Help me identify this old yamaha shortscale

[bass geetarist]

I found this at a pawn shop years ago, dirt cheap, and loved the tone of it. Definitely has a "vintage" sound to it, and it's very playable. I've scoured the web, and have not found very much information, other than a couple pics of other similar models (but with two pickups). Best I can tell, it was made in the early 70s, but really, I have no idea... Anyone seen something like this before? Any info would be appreciated (i'm not looking for a value or anything as I doubt it's worth any significant amount of money, but general info like model name, body wood, year of build... would be greatly appreciated)

(there's a soapbar under the pickup cover)

Thanks in advance!

 

[bass geetarist]

Oh, and there's a four digit serial number (though you can't really see it in this pic) just above the last fret

 

[Luke S Mouse]

Good looking bass, very sorta Les Paul/Danelectro looking. Yeah, I'm interested too.

 

[dmac1961]

No idea, but me likey!

 

[bass geetarist]

Thanks guys! Had really old, dead rounds on it for awhile, and it sounded nice and warm. Great for dub type sounds. Have tapewounds on it now (as you can see) and they give it a whole new kind of vintage sound. Can't wait till I come up with some dank, dirty funk to lay down with it.

I'll post recordings if I ever get something down that I'm willing to share

 

[kohntarkosz]

It appears to be a modified SG 40 bass.

Invalid Link Removed

Guitars;

 

[bass geetarist]

It appears to be a modified SG 40 bass.

Invalid Link Removed

Guitars;

Hmmm...for some reason your bass pic didnt show up here, but I was able to copy the link and see it.

Thanks for this. I've come across some of these old ads in my searches, but never found the exact model. Could be the same line as the pic you posted, maybe just a different year or something as I only have the one soapbar and no inlays on the fretboard.

What modifications do you suspect were done to it? It doesnt look like it ever had a bridge pickup or a third knob...

 

[kohntarkosz]

The model is called a Yamaha SB-30 on the Internet at least;

I wonder if Yamaha reissued these at some point. Some of the guitar models have a German carve, others don't... definitely different price bands within the model.

 

[bass geetarist]

Nice! Definitely the closest models I've seen, so it likely is a SB-30. Only difference I can spot are the body contours (I'm guessing that's the German carve you mention). Too bad I didn't get that bridge cover with the engraving, that would have been sweet.

Could be a reissue, but the wear on the body and hardware suggest it's pretty old.

Thanks again for your info, much appreciated!

 

[kohntarkosz]

I've not been able to find a picture of one without the contour. German carves crop up on a few Yamahas from the late '60s - early '70s. RIckenbacker and Mosrite used them as well.

 

[cdef]

Here is Yamaha's own, very good archive (in Japanese) of past guitar and bass models:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

For some reason, however, this particular bass is not included. But as kohntarkosz said, it's like a simpler SB-30, lacking the body carve.

 

[bass geetarist]

Thanks again guys, any info or speculation is appreciated.

Ya this one seems somewhat unique. Maybe a lower tier SB-30 that was only issued for a short while or something.

 

[suthol]

I have one exactly the same or at least it was until I put a 1970's Fender bass humbucker into it.

I've had it since about 1976, bought it 2nd hand because I needed a shorter scale bass to make switching between guitar and bass more intuitive.

Serial on mine is 7694 and like you I'd love to know more about it

 

[Badasbasist]

I found this at a pawn shop years ago, dirt cheap, and loved the tone of it. Definitely has a "vintage" sound to it, and it's very playable. I've scoured the web, and have not found very much information, other than a couple pics of other similar models (but with two pickups). Best I can tell, it was made in the early 70s, but really, I have no idea... Anyone seen something like this before? Any info would be appreciated (i'm not looking for a value or anything as I doubt it's worth any significant amount of money, but general info like model name, body wood, year of build... would be greatly appreciated)

View attachment 2196274

View attachment 2196275

(there's a soapbar under the pickup cover)

Thanks in advance!

Hey Bass Geetarist....

I have exactly the same bass and was also looking for more info on the bass.
I have searched the internet but could find no info on this amazing gem.

I call her "Shorty" because of the scale. She has that real vintage tone and have recently fitted some Roto Sound flat wounds and she sounds amazing.
No where i could find any trace of a model number as yours on the fretboard to see the year and model number.
Great bass and any info would also be appreciated.

 

[Akiyamaha]

Link Removed it's an SB-30S. Differences between the regular SB-30 and the S seem to be only the German carve and no sunburst finish for the S.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Great info, Akiyamaha!