Yamaha fretless model identification?

[zevv]

Hi all,

I've owned this Yamaha fretless for the last 25 years and I'm trying to get rid of it. I'm not sure how to advertise the bass though: on the back of the headstock is a little sticker saying "BB350F", but a lot of pictures I look up for this model show a bass with different pickup configuration. I wonder if the neck is not the original and the body is another model?

If anyone is able to identify the body, much appreciated!


(Not relevant but slightly entertaining side story: I bought the bass new from the store in the 90's for a reduced price because it had some aesthetic damage, like a bump on the back. The story I was told is that Yamaha Germany headquarters had lent out the bass for a concert of The Who, and it got the usual treatment at the end of the concert, thus the damage. C'mon, I was just a kid!)

 

[hooky_marr]

Nope, you have a 90s version. The older 80s versions had the older Broad Bass style body and PJ pickup configuration. That body shape first appeared on the Nathan East models, and in a less fancy way on the 'special edition' RBS series basses. In 1996, they issued a version of your bass called the "BB Limited," essentially the same shape and pickup configuration but with a Tele Bass-style pickguard. In 1998, they added two "BB Standard" versions in addition to the Limiteds.

It seems that yours never appeared in any official 1990s Yamaha catalogs (checking at guitar-catalog.com), but I've definitely seen others for sale over the years. It's possible this was a non-catalog model.

 

[zevv]

Right, that's some elaborate answer there, thank you!

 

[FATWOOD1]

Hi all,

I've owned this Yamaha fretless for the last 25 years and I'm trying to get rid of it. I'm not sure how to advertise the bass though: on the back of the headstock is a little sticker saying "BB350F", but a lot of pictures I look up for this model show a bass with different pickup configuration. I wonder if the neck is not the original and the body is another model?

If anyone is able to identify the body, much appreciated!


(Not relevant but slightly entertaining side story: I bought the bass new from the store in the 90's for a reduced price because it had some aesthetic damage, like a bump on the back. The story I was told is that Yamaha Germany headquarters had lent out the bass for a concert of The Who, and it got the usual treatment at the end of the concert, thus the damage. C'mon, I was just a kid!)

I've been communicating with the owner of fretless BB350 out on the east coast. His has the same pup configuration. Body just different color. Interested to know how much$$ you want?