The only difference I am seeing between them is that the BBP35 is passive only and has the IRA treatment. But the BB735A is like $700 cheaper. What am I missing? I assume I could play the BB735A passive only if I wanted too and achieve a similar result as the BBP35?
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Why buy a Yamaha BBP35 over a BB735A?
- Thread starter Groovin1122
- Start date
It appears it is where the bass is built. Japan vs Indonesia. Plus a hardshell case and the IRA you mentioned.
They look close in design. Probably the main differences are in the electronics and body/neck materials. The BB35 has a 3 piece laminate body for stiffness. Not sure about the BB735. The BB35 is purely passive with Fender sized pickups while the 735 has proprietary sized pickups. Other than that I can't see much difference. There might be a difference in sound, but I think you'd have to have them side-by-side to tell. I've got my eye on a 735 at some point if I can find a good used one in black for the right price.
All depends on how you feel about the Yamaha brand. I own several Yamaha instruments...but my prized BB415 wasn't made in Japan.
If at all possible, try both instruments in person. Your hands/ears/eyes will help you make the decision...not some random internet hype. Just as I've personally dismissed rolled fingerboard edges and graphite rods as unnecessary premium options, what's important to you only happens through personal experience.
Happy shopping!
If at all possible, try both instruments in person. Your hands/ears/eyes will help you make the decision...not some random internet hype. Just as I've personally dismissed rolled fingerboard edges and graphite rods as unnecessary premium options, what's important to you only happens through personal experience.
Happy shopping!
There is no substitute for hands on experience. And yes, personal preference comes into play. While you find rolled fingerboard edges as an unnecessary premium, rolled fingerboard edges are almost a necessity for me. It depends on the instrument... I've rolled fingerboard edges on a number of instruments myself. But mercifully, the only bass I felt I had to do it to was my Ibanez Gio 6. My Ibanez BTB675 is just on the borderline and if it werern't for being a maple FB I'd have done that one too. But for $700 difference most of us are more than willing to accept the tradeoffs, especially if they're correctable.
Thank you all! Once things reopen around here I am going to make a few calls to try them out if there are any locally. I still just don't understand why the more expensive bass is passive only. Is that superior or an upgrade from the 735? It's a big price difference...
I would imagine that with the P35 you are paying for the made in Japan factor, hardcase and fancy wood treatment. I havent played one but Richard Jones from the Stereophonics said that as soon as he played one, it blew him away.
I have a 734 and it does have the 3 piece body and a nice active circuit but I usually use it in passive. I got it due to sometimes using supplied back line and it`s nice to have the active just in case. Plus it looks cool as in the black colour!
I have a 734 and it does have the 3 piece body and a nice active circuit but I usually use it in passive. I got it due to sometimes using supplied back line and it`s nice to have the active just in case. Plus it looks cool as in the black colour!
The BB735 has the same pickups as the BBP35 and the body is laminated in the same way and with the same woods, although the P35 has higher quality selected woods and the 735 uses more generic sources.
The main diference really is in the details, in the same way that a premium Fender Jazz Bass is a lot more expensive compared to a standard or a mexican one. For example, the Fender Jazz Bass American Original 60's Jazz Bass costs 1800 euros and the Fender Vintera 60s Jazz Bass costs 850 euros. It has a bigger price diference than the one that we can see between the P35 and the 735a.
I have the BB735a and it's a great bass. Really well built and the fact that it's active/passive gives it more tonal options compared to the rest of the other models of the BB series. But the P35 has better craftmanship. First, most of the work is made by hand in Japan and the quality of the built is trully superior. I stands side to side to the higher line Fenders in the market, and I dare saying that it would be more fair to compare it to Custom Shop builds than to the higher level production line by Fender. You can feel it in the neck, in the way that the wood resonates, and also in the way that the whole instrument plays.
Then you have the IRA tratment that is a proprietary technology by Yamaha that can only be applied to a single instrument at a time. Therefore, it delays the production time and also promotes for a better acoustic response of the instrument.
You get a great workhorse with the Yamaha BB735. It's trully a musicians tool and can deliver everything you need on a bass. But the BB35 is a better instrument in the sense that as higher build quality and better components. Is it trully worth the $700 diference? Is the American Original trully worth the almost €1000 diference to the Vintera? I guess that a bass is worth what you're willing to pay for it. From what I've seen around here, people are super satisfied with their P35 so maybe it's worth that money for them.
Thank you so much for your reply! This is very well written and i am excited to try these basses out when stores reopen!!
I guess my hangup is not understanding why there are more features on the 735 (Active) + the same passiveness of the P35. It would be like paying more for better craftsmanship but loosing out on the active components of the 735. Unless is there something to be said about passive only instruments? That's just the one aspect that I am not getting. Why would it be advantageous to take out the active components of the 735 on the more expensive P35?
Although you get more tonal options with the active preamp, a lot of musicians prefer the passive electronics because ou the type of tone you usually get from it. Some feel it to be more organic and less processed when compared with an active bass.
Honestly, while I relate to the overall flexibility of an active onboard eq and the advantage that it can provide in adapting to a lot of scenarios, I still think that nothing beats the tone of a great passive bass. But that's always a matter of taste.
Passive is more appealing imo. If the 735 were passive I'd consider one.
From my understanding, the 735 has the same pickups as the P35 and is passive/active so you can play in both.
(mini-rant/review incoming) This can't be said enough. They are the same pickups. You lose nothing in passive mode at all. The active EQ is just an active EQ, it doesn't mean that the pickups themselves are active in any way. This misconception keeps persisting with bassists about "active pickups". The performance of passive mode was my primary concern when selecting this bass, active boosting had to be good, but the bass tone couldn't depend on it.
What is important to understand about the pickups is that they're pretty strong for passive pickups in the first place, they compare pretty well with G&L MFD's in volume and fullness of tone and they're fairly bright. I found I didn't have to use the db lift switch in my preamp/DI (a DSM&Humboldt Simplifier) similar to my SB-2 which doesn't need it either, not so my CV70's Jazz (might need a pickup upgrade for that one!).
I play across many genres, some will benefit from an active mode, many will not. If I were the kind of player that wanted all the tonal decisions made at the preamp/effect/amp stage, then I'd be happier with a pure passive bass and probably go for the higher values of a BBP35 if that was important to me. I am not the kind of player; I generally do like to have a basic tone mapped out at the preamp/effect/amp level but modify it as needed for the genre. I make the exception for a 5-string bass to be the active one in my stable because historically that's been my cover band go-to, I don't have to worry about songs in Eb and can sound better slapping in active mode. One thing I would advise with the BB735A: get a good compression pedal, it loves a compressor.
I owned a bb734a and now I have a bbp34.
I don't know if the 700€ difference is worth, but I can assure you that the Japanese is a superior instrument: better craftsmanship, better balance (the bbp34 is perfectly balance), better resonance...
It isn't something that your audience or producer will notice, but you will for sure.
I believe the bbp34 is a true jewel: you can have all the tone you ever need from a passive bass, p-tone to jazz and all in between, a great feel in the hand, comfortable to play while sitting and standing.
For the price you pay, I would say it's one of the best in the market.
Mine is a keeper and frankly the only bass I use despite having a trb (old Japanese model) and a new coming Precision AO
I don't know if the 700€ difference is worth, but I can assure you that the Japanese is a superior instrument: better craftsmanship, better balance (the bbp34 is perfectly balance), better resonance...
It isn't something that your audience or producer will notice, but you will for sure.
I believe the bbp34 is a true jewel: you can have all the tone you ever need from a passive bass, p-tone to jazz and all in between, a great feel in the hand, comfortable to play while sitting and standing.
For the price you pay, I would say it's one of the best in the market.
Mine is a keeper and frankly the only bass I use despite having a trb (old Japanese model) and a new coming Precision AO
All things considered, get the best constructed bass, so I say get the BP35. I assume you are going to be playing through a quality amp and possibly an outboard preamp, so get the best made bass.
FWIW I have never been disappointed with anything MIJ regarding fretwork and neck quality. If you are purchasing online without playing either I'd go with the BBP35. If you can play a few and pick the best I would go BB735A. I have no doubt that there are 735s out there that are equal in quality to the MIJ you just have to go inspect each one case by case. There are always outliers no matter what TB says.
I've been getting by with a Joyo Dyna-Compressor with the internal trimpot retuned to deal with higher gain (it's not as silly as it sounds, works really well!), but I plan to get an MXR Bass Compressor which is the next level up in transparent compression specifically for bass and better tuned to a 5-string. Even better would be an Empress Bass Compressor but at A$400 that's getting a bit high for me. With my DSM&Humboldt Bass Simplifier the MXR will live in the LPF FX loop and compress lower frequencies allowing me to tame the midrange as i please on the other FX loop, or at least that is the plan, when I get all the pieces together for the bass pedalboard I'm building. Currently bass has to share the guitar pedalboard for a while!
Also re the BBP34/35, I'm sure they're beautifully made in Japan, but at A$1600 retail more than the price of the BB735A, completely out of the question. You don't need to defend the high-end of the market, good luck to you if you have the money for it. I just thank god I can laybuy my purchases.
That is certainly true. The 435 is more than enough. If someone gets the BBP35,I don’t blame them either. I own a few basses in that price range and the difference is real.
