Sorry for the noob question. Is it possible for me to fit the coil into the existing shell? Or it's not easily doable?
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Yamaha Motion B Bass Guitar
- Thread starter NZBassman
- Start date
Sorry for the noob question. Is it possible for me to fit the coil into the existing shell? Or it's not easily doable?
It might be doable, but commercially made pickups from 80s Japanese instruments tended to be potted in epoxy, so they’d be very difficult if not impossible to separate from the shell without it chipping or breaking.
If the back is coated in hard epoxy (ie does not easily scrape off) I would say don’t try to remove it.
But if it is wax, try soaking them for a bit in a pot of warm water (not directly on the stove, use a double boiler) - if it softens, then lay them on some foil, tilt them on their sides so the wax will run out, and gently blow warm air onto the wax side using a hair dryer - be careful not to get too close as you could warp the plastic shell. Once the wax melts out you can easily remove the old coils.
The insides of the shells may have a coil support framework or spacers of some kind, so be sure to keep those if/when you need to send them along to the pickup maker.
Got it! Thank you so much for the detailed info! Any recommended Canadian pickup maker?
I don't have any direct experience with their work, but there are several small makers doing handwound / custom pickups you could talk to.
Most likely the pickups are double Jazz coils under the covers wired in series as a humbucker (or switchable parallel / series). Yamaha tended to use ceramic magnets for their bass pickups. The pickups in the MB-1 were active and had an onboard preamp, but the MB-2 and 3 and all other models were passive AFAIK.
SoulTone - Mississauga, ON
MJS Custom Pickups - Mississauga, ON
Link Removed - Owen Sound, ON
McNelly Pickups - Peterborough, ON
Tone Emporium - Woodlawn, ON
Vineham Pickups - Newfoundland/Labrador
Reilander - doesn't have a website but sells through their Reverb shop - from Surrey, BC
Most likely the pickups are double Jazz coils under the covers wired in series as a humbucker (or switchable parallel / series). Yamaha tended to use ceramic magnets for their bass pickups. The pickups in the MB-1 were active and had an onboard preamp, but the MB-2 and 3 and all other models were passive AFAIK.
SoulTone - Mississauga, ON
MJS Custom Pickups - Mississauga, ON
Link Removed - Owen Sound, ON
McNelly Pickups - Peterborough, ON
Tone Emporium - Woodlawn, ON
Vineham Pickups - Newfoundland/Labrador
Reilander - doesn't have a website but sells through their Reverb shop - from Surrey, BC
I just got a new Motion B, I am really having a great time with it! It feels so nice to play and I love the sound.
I am a newbie and am just learning about pickups, can anyone tell me about these? I understand that the soapbar pickups can be just about anything, jazz, humbucker and more.
I am a newbie and am just learning about pickups, can anyone tell me about these? I understand that the soapbar pickups can be just about anything, jazz, humbucker and more.
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The soapbars on the first-generation Motion Bs are twin J pickups under the cover. The Model I has the "B-Heart-L1" active pickup with Alnico V magnets, the II has the "B-Heart-II" passive also with Alnico Vs, and the III the "B-Heart III" passive with ceramic magnets (according to Yandex OCR translation of old Japanese catalog scans)
(I was incorrect to assume most use ceramic magnets - certainly some of the later MB models, esp the middle-tier and lower-cost ones do, though.)
Yours is an MB-II (it has the fine tuner bridge, but a rosewood fingerboard with dot markers vs. ebony with oval markers), so you have passive Alnico V dual-coil humbuckers.
The later versions used various Yamaha P/J pickups and, towards the end of the model life, dual 'music man' style pickups were offered on the MB-45-HB.
Here's a scan showing the coils from the B-Heart-L1 and its active preamp circuit board, from the 1987 Yamaha catalog's Motion B dual page spread.
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Thanks Hooky, that is interesting stuff. I had a feeling you would have the answer for me!The soapbars on the first-generation Motion Bs are twin J pickups under the cover. The Model I has the "B-Heart-L1" active pickup with Alnico V magnets, the II has the "B-Heart-II" passive also with Alnico Vs, and the III the "B-Heart III" passive with ceramic magnets (according to Yandex OCR translation of old Japanese catalog scans)
(I was incorrect to assume most use ceramic magnets - certainly some of the later MB models, esp the middle-tier and lower-cost ones do, though.)
Yours is an MB-II (it has the fine tuner bridge, but a rosewood fingerboard with dot markers vs. ebony with oval markers), so you have passive Alnico V dual-coil humbuckers.
The later versions used various Yamaha P/J pickups and, towards the end of the model life, dual 'music man' style pickups were offered on the MB-40-HB.
Here's a scan showing the coils from the B-Heart-L1 and its active preamp circuit board, from the 1987 Yamaha catalog's Motion B dual page spread.
View attachment 4432602
Hey gang, since the RBX-MS series was mentioned in this thread, and since the 32” scale bass is so popular right now, is there anyone here that could help fill in the blanks for them? Perhaps a new thread should be started. Actually I will do that, but please look for it and add your knowledge, since there doesn’t seem to be much accurate info on them to be found easily...
Zombie thread action, sorry!
I just got an MB-1, trans red, pj with slanted p pickups, fine tuner bridge, ebony board with oval mother of pearl markers.
I looked at the catalogs but cannot find it. Ostensibly an 85, but wanted to confirm. Lovely little bass.
I just got an MB-1, trans red, pj with slanted p pickups, fine tuner bridge, ebony board with oval mother of pearl markers.
I looked at the catalogs but cannot find it. Ostensibly an 85, but wanted to confirm. Lovely little bass.
It's a late-1987 or early 1988 model, the MB-1 PJ Custom. Prior to that year they only had the soapbar dual-J humbuckers.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] at brochures.yokochou.com.
FWIW this is also the year they introduced [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I picked up a trans-red PJ Motion-B this week that had been modded fretless, a proper job too. They'd also modded the volume and blend to separate volumes and changed the knurled knobs to hilariously big knobs that actually look cool and are easy to use. It's a ripper of a bass, fit my hands much better than my other basses and it's easier to play than I expected. It's got great growl! Neck is straight, no intonation issues at all, just my fingering!
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Hi guys, I purchase a Yamaha Motion B MKII brand new in 1986 and still rocking it today ! I've had many a bass in the last 40 years, including a hand made Spector NS-2 but I always come back to my MB2. It fits me like a glove and has been part of my life for almost 40 years. I always thought it was made in Japan and for some reason never bothered to read the VERY fine print on the back of the body. Made in Taiwan. Not the same "cachet" as "made in Japan" I guess but doesn't matter, I still love that bass and play it almost every single day. At some point in the past I did toy with the idea of replacing the pickups but with the proprietary shape, forget it ! too much hassle and did not want to mess up the body / finish etc.. with the pedals and gear I have now I can make it sound pretty much like anything I want. BTW the Yamaha serial number site is no longer a thing.. so I can't lookup my number.. ah well. Cheers everyone !!!
Thank you !! Given my serial number is: MM28091 I will assume that it was made in June of 1986, since that is the year I purchased it
Thanks again !! Cheers
yes. june 28 1986.Thank you !! Given my serial number is: MM28091 I will assume that it was made in June of 1986, since that is the year I purchased it
Thanks again !! Cheers
Can you folks tell me if the J pickup in the MB-50 active PJ bass hums noticeably? I know that active basses can use lower-output pickups that are less prone to hum, but there's just too little info on this one.
