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Yamaha 80's BB Series

#42
I recently found a BB300 I'm interested in...only bummer is that the tuner keys are loose and rattle while playing. I see little holes on the shaft that holds the keys but don't know if they're for adjustment, or what.

So, does anyone know how to tighten them up, or would it be better to just replace 'em? If so can you suggest a good drop-in replacement? Thanks.
 
#45
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My BB1200S, great bass but unfortunately the previous five owners haven't been too nice to it, showing alot of wear and tear. Still sounds great though.

I'm having to part with it though, will be a sad day but I need the money to pay off my BB2004 which I got yesterday - greatest decision of my life :)

Also have an old RBX550-M which I started on. I'm a dedicated Yamaha user - would never think of using anything else. I don't need to :)
 
#46
you're asking for more photos... here they are:

aV10ZksJ.jpg


aV10_LfS.jpg


I think they are all great, but the one from syciprider just kills me... it's wonderful!

:hyper::hyper:
 
#49
winston said:
I recently found a BB300 I'm interested in...only bummer is that the tuner keys are loose and rattle while playing. I see little holes on the shaft that holds the keys but don't know if they're for adjustment, or what.

So, does anyone know how to tighten them up, or would it be better to just replace 'em? If so can you suggest a good drop-in replacement? Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can replace them... and many people do. But if you run into an early 80's example that's in decent or better shape, you might want to consider keeping it as original as possible.

Now, part of the "case candy" that originally came with these awesome basses was a small "spanner" wrench with which to adjust the tension sleeves you describe that surround the tuner shaft. My original BB1200 came with one... and I know I still have it lurking around somewhere...

If I can find it, I'll try to post a pic.
 
#50
Here's a bad pic of me playing my BB5000A - i think it's the later model with the very wide neck and no metal around the pu. Sounds really nice in the studio. And i like the big body(makes me look smaller:smug:)

There's been some confusion in this tread as to what the S, A and F stands for at the end of the modelname. I always thought it was for Standard, Active and Fretless. I'm sure about the A and F, and not so sure about the S.
 
#51
well... I've made some research thru the internet about the various model that Yamaha made in the BB series and I agree that F definitely stands for Fretless... I'm pretty sure also that A stands for Active.

The S manner is a bit more complicated... it seems it sometimes means Slim (slim neck) and sometimes Short (short scale)... moreover, the headstock of the BB3000S seems to be not in line with the neck as happens on the other models of the BB3000 series, but "turned toward the back", like they do on Gibson guitars...

surely... it seems they used numbers and letters without a very very rigid scheme... some series are bolt-on in the no-letter model and neckthru in the S model (BB1100 if I'm not wrong), and if my memory doesn't trick me I've seen also different models (pu config and neck construction) named the same way... :D
 
#53
Well... here I am again... I'm trying to put together all the infos I found on the web about the BB series and here is the result:

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Any help is welcome... if you own some of these basses you can contribute... let's try and make the first complete resource about the glorious BB series from the 80s :hyper::hyper:
 
#54
alchemy said:
Well... here I am again... I'm trying to put together all the infos I found on the web about the BB series and here is the result:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Any help is welcome... if you own some of these basses you can contribute... let's try and make the first complete resource about the glorious BB series from the 80s :hyper::hyper:
Click to expand...

that's so cool! thanks for your work on this. :bassist:
 
#55
alchemy said:
Any help is welcome... if you own some of these basses you can contribute... let's try and make the first complete resource about the glorious BB series from the 80s :hyper::hyper:
Click to expand...

OK...

I can only speak to what I know about the BB1200's I've owned... and I purchased my first one in 1982, so the "dates of manufacture" are off a bit. I had heard that the BB1200 ran from around 1979 to 1984... but this is just anecdotal on my part.

Also, the BB1200's came with an optional clear pickguard that was able to be installed at the owner's discretion. The necessary screws for installing said pickguard were included in a vinyl ZipBag which also held the Owner's Manual (very well written IIRC), Truss Rod Tool, Tuner Tensioning Wrench, etc.
 
#59
Ok IMO The A does stand for "Active"

I own a sparkly black mid 80's BB3000S It has v-v-t controls, gold hardware, Nect through body, "fender vintage style" bridge and Is made in Japan. I looked High and low for a year for one of these and found this in a local shop for $600 canadian about 4 years ago. It sounds Killer with fresh strings and plays like butter. Through a sadowsky preamp, it's awesome.

I have also spent time with BB1600. it was black with a bolt on neck...but otherwise very similar.

hope this helps.

I also quite like BB300's they are cool simple little punk basses that you can often find for less than 100$. So I'm going to start scooping a few up.

IMO moden Yamaha Basses don't come close to the original BB's from the mid 80's ...
 

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