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No Love For Yamaha Basses?

#121
The 80's to mid-90's Yamahas were outstanding and were/are very good bang for the buck. I owned a 1984 BB3000, a very excellent recording bass which I stupidly sold at one point, as well as an early single truss rod TRB-6P that was my main bass from 1990 until about 2000. Over time, it became a "beta" bass and sported a few different pickup and preamp combinations, the best (and last) of which was Bartolini narrow soap bars with a Demeter preamp. Unfortunately, with the single truss rod in that massive neck it bowed radically with climate/humidity changes, and that problem seemed to get worse over time. The last straw was on a road gig where I flew into a city where the weather was very hot and dry, causing the neck to upbow so badly that it fretted out completely above the 15th fret. Obviously that didn't make me appear very professional, so I chose to retire the bass. it was a shame, because it was a great sounding and playing instrument. Yamaha went to the double truss rod configuration on the TRB-6P's pretty early on (mine was one of the first ones to come into the US). That solved the stability issue, but for me the bulkier necks on the double truss rod models didn't feel nearly as comfortable to play.
 
#122
Big question is: will Yamaha keep the Ampeg and Line 6 brands alive, or will they now become Yamaha-branded products? I'd be cool if they added "by Yamaha" or "a Yamaha company" in small print beneath the existing logo.
 
#127
Looking back a few decades I like the analogy a partner of mine made. Like a Pontiac car owner, a Fender bass player was always inclined to dink with it, to work on it, to "upgrade" it; a Yamaha bass OTOH was like a Honda: get in start and drive. It wasn't the sexiest but it did exceptionally well what it was built to do. I, for one, admire that.
 
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#128
They generally are very good basses. I was watching a active 4 on craigslist, seller lowered the price & someone beat me to the deal. I have a Yamaha acoustic guitar that is great. My only complaint is that they will make a nice bass for a few years then discontinue it. I had a friend had a very nice Yamaha 6 string, he paid over $2500 for it, a few years later he saw it on clearance at musicians friend for $599
 
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#129
Yamaha is amazing. Their MIJ basses I’ve played have craftsmanship on par with the very best and despite being pricey, still represent a value if you buy from a larger retailer. I got my old Nathan East 5 for several hundred dollars under advertised price from Musicians Friend and it was as nice as any F Bass/Sadowsky/Fodera I’ve owned. I’ve owned tons of stuff but regret letting go very few basses I sold/traded off. I still wish I had the Nathan East though.
 
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#130
non said:
after seeing the thread " ampeg joins yamaha family" :Ampeg joins Yamaha family

it got me thinking that i never see mention of yamaha basses on talkbass. i don't own one but i did consider a yamaha bass a while back but i never see the "pros" using them except nathan east and billy sheehan.
just wondering why i don't see yamaha basses on stage or any where else?
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All this love.....and yet when I go to their website I can't get nut width or string spacing. I'd say they have a long ways to go towards meeting the needs of possible buyers.
 
#131
#132
Yamaha have a noble history of Instrument making - The Original "Yamaha San" (forgot his name) built an eorgan that he wanted to give to the emperor, so he travelled on foot through Japan with the organ on his back. You can see that legacy on Yamaha Motorcycles and even the boat pictured here: "The 3 Tuning Forks in a Circle logo". Their Grand Piano's are in the Best concert halls globally, they own Bosendorfer Pianos. All their instruments are consistently good at all ranges, (in my experience).
 
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#135
I really love my Yahama TRBX505 (best neck I ever played) and my Yamaha Attitude Custom (P bass on steroids).
My main criticism to Yamaha is the lack of color choices, and when they have ones in natural wood I don't gel at all.
I want a backup TRBX505 for years, but I don't get one as I hate the available colors. I will buy one right now if they sell a TRBX5050 in translucent black (a real translucent not an opaque translucent as I have right now) with maple fretboard.
 
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#136
Badwater said:
As stated above, there are a lot of great players who use Yamaha basses.

Here are several reason Yamaha is not a big time name in bass land:
1) They are a huge mega operation that does way more than just music instruments (google Yamaha).
2) They don't spend much in advertising and marketing because, their products sell themselves.
3) They are global sellers of products, and have a huge R&D department.
4) Only those in the know, know how great the Yamaha basses are. And they don't have fanboy behavior.
5) Yamaha always produced high end basses for low prices for over 3 decades, and continue to do so.
6) Unlike other popular brands, Yamaha has no need for mass media campain to target the masses.
7) Because they sell, there is no need for Yamaha to get into competition with other instrument only companies.

Thus, this is why you've never heard much about Yamaha basses. But now you know.
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My go to bass right now is an RBX 800A. I also have; rbx 600, 500, and 374. all are great basses.
 
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#138
REV said:
Seems like everything Yamaha does, they do pretty well. I used a Yamaha BB300 for a long time. It was inexpensive and really well made. Every bit as well made as Fenders costing 3x as much. It did the job and never complained. These days I have been using a older Yamaha Attitude bass. It is made exactly the way I would make a bass. I really like it. I did a blindfold test with some bass player friends awhile back. I compared two different Fender P basses and the Yamaha. Everyone picked the Yamaha as sounding the best.
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#139
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My BB300 is my main gigging Bass. It looks rough, it's beat up and I don't have to worry about dropping it (done that several times) it plays the best out of all my basses including my USA Stingray.
I paid $100 for it 5yrs ago and didn't even have to have it set up.
Love it!
 
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#140
wluffman said:
Big question is: will Yamaha keep the Ampeg and Line 6 brands alive, or will they now become Yamaha-branded products? I'd be cool if they added "by Yamaha" or "a Yamaha company" in small print beneath the existing logo.
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That's a fascinating question. As a long-time fan of both Yamaha products and Line 6 products, I feel as though each have unique brand attributes. Over the years, I think companies like FMIC have successfully recognized the brand equities in their various acquisitions without completely alienating the original customer bases. And despite Gibson's recent financial woes, there are lots of die-hard Epiphone aficionados who couldn't really care where the brand ends up – as long as quality-control standards are upheld.
 

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