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Vintage Yamaha Bass Amp/Speaker question

B

Bassplayer808

Mar 19, 2012
1
0
#1
I have had this Bass amp for 20 years or so that I bought used and have always wondered what year it was actually manufactured and maybe a little more info about it. The first thing I did was hit the forums here as well as the rest of the internet but did not find a definitive answer. I'm hoping the brain trust of this board might be able to enlighten me a bit.

The head is a b100 and does have the built in distortion
The speaker has this as model "J-110L (115L)". The closest models I have found do not seem to have that "L"

Thanks in advance for any info you might give!
 
#2
Almost all Yamaha user manuals are downloadable from the Yamaha Japan website, including discontinued models. Yamaha manuals usually have a date on the very last page bottom left or right corner. That will give you a very close year for dating your B100 along with looking at the date codes on the components like pots and transformers which generally have standarized numbers on them. If you aren't familiar with this date coding method, just google search "date code electronic components /speakers". There are lots of tutorials. As for the speaker, Yamaha used their own brand as far as I know. That particular bass amp was issued in three distinct models, the B100iii being the most sophisticated and desirable from the late eighties? as it contained the venerable Yamaha PB-1 pre-amp with a very robust power section. The downside of these series was that Yamaha used propietary electronic components , making repair difficult. As far as I know, you should be able to get a service manual on flea bay or elsewhere , which will help you in your technical knowledge more than anything anybody here can tell you.
 
#3
The first series (not labelled as first series back then) was released in late 1970's (ca. 1978 - 1979) - early 1980's (ca. 1980 - 1982). There were several models so without access to yearly catalogues it's kinda hard to pinpoint when one was introduced exactly but do you really need a closer tolerance than +- 4 years?

The second series - I think - might have even appeared simultaneously to last models of series one being introduced. At least series II amps of the G-series (the guitar sister line to B, bass, series) were debuting already in circa 1980 while amps like B100-115 didn't appear before 1981. B100-115II naturally had to follow somewhat later.

So, your best bet for making best estimates is trying to get a hold of some catalogues. I don't know if it's really worth the trouble, though: at best the time marginals aren't excessive and with these amps there isn't a similar "pedigree" as with, say, vintage tube Fender amps. It's either series I, II or III and that's about all 99.9% of the people will care. Or more accurately, most of the people won't even know there's a difference.
 
#4
Hello, I just picked up a J110L (115L) for the cost of 2 packs of cigarettes. I cant believe the bottom end from just 115. I have a bunch of cabinets , I really like this little yamaha. If you find one cheap, buy it.
 
#5
What's the right price to pay for a series 1 yamaha B100 head that I'm seeing on Craigslist? It's the version with a distortion nob but not much else. The pots don't crackle or make any other noises. A friend of mine tells me that 100 watts back then is much more than today. What's a good 12" or 15" cab that I should mate to this? Will I get a good, clean, old-timey country sound from this? Thanks all!
 
#7
Thanks. I'm able to buy this yamaha B100 with a hartke cab (115 VX 8 ohm/300 watts) for $150. Sounds fine. A little bit of crackle in the pots when making adjustments, but otherwise no noises while I'm playing. Sound like a good deal?
 

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