Which Yamaha BB to choose?

[Mili]

geometry of this guitar

there are guitars

Fender-ish sounding guitar

I want this guitar to be is a PJ

This is too much dude, and one BB is better than No BB.

 

[BobDeRosa]

You got a lot of information here from a happy bunch of BB lovers. I'm delighted to see that community growing. My BBs are all from the 80s (fretted 400 and 450 and fretless 3000) and they're wonderful instruments.

Yes, the BBP34 looks like the way to go. I would very much like to have the BBNE2 but amazing enough the lowest price for it in Europe is 3600€ which is ridiculous. I am pretty sure that it's worth every penny but honestly, after realizing that you could buy the same instrument in the US for 2500USD (+ tax probably) I kind of lost my interest if you catch my drift.

The 34 looks very intriguing though!

I agree with everyone here who says any BB is good and often great, but if you go with the BBP34, please let us know how you like it.

 

[Sparkl]

This is too much dude, and one BB is better than No BB.

What do you mean

Actually, this is the way I heard and felt the BB 734 when I tried it extensively in a guitar store. The PJ configured 734 has a really nice pallet of sounds when you break down the pickup choices - has a really nice totally jaco-ish bridge single sound, can cop the Pbass tone very well or basically sounds the same (maybe just a tad more aggressive compared to my 60th ann Fender P - which I find nice since I have another P character I don't yet have) and when you combine the plit and the single you get a very nice and fat articulated Pbass tone in an essence.

I would very much say that at least the BB734 that I've tried sounds very much like the Fender P line with an added bridge single and therefore some more modern tones with both pups with great versatility between soloing and comping application.

 

[Sparkl]

I got this abused but still fantastic BB1200 off Craigslist for very little. It was converted to fretless, a bridge pickup was added and the upper horn was carved out because... because bassists always spend a lot of time up there on that part of the fingerboard?
The materials and construction are top notch and I keep it handy to play while watching TV etc so it gets a fair amount of use.
I should start a thread featuring my collection of second hand mutilated basses- there must be a northwest serial bass killer out there with some wood tools and a dim understanding of what's right.

View attachment 3196815

Isn't she a beauty. It looks like some kind of old school tube radio with those knobs

I feel like I should start selling some of my basses to get one of these drool

 

[Sparkl]

You got a lot of information here from a happy bunch of BB lovers. I'm delighted to see that community growing. My BBs are all from the 80s (fretted 400 and 450 and fretless 3000) and they're wonderful instruments.


I agree with everyone here who says any BB is good and often great, but if you go with the BBP34, please let us know how you like it.

Haven't tried it yet (and it is hard to come by) but I have great hopes about it.

Another question comes to mind - do all of the new-ish BB series share the same neck radius and body geometry + dimensions?

Kind of important, since the 734 seems to be just about right, maybe just maybe I would prefer a tiny bit wider body. The body and neck thickness is basically perfect.

 

[led4thehed2]

IMO, the BB1600 is a fine quality bass, with the BB3000 being the deluxe model. The BBX seems to be nearly identical to the BB3000, but has a blend knob instead of a 3-way pickup selector.

If you wanna go for their nicest stuff, I vote BB3000. The BBX is a real pain to find.

 

[hypercarrots]

IMO, the BB1600 is a fine quality bass, with the BB3000 being the deluxe model. The BBX seems to be nearly identical to the BB3000, but has a blend knob instead of a 3-way pickup selector.

If you wanna go for their nicest stuff, I vote BB3000. The BBX is a real pain to find.

theres been a bbx on craigslist in los angeles for the last few months

snot mine
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and there are a few on ebay right now too

 

[led4thehed2]

Nice. I'd grab that if I lived in LA. All the BBXs I recall seeing on eBay were from Japan. I should have clarified, hard to find in the US.

 

[Bassa Nova]

I believe the bbp34 is passive while the 734 is active with passive option

 

[BobDeRosa]

I believe the bbp34 is passive while the 734 is active with passive option

I believe that's correct. There's a BBP34 -- B-stock, I believe -- for under $1300 on Reverb right now.

 

[JZQuantum]

I believe that's correct. There's a BBP34 -- B-stock, I believe -- for under $1300 on Reverb right now.

Shameless plug...my BBP35 is on the TB classifieds if anyone is interested.

 

[mickebas]

I own, and use the BB734 but I removed the preamp, changed the pickups to Fender PV63 P-pu’p & Fender PV64 J-pu’p. Also changed to CVS 250K ohm pots and 0,047 MicroFarad capacitor for a more traditional Fender type of setup. This might seem contradictory but my taste over the years has landed in a more warm, mellow sound but still with presence and mid and this set up with flatwounds gives me just that. The problem with the original pickups to me is the exaggerated treble and where that treble is. Not a biggie if you’re into a more trebly sound but I’m not a fan.
I tried a couple of different BB734s and BBP34s and although very similar in quality I found the bass I liked the most and that was my 734. I could not at that time feel or hear anything to convince me the BBP34 was the way to go and my experience has lead me to the conclusion that every instrument feels and sound’s individual so I went with my gut feeling and did the passive modifications to make it suit me.