NBD — Yamaha TRBJP2

[Thumb n Fingers]

Been thinking about one of these for a while. I’ve been a 4 string holdout for a long time, but about a year ago I started wanting to expand. I pretty much narrowed down what I wanted in a 6 string, and this baby checked off all the boxes.

As fate would have it, I was on a mini family vacation this weekend and stopped into a GC on my way home knowing they had a used on on the shelf.

It took a few minutes to really get used to the feel, not having ever had much experience with a 6 string before. The strings on it were beyond dead. There are a few dings, but I wasn’t too concerned about that. But you could still tell this was a tone monster.

I was a little hesitant on pulling the trigger, but with GC’s 45 day return policy on used, and my wife’s blessing knowing I’d be longing for it if I didn’t get it (and driving her crazy), I went all in.

Once I got home, I cleaned it up, put new strings on it, gave it a better set up... and WOW! I’m really digging this bass. The balance is really nice. I’m no spring chicken, but the weight sits really nicely that you don’t notice it much. I think she’s a keeper. Looking forward to learning all of the nuances this

 

[India_Sierra]

One of the nicest six strings around. Whenever I see these used, I'm always impressed at the condition they're in. They seem to attract a very careful owner! I have long wanted to add one of these to my collection, though I prefer the JPI to the JPII because I prefer 34" scale. I hope you find much enjoyment with your new bass!

 

[Ekajimmy]

One of the nicest six strings around. Whenever I see these used, I'm always impressed at the condition they're in. They seem to attract a very careful owner! I have long wanted to add one of these to my collection, though I prefer the JPI to the JPII because I prefer 34" scale. I hope you find much enjoyment with your new bass!

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[Gothic]

That. Is. Amazing.

 

[Adam Wright]

Beautiful bass. MIJ Yamahas are incredible instruments. As nice as anything made anywhere. Congrats!

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

Thanks! The craftsmanship is really remarkable for sure. I’ve always been more about functionality than style, but I certainly can appreciate the inlays, the tuning pegs, and all the other things that Yamaha puts into these basses.

 

[nonohmic]

BEAST!

 

[bmoriarty]

Thumb n fingers,
Now that you’ve had it for a while. How do you like your bass? I just got a brand new 2019. Same color. Looks fantastic. Extremely resonant for a solid body instrument. it feels like my acoustic bass guitar when I’m playing it. The tuning has been drifting a little during play but its very dry in the northeast at the moment and the instrument is brand spanking new. Also, I haven’t changed the strings yet either. Got the factory installed strings on it at the moment.
Interested to hear your thoughts.

BM

 

[Mr_O'B]

I agree that it’s one of the nicest 6 strings around! Great buy!

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

Thumb n fingers,
Now that you’ve had it for a while. How do you like your bass? I just got a brand new 2019. Same color. Looks fantastic. Extremely resonant for a solid body instrument. it feels like my acoustic bass guitar when I’m playing it. The tuning has been drifting a little during play but its very dry in the northeast at the moment and the instrument is brand spanking new. Also, I haven’t changed the strings yet either. Got the factory installed strings on it at the moment.
Interested to hear your thoughts.

BM

Thanks for checking in on this! And congrats on getting yours!

I am absolutely loving this bass. And I'm find it more versatile that I initially thought all the time. I'm using it in a fusion/jam band, an originals rock band, and a funk band. It sits great with all 3. Fantastic for finger style playing and more than serviceable enough for slap playing (once you get the sweet spot figured out... just a little up the neck more so than right at the end edge).

I'm not nuts about the weight. I'm still figuring out what's the best way to wear this. And with the neck being so wide, ergonomically I need to wear it really high to access the widest range comfortably. I wear basses high anyway, so not that big of a deal. Just a shade higher. I'm currently using a Gruv Gear Solo Strap Neo and it's not bad. I may opt for the 3 point harness one soon though. Would love to hear how you're finding wearing your and what strap you're having the best comfort with.

I'm also in the northeast, and I hear you about the tuning issues now. The crazy weather changes we've been having require near constant attention to tuning. I'm not thrilled with the tuners on the bass. Don't get me wrong, they are good... better than most... but not great. It's the only thing I'm not crazy over on this beast, though. And if becomes problematic, I'll find a better solution. But I'm no where near there yet.

As far as strings, mine came with a set of completely dead ones. GC threw in a set of D'Addarrio EXL170-6 nickel wounds when I bought this. I swapped into them immediately and like them, but I really love Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Brights on most of my other basses. Since there's no MMSB's in a 6 string set, I went with the plain stainless Super Brights. They didn't last long enough for me and I didn't feel they were as bright as the MMSBs. They were ok, but the next set I put on went back to the D'Addario's. I'm not sure what I'll try next, but I might just stay with the D'Addario's.

Let me know what you wind up trying and how you like them when you change the strings. I'd love to hear about it and anything else you discover along the way with these basses!

 

[bmoriarty]

thumb and fingers,
Thanks for getting back to me. I think the D’Addarrios you mentioned may be the stock strings recommended by Yamaha, Nickel wound. I have a set ready to put on when the ones on the bass go dead. As far as the tuners go aesthetically the pearly white looks cool and whatever you wanna call it they're plastic. I would’ve rather seen brass like the rest of the hardware but no big deal. I’m not sure the tuners are the issue with the tuning of the instrument. It may be the neck. It’s just so huge. Waiting to see what happens with the strings as well.
As far as the neck goes, over the week I’ve had it it has adapted to the dry air in New England this time of year. With a slight forward bow. I fixed it almost perfectly straight with the provided tool for truss rod adjustment. I suspect I’ll need to do it again once spring ends and it gets moist up here.
Regarding straps. Same thing I need to wear it up pretty high to access the first frets. it’s a lot more comfortable playing sitting down but either way it’s a blast to play action is great and it’s very flexible. I’m currently using a 3 inch wide padded strap. I may try to find something wider, even with the padding it does dig into your shoulder a little. 11lbs
I play in my church worship and praise band and in a jazz ensemble. The HighC string is great for walking bass lines and comping up the neck.

overall it’s a blast to play, but after playing it for a while going back to my fourth string or five string results in complete finger confusion Ha ha ha.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

@bmoriarty Sounds like you're finding this bass as enjoyable as I am. And yes, my 4 strings now feel like toothpicks when I play them.

I wasn't trying to insinuate that the tuners were causing the issues with tuning, just that they aren't quite as sensitive to small changes when tuning as I'd like them to be. Not sure what the gear ratio is, but it's definitely different that what I've become used to with some of my other basses. The neck settled in for me after about a week also. Used, mine didn't come with the adjustment tool, but I had something that works pretty well already in my tool collection.

I tried some 3" straps first... I padded nylon one and a pretty stiff (new and not really broken in ) leather strap. The weight of the bass caused the straps to kind of turn in on edge towards the neck side of my shoulder. That cutting in by the strap was not at all comfortable. The 4" wide Gruv Gear is better in that regard, and it's pretty thickly padded. It would be my favorite strap with a lighter instrument for sure, but the extra weight it's holstering here definitely reduces it's comfort a little. Like I said, though, it's not bad.

I do LOVE having that high C string also. It's just so nice to have that for soloing and working melodies into whatever you're playing. And like you mentioned, it's so nice to have for walking lines also. I meant to note this in my last posting, but I found the quickest way for me to get familiar with the overall instrument was to pull out some of my old etude books and play through them. It made it really easy to get used to going to the B and C strings instead of extra and unnecessary shifts.

Good luck and I hope you find continued enjoyment playing yours!

 

[songwriter21]

Thanks for checking in on this! And congrats on getting yours!

I am absolutely loving this bass. And I'm find it more versatile that I initially thought all the time. I'm using it in a fusion/jam band, an originals rock band, and a funk band. It sits great with all 3. Fantastic for finger style playing and more than serviceable enough for slap playing (once you get the sweet spot figured out... just a little up the neck more so than right at the end edge).

I'm not nuts about the weight. I'm still figuring out what's the best way to wear this. And with the neck being so wide, ergonomically I need to wear it really high to access the widest range comfortably. I wear basses high anyway, so not that big of a deal. Just a shade higher. I'm currently using a Gruv Gear Solo Strap Neo and it's not bad. I may opt for the 3 point harness one soon though. Would love to hear how you're finding wearing your and what strap you're having the best comfort with.

I'm also in the northeast, and I hear you about the tuning issues now. The crazy weather changes we've been having require near constant attention to tuning. I'm not thrilled with the tuners on the bass. Don't get me wrong, they are good... better than most... but not great. It's the only thing I'm not crazy over on this beast, though. And if becomes problematic, I'll find a better solution. But I'm no where near there yet.

As far as strings, mine came with a set of completely dead ones. GC threw in a set of D'Addarrio EXL170-6 nickel wounds when I bought this. I swapped into them immediately and like them, but I really love Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Brights on most of my other basses. Since there's no MMSB's in a 6 string set, I went with the plain stainless Super Brights. They didn't last long enough for me and I didn't feel they were as bright as the MMSBs. They were ok, but the next set I put on went back to the D'Addario's. I'm not sure what I'll try next, but I might just stay with the D'Addario's.

Let me know what you wind up trying and how you like them when you change the strings. I'd love to hear about it and anything else you discover along the way with these basses!

thumb and fingers,
Thanks for getting back to me. I think the D’Addarrios you mentioned may be the stock strings recommended by Yamaha, Nickel wound. I have a set ready to put on when the ones on the bass go dead. As far as the tuners go aesthetically the pearly white looks cool and whatever you wanna call it they're plastic. I would’ve rather seen brass like the rest of the hardware but no big deal. I’m not sure the tuners are the issue with the tuning of the instrument. It may be the neck. It’s just so huge. Waiting to see what happens with the strings as well.
As far as the neck goes, over the week I’ve had it it has adapted to the dry air in New England this time of year. With a slight forward bow. I fixed it almost perfectly straight with the provided tool for truss rod adjustment. I suspect I’ll need to do it again once spring ends and it gets moist up here.
Regarding straps. Same thing I need to wear it up pretty high to access the first frets. it’s a lot more comfortable playing sitting down but either way it’s a blast to play action is great and it’s very flexible. I’m currently using a 3 inch wide padded strap. I may try to find something wider, even with the padding it does dig into your shoulder a little. 11lbs
I play in my church worship and praise band and in a jazz ensemble. The HighC string is great for walking bass lines and comping up the neck.

overall it’s a blast to play, but after playing it for a while going back to my fourth string or five string results in complete finger confusion Ha ha ha.

@bmoriarty Sounds like you're finding this bass as enjoyable as I am. And yes, my 4 strings now feel like toothpicks when I play them.

I wasn't trying to insinuate that the tuners were causing the issues with tuning, just that they aren't quite as sensitive to small changes when tuning as I'd like them to be. Not sure what the gear ratio is, but it's definitely different that what I've become used to with some of my other basses. The neck settled in for me after about a week also. Used, mine didn't come with the adjustment tool, but I had something that works pretty well already in my tool collection.

I tried some 3" straps first... I padded nylon one and a pretty stiff (new and not really broken in ) leather strap. The weight of the bass caused the straps to kind of turn in on edge towards the neck side of my shoulder. That cutting in by the strap was not at all comfortable. The 4" wide Gruv Gear is better in that regard, and it's pretty thickly padded. It would be my favorite strap with a lighter instrument for sure, but the extra weight it's holstering here definitely reduces it's comfort a little. Like I said, though, it's not bad.

I do LOVE having that high C string also. It's just so nice to have that for soloing and working melodies into whatever you're playing. And like you mentioned, it's so nice to have for walking lines also. I meant to note this in my last posting, but I found the quickest way for me to get familiar with the overall instrument was to pull out some of my old etude books and play through them. It made it really easy to get used to going to the B and C strings instead of extra and unnecessary shifts.

Good luck and I hope you find continued enjoyment playing yours!

My 4" wide Levi's strap holds heavy basses very well...really eases your shoulder up.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

@songwriter21 Thanks! I have a couple of Levi's 3" straps I use on other basses that I love. I will most likely try a Levi's 4" with this 6er next.

 

[bmoriarty]

By the way I was looking on line and a YouTuber at a shop in Japan, I believe, mentioned the thin black line between the tone woods on the body is ebony. Is that true? Is it just a thin stringer along the edges? See pic. 2 black lines in cutaway.

or a thin slab between alder ash and maple? Anyone know? They go all around the edges of the Bass. Nothing about it on Yamaha website?

 

[bmoriarty]

Another view.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

By the way I was looking on line and a YouTuber at a shop in Japan, I believe, mentioned the thin black line between the tone woods on the body is ebony. Is that true? Is it just a thin stringer along the edges? See pic. 2 black lines in cutaway. View attachment 3741885 or a thin slab between alder ash and maple? Anyone know? They go all around the edges of the Bass. Nothing about it on Yamaha website?

You know, I'm not sure, but I don't think there is ebony involved in the build. The website just lists the body as being a figured maple, alder, ash, figured maple sandwich. Nothing about ebony, but the stripes are definitely there. There's a John Patitucci video where he describes the woods used in the design, and he just mentions those 3 wood types and why he chose them for the design. No mention of ebony.

 

[songwriter21]

Aside from the ebony board, that line is probably just a phenolic veneer. Kiesel/Carvin has been doing this for a long time...anniversary models, 3-piece body option, etc.

 

[songwriter21]

Beautiful bass. MIJ Yamahas are incredible instruments. As nice as anything made anywhere. Congrats!

I wholeheartedly agree...my BBP35 is shockingly good, especially for an all-passive bass, and especially that I used to only prefer fully-active 3-band preamps and more. The Yamaha's successful simplicity is unreal.

 

[bmoriarty]

Found the video I was referencing in my earlier post. He mentions in Ebony stringer or accent.