Fender VS Yamaha. Heart vs mind

[pepito666]

Hi. I want to buy a Precision Bass, which I don't really need. The one I like is this one:

I tried it out in a store and it seemed like a good bass, but not top-of-the-line: neck dive, hum, bad fret finish, and the truss rod access was complicated and annoying.

Just before buying the Fender, I found a used Yamaha BBP34 in excellent condition close to my home. It's nice, but not as nice as the Fender. However, I think it will be a much better bass.

I'm going to try the Yamaha, but it's a heart vs. head decision.
My head says Yamaha: top-of-the-line, better finish, higher quality... My heart says Fender. Lower quality, but man... what a beauty! I love it; I want to own it and play it just because it's so beautiful.
The Yamaha tryout will be the final answer in a couple of days, but probably I'll keep doubting, so I ask you... heart or head? Good vs. beautiful? What would you do?
I might buy the Yamaha, but I won't forget about the Fender. Or maybe I'll buy the Fender and (probably) I'm overpaying for its looks even though its quality isn't worth the price and I'll end up regretting it.
It's a whim. I don't need either of them, and before you tell me to buy both, I'm not going to. Only one can come home.
Thanks in advance.

 

[jeff62]

whichever one sounds the best and makes you want to play it, vs. bitch about it, is the one you will ultimately love.

 

[RColie]

I usually would say that the heart wants what the heart wants, but sadly this will probably turn into another "Fender quality stinks" thread.

Play the Yamaha and think about what it would take to bring the Fender up to your standards and if it's worth it.

Good luck in your quest!

 

[brianrost]

heart or head? Good vs. beautiful? What would you do?

I use my ears and pay attention to how it feels while playing. That’s all that matters.

 

[Caramello]

Tbh I’ve never understood the fender mania, other than great marketing. How much money do you have to spend to have the same quality bass as the BBP?

But hey, just my opinion. ‘m not you, and in the end it’s you that have to play that bass.
So go, try them both and…listen to your heart, your feelings..
This is our passion, so I say, let’s be guided by our heart

 

[ElectricBass72]

A P/J Yamaha is more diverse with tone options than a Fender P. The Yamaha can get close to the natural P tone with it's P pickup solo'ed... so I would roll with the Yamaha.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

As they say "beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder". Having said that i must agree with the others, make a decision based on playing both.

 

[MrAB4003]

My head says Yamaha: top-of-the-line, better finish, higher quality..

There's your answer. Listen to your head and play with your heart.

 

[jd56hawk]

Hi. I want to buy a Precision Bass, which I don't really need. The one I like is this one:

I tried it out in a store and it seemed like a good bass, but not top-of-the-line: neck dive, hum, bad fret finish, and the truss rod access was complicated and annoying.

Just before buying the Fender, I found a used Yamaha BBP34 in excellent condition close to my home. It's nice, but not as nice as the Fender. However, I think it will be a much better bass.

I'm going to try the Yamaha, but it's a heart vs. head decision.
My head says Yamaha: top-of-the-line, better finish, higher quality... My heart says Fender. Lower quality, but man... what a beauty! I love it; I want to own it and play it just because it's so beautiful.
The Yamaha tryout will be the final answer in a couple of days, but probably I'll keep doubting, so I ask you... heart or head? Good vs. beautiful? What would you do?
I might buy the Yamaha, but I won't forget about the Fender. Or maybe I'll buy the Fender and (probably) I'm overpaying for its looks even though its quality isn't worth the price and I'll end up regretting it.
It's a whim. I don't need either of them, and before you tell me to buy both, I'm not going to. Only one can come home.
Thanks in advance.

Why not just buy a red Yamaha?

You might even want to check out the Reverend Thundergun...passive but potent.

(Sorry, not the biggest Fender fan.)

 

[bobba66]

I've had a couple entry level Yamaha's that were really sweet basses. Way better than the price of admission would indicate. My American Standard Precision is my only bass now, and It's all I'll ever need.

 

[DWBass]

A Fender with issues vs. a well made and sounding Yamaha? Hmmm...........

 

[crazycloud]

I think they're both unfortunate looking, but gun to the head, i'd go with the Yamaha.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Yamaha would be my choice between the two but if you have the chance check out the Sire P5R. It's just a P but it is a fabulous bass and the neck is sublime, playability is outstanding. Pretty available and not expensive. Here is mine:

 

[ezstep]

You say you want the Fender, then quickly list four reasons to avoid it. Duh....

 

[BassicJazzy]

Fender is the scary closet monster after that Lowendlobster video and the recent TB member experience with the crooked bridge.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Man, my BBP34 is so nice I bought it twice and I'd be fine if it was the only bass I had.

 

[pbass2]

Why don't you just look for a better Fender P? Problem solved.
"neck dive, hum, bad fret finish"--I mean why do that when there's a sea of actually good Pbasses out there for pretty much any budget?

 

[BassicJazzy]

Doesn't have to be a Fender to be a P. So many really good P clones. That said, if I could only have two basses, one would be a P or P clone and the other would be a non-FSO fretless. I could live the rest of my life with that.

 

[Wood and Wire]

When I was looking for a P-type bass, Fender were pretty near the bottom of the list (below MusicMan Cutlass, G&L LB-100, Yamaha various models, Epiphone Jack Casady, Lakland, Ashdown).

I tried them all out, thoroughly.

I now own a Fender Am Pro II Precision.

In all honesty, if I’d found the specific MusicMan Cutlass I was on a quest for, that would have been the end of the story, but the Fender turned out to be my second favourite playing, and my actual favourite sounding (in spite of the controversial pickups).

Re. the Yamaha : I just really didn’t like the feel of it in my hands, and I was pretty indifferent to the sound - all of which came as a surprise to me.

So yeah, Fender. Who knew?

But that’s just me. You may feel very differently about it.

 

[Anjohl]

Tbh I’ve never understood the fender mania, other than great marketing. How much money do you have to spend to have the same quality bass as the BBP?

But hey, just my opinion. ‘m not you, and in the end it’s you that have to play that bass.
So go, try them both and…listen to your heart, your feelings..
This is our passion, so I say, let’s be guided by our heart

Noone grew up dreaming of owning a Yamaha bass.

A P/J Yamaha is more diverse with tone options than a Fender P. The Yamaha can get close to the natural P tone with it's P pickup solo'ed... so I would roll with the Yamaha.

A PJ bass solo'ed on the P pickup will exactly replicate a P bass. That's the whole point of a PJ, it's a "Precision Plus".

A Fender with issues vs. a well made and sounding Yamaha? Hmmm...........

Not the hardest of decisions, when you consider the market share of each of them!