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New Yamaha BB series
- Thread starter hypercarrots
- Start date
Guys,
I just received my new BB 434 m in sunburst and I have to say its beauty. Needs little bit of setup (I expected that it will come set up in nicer way tbh), strings heights, pups height, neck relief. I was afraid that neck will be to chunky for me, as I am used to jazz bass necks, but its very comfy. Its bit wider at a nut and also at 12th fret, but its very smooth and has great profile.
Body has beautiful color, i was afraid its gonna be very light sunburst, but its beautifully dark. My only remark to the body is that neck screws look rusty, or covered in paint or something like that. Bit besides that, finish is flawless.
And sound? Its my first BB that I own, so I didn´t know what to really expect. O n videos it sounded great, very fenderish, but with unique character. I can confirm that it sounds great. As i said, it needs little tweaking, especially pups height, because currently the string output is bit uneven, but it still sounds great. it has very nice warm sounds from both pickups, if you open up tone control its not that screamy as Fender, its still very smooth. Somewhere I read that these basses have little bit scooped mids and I can confirm it. But do not imagine scooped sound that will be lost in the mix, but very warm, with nice clear heights. Im not a fan of old school fender mid sound, so for me its perfect. Sound wise, my only remark is that pots are bit on/off, but I can live with that.
i checked with music shop if I can order bridge from bb734, because I like more chunkier bridges, so lets see. Oh, and I want that creamy pickguard from black model
So if you have any question, feel free to ask
I just received my new BB 434 m in sunburst and I have to say its beauty. Needs little bit of setup (I expected that it will come set up in nicer way tbh), strings heights, pups height, neck relief. I was afraid that neck will be to chunky for me, as I am used to jazz bass necks, but its very comfy. Its bit wider at a nut and also at 12th fret, but its very smooth and has great profile.
Body has beautiful color, i was afraid its gonna be very light sunburst, but its beautifully dark. My only remark to the body is that neck screws look rusty, or covered in paint or something like that. Bit besides that, finish is flawless.
And sound? Its my first BB that I own, so I didn´t know what to really expect. O n videos it sounded great, very fenderish, but with unique character. I can confirm that it sounds great. As i said, it needs little tweaking, especially pups height, because currently the string output is bit uneven, but it still sounds great. it has very nice warm sounds from both pickups, if you open up tone control its not that screamy as Fender, its still very smooth. Somewhere I read that these basses have little bit scooped mids and I can confirm it. But do not imagine scooped sound that will be lost in the mix, but very warm, with nice clear heights. Im not a fan of old school fender mid sound, so for me its perfect. Sound wise, my only remark is that pots are bit on/off, but I can live with that.
i checked with music shop if I can order bridge from bb734, because I like more chunkier bridges, so lets see. Oh, and I want that creamy pickguard from black model
So if you have any question, feel free to ask
Attachments
My local music store finally got my BBP35. First impressions are this bass is phenomenal. A little less output than my BB5000 twins, it's also a hair brighter. Love the color of the burst as well, it looks better than a Fender 3TB. I can't wait to use it in a jam setting. @pedroims
So I've been curious about these new BBs since... well, since this thread posted. I much love my BB415 ("Batgirl") and was wondering how the new ones are. I was in the local guitar shop today, and lo and behold one was there; a BB434m, tagged at a discount as "C stock" because of a chip on the headstock.
Impressions: liked the tone. Sounded like a PJ should. Didn't seem to have the hot pickups of the 415, though; a little more neutral. Big plus was the weight; the only thing I dislike about Batgirl is that she's like a boat anchor hanging on my shoulder. This BB434m was light and balanced. Fretboard was flatter; not a plus for me, I prefer the old 10" radius, but not a deal breaker. The neck profile was otherwise very nice and comfy. Looked pretty good. I do also miss the old 3-way switch; there are already plenty of VVT setups out there.
At the end of the day, I felt like it was a nice bass and well worth the money, and I wouldn't mind buying one or recommending it to anyone looking for something that wasn't just another Fender clone. Currently, I have all the 4-strings I need, personally, and it wasn't making me kick myself for the Godin Shifter that was my most recent bass purchase. It seems like it's moving in a bit more of a "neutral" direction for the series, a good bass at a good value but not the hefty roaring beast that I think of the BB basses as.
Impressions: liked the tone. Sounded like a PJ should. Didn't seem to have the hot pickups of the 415, though; a little more neutral. Big plus was the weight; the only thing I dislike about Batgirl is that she's like a boat anchor hanging on my shoulder. This BB434m was light and balanced. Fretboard was flatter; not a plus for me, I prefer the old 10" radius, but not a deal breaker. The neck profile was otherwise very nice and comfy. Looked pretty good. I do also miss the old 3-way switch; there are already plenty of VVT setups out there.
At the end of the day, I felt like it was a nice bass and well worth the money, and I wouldn't mind buying one or recommending it to anyone looking for something that wasn't just another Fender clone. Currently, I have all the 4-strings I need, personally, and it wasn't making me kick myself for the Godin Shifter that was my most recent bass purchase. It seems like it's moving in a bit more of a "neutral" direction for the series, a good bass at a good value but not the hefty roaring beast that I think of the BB basses as.
The new BB series compared to the previous "original" series if I can put it that way have more modern sound and less growl typical for the classic BB series.Im waiting for my BB734A to arrive this week,after several times of placing and canceling my order for it I felt it is a very good bass model and I don't wanna miss that one.And yes I assume the new BB series have lighter bodies ,my 424X hanging on my shoulder for just half an hour I can feel the pain already in my muscles and bones,it's a heavy beast,but the tone is all there.It should weigh a ton if it makes that growl and has that powerful sound,but I don't mind lighter bodies.Will see,I will upload photos,once my arrive.
Here are the weights of my BBs
1979 Yamaha BB1200 9lb 10.5oz
1979 Yamaha BB1200 9lb 14oz
1978 Yamaha BB1200 10lb .5oz
1982 Yamaha BB1200S 11lb 1.125oz
1984 Yamaha BB1200S 9lb 9 5/8oz
1985 Yamaha BB300 9lb 9oz
1984 Yamaha BB300 9lb 6 5/8oz
1984 Yamaha BB300 9lb 1.25oz
1986 Yamaha BB450 8lb 11.5oz
1980 Yamaha BBVI 9lb 6.75oz
2017 Yamaha BB734a 9lb 2oz
1979 Yamaha BB1200 9lb 10.5oz
1979 Yamaha BB1200 9lb 14oz
1978 Yamaha BB1200 10lb .5oz
1982 Yamaha BB1200S 11lb 1.125oz
1984 Yamaha BB1200S 9lb 9 5/8oz
1985 Yamaha BB300 9lb 9oz
1984 Yamaha BB300 9lb 6 5/8oz
1984 Yamaha BB300 9lb 1.25oz
1986 Yamaha BB450 8lb 11.5oz
1980 Yamaha BBVI 9lb 6.75oz
2017 Yamaha BB734a 9lb 2oz
I only checked out the BB235. I do know it's the entry level series but almost costs as much as the previous BB425X. And compared to that it felt cheap to me. Even ignoring the fact that the nut was broken at the B string it sounded rather generic to me. Not the growl and character I get from my BB425X. I also heard from other people that the quality is not usual yamaha level. So in my book the new BB series is a step backwards. I think yamaha wants to target a broader audience, gives up the character instrument and goes for a more modern sound.
“Broader” Broad Bass
well done, Sir.
I still have yet to try one of these and still would like to. But I agree the reviews I’m hearing aren’t very good and I’d prbly be better off getting an older one.
well done, Sir. I still have yet to try one of these and still would like to. But I agree the reviews I’m hearing aren’t very good and I’d prbly be better off getting an older one.
That's what I would recommend. Grab one if you can. The bang for the buck is insane on these.
I own BB424X and Bb734A,I'm really impressed with both basses,the 424X has really unique vintage tone,love it.The 734a has more modern,less growling tone,BUT a real tone monster,it has something similiar with the 424x ,but there is actually a big difference in tone.
Does anyone have the specs on the 700 series preamp? Specifically speaking... The frequencies of the three bands, the +/-db of the frequencies, etc. I tried a search and came up empty handed.
I finally pulled the trigger and bought a BB P35, I have been wanting a P5 for a while and seems like this baby will fill the bill perfectly. It should be here tomorrow so I can try it on Sunday
You’ll like the Schallers. They are a perfect drop in replacement.
Really wish they'd go back to the original electronics for the current round of passive BBs, reverse P and all. I love the tone of my old BB800 and I've not heard it replicated anywhere else.
I saw on the web site of Schaller that there are two models :Original F Series BMF4L and BM4L,both available in black chrome,but the Original F series have longer base plate than the BM4L model and I haven't measured the length of the Yamaha base plates of the tuning pegs,I'm not at home and cannot take the measurements ,so if someone knows which model will fit perfectly,please share.
The BM4L have the smaller base plate while the BMF4L have the larger base plate. My direct replacements have the smaller, lighter base plate so they must be the BM4L.
Look at the back of your headstock. Get the ones with the identical base plate.
