NBD! A 5-String Precision for Goldilocks

Fourth time’s the charm—is that right? So it would seem in my search for a just-right 5-string Precision-ish bass. Here we go:



Meet my new-to-me, thoroughly-broken-in Yamaha BB735A

The idea of a 5-string P got its hooks in me a few years ago, and I quickly learned that affordable production models are few and far between relative to Js, Rays, HHs—pretty much any other kind of 5-string. As I’ve hunted, I think I’ve gotten some ideas why, but I have managed to acquire a few:

•Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass V (best-playing stock Squier I’ve ever had in my hands, but no amount of modification could get a sufficiently bright sound out of it for my purposes; sold to fund this acquisition)
•Jackson David Ellefson 30th Anniversary signature (nicest instrument I’ve ever owned in some ways, but EMG Ps just don’t seem to do it for me; currently for sale or trade)
•Ibanez RGB305 (debuted after I started looking, a bit further from my original idea, but I really have no complaints; I expect to keep it) (and it never got an NBD here I might remedy that)

I think some of you pointed me toward the Broadbasses from Yamaha when I first started looking into this, but I didn’t care for their looks at the time. I did come around to their looks in a big way just as money got tight and everything got hard to find last year and just days after a buddy in Nashville sold one to another Nashville guy on behalf of a friend’s widow the same buddy recently tracked one down and meant to check it out for me, but kept not making it to the shop. I thought to ask whether the other Nashville guy might want to sell, and fortunately for me, he had just gotten himself a brand new Lākland and had deemed this one surplus I happened to know what he paid, so I offered a bit over that, which sealed the deal quickly—and even after factoring in shipping costs I still did okay.

Both the original owner and the next guy had plethorae of instruments, and this thing can’t be more than five years old, so I was a bit surprised to find it as broken-in as I did (the photographs may not show it), but I guess things get played hard in Nashville! Fortunately, it can take it; I had an easy time setting it up, even taking it from BEADG down to GCGCF without need of a truss rod adjustment. SOLID (and yes, HEAVY ). It still looks sharp at arm’s length, and feels great in my hands (now that I’ve cleaned it )

It sounds comfortable, too: it does all the usual P things in passive mode, but really comes alive in active mode with a bit of EQ and bridge pickup blended in. While one could find usable sounds at almost any point on the blend knob, I anticipate sticking to about 70% P/30% J with minimal EQ.

I think I have finally found the Precision-ish instrument to complement the Ibanez ATK my surprisingly wise teenage self got new way back in 1995. Even the size and weight feel familiar I think it looks right at home with these other big, heavy classics It’s juuuuust right




P.S. Yes, it looks black in this last image. (So does my aging mane ). We have to refer to the finish as “black coffee,” because the universe only allows me to keep black instruments

 

If you can manage a big, massive instrument, I can’t think of anything to say to dissuade you (and I bet the passive-only models even come in a bit lighter). Yamaha thought of just about everything with these. If I’ve got my facts straight, the BB735A is essentially an Indonesian-made BBP35 with a 3-band preamp and without the artificial breaking-in process; they use different pickups and construction with the 435, but I imagine it’s got to be in the same ballpark.

 

Oh, and while I think I’m hooked on active basses, I do really like the look of the BB43X models with maple fretboards.

 

LOW BATTERY WARNING LED

 

Hmm … is it really an NBD if @JRA hasn’t made an appearance? Something’s amiss in the algorithm! Does this mean my new bass will disappear?

 

Thanks! I’ve got a few 180° turns in my opinions on instrument aesthetics in my history: I didn’t care for the looks of Fenders or Rics when I started out as a tween in the early ‘90s, but had come around as a teen in the late ‘90s; I finally came around to the typical Spector NS shape a few years ago; and now I’ve finally come around to the Broadbasses. I even did a 360° with pointy ‘80s stuff—loved them as a kid, was too cool for them as a young man, and love them like a kid again as I enter middle age I wish you a similar broadening of taste!

 

Woohoo! Now it’s finally official thanks for answering the summons as I think we’ve discussed before, I like every NBD I see on principle: whether I personally care for the instrument or not, I well know the joy of getting a new one, and love to do my bit to amplify the excitement; but I think you catch them more reliably than I do, and you’ve generally got something thoughtful to say as well—that’s top-notch TalkingBass

 

… and now, a 4-string to match

Pickguard, or no pickguard?