Yamaha New Basses. TRB-X

[Airnotes]

A friend of mine told me that Yamaha has discontinued the BB424x, and they will have some new basses coming out in a few months or early next year. Anybody heard anything?

 

[LowEndOperative]

It's usually the first part of the year when Yamaha (and other manufacturers, I imagine) introduces their new line up.

Interesting news on the discontinue of the 424x...I'm considering a 425x near the end of the year; could a discounted price be in order?

 

[Airnotes]

I talked to a friend in Japan. The BB424x is not discontinued. Yamaha will be coming out with a new TRB-X series very soon. We know what X means, not made in Japan. These still should be nice, same Japan series John Patitucci uses. It will not replace the BBx series though.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I just saw an ad for the new TRBX bass in the latest Bass Player magazine. Looks like it'll be an active bass with a blade selector switch, 3-band EQ, and dual soapbars or humbuckers... can't recall off hand.

My music store has what I assume is an older version of this bass (same pickups, although only 2-band EQ), and I must admit I'm not much of a fan. I have an inherent bias against active instruments, but I have played several which I found to be very high quality (Warwick, Stingray MIA Jazz, and a couple others), and this Yamaha just didn't cut it. All that being said, it looks like this new bass will be built with nicer parts, and with likely a higher price tag (this older one is around $500)

 

[Wallace320]

I gotta tell ya I know Yamaha for so many years now and have a few of their basses (and had more, along the way)

I never been impressed with Rbx ceramic humbuckers, for they succeded to push Ibanez Srx series almost out of market, unfortunately sportin' same cons: huge power for one trick pony items, but nothin' more than that

I tryed both Trbx304 and 504

The first one, which sported said pickup offering, started as surely not my favorite, but I gotta admit that the 5 position switch is truly capable to give it a somekind of versatility, a newbie or a kid can this time really find in the instrument.

First of all, the neck is superb, and it looks and feels like a mix of BB series design and Trb series headstock
So the scale stays 34" (like on BB series) 5 piece (like on both) and fingerboard is nearly flat (like on Trb series)

Slap, pick, finger and solo position (I tried them thru an Ampeg BA115HP, a combo I know so well, for usin' it to teach a few friends of mine at home: 15" speaker with tuner and midshaper worth 220w) all give a veritable distinction, with two variants of mid scoop (accentuated with the "slap" and mellower with the "pick" option) while "finger" and "solo" again give their two takes on a certain note attack, and then decay, for the former and more of both, strong note attack and very fast decay, for the latter

Center ("flat") position, replicates many of the cons of original Rbx series ceramic approach (even if with a mahogany body instead of alder) so needs to be tweaked by onboard and amp eq to reach some kind of definition.
Anyway to my surprise this was the more convincin' instrument among the two, to the point that I made a kid n'pop buy it for the son to start to study bass within days.

Not so easy for me to detract Trbx504, but the point is this: Yamaha succeded in grantin' no difference between flat active and passive output, and this is a pro.
Con being that Schecterlike soapbars are really weak, to say the least, infact I felt compelled to push bass, mid and treble to the max to match the output I had with Trbx304 just a few sec before.

Disappointed!

Cheers,
Wallace

 

[Airnotes]

I gotta tell ya I know Yamaha for so many years now and have a few of their basses (and had more, along the way)

I never been impressed with Rbx ceramic humbuckers, for they succeded to push Ibanez Srx series almost out of market, unfortunately sportin' same cons: huge power for one trick pony items, but nothin' more than that

I tryed both Trbx304 and 504

The first one, which sported said pickup offering, started as surely not my favorite, but I gotta admit that the 5 position switch is truly capable to give it a somekind of versatility, a newbie or a kid can this time really find in the instrument.

First of all, the neck is superb, and it looks and feels like a mix of BB series design and Trb series headstock
So the scale stays 34" (like on BB series) 5 piece (like on both) and fingerboard is nearly flat (like on Trb series)

Slap, pick, finger and solo position (I tried them thru an Ampeg BA115HP, a combo I know so well, for usin' it to teach a few friends of mine at home: 15" speaker with tuner and midshaper worth 220w) all give a veritable distinction, with two variants of mid scoop (accentuated with the "slap" and mellower with the "pick" option) while "finger" and "solo" again give their two takes on a certain note attack, and then decay, for the former and more of both, strong note attack and very fast decay, for the latter

Center ("flat") position, replicates many of the cons of original Rbx series ceramic approach (even if with a mahogany body instead of alder) so needs to be tweaked by onboard and amp eq to reach some kind of definition.
Anyway to my surprise this was the more convincin' instrument among the two, to the point that I made a kid n'pop buy it for the son to start to study bass within days.

Not so easy for me to detract Trbx504, but the point is this: Yamaha succeded in grantin' no difference between flat active and passive output, and this is a pro.
Con being that Schecterlike soapbars are really weak, to say the least, infact I felt compelled to push bass, mid and treble to the max to match the output I had with Trbx304 just a few sec before.

Disappointed!

Cheers,
Wallace

Nice review. Thanks. When it comes to Yamaha Basses do there High End Basses compete with the big names?

From what I have seen, read, and researched there lower end basses don't get much love at all, compared to other lower end Yamaha instruments.

 

[Wallace320]

They're Made in Japan, but not like, say, Fender series from over there, which are more or less considerable as MIM basses
with worse electronics and better overall finishings

I own two Yamaha Billy Sheehan's Attitude limited II and they're by far the best passive basses I've ever played

They're loud and with an overwhelmin' punch: the loudest passive pickups (DiMarzio Sheehan's signature Will Power) separate outputs, select alder body, chunkiest Precision
style maple neck and fingerboard (these things I like, but they're actually cons 'cause a light body with a heavy neck make the bass suffer from neckdive... well I don't mind)

Nathan East's BB signature, BB2000 series, John Patitucci's Trb signature, Trb5/6 are all top notch basses, and sport, from premium tonewood and cosmetics to ceramic passive, AlNiCo active, piezoelectric pickups, ebony fingerboards, 26 frets and or 35" scale (Trb) and so on.

Naaa believe me
The only field where I don't necessarily dig Yamaha's is... maybe... motorbikes

I'm Italian, you know, so my heart beats for Moto Guzzi and Ducati only.

Cheers,
Wallace