Today my Yamaha Nathan East bass arrived. After quick inspection of the carton I couldn't wait to see what awaited inside the cardboard box. The bass was shipped in a full hardshell case with two keylockable latches and a single hasp in the center. The interior of the case is very nice as well featuring a large storage compartment with a snap closure to keep its contents where they belong.
My bass is the white finish model with gold hardware. The bass is a total beauty. Very simple and elegant in appearance. The bass has a 34" ebony fingerboard with block mother of pearl inlays. The 12th fret inlay reads "BB EAST". The bass is a neckthrough construction and has a wonderful feel to it. The tuners are gold with a white pearloid key which is quite beautiful. "Look mom, no fingerprints"!!! The tuners are butter smooth and appear to be very nice. The frets are fully polished and I can find no high frets or quality control issues for each of the 24 of them. The bridge is a bit odd. Each string has its own individual bridge that is adjustable for intonation and string height. The ball end of the strings is attached to the end of each of the bridges and this design will facilitate a quick change if necessary since it is not through the body. The bass features active electronics and has 2 Yamaha J style pickups. The controls are as follows: master volume, pan, bass, midrange, and treble. There is a separate switch to activate the midrange parametric equalizer. In bypass the controls are standard active 3 band eq. When the switch is used it allows a sweepable midrange hi Q effect to allow a boost on a VERY narrow frequency only. This allows for a lot of flexibility with this bass and it has the most wicked slap tone of any bass I have played.
Battery access is quick and easy with the easy access battery door on the back of the bass. Power requirements are a single 9 volt battery. The output jack of the bass is odd also. There is a recessed area on the back of the bass and the output jack is actually facing upwards. I believe this is to prevent the bass from being unplugged if the cord is stepped on. Neat design, however it will take me a while to get used to it.
For a player wanting a modern sounding bass this is a great choice. Fit, finish, tone, and playability are all top notch. The weight of the bass is just over 10 pounds. I think I am going to like this bass... I just have that feeling!!!
My bass is the white finish model with gold hardware. The bass is a total beauty. Very simple and elegant in appearance. The bass has a 34" ebony fingerboard with block mother of pearl inlays. The 12th fret inlay reads "BB EAST". The bass is a neckthrough construction and has a wonderful feel to it. The tuners are gold with a white pearloid key which is quite beautiful. "Look mom, no fingerprints"!!! The tuners are butter smooth and appear to be very nice. The frets are fully polished and I can find no high frets or quality control issues for each of the 24 of them. The bridge is a bit odd. Each string has its own individual bridge that is adjustable for intonation and string height. The ball end of the strings is attached to the end of each of the bridges and this design will facilitate a quick change if necessary since it is not through the body. The bass features active electronics and has 2 Yamaha J style pickups. The controls are as follows: master volume, pan, bass, midrange, and treble. There is a separate switch to activate the midrange parametric equalizer. In bypass the controls are standard active 3 band eq. When the switch is used it allows a sweepable midrange hi Q effect to allow a boost on a VERY narrow frequency only. This allows for a lot of flexibility with this bass and it has the most wicked slap tone of any bass I have played.
Battery access is quick and easy with the easy access battery door on the back of the bass. Power requirements are a single 9 volt battery. The output jack of the bass is odd also. There is a recessed area on the back of the bass and the output jack is actually facing upwards. I believe this is to prevent the bass from being unplugged if the cord is stepped on. Neat design, however it will take me a while to get used to it.
For a player wanting a modern sounding bass this is a great choice. Fit, finish, tone, and playability are all top notch. The weight of the bass is just over 10 pounds. I think I am going to like this bass... I just have that feeling!!!
