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First, the disclaimers. I am not currently gigging so cannot describe how the BB425 sounds in a band setting. Plus, domestic constraints mean I can't amplify the thing, though I am using the rather spiffy Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones which do go deeper than a deep thing. So the following is a well illustrated introductory tour of the bass more than an in-depth, long-term owner's feedback. Oh, it's my first 5-er so you have to take that into consideration too!! My other basses are (in case you need to filter out any prejudice...):
(1) Fender Jazz USA Standard
(2) Fender Jazz Aerodyne (MIJ) with Seymour Duncan P/J
(3) Squier Jazz VM Fretless with EMG pickups and Badass II bridge.
Background
I've wanted to try out a 5-string bass for some time now. I tried loads of basses in shops, and arrived at the following conclusions about what to buy:
(1) a wider rather than narrower neck (eg, the Ibanez SR505 felt too narrow, as lovely as it was)
(2) a rather flatter fingerboard i.e. a larger radius (eg, the KSD or Laklands I tried).
(3) didn't want to spend big money - in case 5-string not for me... so:
(4) ....no fancy woods or finishes
(5) passive is fine, two pups preferred, but not essential
(6) don't be afraid of stepping outside my comfort zone (Fender Jazz shape, black or grey finish)
This particular Yamaha came to my attention because it was being heavily discounted. But I did my homework and all the specs seemed to fit my needs. The P/J pup combination is something I have experienced with my Aerodyne - prior to that, I might have stuck with a bass offering two J pups.
So, what is the BB425 (if you've not heard of it before?)? It is a passive, two pickup (P/J), five string, solid-body bass guitar with an alder body, maple/nato neck, rosewood fingerboard. The fingerboard has medium frets (by the look of 'em) and some mother of pearl (probably mother of plastic at this price - no complaints from this corner) inlays. An unusual bridge puts the B (lowest) string saddle about 6mm or 1/4" further back (from the neck). This is a highly distinctive bridge. Also distinctive is the through-body stringing that is at 45 degrees instead of the more common 90 degrees.
Purchase Price
I bought the bass at the no-longer available $299 price on Amazon.com (sold by
Musicians Friend). The BB425x which appears to differ from the 425 only in that it has a pickguard (please, please correct me if that's wrong) is selling for $599.99.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CWYMLO/sr=8-1/qid=1323458126/ref=olp_product_details
Even better (or is this worse?), the Thomann website for Ireland (my old country) is showing the BB425 for a massive 466 or $611. As of December 9th that is visible here:
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The Thomann site does have some sound samples of the bass being played in various styles. Nice touch, but hardly worth the extra $311....
So, naturally, I'm a bit happy to get the BB425 at a genuine bargain price. Amazon and MF do their usual timely delivery and the bass was well packaged - the original Yamaha box further boxed by MF and shipped without injury.
Setup
Other than a minor adjustment to the intonation (on just 3 of the 5 strings), no setup was required. Action was low out of the box, and I couldn't detect any fretbuzz anywhere. One issue - the B string can make contact very, very easily with the pickup magnet pole-piece. This can make for some odd-sounding thunks and clanks - but with practise, you'll be able to minimise this.
Warranty
I went to register my bass at the Yamaha USA website. They have never shown the BB425 on that site (not even under "Discontinued") - you had to go to the UK or other Yamaha sites to get info. Attempts to register my BB425 also failed. But to their credit, a message sent to Yamaha support got a response within 45minutes!! Full marks there. They said that for warranty purposes, just keep a copy of the receipt. This I will do, though I don't anticipate any problems, given the general quality feel of the BB425 out of the box.
Specifications
Taken from Yamaha's UK site:
Scale Length 34" (863.6mm)
Fingerboard Rosewood
Body Alder
Neck Maple/ Nato 5pcs
Pickups Split Single x 1, Bar Single
The strap buttons are above average quality - quite large radius compared to the Schaller strap-lock buttons on my Aerodyne.
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Pickups - PJ -
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The Yamaha website has this to say:
"The ceramic magnet type pickup used at the front position delivers powerful bass tone that is clear and distinct. The bar type pickup used at the rear is designed to deliver double the volume of conventional bar type pickups. Its high power output produces clear tone."
Bridge
Unique (in my experience) bridge that offers, in essense, a longer scale for the B (lowest) string - others have posted that this is to allow a wider range of intonation adjustment. See
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String Spacing
72mm measured centre of B string to centre of G string.
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36.5mm measured centre of B string to centre of G string.
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That's 2.8" at the bridge, and 1.44" at the nut.
Average, that's 18mm at bridge.
Tone
The BB415 came strung up with shiny bright twangy round-wounds. I'm more of a flatwound man myself. But plenty of tonal variation with the Neck/Both/Bridge selector. I can't tell if the "Both" is series or parallel, but the tone gets meatier so I'm guessing series?
What I love about this bass is the range of tones - the Tone control is useful throughout its range and it's range is wider than my passive Jazz basses. So, the Tone control, coupled with the three-way pickup selector give you lots of variety.
What's in the Box?
The bass (with it's strings carefully wrapped in Ferrobrite anti-corrosive paper), owners manual, warranty info for EU/EEA, Owner's Manual, two hex keys (larger for truss rod, smaller for bridge saddle height).
Weight
Dodgy scales suggesting that the BB425 (alder, 5 strings) is the same weight as my Aerodyne (basswood, 4 strings). That simply can't be. Will get proper scales and go again.
Kitchen scales (good to 11lbs) showing 4.5kg or 9.92lbs. That's an ounce short of ten pounds. A comfy strap is therefore advised for long gigs. No neck dive that I could discern. Perhaps the through-body string ferrules compensating for the bigger headstock and the extra tuner... But I do use Italia Strap's 4" wide suede-backed strap that inhibits pretty much all diving tendencies.
The Verdict
I like this bass very much. It feels very, very well built from quality components. That includes the woods - the maple/nato neck is silky and comfortable and the rosewood fingerboard looks to be above average quality.
Bass guitars are like fine wines. No matter how objective you try to be, your opinion will depend on the label and the price. This bass has a Yamaha label and a bargain price. Nothing wrong with either of those. The temptation to overlook the negatives of the BB425 simply because it was cheap is more than offset by the raised expectations because it is a Yamaha. But there's no escaping the conclusion that this bass, while a very, very good buy at $299, might struggle to compete at numbers approaching twice that price.
Look forward to gigging this bass and getting some additional insights. But so far - I love it!
