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New Yamaha RBX5 A2
- Thread starter HariKari
- Start date
heh. Tone-wise, think jazz with a treble 'bump' up around 4.2K. They have some bright edge to them for sure. There's some noise when soloing each of the pickups but it's not as bad as some I've heard. They have a mid-level output for a passive instrument but the lows are strong and pretty well defined. Overall they have a throaty sound to them.
I think the only gripe I've had is that they tend to pick up a BIG clacking noise when doing slap/pop. A compressor is a must for me because of this. Dunno if anyone else has noticed this or if it's just because my slap-style is poor - I've not had this problem with any other axe, however.
I think the only gripe I've had is that they tend to pick up a BIG clacking noise when doing slap/pop. A compressor is a must for me because of this. Dunno if anyone else has noticed this or if it's just because my slap-style is poor - I've not had this problem with any other axe, however.
Anyone have any ideas on how to accelerate that process without ruining the finish? To me is seems like the decals are applied on top of the finish, with one more layer on top of them to protect them-- you can feel how they are slightly raised, but can't be scraped off with a fingernail. Superfine sandpaper followed by rubbing compound, perhaps?
I'm indifferent, but I sure wouldn't risk screwing up the finish trying to remove something this negligible.Am I the only one that actually quite like the stripes?
I firmly believe if you can't live with an instrument as is, you shouldn't have bought it in the first place.
Amazing how much grief and waste this piece of common sense saves...and how many people on this site will never get it.
Yeah, the logo is the main thing that bugs me... seems very 80's and cheesy...who in the audience cares what model # it is? It's already discreetly printed elsewhere anyway (reminds me how some keyboard players black out the huge white logos printed on the back of their 'boards).I'm sure the stripes will wear off with time, but they won't wear off uniformly...you'll probably see lots of these basses with random bits and pieces of stripe and partially worn logos in the future...certainly not a deal killer on such a unique bass, just a niggle... I grew bored of decals/stickers/stripes at 12 years old, and I like to think my bass is a little more sophisticated than my childhood bicycle..LOL.
Am I the only one that actually quite like the stripes?
I don't mind them or the logo
If the tone cap won't do it for you, you can always do THIS:
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
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.
Cool! I'm thinking of doing this for fun sometime. Probably not though. Where's the z switch though?
I wasn't 100% committed to the mod so I taped the switch up in the middle setting and tucked it inside the cavity along with the preamp LED rather than drilling holes for them. The honeymoon's over though and I'm back to playing my Roscoe Beck V in spite of the extra weight.
I don't mind the pin stripes and logo or the wide stripe around the body. What I don't like is the cheapish plastic cap on the headstock. Mine kind of moves and squeaks when I touch it and a little white glue is sticking out at the seam.
Otherwise, I really like my RBX4 A2 and RBX5 A2.
Otherwise, I really like my RBX4 A2 and RBX5 A2.
Yeah. This cheap Spector sitting here by the bed is 8.5#, for example. I was just thinking that the weight of the RBX4 would somehow be less if they were making such a big point of it, calling it "Revolutionary Super-Light" on Yamaha's page. Light, sure, "Revolutionary Super-Light"...well.
Hmm I just have to say I don't think any Spector's are really "Cheap" even the legends are 500+ if you consider that cheap I guess.
i got my rbx4 a2 today from american musical supply. my impressions thus far are moderate.
out of the box-
in general it looks fine. however, as others have noted the headstock nameplate was glued on poorly. this was the first thing my eye came to and the largest visual deficiency. if you touch it, it makes little crackle sounds, and the excess glue was not cleaned up which looks cheap. there were only minor scratches found on one tuner, and on the side next to the strap holder. there is a minor inconsistency in the silver binding.
the neck is a bit concave and will need some slight adjustments to it and the bridge to improve the playability. but it isn't terrible out of the box.
looks? well i for one like the stripes and lights. although gimmicky for some, enjoyable to others. i can say that i preferred the white/aircraft grey model both in terms of colors and led colors. i was disappointed that the master tone knob had no light. it's odd to have 2 knobs with light and third without. i will be quite disappointed when or if the finish stripes fade.
i plan to adjust it and do a little recording with it and will report back on sound.
out of the box-
in general it looks fine. however, as others have noted the headstock nameplate was glued on poorly. this was the first thing my eye came to and the largest visual deficiency. if you touch it, it makes little crackle sounds, and the excess glue was not cleaned up which looks cheap. there were only minor scratches found on one tuner, and on the side next to the strap holder. there is a minor inconsistency in the silver binding.
the neck is a bit concave and will need some slight adjustments to it and the bridge to improve the playability. but it isn't terrible out of the box.
looks? well i for one like the stripes and lights. although gimmicky for some, enjoyable to others. i can say that i preferred the white/aircraft grey model both in terms of colors and led colors. i was disappointed that the master tone knob had no light. it's odd to have 2 knobs with light and third without. i will be quite disappointed when or if the finish stripes fade.
i plan to adjust it and do a little recording with it and will report back on sound.
To jojo, yeah I edited the 80's part out of my post, but I thought the same thing. Bongo... right on. To wademeister, if you own Roscoe Beck V but were willing to buy an Indonesian made Japanese bass as a replacement, it either says a lot about Roscoe's quality or Yamaha's quality. Pick one. To autopilot!, I don't know quite what to say. Mine arrived on my doorstep perfect, setup and everything. If you liked the other color, then you should've spent the extra $250 and bought one. At about $500 it's still a great deal over list price and I guarantee those won't be selling out anytime soon. I played one and looked at the quality before laying down any hard cash over any internet deals. If yours came with obvious flaws then you should've sent it back and gotten it replaced. I'm pretty sure most if not all manufacturers/luthiers will recommend a bit of concavity in the neck. It has a truss rod for adjustments... If mine came convexed I might write a post about it. Anything short of that and I would do a setup myself or pay someone more experienced to do it for me. Have you ever seen a straight or convexed longbow. Same principle. It comes from the factory neck attached, stringed, and close to tuned. Why would you ship an intrument in just a cardboard box with anymore tension in the neck than just that in the middle of winter? They expect you to put your own strings on it anyways. I'm just stating the obvious. No flames please. If you can argue othewise, then I'll reopen the textbboks on all I know about guitar care. Sptz, I don't know if musiciansfriend.com or zzounds.com will ship to europe, but you might find a seller on ebay who'll do it. $250 dollars for a black model is about right. They're really light so don't get screwed on the shipping cost.
Not really...
The Roscoe Beck is great and I love it except for the weight. It's not horribly overweight, but my band likes to practice for 3 hours and it can get tiresome. When I saw the RBX5-A2 on clearance for only $300 I figured it would be worth checking out. The Yamaha is a pleasure to play and is a great bass for the price I paid. I even had some fun modding it a bit with the preamp, but in the end it can't hang with my RB. IMO of course
So my next bass accessory probably will look like this
Hahah, I'm in the same boat - my main bass these days is my G&L L-2500 but WOW is she heavy. The Yamaha makes a great backup when I don't feel like hanging 12 pounds of bass around my neck for 3+ hours. It's also going to be a nice gigging bass for me since it isn't tying me to the stage like a boat anchor.
As far as the aesthetics mentioned in verious posts above, the Yamaha has its own vibe and it isn't for everyone. If you only love the look of a Fender Jazz, this bass probably isn't for you. No need to diminish the bass itself over the metaphysics of "looks".
As far as the aesthetics mentioned in verious posts above, the Yamaha has its own vibe and it isn't for everyone. If you only love the look of a Fender Jazz, this bass probably isn't for you. No need to diminish the bass itself over the metaphysics of "looks".
Sometimes it's not just the weight, but the balance that can kill me. I decided to get my RBX4A2 after a couple of long gigs with my Thumb that left me in considerable muscular pain for a couple of days. The Thumb isn't a particularly heavy instrument, but you really notice how badly balanced and unergomical it is, after standing with it for 3 hours or so.
I figured the second half of our regular function set I could get away with a more 'generic' sounding bass as it is pretty much staple, cheesy, party music, nothing too flashy that calls out for ultimate tone. So started using the RBX for this half.
I still wasn't completely happy with the tone tho, it's passable but it's never going to compare with the balls out growl of the Thumb. So being well pleased with Yamaha, I've now got an Attitude as my main bass (being somewhat a Billy Sheehan fanboy), which has all the growl I need, and has proven to be more versatile than the Thumb, being a Fender derirative.
Now the Attitude is just as heavy as the Thumb, but because the balance and ergonomics are better, it's a lot easier to play at length. I've now fitted the RBX with a D-tuner, and that comes along as my backup.
Now if I could just get a bit more growl and oomph out of the the RBX, I#d be well happy. I was thinking new pickups may be in order, but they are pretty non-standard design, so perhaps pre-amp may be the way to go? Although I could just spend some time tweaking my zoom multi and set up a couple of patches especially for it that duplicate my main ones, just with a bit 'more'.
I figured the second half of our regular function set I could get away with a more 'generic' sounding bass as it is pretty much staple, cheesy, party music, nothing too flashy that calls out for ultimate tone. So started using the RBX for this half.
I still wasn't completely happy with the tone tho, it's passable but it's never going to compare with the balls out growl of the Thumb. So being well pleased with Yamaha, I've now got an Attitude as my main bass (being somewhat a Billy Sheehan fanboy), which has all the growl I need, and has proven to be more versatile than the Thumb, being a Fender derirative.
Now the Attitude is just as heavy as the Thumb, but because the balance and ergonomics are better, it's a lot easier to play at length. I've now fitted the RBX with a D-tuner, and that comes along as my backup.
Now if I could just get a bit more growl and oomph out of the the RBX, I#d be well happy. I was thinking new pickups may be in order, but they are pretty non-standard design, so perhaps pre-amp may be the way to go? Although I could just spend some time tweaking my zoom multi and set up a couple of patches especially for it that duplicate my main ones, just with a bit 'more'.
Have you tried any of the patches posted on that zoom site. I've got a couple that I got from there that gives some decent growl. Fact I've got a few patches programmed in from there that the RBX does really well on.
http://www.haax.se/basspatches/
