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Fender VS Yamaha. Heart vs mind

#41
pepito666 said:
I'll end up regretting it.
It's a whim. I don't need either of them
Click to expand...
Listen to yourself and don't buy either bass.

If you want a Fender, no commodity Fender-like instrument is going to cut it. There are always going to be differences that will bother you. But this particular P-Bass has very serious issues. Wait to get an instrument you actually like.
 
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#42
BB FTW. I understand the FENDER hype (for lack of a better word this morning) and I have a couple. Honestly and I know im fixing to get a lot of backlash but The fender P bass has never really wowed me. The only fender P bass that impressed me is the SQUIER contemporary that I have and it was cheap, I have a player 2 modified active jazz that I like. I have several “P” style basses from other makers that “To me” sound better than a Fender. In this case I’d get the BB and keep looking for the P bass that does it for you. This is ONLY MY perspective. I also have a BB and two trbx’s
 
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#43
The Yamaha is the better bass, specially that model which is the top of the BB line.
Nevertheless, the connection with an instrument is always an emotional thing and I think that even if you buy the Yamaha, you'll always be craving for a precision bass.
So, I guess my advice is for you to go find another precision bass that feels better to you.
 
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#44
My recent bass journey started with an open mind. I went to a locally owned music store wanting to try a Fender Jazz bass and a Yamaha BB434. I pulled a player ii P off the wall and it felt perfect. The yamaha was nice but I didn't like the body contours, where it sat on my knee and where my plucking arm rested on the body. The P felt better at the time than the Jazz. So, I ordered a Sire P5. It was ok but the next trip to the music store, I pulled another Fender player ii P off the wall and it felt way better to me than the sire. I went through the same process with the Jazz bass. I bought a Sire V5 but then bought a Player ii Jazz. I've since kept the Fenders, sold the Sires and just ordered another Player ii Jazz to set up with flats. Next I will be picking up another P to set up with flats, probably another Player ii or build one from parts. I wanted to like the Sires and Yamaha but they just weren't quite there next to a Fender ALTHOUGH I did pick through a bunch of Jazz basses to find one where the E string sat between the pole pieces on the pickups (not sure what's up with that, QC?)
 
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#45
jeff62 said:
whichever one sounds the best and makes you want to play it, vs. bitch about it, is the one you will ultimately love.
Click to expand...

My advice would be similar: Whichever one FEELS the best and makes you want to play it...

Sound is usually the last thing I consider, as electronics can be Tweaked/changed, pickups changed. As long as there IS sound, that's a pretty good place to begin. OTOH, some basses just... feel so right, or Don't, and if it "Don't", it can start to get costly to make it " Feel Right". (I don't mean just a little Fret Sprout, which is an inexpensive fix, yet some people will turn down what might be a "Best Bass Ever", Just because of that).


Jesus that went on much longer than I intended. (Feel like I had to keep clarifying.. GAH!! .... I'm doing it again). :speechless:
 
#47
cannedsardines said:
Listen to yourself and don't buy either bass.

If you want a Fender, no commodity Fender-like instrument is going to cut it. There are always going to be differences that will bother you. But this particular P-Bass has very serious issues. Wait to get an instrument you actually like.
Click to expand...
This is the best advice here. You only want the P because you want a P, but this one is only checking off the looks box. You don't want a Yamaha, so don't get that either.

Find another P that you really like to play, and pass on both of these. There's tons of Ps out there that you should find one that you enjoy playing.
 
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#49
grubdumpling said:
I'm all about mustangs now, but for a while the five string pbass did everything for me. I had a fender american pro, but when I really looked into the blackened crusty remains of my heart, a Yamaha BBP35 was my dream bass. So one day I had one transferred to a local store and bought it. The fender was nothing special, just a good worker. I did have to modify the bridge and shim the neck to get the action where I wanted it, but I did get it set up fantastically well. The Yamaha also set up ok, without real effort, but just never felt as good. It felt hard, where the fender was like a nice steel tractor seat - also hard, but the right shape to be comfy. Maybe it was just that the fender was the shape I expected it to be, the Yamaha always felt like someone else's bass. I also couldn't get the sound I wanted out of it. I could make it sound fantastic, but when I got up there I had to just solo the P pickup, roll off the tone and grit my teeth. Then one day I changed the strings and discovered that I could not get it to set up correctly, and upon closer inspection the neck had developed a twist. I had it for almost a year, was definitely under warranty, but the store I got it from did not want to help me out. I took it to another nearby location of the same store and they said it wasn't that badly twisted, charged me a minor restocking fee and put it on the shelf. It sold the next day.

Ever get that moment when you realize you just wrote a pile of crap that probably means nothing to anyone but yourself? Still posting it, just to get it out.

Hope you pick the right bass for you.
Click to expand...

The YAMAHA Neck "had developed a Twist". 🤔

Did I read that right?

Yamahas are Known (or.. not known) for a LOT of things. But a Yamaha Neck "twist" is a thing I don't think I even heard of.
Not Doubting, just saying "I" haven't heard of it, which may mean absolutely Nothing to anyone (even Me). :bored:


YMMV
:bassist:
 
#50
Froski said:
The yamaha was nice but I didn't like the body contours, where it sat on my knee and where my plucking arm rested on the body.
Click to expand...

This ^^^.
Years Back I bought a BB (online, based on Hype at the time :whistle: ), When I Got it home, I tried to love it, (You know, Cuz I bought it, & if I hated it, I would feel silly, so I had to do the right thing and "Defend it to the death" to justify my purchase). I just couldn't love it. It did NOT feel right to me. The body is too "bulbous" and maybe that's why. Neck felt fine, it Played fine sounded fine, but I couldn't get along with the body.
Couple weeks later, packed her back up, and away she went. (That said, the build quality was better than any [off shore] F brand I've played).


OP, Gotta Play em to see which FEELS right to You. (or at least have a good return Policy. :thumbsup:)
 
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#53
Bassdirty said:
The YAMAHA Neck "had developed a Twist". 🤔

Did I read that right?

Yamahas are Known (or.. not known) for a LOT of things. But a Yamaha Neck "twist" is a thing I don't think I even heard of.
Not Doubting, just saying "I" haven't heard of it, which may mean absolutely Nothing to anyone (even Me). :bored:


YMMV
:bassist:
Click to expand...
Laminate necks are meant to be stable, I was surprised by this as well. It first manifested as a significant difference in the distance between the strings and the upper frets, if one were to adjust the truss rod for optimum clearance on the G string, the B would have zero clearance. Once I had noticed that, I laid the bass on a flat surface and could clearly see the headstock was not on the same plane as the body.
 
#55
Hi. I want to buy a Precision Bass, which I don't really need. The one I like is this one:
0149090340_Fender-0149090340-1.jpg


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.

And no extra charge for these features !

Love at first sight.
 
#57
I think that your heart and mind should have a conversation.
I believe that your heart will agree that the Yamaha is the right choice.
It's your ego that wants the Fender. Never invite ego to the conversation. :D
 
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#59
I have owned two BB434s and ended up passing both on because the pickups are too percussive, and I tried a lot of different strings on both. Sure I could have swapped pickups but decided to try something else. Supposedly the BBP34 have some magically better pickups but the specs are similar and the two I have played at Guitar Centers didn't have a better feel at all, or sound better to my ears. Maybe's it's just me.

Trust your ears and how it feels to play it as others have said.
 
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