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Yamaha RBX4 A2 Arrives

Bongolation

Bongolation

Nov 9, 2001
8,047
148
California
Disclosures
No Bogus Endorsements
#1
Points:

"Revolutionary light weight"? Nonsense. A hair under eight pounds by accurate measurement. :rolleyes:

Whimsical lights (run by separate circuit on dual pots) increase glow, somewhat irregularly, with volume adjustment, not bass output as mentioned somewhere here. They do nothing, but are at least out of the signal path. Knobs are somewhat inconveniently recessed into the top.

Almost (99.999%) perfect finish and centerline alignment. Needed setup badly, which brings up the only serious problem: This trussrod is the tightest I have seen in forty+ years working on instruments. I actually thought it would break before it would loosen or tighten, with the strings completely slack, and it did not loosen up at all after adjustment. Other buyers notice this or is it just mine? If it doesn't loosen up after backloading the neck tomorrow, I think it's going back. It's that stiff.

Aside from this, the build is excellent by any $tandard. Fine fretwork, properly seated (a big problem these days with imports), polished and end-dressed.

Given the eight pound weight, there are none of the balance problems noted with the five-string versions. Sound is as reported in other threads. Tone control is only for fine nuance with a 250K pot and .010mF cap.

It's more than a little strange and not "revolutionarily" light, but a nice instrument barring the trussrod question.
 
#4
optikhog said:
Mine was quite tight on the first turn but has since loosened up to a normal-ish tension.
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I was eventually able to adjust the neck with the strings slack, but the adjustment bolt never loosened up.

I'm going to backload the neck tonight to totally get all the tension off the trussrod and see if I can get the bolt to at least back out enough to loosen up a bit.

I have the sinking feeling, though, that they may have managed to crossthread or strip it.
 
#6
RedsFan75 said:
Yeah Mine was tight but never had that trouble.
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We'll see. It might just be bound up. If I can backload it enough to get everything loose and start over, It might be OK. Otherwise, I doubt they'll be able to get me a replacement before they sell out. :atoz:
Mine was also very light.
Click to expand...
Well, you never know until you weigh them, but from the instant I pulled mine out of the box, I knew it wasn't that light. A hair under eight pounds isn't that earthshaking for a four-string, especially given the body contour. They could have made that body out of solid lightweight poplar and had it weigh less.

Incidentally, I removed the battery box and carefully sanded an inspection spot on the edge through the overspray and examined the woods. The core wood is about the color and hardness of pine. It's structural wood and not a cause for concern in terms of strength. I've seen instrument bodies made from softer wood. I might have a bit of concern for strap peg mounting, but that's about it.

I think it may indeed be a harder grade of balsa, which is very strong for its weight, though given the weight of the instrument, it doesn't appear to be any lighter than pine would be. [shrug]
 
#7
Bongolation said:
It might just be bound up. If I can backload it enough to get everything loose and start over, It might be OK.
Click to expand...
Backloaded the living daylights out of the neck and managed to loosen the bolt until I heard the unmistakable sounds of the trussrod shaking itself loose from being bound up against something in the neck. Bolt loosened and tightened fine, I retightened it and the neck adjusted perfectly. This could have gone so wrong in less-experienced hands...:rollno:

Nice save, Cap'n! :cool:
 
#9
fryBASS said:
Even though I didn't need to adjust the truss rod, I did notice that when I tried to adjust it, I couldn't :hmm:
Click to expand...
Slack the strings.

Loosen the bolt. Carefully.

Get the whole mess unbound from being stuck to stuff.

Start over with tightening to suit, preferably while the neck's backloaded.

Trying to tighten this stuff when it's jammed only leads to disaster. :crying:
 
#13
balbs said:
"Backloaded the living daylights out of the neck". What does this mean?
Click to expand...
In very simple terms, suspending the neck at the opposite ends of the fretboard and bending the center of the neck inwards so the bow releases pressure on the trussrod so it can move evenly when it's tightened or loosened. Any good tech will have a jig set up to do this very precisely when adjusting trussrods.

Because this trussrod was stuck inside the neck (extremely common, though not usually as badly as with this bass), this was the only way I could get enough pressure off of it to back the trussrod bolt loose and get the whole trussrod free again.

It worked fine and the trussrod and its adjusting bolt work properly now.
 
#14
superbassman2000 said:
I wanted to pick one of these up when i noticed a lot of places getting rid of them for cheap--how do they sound?
Click to expand...
You can still get them from MF.

They're extremely nice basses. The sound is pretty much defined by the stainless roundwounds that came on it -- very bright. I wasn't sure I was going to keep it until this trussrod problem got sorted out, so I haven't put on better strings that would give me a better idea of what it would sound like under my normal playing circumstances. No apparent dead spots, anyway.
 
#15
Bongolation said:
Backloaded the living daylights out of the neck and managed to loosen the bolt until I heard the unmistakable sounds of the trussrod shaking itself loose from being bound up against something in the neck. Bolt loosened and tightened fine, I retightened it and the neck adjusted perfectly. This could have gone so wrong in less-experienced hands...:rollno:

Nice save, Cap'n! :cool:
Click to expand...

Woo hoo, excellent save!
 
#16
My Dear Friends,

Nice save on that one indeed. I recently encountered a Schecter electric guitar with the same problem and had to backload the neck to get the truss rod adjusted. This kind of thing works negatively on one's nerves, to say the least.

I just pulled the trigger on a Yamaha RBX4 A2 this morning myself, and will be interested to see how it plays and sounds. Musician's Friend is sold out of the less expensive black model for the moment, but American Musical Supply still has them in stock at $249.99 shipped CONUS.

My attraction to this bass was initially the weight - I hope it weighs a bit less than my old 80's-era Yamaha BB300 that keeps my spine incessantly out of adjustment. :help:

When I get the bass in I'll post my thoughts and issues, if any.



Warmest regards,


Kurt
 
#19
My Dear Friends,

My plan is to try a set of Rotosound FM66 Funkmaster strings as soon as my RBX4 A2 arrives. I used Rotosound Swing Bass standard gauge for, literally, years, and then bought two bad (read:stone dead) sets in a row from a local shop. I quickly swore Rotosound strings off. I intend to give them another try, as when their tone is fresh and new they are obnoxiously bright (sort of like my personality). So help me, if I get one more bad set I'll scream. :scowl:

Anyone have any suggestions for similarly-gauged 4-string sets from other manufacturers (.030/.050/.070/.090)? You know. Just in case.

Warmest regards,

Kurt
 
#20
BritFunk said:
I recently encountered a Schecter electric guitar with the same problem and had to backload the neck to get the truss rod adjusted.
Click to expand...

It's certainly not uncommon, which is why techs set up a jig for backloading. It takes a huge amount of stress out of the trussrod setup process and allows for more precision and often less followup adjusting as the trussrod's tension gradually equalizes and settles after being adjusted without backloading.

This kind of thing works negatively on one's nerves, to say the least.
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No kidding. It scares me to death to watch the way most people adjust trussrods. :rollno:

My attraction to this bass was initially the weight - I hope it weighs a bit less than my old 80's-era Yamaha BB300 that keeps my spine incessantly out of adjustment. :help:
Click to expand...
Weight seems wildly variable. People here have claimed 6-1/2#, which initially made me question either their veracity or methodology, considering mine was almost exactly 8#. On the bright side, at that weight the balance is perfect. :hmm:

When I get the bass in I'll post my thoughts and issues, if any.
Click to expand...
It'll probably be fine. I am extremely impressed with the build quality of this one. I'm pretty sure this is contract output from Cor-Tek's Indonesian facility. I saw some other of their recent output and was also impressed by its near-perfect build.
 

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