts should be good. If you upgrade spend the money, it'll pay off. A lot of people go for Badass bridges as replacements as you have linked. Machine heads, go for Gotoh or even Schaller:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SCHALLER-BASS-MACHINE-HEADS-NICKEL-BML-4-IN-LINE-534-UK_W0QQitemZ180468265688QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=c8c32ca31230a0e204b36483fec9df85"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SCHALLER-BASS-MACHIN...4b36483fec9df85[/url]

The best advice I can give is don't scimp on the price, you get what you pay for. Buy cheap you will get poorer quality. Spend decent money and you will buy the quality.

Good luck.

Graham

[CraigPlaysBass]

Cheers for the advice, unfortunately the badass is a bit much for me :/ however the Gotoh 201 does look good and has recommendations here on basschat, do you think it would be a worthwhile upgrade?

And cheers for the link but i'm going with all black hardware

[stevie]

You might like to measure the resistance of your pickups before you spend any money anywhere else. I've got a Yamaha BB1100S and the pickups on mine were beautifully made but underwound. I replaced them with Duncans and it sounded much fuller. It sounded OK before, and it's only when I measured the things that I realized something was amiss.

A set of lightweight tuners on mine improved the balance of the bass no end and was a worthwhile improvement, in my opinion. It used to be very neck heavy.

I also fitted the Gotoh 201 and then the Badass. I can't swear there was any difference either time, but I thought their was. The Gotoh isn't expensive and certainly looks better than the bit of tin that was on there before.