Yamaha BB3000S RESURRECTED! TL;DR: check your bridge screws.

[ZombiCrow]

TL;DR: check your bridge screws.

My father's BB3000S was the first instrument I learned to play bass on, but for 25 years I always felt like it was missing something, tonally. No punch or sustain, no snap or impact, and certainly no transfer of playing harder into it making it louder or punchier. Lack of dynamics in the extreme. But I didn't know any better for a long time, so I compensated for it's lower volume thinking it was pickups, and just moved onto other instruments in time.

Fast forward 25 years: 2 of 5 bridge screws were snapped off just below the bridge plate, so they LOOKED installed, but would spin in the holes, making them seem stripped. The screws themselves are shorter and thinner than more modern screws, so I wasn't surprised that they snapped where they did, at the transition of solid metal to threaded shaft.

This, coupled with the bridge saddle height-adjustment screws being sharp and slicing my hand up nicely at a gig a few weeks ago, lent me the excuse and courage to replace the bridge with a Babicz Z-series, in matching gold. The screws pattern is 96% the same, so it was technically a drop-in, but they're not perfectly Fender-spaced.

Results: This bass punches the way the bass community has always talked about it punching! I'm back to playing this wonderful beast in a huge way, and it's louder both plugged in and acoustically. All the strings feel powerful, pickups have all the output I could ask for, and my heart is refilled with nostalgic joy.

Pics eventually!

 

[stingray69]

Those Babicz bridges are fantastic - glad you restored your BB3000 to proper functioning order again.

It's an iconic bass - huge congrats!

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I love Yamahas from that era. I am looking forward to the pictures.

 

[tanr26]

TL;DR: check your bridge screws.

My father's BB3000S was the first instrument I learned to play bass on, but for 25 years I always felt like it was missing something, tonally. No punch or sustain, no snap or impact, and certainly no transfer of playing harder into it making it louder or punchier. Lack of dynamics in the extreme. But I didn't know any better for a long time, so I compensated for it's lower volume thinking it was pickups, and just moved onto other instruments in time.

Fast forward 25 years: 2 of 5 bridge screws were snapped off just below the bridge plate, so they LOOKED installed, but would spin in the holes, making them seem stripped. The screws themselves are shorter and thinner than more modern screws, so I wasn't surprised that they snapped where they did, at the transition of solid metal to threaded shaft.

This, coupled with the bridge saddle height-adjustment screws being sharp and slicing my hand up nicely at a gig a few weeks ago, lent me the excuse and courage to replace the bridge with a Babicz Z-series, in matching gold. The screws pattern is 96% the same, so it was technically a drop-in, but they're not perfectly Fender-spaced.

Results: This bass punches the way the bass community has always talked about it punching! I'm back to playing this wonderful beast in a huge way, and it's louder both plugged in and acoustically. All the strings feel powerful, pickups have all the output I could ask for, and my heart is refilled with nostalgic joy.

Pics eventually!

I just found out about my bridge screws 1 snapped off and when I took off the rest to inspect I snapped another one. Dang it. I think Im going to do the same as you. Do you ahve to modify the screw hole to acomodate the babicz hole pattern?

 

[ZombiCrow]

I just found out about my bridge screws 1 snapped off and when I took off the rest to inspect I snapped another one. Dang it. I think Im going to do the same as you. Do you ahve to modify the screw hole to acomodate the babicz hole pattern?

Well, a local luthier/repair person had to drill the stuck screw shafts out and fill the holes with grain-correct plugs, so the holes that were there from the original bridge spacing were just a touch wider than the Babicz, so I was able to get away with the center three screws being 99% dead-on, and the outside two screws went in at a very slight angle until straightening up and finishing flush with the bridge.

Oh, I promised pictures 3 years ago, that's how quickly the joy of jamming the refreshed bass wiped my brain clean, apologies everyone! Pictures this year, I mostly promise!

Side note: I don't think the bridge needed to be replaced, to be clear, and I'd honestly prefer to have the stock bridge for the sake of keeping the instrument stock, but the gold got partially removed in an overzealous cleaning scenario, so until I re-plate it, the Babicz shall remain.

 

[tanr26]

Well, a local luthier/repair person had to drill the stuck screw shafts out and fill the holes with grain-correct plugs, so the holes that were there from the original bridge spacing were just a touch wider than the Babicz, so I was able to get away with the center three screws being 99% dead-on, and the outside two screws went in at a very slight angle until straightening up and finishing flush with the bridge.

Oh, I promised pictures 3 years ago, that's how quickly the joy of jamming the refreshed bass wiped my brain clean, apologies everyone! Pictures this year, I mostly promise!

Side note: I don't think the bridge needed to be replaced, to be clear, and I'd honestly prefer to have the stock bridge for the sake of keeping the instrument stock, but the gold got partially removed in an overzealous cleaning scenario, so until I re-plate it, the Babicz shall remain.

I always thought my bb3000 is lacking punch and dynamics just like you described. Maybe fixing the screws would fix it? I just purchased a gotoh 203b4 in gold. Im gonna see when it comes if it would fit as is. If its the case I might just replace it without installing the 2 extra bolt at the front

Please do post pic of your bb with the babicz

 

[Chris Chong]

Waiting for before/after photos

 

[Deleted member 394181]

I should have kept the White one i had. They are awesome.

 

[bassclef112]

I always thought my bb3000 is lacking punch and dynamics just like you described. Maybe fixing the screws would fix it? I just purchased a gotoh 203b4 in gold. Im gonna see when it comes if it would fit as is. If its the case I might just replace it without installing the 2 extra bolt at the front

Please do post pic of your bb with the babicz

I have an '84 BB3000S and the four words I would never use in the same sentence are "lacking punch and dynamics". I hope the new bridge solves the issue unless it's something in the bass itself. I bought mine in 2010 and can't imagine not having its punch and dynamics. Good luck!

 

[ZombiCrow]

I'd like to add one small note that I noticed when watching a Scott's Bass Lessons video on YouTube. Scott and Ian are watching a performance of someone who's playing a Yamaha BB-series instrument, if not the actual BB3000S perhaps a BB2000, and Scott comments something like "Playing a BB with the original bridge!" which for some reason added a little support for me RE: the bridge screws perhaps being a common point of failure on these. Just a small thought, pictures incoming sometime soon!

 

[tanr26]

I have an '84 BB3000S and the four words I would never use in the same sentence are "lacking punch and dynamics". I hope the new bridge solves the issue unless it's something in the bass itself. I bought mine in 2010 and can't imagine not having its punch and dynamics. Good luck!

I ended up extracting the broken screws and keeping the original bridge on because the gotoh 203 that I got didnt line up perfectly with the original screw holes and I didnt want to do too much on the bass since its all still original. With all 5 screws holding the original bridge I can say that its now more punchy and dynamic than how it was before the repair. I used it at band practice last night and it was glorious.