Yamaha BB434 or BB734

[Birddogcof]

Hey all. So I’m in the market for one of these two basses. I can purchase the 434 with Maple fingerboard for $475 plus tax new and the 734 for about $632 new.
Which direction would you all go and why? I love the look of each one.

I know the 734 has the active.

thanks,
Birddogcof

 

[el jeffe bass]

I bought the BB435 to see if I would like a five string. It turns out that I really like playing a five and kinda wish that I had bought the BB735. I don’t know if this helps.

 

[Birddogcof]

I bought the BB435 to see if I would like a five string. It turns out that I really like playing a five and kinda wish that I had bought the BB735. I don’t know if this helps.

Lol. I understand your dilemma.

 

[el jeffe bass]

Lol. I understand your dilemma.

Truth be told I really like the BB435 as I’m primarily a passive bass player but the BB735 seems to be a cut above.

 

[ToddB1963]

The way I see it is this:

• For $475 you're getting a passive four string BB. Excellent value for money.

• For $157 extra, you're getting a passive four string BB and an active four string BB in the same instrument.

If I was in your position, I'd get the BB734a.

Good luck. You will not go wrong with a Yamaha BB.

 

[gg22]

BB734 - also better pickups, bridge.

 

[Rev12_11]

I have the BB434. If I did it over again I'd do The BB734.

 

[sethlow3]

You can always use a different pre with
the passive one. Heck, I prefer running all of my stuff through different outboard pre rather than an onboard one. More options to mix and match. Like say, you eventually get a Sadowsky outboard preamp and keep the bass passive… that’s arguably a better pre than what you would’ve gotten.

 

[Ellery]

BB734a is very nice but I love that maple fingerboard! If they make that with the same inlays as the 734 but in black I would already have one...

 

[jam.majors]

734 definitely has better pickups and bridge. I have a 735 that I've loved and a 434 before that that I enjoyed a lot, too.
Come check out the Yamaha BB club and plumb those depths for more info, too!
Is there a Yamaha BB club? There is now!

 

[Birddogcof]

734 definitely has better pickups and bridge. I have a 735 that I've loved and a 434 before that that I enjoyed a lot, too.
Come check out the Yamaha BB club and plumb those depths for more info, too!
Is there a Yamaha BB club? There is now!

yep. I have been visiting that forum. A wealth of info for sure.

 

[blmeier7]

I’ve owned both, and still have 434. For whatever reason I couldn’t bond with the 734. Maybe it was the active pre, I’m not really sure. The 434 I have is excellent. The pickups in the 434 sound great to me, and maybe it’s just the bass but I prefer the pickups in the 434 over what I heard on my 734. I even swapped pickups on my 734 for the Aguilar PJ set and only noticed a marginal difference.

My vote would be for the 434, unless you end up using an active pre a lot.

 

[Sean150]

The 734 is essentially the Indonesian made version of My BBP which is my favourite bass so I vote 734. I have an Indonesian made Yamaha (TRBX 604 FM) and it is very well built.

 

[SharpCat]

My Fender PJ has no tone knob when in passive--so I rarely use it passive. In contrast, assuming the Yamaha pre is the same as in the TRBX504 (I think it is), it DOES have a tone in the treble pot if active is switched off. Switching it to passive gets you the full passive experience. So unless one of the 434 finishes are compelling or the 434 pickups are better sounding to you (as they are for @blmeier7 ) you get both worlds (active/passive) in the 734a. For my part, I like the feel of rosewood a bit better than maple, and think the sound difference is negligible. For those reasons, I vote 734a.

IIRC, the 734a has the alder/maple/alder laminate body where the 434 is solid alder. Might be a consideration, don't recall it mentioned yet.

 

[Marmots]

If I recall correctly the 734 has some carbon in the neck that the 434 does not.

 

[Aloe]

frankly I preferred my BB passive, in the old days I owned a 4xx, but not the active 6xx. owned a TRBX-505 as well (which supposedly had the same preamp as the 734) and found the preamp meh to my taste.

my choice would be the 434 rosewood, or the BBP if I wanted to spend extra money.

 

[TreySonagras]

I bought a BB450 in 1988 and it is still one of my favorite instruments of all time. I’m partial to passive instruments but in your case, I think I would go ahead and spend the extra money.

 

[michael_t]

Yamaha TRBX505, purchased in 2018, was my very first active bass. So, during the pandemic years, I had the 735A at the top of my shopping list. But I ended up with a BB435 instead. For a few reasons...

1. A new 735A retails for $1169 CAD up here in Canada and BB435 for $799. Earlier this year, I came across with an old stock but otherwise still brand new 2017 BB435 being cleared out at my local Yamaha dealer for $399 CAD ($299 USD). It was a no brainer for me.
2. I almost always play through an active preamp/DI (SansAmp BDDI/VT Bass DI), so an active bass can be redundant; in fact, I'm finding an active bass thru an active preamp/DI can have negative effects by muddying things up too much. Passive basses have always worked better for me in that regard. My TRBX505 doesn't even have a battery in it anymore as it has always sounded better in passive.
   
3. I didn't particularly enjoy the idea of having to unplug the cable after every use to keep the battery from draining. What a pain!

 

[skycruiser]

My first bass was a 434. I have owned a dozen or so since but of all my basses it was my favorite. I find myself checking stock on Sweetwater every once in awhile. I will probably buy another some day. Personally I have no interest in an active bass so I would go with the 43x.

 

[sethlow3]

BB734a is very nice but I love that maple fingerboard! If they make that with the same inlays as the 734 but in black I would already have one...

I absolutely love and prefer maple.
It looks great with colored finishes.
It is the lightest weight of the fingerboard woods yet is still pretty dang durable.
It is much easier to see where your hands are on a dark stage.