What’s the difference between a Yamaha BB5000 AF and BB3000AF?

[Michael-F]

Hello!

I’m hoping someone can fill in gaps in my knowledge - and please correct me if I make any incorrect statements about a BB5000 AF!

I love the fretless sound in Don Henley’s song The Boys of Summer (…after the Boys of Summer have gone…). From what I have researched (correct me if I am wrong), it is Larry Klein playing a Yamaha BB5000 AF. I’m not sure if it’s an active (BB5000 AF?) or passive model but it definitely sounds like the fretless growl/maw, which seems to be identified by the “F” in the model name. Please let me know if any of this information is inaccurate.

I read in someone else’s older post that the BB5000 AF is almost impossible to find. So far, that has been my experience. Let me know if you know of a BB5000 AF (4 or 5 string) for sale!

Lastly, what is the difference between the BB3000 AF (which seems to be easier to find) and the BB5000 AF? I have seen a few BB3000 AF’s for sale but I’m not sure of the differences. Is it the distance between the strings? Neck size? Pickups? 4 string vs 5 string? Wood?

Oops…one last question! Do either the BB5000 AF or BB3000 AF have positioning dots on the side of the neck? I see they do not have fret lines on the fret board, which is fine, but I am hoping they have dots on side of the neck to help me stay in tune. LOL

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks so much,
Michael

 

[ajkula66]

From what I can recall, and take this with a massive grain of salt since it's been decades...

BB3000 is always a 4-stringer, whereas BB5000 is always a fiver. I've owned both many harvests ago.

I can't recall a BB3000AF whatsoever, while I remember the BB5000A quite well. I'm tempted to say that the former one might be a unicorn.

Happy hunting.

 

[hypercarrots]

Hello!

I’m hoping someone can fill in gaps in my knowledge - and please correct me if I make any incorrect statements about a BB5000 AF!

I love the fretless sound in Don Henley’s song The Boys of Summer (…after the Boys of Summer have gone…). From what I have researched (correct me if I am wrong), it is Larry Klein playing a Yamaha BB5000 AF. I’m not sure if it’s an active (BB5000 AF?) or passive model but it definitely sounds like the fretless growl/maw, which seems to be identified by the “F” in the model name. Please let me know if any of this information is inaccurate.

I read in someone else’s older post that the BB5000 AF is almost impossible to find. So far, that has been my experience. Let me know if you know of a BB5000 AF (4 or 5 string) for sale!

Lastly, what is the difference between the BB3000 AF (which seems to be easier to find) and the BB5000 AF? I have seen a few BB3000 AF’s for sale but I’m not sure of the differences. Is it the distance between the strings? Neck size? Pickups? 4 string vs 5 string? Wood?

Oops…one last question! Do either the BB5000 AF or BB3000 AF have positioning dots on the side of the neck? I see they do not have fret lines on the fret board, which is fine, but I am hoping they have dots on side of the neck to help me stay in tune. LOL

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks so much,
Michael

bob derosa had one for sale and he said there are side dots on the lines

On the lines. Thanks for your interest.

also googling for pictures i find this
Link Removed

 

[Michael-F]

Thanks! Especially for the photo showing the dots!

 

[ToddB1963]

BB3000AF - Active PJ 4 string fretless

BB5000AF - Active PJ 5 string fretless

 

[Relayer71]

2000AF (give or take a space).

 

[Michael-F]

Thanks, Todd! Beautiful basses.
Since you have both; a BB3000AF and a BB5000AF, a few questions:
1) Are BB3000s only 4-strings, as a previous response above indicated?
2) And are all BB5000s only 5-strings?
3) Any other differences? Are the pickups and wood the same, and therefore have the same tone and feel?

 

[ToddB1963]

Thanks, Todd! Beautiful basses.
Since you have both; a BB3000AF and a BB5000AF, a few questions:
1) Are BB3000s only 4-strings, as a previous response above indicated?
2) And are all BB5000s only 5-strings?
3) Any other differences? Are the pickups and wood the same, and therefore have the same tone and feel?

Michael,

Sorry if I've misled you, but I don't own those basses, they're examples I searched on reverb to help with your inquiry. However, I am a Yamaha devotee and own an '84 BB3000 and an '82 BB2000 (my favorite) and two TRBs.

To answer your questions:
1) BB3000 in its various iterations is always a PJ 4 string
2) BB5000 is always a PJ 5 string
3) The passive versions were designated 'BB3000' and 'BB5000'; the actives, 'BB3000A' and 'BB5000A'. Fretless versions had the 'F' added.

The passive BBs have a great warm sound, just outstanding basses. The P pickup on the 3000 is very warm and reminds me a lot of a 60's Fender P (the reverse P on the 2000 sounds a bit like a 70's P with a maple board)

I must confess I'm not really familiar with sonic attributes of the active circuits on the 3000A and 5000A, but naturally they'll sound a little different to the passive versions. The pickups on the white 5000AF above look similar to those utilized in the 4 and 5 string TRBP model from the 1990s: volume, two band EQ (treble/bass) and pick-up pan.

One thing to note is that the passive versions are neck-through with alder bodies and Macassar ebony fingerboards. The neck-through gives a smooth very even sound all up and down the fingerboard. I love it. Again, not so sure about the active versions.

This BB3000A sounds good.

Bass jam with 80s Yamaha BB3000A - YouTube

Here's a BB5000 in action - great sound

Icehouse - Electric Blue - YouTube

 

[Michael-F]

Excellent, thanks Todd for confirming some of the information I had researched and adding some new information, especially the YouTube links. Very helpful.
I already own a 1970 Precision and an early 5-string Precision so I already have that beautiful old warm sound you mentioned. I have 2 Jazz Basses and 2 Precisions so I am trying to expand beyond the Fender sound, as much as I love it.
The more I learn, the more I’m convinced a want a BB5000AF - now the hard part….finding one!! LOL

Thanks again!

 

[ToddB1963]

Excellent, thanks Todd for confirming some of the information I had researched and adding some new information, especially the YouTube links. Very helpful.
I already own a 1970 Precision and an early 5-string Precision so I already have that beautiful old warm sound you mentioned. I have 2 Jazz Basses and 2 Precisions so I am trying to expand beyond the Fender sound, as much as I love it.
The more I learn, the more I’m convinced a want a BB5000AF - now the hard part….finding one!! LOL

Thanks again!

Good luck

 

[Mark_70]

The 3000 were 4-strings and the 5000 were 5 strings. I played a BB3000A for years. Very well-made bass..

regards
Mark

 

[darwin-bass]

You're talking about a well made fretless PJ. Hardly a unicorn. You can probably build one from parts if you can't find the Yamaha version and end up with something that sounds about the same and is more easily obtained.

 

[rockdoc11]

On a somewhat related note: what does the "S" mean in a 1980s Yamaha BB3000S?

Thanks!

 

[Michael-F]

Thanks, everyone.

 

[hypercarrots]

On a somewhat related note: what does the "S" mean in a 1980s Yamaha BB3000S?
View attachment 5008131
Thanks!

40mm nut. as opposed to 43mm.

 

[hypercarrots]

BB3000A

• hypercarrots
• Feb 1, 2017
• yamaha

 

[rogerbmiller]

The 3000 is a 4 string and the 5000 is a five string.

Note that if we are talking about the #AF basses, we are talking about the third mark which were made in Taiwan. For the 5 strings, this meant the Yamaha moved away from the very crowded 16mm spacing (the prior BB5000s were essentially 5 strings on a 4 string neck) and they moved to a 20mm string spacing.

So if you are in the market for the BB5000AF, note that it has very wide string spacing.


RBM

 

[Joebone]

Michael,

Sorry if I've misled you, but I don't own those basses, they're examples I searched on reverb to help with your inquiry. However, I am a Yamaha devotee and own an '84 BB3000 and an '82 BB2000 (my favorite) and two TRBs.

To answer your questions:
1) BB3000 in its various iterations is always a PJ 4 string
2) BB5000 is always a PJ 5 string
3) The passive versions were designated 'BB3000' and 'BB5000'; the actives, 'BB3000A' and 'BB5000A'. Fretless versions had the 'F' added.

The passive BBs have a great warm sound, just outstanding basses. The P pickup on the 3000 is very warm and reminds me a lot of a 60's Fender P (the reverse P on the 2000 sounds a bit like a 70's P with a maple board)

I must confess I'm not really familiar with sonic attributes of the active circuits on the 3000A and 5000A, but naturally they'll sound a little different to the passive versions. The pickups on the white 5000AF above look similar to those utilized in the 4 and 5 string TRBP model from the 1990s: volume, two band EQ (treble/bass) and pick-up pan.

One thing to note is that the passive versions are neck-through with alder bodies and Macassar ebony fingerboards. The neck-through gives a smooth very even sound all up and down the fingerboard. I love it. Again, not so sure about the active versions.

This BB3000A sounds good.

Bass jam with 80s Yamaha BB3000A - YouTube

Here's a BB5000 in action - great sound

Icehouse - Electric Blue - YouTube

Great post! But I have a slightly different take on the active models. Have owned a BB5000A that was the Taiwanese-made version, with 19mm bridge spacing via the same Gotoh bridge used on the Fender Roscoe Beck V. Have also owned or been exposed to a BB3000, BB3000AF, BB2000, BB2000F and BB1100.

These ALL are great basses! Design, materials and build quality are out of this world. However, I never bonded with the "A" basses - could not get the sound I seek, and decided to sell them with original fittings rather than going down the mod route. Same thing with the original TRBXP series - the five string models had great ergonomics for me, but I was not satisfied with the electronics, and didn't have the heart to hack them up. In retrospect, maybe I should have - I'm sure the Nordstrand folks could have whipped something up! But the passive basses - even the less expensive ones were contemporaneous with the BB2000 - are incredible. There was a bolt-on four string with a P pickup and rosewood board, that could devour any Fender for breakfast, and ditto with a similar neck-through.

I now play five-string exclusively, and ultimately sold my BB2000...but my BB2000F is my last 4-string, and it's not going anywhere. If I had that same bass as a 5-string with 19mm spacing, fretted and fretless, I'd be done, done, done.

 

[Altitude]

View attachment 5007740

100% sure, "5000" indicated 5-string and "3000" indicated 4-string. Why they didn't call the 4-string a BB4000 is unknowable.

Excellent basses. One thing to be aware of, though, about these and about Yamaha in general, is that the parts tend to be proprietary and not industry standard, and therefore not easily replaceable. I had a BB1600 (also a 4-string) for a very long time which had the same bridge design as the bass in Todd's first photo. That bridge was more complicated than it needed to be with saddle locks and such, and a small piece broke on mine at some point. I could never find a replacement nor anything else that would fit that hole pattern.

Enjoy Richard Page here with Mr. Mister killing it on his BB3000A. Mr. Mister was one of those sneaky good bands who were a lot more musically adept than people thought.

 

[Inky13]

Hello!

I’m hoping someone can fill in gaps in my knowledge - and please correct me if I make any incorrect statements about a BB5000 AF!

I love the fretless sound in Don Henley’s song The Boys of Summer (…after the Boys of Summer have gone…). From what I have researched (correct me if I am wrong), it is Larry Klein playing a Yamaha BB5000 AF. I’m not sure if it’s an active (BB5000 AF?) or passive model but it definitely sounds like the fretless growl/maw, which seems to be identified by the “F” in the model name. Please let me know if any of this information is inaccurate.

I read in someone else’s older post that the BB5000 AF is almost impossible to find. So far, that has been my experience. Let me know if you know of a BB5000 AF (4 or 5 string) for sale!

Lastly, what is the difference between the BB3000 AF (which seems to be easier to find) and the BB5000 AF? I have seen a few BB3000 AF’s for sale but I’m not sure of the differences. Is it the distance between the strings? Neck size? Pickups? 4 string vs 5 string? Wood?

Oops…one last question! Do either the BB5000 AF or BB3000 AF have positioning dots on the side of the neck? I see they do not have fret lines on the fret board, which is fine, but I am hoping they have dots on side of the neck to help me stay in tune. LOL

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks so much,
Michael

You might want to check out the BB club. A lot of knowledgeable people there.