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New Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude Limited 3

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Here's mine ... This thing is a monster:)
 
Here's a few things I DON'T like. The bass doesn't fit snugly in the case. It's a nice hard-shell case made in the USA but it's a generic bass case and the instrument does slide around a bit. There was absolutely no documentation as to the layout of the controls included with the bass. No strap and no cable. I would have thrown the cable away but I would have liked a Yamaha strap. I'll continue this thread later. Here is what I think is the control layout:
  • Neck PU Vol
  • Tone control w/ push/pull (I think pulling up cuts highs from the neck PU)
  • P Bass PU Vol w/ push/pull. Pulling up sends a mono signal from both PUPs to the uppermost output jack.

I felt the same about the case :( and very heavy also.
 
I've had the bass now for a few months and absolutely love it. I keep the "Active" switch enabled on my Mesa Boogie Walkabout head for most gigs due to the high output of the pickups. The controls on the Mesa 4x10 cab are set to "Normal". I've found that a good compressor pedal between the bass and the amp set to a low ratio and the pedal adjusted to just under unity gain. I'll disengage the pedal when I need a little extra oomph for the rare solo or if it's a rock song. I play mostly country with this band. I've grown to appreciate the tonal variety provided by the push/pull knobs. For the most part I use both pickups with all the knobs maxed out. For slower songs I'll pull up the middle knob up to engage the treble cut for the neck pickup. If it's a boomy room I'll bypass the neck pickup altogether. I do agree with "Ebelow" that the bass is a bit heavy but no more so than America Deluxe Fender Jazz bass which is now my backup bass.
 
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Nice to see a couple guys showing some Attitude :bassist: They are amazing basses that seem to be highly overlooked.

I'm something of an Attitude LTD-A-Holic, and I've owned a few from each series.

The LTD3 is my favorite. Mine currently weighs 8 lb 11 oz with Hipshot Ultralite tuners which greatly improve the balance.

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Hey do you have a picture with the ultra light tuners please ? Thanks
Nice to see a couple guys showing some Attitude :bassist: They are amazing basses that seem to be highly overlooked.

I'm something of an Attitude LTD-A-Holic, and I've owned a few from each series.

The LTD3 is my favorite. Mine currently weighs 8 lb 11 oz with Hipshot Ultralite tuners which greatly improve the balance.

View attachment 2492021

View attachment 2492022
 
This is an old thread, but seems like the most active one so apologies for the odd place to ask a question...

I just picked up one of these last week in black and for the most part I'm loving it. I am noticing what I perceive to be an issue and I'm curious if it's unique to this bass.

This is all in mono (one output) and happens regardless of tone or hi-cut setting:
If I solo the woofer pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I solo the P pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I have them both up all the way, the E and A strings sound great, but the D and G strings become very quiet. If I roll either volume back slightly, all four strings sound great.

Is this a wiring issue with the one I picked up? Is this just how it is with these guitars? I read one review where they mentioned having to roll the woofer volume back a bit to "balance the output"; is this what an overpowering woofer sounds like? In this thread @draygriff mentions rolling the volume back on the P... is this why? Anybody care to explain the physics of that to a dummy like me if that's what it is?

Thanks and Happy New Year!
 
This is an old thread, but seems like the most active one so apologies for the odd place to ask a question...

I just picked up one of these last week in black and for the most part I'm loving it. I am noticing what I perceive to be an issue and I'm curious if it's unique to this bass.

This is all in mono (one output) and happens regardless of tone or hi-cut setting:
If I solo the woofer pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I solo the P pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I have them both up all the way, the E and A strings sound great, but the D and G strings become very quiet. If I roll either volume back slightly, all four strings sound great.

Is this a wiring issue with the one I picked up? Is this just how it is with these guitars? I read one review where they mentioned having to roll the woofer volume back a bit to "balance the output"; is this what an overpowering woofer sounds like? In this thread @draygriff mentions rolling the volume back on the P... is this why? Anybody care to explain the physics of that to a dummy like me if that's what it is?

Thanks and Happy New Year!


I haven't worked with this instrument since I started playing my Fodera. I totally forgot my settings or even how the dual outputs work. I recall once you figure out how everything works it's an awesome sounding bass.
 
I haven't worked with this instrument since I started playing my Fodera. I totally forgot my settings or even how the dual outputs work. I recall once you figure out how everything works it's an awesome sounding bass.

No worries, it’s been a long time. I imagine if I had a Fodera I’d stop playing everything else too.

Thanks for taking the time.
 
This is an old thread, but seems like the most active one so apologies for the odd place to ask a question...

I just picked up one of these last week in black and for the most part I'm loving it. I am noticing what I perceive to be an issue and I'm curious if it's unique to this bass.

This is all in mono (one output) and happens regardless of tone or hi-cut setting:
If I solo the woofer pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I solo the P pickup and max the volume, everything sounds great.
If I have them both up all the way, the E and A strings sound great, but the D and G strings become very quiet. If I roll either volume back slightly, all four strings sound great.

Is this a wiring issue with the one I picked up? Is this just how it is with these guitars? I read one review where they mentioned having to roll the woofer volume back a bit to "balance the output"; is this what an overpowering woofer sounds like? In this thread @draygriff mentions rolling the volume back on the P... is this why? Anybody care to explain the physics of that to a dummy like me if that's what it is?

Thanks and Happy New Year!
No worries, it’s been a long time. I imagine if I had a Fodera I’d stop playing everything else too.

Thanks for taking the time.


I've had my AIII for a few weeks now and have played it at gig volumes all in mono-mode. I can say your perception is right-on. I was wondering if I had a defect of some type as well with the E and A being super present and D and G non existent. I roll back either volume and get the same result as you: all 4 sound great and even. As well, I can tell no difference with the hi-cut pulled or pushed on the neck. The rotary tone works fine though. Again, all in mono, with 1/4" plugged in p-side.

Enjoy!
 
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I've had my AIII for a few weeks now and have played it at gig volumes all in mono-mode. I can say your perception is right-on. I was wondering if I had a defect of some type as well with the E and A being super present and D and G non existent. I roll back either volume and get the same result as you: all 4 sound great and even. As well, I can tell no difference with the hi-cut pulled or pushed on the neck. The rotary tone works fine though. Again, all in mono, with 1/4" plugged in p-side.

Enjoy!
I got the black one in February and I also have the exact same thing going on.
 
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Cool. Makes me feel better to know it's not just me! It's easy enough to play around although mildly annoying, especially on a $3000 instrument.

I wonder if it's possible to adjust the max throw of one of the volume knobs so that it stops turning before the volume weirdness happens. That way it'll be one less thing to think about.
 
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Cool. Makes me feel better to know it's not just me! It's easy enough to play around although mildly annoying, especially on a $3000 instrument.

I wonder if it's possible to adjust the max throw of one of the volume knobs so that it stops turning before the volume weirdness happens. That way it'll be one less thing to think about.

Good point on the value. Billy himself has said that he would advocate for any of us Attitude players, or at least relay to Yamaha.
 
I had the same issue with the volume issue on the D and G string with both pickups on. What was found is the pick up wiring to the P pick up was wrong on the pick up and caused a polarity issue with both pick ups on full. An easy 15 minute fix
 
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