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New Yamaha RBX5 A2

#101
Hello,

I just received one (RBX4) from Musicians Friend. I'm a newbie and playing around with the Master Tone control. I don't think I hear any differences in tone. For example, I have both pickup volumes max'd and turning the Master Tone all the way from one side or the other doesn't seem to affect the tone or is very slight (so slight I can't really tell myself). Do any of you guys have this issue. I also tried it with the pick-up volumes in the center position. I'm running it through a Roland KC-350 Keyboard amp. Does that matter?

Thanks,

Balbs
 
#102
You may just have the tone on your amp set so that you can't hear all of what the bass is giving you. Try turning up the treble at least to the point where you get some clank or finger squeak when you slide up and down the strings. I like to set it so there's too much, then back it off on the bass a bit so I have that control right there and can tweak it a bit up or down while playing with the band.
 
#104
balbs said:
the Master Tone control. I don't think I hear any differences in tone. For example, I have both pickup volumes max'd and turning the Master Tone all the way from one side or the other doesn't seem to affect the tone or is very slight (so slight I can't really tell myself).
Click to expand...
Sure. It's a .010mfd cap. [edit: Looked at it closer -- it's a .047]
 
#105
I tried it out again a little while ago. I tweaked the bass, mid, and treble settings on my amp. Yes, it's very small. The only time I notice that the Master Tone is actually doing something is when manipulating it after I played a note and listening to the changes in the sustained sound. Is this how it's supposed to be or should it be modded so that it changes the sound more (noticable)?

Balbs
 
#106
balbs said:
The only time I notice that the Master Tone is actually doing something is when manipulating it after I played a note and listening to the changes in the sustained sound.
Click to expand...
Yep, exactly.
Is this how it's supposed to be or should it be modded so that it changes the sound more (noticable)?
Click to expand...
I don't really know why they would have done it this way, but they did. Changing the cap to a .022mF or .033mF is a quick six-cent modification, at least as a temporary experiment.

Me, I have bigger worries with mine. :bawl:
 
#108
I was mistaken about the tone bleed cap: It's a .047mFd with a 250KA pot, the standard "J" tone setup. I'll have to look at it a bit to see why there's so little effect with the tone knob.

The DCRs on the pickups look to be 7K neck and 7.2K bridge.
 
#109
If the tone cap won't do it for you, you can always do THIS:
DSCN2091.gif


Not that it needed it really for me, but I had an empty battery compartment since I didn't care for the light show. ..and a 4 band Audere preamp in the closet... Hey, somebody was gonna do it sooner or later :ninja:

I did have to trim a tiny bit of wood out of the control cavity and I'm sure it's balsa. I made a lot of model airplanes years ago and the interior wood carves just like the balsa I used to use.
 
#110
Wademeister63 said:
I did have to trim a tiny bit of wood out of the control cavity and I'm sure it's balsa. I made a lot of model airplanes years ago and the interior wood carves just like the balsa I used to use.
Click to expand...
It looked like hard balsa to me. The open grain was the tipoff. Otherwise it was about like pine. There are a lot of types of balsa, from the very soft and light flotation-grade stuff they used to use before styrofoam to some that is pretty hard and strong for its weight. This seems to be in the latter category.
 
#114
balbs said:
Sorry, what modification did you make? I can't tell by the picture...newbie here...

Balbs
Click to expand...

Look at the knobs on the pic above and some of the pics from a few days ago. I put in an onboard preamp and each of the knobs is now stacked, so I have six. It it normally wired vol-vol-tone (with LED's on the volume controls), now it's:

Vol/Blend
High mid/Treble
Low mid/Bass

No lights.
 
#115
i finally broke down and did the 3 payment thing on american musical supply...the odd thing about this is i went into best buy to look at microwaves. i didn't like any of them. i looked up and saw a wall of guitars in back and said to myself "Is Guitar Center renting space in best buy?" no, but it sure looks like it. i had been planning on buying myself a fender geddy lee MIJ jazz recently and there was one on the wall...at GC it's normally $849, $809 at holidays. i ask the guy how much is it here, thinking it would be $999. Nope. It's $689 on sale. i can't help myself and buy it. while i'm there, i see this wicked looking white yamaha bass. i play it and it's so easy to play, excellent action, super fast neck, for $549...a little less bite than the fender but definitely cool! so i go home and see that the black one (which is far less cool looking than the white one) is only $249. the fender is black so i'd rather have a white yamaha, but not for $300 more. it's been less than a week, but now i just ended up with 3 times the number of basses than i used to have....oh and i eventually got a microwave at bed bath & beyond if anyone was wondering!
 
#117
Up to you, some people can get away with a totally flat neck, but it depends on other factors, such as touch, string height, whether the frets are perfectly level etc.

Just out of interest, mine didn't come with a manual, what are the recommended string heights and neck relief measurements?
 

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