Any Yamaha Bass Players?

[michaelandrew]

My avatar is a Yammy RBX 765A - it now has an Audere Classic 4 pre but stock otherwise. I'm 5-String #765 (by special request).

 

[LoTone]

I never had the chance to see a Motion bass in person but I find them to be really cool looking. Those humbuckers look meaty too!

This is my 86 Yammie MB-2, in all her sexy glory.

 

[GoesThump]

I love my BB414 - had it for about 6 years now, I think. Beautiful bass & not expensive either. Personally, I rarely use the bridge PU, running it mostly as a p-type bass.

One of my students had a TRB similar to the one Munji posted and it was *superb*. Really a sweet instrument.

There's a yamaha BB club here on TB, and another more general Yamaha club too - OP might get more info reading those, if so desired.

GT

 

[Treadstone71]

I never had the chance to see a Motion bass in person but I find them to be really cool looking. Those humbuckers look meaty too!

The pups aren't bad...the real glory of these guys is they balance perfectly and are incredibly comfortable to play.

 

[mav]

This bass has totally blown me away, it is the most comfortable neck I've ever played, just feels right in my hands. Never considered playing a Yamaha until i played this bass although BB's from the 80's are beautiful basses. My Fender jazz hasn't had a look in since I got this.

 

[CiceroProfundo]

I've two Yamaha basses. A BB714BS and a RBX200. The latter is the 1987 design and I got it dirt cheap. The neck is great. Fast and flat. However, it's missing the truss rod nut. Does anybody know what side the truss rod thread is?

10/32 or the metric equivalent 8mm?

Any help on this will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[bass geetarist]

I found an old short scale Yamaha bass at a pawn shop about 10 years ago. I've been trying to figure out what it is for some time, but so far have failed. It may be a SB-30 or a SB-50, as it has the same body type as the few pics of these I've found online, but it has dot (not block) inlays and only one soapbar pickup. It actually has a very cool and usable vingtage tone. No pics at the moment, but will post them here or in a new thread when I get a chance, as I've really been hoping to find out more about it.

Also, those Motion basses look really cool!

 

[jaxstarke]

Just bought a Yamaha RBX765A last night for $150. Serial # dates it to 2000. Jammed out on it for a couple hours last night and I love this thing. Only flaws I can find are the green color and the flaking/fading gold hardware.I'm thinking a good Winter project for me will be getting rid of the green if possible and maybe doing a translucent red. We shall see.

 

[edencab]

I love my Yamaha.....

I put 1/2 rounds on this and it [del]plays like butter[/DEL] sounds fantastic

(edited for sound description)

 

[awilkie84]

The old Yamaha RBX were great! The newer line is stripped down & not as nice.

I recently returned a 2012 RBX375 because it couldn't be set up. The pickups were harsh, too. Find the old series, for sure.

 

[Bassamatic]

I have been looking for medium scale basses, and finally found a Motion Bass - MB-III. a beauty in the original case.

Felt and played great, but I did NOT like the sound at all. I changed strings twice and sold it within 2 weeks.

 

[8liter]

I bought my BB614 new straight from a local Yamaha dealer. It was my high school graduation gift to myself. That was in 2007. I will never let this bass go.

 

[RattleSnack]

I owned a BB415 that was inexpensive, well built, sounded great, and played exceptionally well, but I ended up selling it 'cause I needed some money at the time, probably a mistake. I still have a BBN5a that I use weekly, a very fine instrument that I will most likely keep forever. As someone else said, highly underrated, and a high degree of craftsmanship and quality at a very attractive price point.

I had a BB5n that, after switching pickups for Seymour Duncans, worked like a champ. Sadly, I left it next to heat radiator trough all the winter, and neck was never as before, even after luthiers fix.
Now, my orange BB415 get all the playtime, and my 2000$ fancy boutique custom collects dust. And I got Yammy in exchange for less than 200$ equipment.
Yamaha basses are definitively underestimated and underpriced.

 

[ggvicviper]

Yamaha makes great basses! I have had several over the years, but since I've been sticking to single pickup P-style basses, I don't own any Yammies anymore.

Here were some of my Yammies. First an '86 BB5000:
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An '87 RBX5:
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...and the one on the right is a 2010 BB415:
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I also owned another black '89 RBX5 with wider spacing and a natural BB405.

 

[bassclef112]

I have 3 Yammies that are just a pleasure.

'84 BB3000S - this is one of my favorite basses bar none.
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'86 BB5000 - for crossing over to the dark side....
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My most recent is an '88 RBX800A. Great to play but I wasn't crazy about the original pre. Dropped in some passive Duncans and now I'm very happy.
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To echo what's been said, Yamaha makes top quality stuff in every category. Their basses are no exception. The beauty is there are many instruments out there and great deals can still be had, especially on the older ones.

 

[adi77]

i have a rbx375 and have gigged and recorded quite a bit with that bass.. it has the best intonation of all my basses. now i use it only if 5 string work is required

 

[Modulus1906]

This guys plays the heck out of a Yamaha bass

 

[pbass6811]

Although this is gonna be my next "thoroughbred" bass:

Skjold Offset '92-

THIS is gonna be my next workhorse!

I have played a few Yamaha basses over the years and I've ALWAYS been impressed, which makes me wonder why I never bought one. I intend to rectify that in short order...

 

[louthedog]

My BB2024X from JMJ, toured many NIN concerts round the world.

 

[michaelandrew]

Just bought a Yamaha RBX765A last night for $150. Serial # dates it to 2000. Jammed out on it for a couple hours last night and I love this thing. Only flaws I can find are the green color and the flaking/fading gold hardware.I'm thinking a good Winter project for me will be getting rid of the green if possible and maybe doing a translucent red. We shall see.

Nice! You got a great bass at a great price. The stock pre-amp does about 12 hours/9V battery (consider Audere). Check my avatar for translucent red.

How do you date them by the serial number?

Enjoy!