New Yamaha BB series

[quickfix]

I was just thinking that what the world really needs right now is yet another another retro Fender inspired bass =)
It's another decision made for mainstream commercial fashion reasons, not good design.

I bought the BB735A DCS because I wanted an active/passive, five string, PJ with a subtle burst that didn't look like a dog's breakfast...nor cost an arm and a leg.
Until I bought this bass I considered nothing but Fender's products, but Fender makes nothing like it at this price point.
To be honest, until two weeks ago I had no intention of buying a Yamaha. During my research I found no other brand or model that met my criteria.

Now that it's in my hands I can't figure out why I didn't buy one of these things years ago. Maybe it's because it took the recent updates to entice Fender players like me.

However, my Precisions still have their uses, and will always have a place in my various projects.

 

[phillipkregg]

Just played three of the BB 735A basses today and was SUPER impressed!

As soon as I saw it on the wall of the music store I thought it was probably a 2 grand bass. It really looks great in person.

The neck felt absolutely amazing and the action was perfect - probably the only bass that I've played in store that wouldn't immediately need to be setup as soon as I got home.

And if you look on the Yamaha specs page, you'll notice that this is the only one of the 5 strings that has an 18mm string spacing. I just sold a wonderful Lakland 55-02 that I couldn't play because of the 19mm spacing.

These days I'm a pretty sold out Music Man guy with a 5 string Bongo and a Stingray Classic 5. The 17.5mm string spacing feels perfect to me.

I could tell it was a tiny bit more of a stretch on the Yamaha, but I'm so glad they went with 18mm instead of the typical 19.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one because it was so good.

The only weak point was the pickups were just adequate - not fantastic. While they don't knock me out though, they did sound pretty good. But the instrument as a whole rivals basses that cost twice as much.

It's a great foundation for experimenting with pickups and electronics. I'd love to hear one with some Seymour Duncans or EMGs in it

 

[hypercarrots]

Just played three of the BB 735A basses today and was SUPER impressed!

As soon as I saw it on the wall of the music store I thought it was probably a 2 grand bass. It really looks great in person.

The neck felt absolutely amazing and the action was perfect - probably the only bass that I've played in store that wouldn't immediately need to be setup as soon as I got home.

And if you look on the Yamaha specs page, you'll notice that this is the only one of the 5 strings that has an 18mm string spacing. I just sold a wonderful Lakland 55-02 that I couldn't play because of the 19mm spacing.

These days I'm a pretty sold out Music Man guy with a 5 string Bongo and a Stingray Classic 5. The 17.5mm string spacing feels perfect to me.

I could tell it was a tiny bit more of a stretch on the Yamaha, but I'm so glad they went with 18mm instead of the typical 19.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one because it was so good.

The only weak point was the pickups were just adequate - not fantastic. While they don't knock me out though, they did sound pretty good. But the instrument as a whole rivals basses that cost twice as much.

It's a great foundation for experimenting with pickups and electronics. I'd love to hear one with some Seymour Duncans or EMGs in it

what did you think of the yamaha preamp?

 

[phillipkregg]

what did you think of the yamaha preamp?

The preamp seems powerful - quite a bit of boost and cut with all the controls.

What was really cool was that there is a "low battery" light on the back of the bass over the control plate. This is a great feature that EVERY active bass should have by default. I don't know how this hasn't become a standard feature yet.

Switching into passive mode, the bass didn't lose a lot of volume (like what usually happens). And it retained the same sound quality. It's a good basic tone, but I think it could be improved greatly with some pickup upgrades.

Of course, swapping out the preamp along with the pickups will affect the tone too, so it's hard to say which one will affect it most.

But just from demoing them for about 20 mins or so, I would guess that the most cost-effective upgrade would be new pickups and go from there.

 

[Herrick]

My Squier Precision V is under 9 pounds but I've never met a Fender 5-string under 9 pounds. Where are you getting these, haha?

I ordered a 5-string Fender Pro P Bass from Sweetwater that was a little under 9 pounds.

 

[honeyiscool]

I was just thinking that what the world really needs right now is yet another another retro Fender inspired bass =)
It's another decision made for mainstream commercial fashion reasons, not good design.

You say this, but the number of good, new production, affordable entry-level 5-string PJ basses...

Oh yeah, that basically consisted of one bass: Jaguar Bass V.

So quit yer complaining.

 

[stingray69]

I was just thinking that what the world really needs right now is yet another another retro Fender inspired bass =)
It's another decision made for mainstream commercial fashion reasons, not good design.

I was just thinking that what TalkBass really needs right now is yet another troll. =)

It's a decision made to inject a random, negative comment for personal reasons, not good taste.

 

[Member8675309]

I was just thinking that what TalkBass really needs right now is yet another troll. =)

It's a decision made to inject a random, negative comment for personal reasons, not good taste.

Well said. I don’t believe people realize they’re trolls. An honest opinion contrary to another’s beliefs is one thing, but a negative comment that offers absolutely nothing meaningful is a trolling comment.

 

[honeyiscool]

So I ordered a teal BB435. And it looks amazing.

And it arrived with two broken tuners. Hah. I can still turn the pegs, but obviously, I'll get the tuners fixed (or bass returned). It plays really great and sounds really good, though.

In fact, I like the bass so much that I'll be buying a BB235 as a backup. But they've got to do something about those tuners. Why do these manufacturers even bother with these vintage styled open gear tuners? Those sealed die-cast tuners are far lighter, far smaller, far easier to replace, etc.

 

[Member8675309]

So I ordered a teal BB435. And it looks amazing.

And it arrived with two broken tuners. Hah. I can still turn the pegs, but obviously, I'll get the tuners fixed (or bass returned). It plays really great and sounds really good, though.

In fact, I like the bass so much that I'll be buying a BB235 as a backup. But they've got to do something about those tuners. Why do these manufacturers even bother with these vintage styled open gear tuners? Those sealed die-cast tuners are far lighter, far smaller, far easier to replace, etc.

Yeah, those tuners are awful. I replaced mine because they rattled so bad. But, I liked the bass so replacing tuners is no big deal.

 

[honeyiscool]

Yeah, those tuners are awful. I replaced mine because they rattled so bad. But, I liked the bass so replacing tuners is no big deal.

Are there any aftermarket tuners drop right in without drilling? Would lightweight tuners fit? Thanks.

 

[Member8675309]

Are there any aftermarket tuners drop right in without drilling? Would lightweight tuners fit? Thanks.

Yes, Schallers. Absolutely no modifications necessary. “Bass Machine Heads BM” should get you to them.
Good luck getting the bushings out. The A bushing was extremely tight. Seriously, EXTREMELY tight. The rest popped out with no problem.

Edit: I’m not sure about the lightweight tuners. The technical drawing is available.

 

[hypercarrots]

the length of the shafts look shorter on the schallers. maybe that's why the yamaha tuners are arriving broken

 

[Member8675309]

the length of the shafts look shorter on the schallers. maybe that's why the yamaha tuners are arriving broken
View attachment 2809398
View attachment 2809399

 

[honeyiscool]

I wonder if there's a tuner out there where I can disassemble the gear and just get the buttons out of and pop into the assembly. I do like the weight of the Yamaha tuners.

 

[Member8675309]

The shaft on Schallers is shorter.

I wonder if there's a tuner out there where I can disassemble the gear and just get the buttons out of and pop into the assembly. I do like the weight of the Yamaha tuners.

The Schallers aren’t light, but at least you know they’ll fit, and they will never need to be changed....probably.

 

[honeyiscool]

Will someone PLEASE take off the pick guard!!!????

It's clean.

 

[hypercarrots]

It's clean.

FINALLY. A PHOTO! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

[honeyiscool]

The shaft on Schallers is shorter.

The Schallers aren’t light, but at least you know they’ll fit, and they will never need to be changed....probably.

True. Regardless, it seems like I'm more likely to go with Hipshot Ultralight 1/2" tuners. I use them on all of my basses that started out with Fender style tuners (except for a Mustang Bass, which takes 3/8" for some reason) and they've always worked for me. Plus, the import versions are reasonably priced with only a minimal drop in quality, though, obviously, the USA ones are better. I don't mind drilling a headstock for one hole per tuner, I've done it many times now, on guitars as well as basses.

My postal scale is not accurate enough to really measure anything this fine, but it seems like the Yamaha tuners are only about 10 grams lighter than a similar Squier tuner, so changing to Schaller probably only nets you about a 2 oz gain. On the other hand, that also means there's additional savings to be had by changing to truly lightweight tuners like a Hipshot.

I'm thinking I'll return my teal 435. It's unplayable with those wonky tuners. I mean, pickups sound ideal and the bass feels like a million dollars (the one I got was 9 lb 7 oz, quite manageable), but in its stock form, with stock tuners, it's a rattle monster. I ordered it from Zzounds and it wasn't particularly well packed, and the double boxing was not impressive at all. The salesperson said if I send pictures of the damage, I might be able to keep it for a discount, but it better be a darn good discount for me to decide not to return it. This tuner problem has to be costing Yamaha a fortune and making retailers really unhappy right now. I hope it hurts them. They need to fix it and then have a recall for all early adopters who bought these basses.

Pickups seem to be regular Fender V sized. I just found my calipers so here's some measurements. The J pickup is 4.064" inch long, w/ screws 1.925" apart. Don't take my word for it, but I have a feeling that most Fender V sized bridge pickups should drop right in. The P pickup is 2.208" on the shorter shell from flat to flat end, 2.792" on the longer shell, which is a measuring error away from the Squier P V I have next to it. I don't see any need to replace the P pickup, but some would probably want to try a hum cancelling J, of which there are many.

In the mean time, I've ordered a natural satin 235 from Sweetwater. I'm going to assume that with their usual OCD level of packing, that they'll be able to ship a bass with no damage. I want to have a bass that feels and sound 100% before I start changing things on it. I think the 235 will be the bass that stays at the rehearsal space, and the 435 (once I get one that's not damaged) will be the bass that goes outside with me. Maybe I can put a Hipshot Kickass bridge on the 235, since I like the extra length of string behind the saddle that I get with Badass style bridges.

 

[honeyiscool]

FINALLY. A PHOTO! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

What's interesting, too, is that there's a little plastic piece that protects the truss rod access, held by a tiny screw. In order to remove the pick guard, you have to take the little plastic piece out, as I did in the picture. But then you can pop the plastic protector piece back in (though this might stick out a bit), or you can keep it bare.