Yamaha BBP35

[Clark Westfield]

I have recently been in the same boat, considering a 34" fiver and was strongly considering the BBP35 based on all the positive reviews.

However - this week I had the chance to play the lowest-tier BB, the $349 BB235. Of course, I'm not gonna compare it to the $1,899 MIJ version, but I wanted to play it as soon as I saw it because it has the same body and neck dimensions as the BBP. But I found that I just wasn't comfortable with the 1.69" nut width - the string spacing was just a smidge too tight for me in the first few frets, and this is coming from a 1.5" jazz nut 4-string guy. My other 5ers are a G&L with 1.75" and a Modulus with 1.85", and the Yamaha just felt too tight at the nut. Loved the 18mm bridge spacing, didn't love the 1.69" nut width...

Of course, YMMV, yes I could probably get used to it, but it felt too tight for me to be comfortable swapping back and forth between my other basses.

I will also say that the BB235 was legit surprisingly good for being $349; I can only imagine how solid the BBP must feel and play, I'm sure it's amazing.

I had a BB435 for Sweetwaters 30 day trial and loved the bass, but I too disliked the string spacing.

The bass was perfect! Not a single flaw, just wasn’t used to that tight spacing, so back it went.

I now play only 4 strings and have a BB234 that stays at work, eyeballing a BBP if they offer some new colors, I’m jumping on it.

 

[Vanheusen77]

I love them. The reasons I can think of not to buy one: The are not heavy but not exactly light either. Normal Fender weight. The PJ setup can feel weird at first if you are used to JJ since the sound is slightly different on the D and G compared to B E and A(as with P basses). It’s not an issue for me personally, and as someone who has made too many video comparisons with polls between the BBP and jazz basses the BBs usually win these polls. Feel and quality is great!

I would say it’s slightly darker and middier compared to a jazz. Link to one of the video comparison threads: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/yamaha-bb-vs-jazz-bass-comparison-pj-vs-jj.1504878/#post-25029925