Must confess, it isn't exactly NBD any more, as I've had the bass for a week now. Had so much fun playing it, no time to write.
To some, it is the Ultimate BB. Yes I know, there is the BB3000, to some it is the thing. To me it was always BB1200S, and when I eventually found one (now two) I was in love, still am. Never thought I'd ever need or want or even see - not to mention own - a BB2000. So, I had some expectations here.
Closing the deal
The for sale ad was there for months. Price seemed reasonable, not cheap, but considering BB2000 asking prices on the usual places, not expensive either. Still, it remained unsold for a long time. So finally I asked the seller some questions, he agreed to keep the bass on hold for a few weeks, for me to gather the €uros. Money in pocket, two-hour drive, there it was. An hour later, the bass in its original case, truss rod key, a MIJ Boss OC-2 and an extra set of tapewounds followed me on my drive back home.
The Good
The bass is in very nice condition. Some minor scratches and dents, what one would expect of a 40+ years old instrument. Relatively light weight, less than a BB1200S - I was worried it would be a boat anchor.
It is beatiful (and I've never liked bursts). Finely figured neck and body woods, deliciously striped ebony fingerboard. Beautifully constructed neck-thru build. Perfectly straight neck, no twisting. Clean hardware. Perfect setup, perfect balance, easy to play, no neck dive. And the sound. Juicy, fat, authoritative, clear, punchy - even with a set of who-knows-how-old flatwounds. Now I know why the BB2000 has such reputation.
There is a rarity element too. Not a lot of information can be found on factory fretless BB2000, two sources (can't remember who, probably on this Forum?) claim there was only a special run of 100 or 115 of them made, in total.
The Bad
Slightly modded electronics, instead of V-T-PU Switch it has V-V-T. Not a big deal, but the original switch is missing. Instead of a Yamaha knob, the third pot has an old knob off a Roland synth (or drum machine). Scratchy pots. Apparently the bass hasn't been played much after early 90's, after the seller moved to EUBs. And, sadly, one of the tuner adjusting collars had stuck. Only found out while after disassembling and cleaning the bass tried to restring it. I'm lucky to have a couple of spare BB tuners, the stuck part is now swimming in isopropyl alcohol.
The Ugly
The strangest thing: considering the amount of high quality crafting on this fine bass, I found it quite shocking that the bridge is mounted out of alignment. It is about a millimetre and half off center. Even more odd is that the nut is also cut off center, obviously to compensate for the bridge installation. It would have only taken a couple minutes at the assembly line to re-drill the bridge mounting holes. Every string intonates perfectly, and it does not effect the playing feel at all. But it sure looks wrong.
The End
I'm happy. I've found a rare and unique bass that plays beautifully and sounds fantastic. I'm going to play and play and play and enjoy it. The bridge misalignment is of no concern, if I start losing sleep over it, a trip to a good luthier fixes it easily.
To some, it is the Ultimate BB. Yes I know, there is the BB3000, to some it is the thing. To me it was always BB1200S, and when I eventually found one (now two) I was in love, still am. Never thought I'd ever need or want or even see - not to mention own - a BB2000. So, I had some expectations here.
Closing the deal
The for sale ad was there for months. Price seemed reasonable, not cheap, but considering BB2000 asking prices on the usual places, not expensive either. Still, it remained unsold for a long time. So finally I asked the seller some questions, he agreed to keep the bass on hold for a few weeks, for me to gather the €uros. Money in pocket, two-hour drive, there it was. An hour later, the bass in its original case, truss rod key, a MIJ Boss OC-2 and an extra set of tapewounds followed me on my drive back home.
The Good
The bass is in very nice condition. Some minor scratches and dents, what one would expect of a 40+ years old instrument. Relatively light weight, less than a BB1200S - I was worried it would be a boat anchor.
It is beatiful (and I've never liked bursts). Finely figured neck and body woods, deliciously striped ebony fingerboard. Beautifully constructed neck-thru build. Perfectly straight neck, no twisting. Clean hardware. Perfect setup, perfect balance, easy to play, no neck dive. And the sound. Juicy, fat, authoritative, clear, punchy - even with a set of who-knows-how-old flatwounds. Now I know why the BB2000 has such reputation.
There is a rarity element too. Not a lot of information can be found on factory fretless BB2000, two sources (can't remember who, probably on this Forum?) claim there was only a special run of 100 or 115 of them made, in total.
The Bad
Slightly modded electronics, instead of V-T-PU Switch it has V-V-T. Not a big deal, but the original switch is missing. Instead of a Yamaha knob, the third pot has an old knob off a Roland synth (or drum machine). Scratchy pots. Apparently the bass hasn't been played much after early 90's, after the seller moved to EUBs. And, sadly, one of the tuner adjusting collars had stuck. Only found out while after disassembling and cleaning the bass tried to restring it. I'm lucky to have a couple of spare BB tuners, the stuck part is now swimming in isopropyl alcohol.
The Ugly
The strangest thing: considering the amount of high quality crafting on this fine bass, I found it quite shocking that the bridge is mounted out of alignment. It is about a millimetre and half off center. Even more odd is that the nut is also cut off center, obviously to compensate for the bridge installation. It would have only taken a couple minutes at the assembly line to re-drill the bridge mounting holes. Every string intonates perfectly, and it does not effect the playing feel at all. But it sure looks wrong.
The End
I'm happy. I've found a rare and unique bass that plays beautifully and sounds fantastic. I'm going to play and play and play and enjoy it. The bridge misalignment is of no concern, if I start losing sleep over it, a trip to a good luthier fixes it easily.
