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They've 5 of the signed ones
They've 5 of the signed ones
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Yamaha Peter Hook Signature Bass
- Thread starter TNCreature
- Start date
Hm. If they can sell 14 of these, they could sell 14 of the awesome archtop 6-strings like the one they built for John Patitucci. I'd buy one.
I've been anticipating this for a couple years. Unfortunately it's not a replica of the 1980s BB1200s he's had forever. Those are/were MIJ and neck through, absolute tanks. This signature model appears to be a BB734a with a red paintjob and no J pickup. I'd still like to try it but I was hoping it would be more like original.
I'd love it if Yamaha made a range of BB's with only a P pickup. I hope that this is popular enough that they consider it.
Since it's a signature I wonder why Yamaha made it look different from the red Yamaha he's played so often? Is that nit picking? Maybe.
Oh, for fun... any of y'all remember this? My Factus 10 promotional die cut Blue Monday from 1983. Floppy disc style! One of my favorite vinyl singles in my collection.
Oh, for fun... any of y'all remember this? My Factus 10 promotional die cut Blue Monday from 1983. Floppy disc style! One of my favorite vinyl singles in my collection.
Exactly! Not sure why they would "tribute" a model that looks different from the artist's instrument. Nice bass but it's just a bass with a signature print and no significance that I can see. Weird move.
Hooky thinks it's better than his original. He pointed to the lower register being a more 'round' sound that apparently the 1200S lacked.
I like it.
If I ran across one I would pick it up, it's just a good thing I don't need any more basses...
If I ran across one I would pick it up, it's just a good thing I don't need any more basses...
Yeah I guess I just hoped it would be a total throwback to the original 1200s but am unsurprised at this modern take.
I know he and his son have been using the 734s for a couple years now and recently he’s had this model in videos.
Exactly. I'm not doubting that he has his signature Yamaha bass Today. I'm questioning why Yamaha didn't even bother to have a meeting about it and model it after the bass that he made famous and that he played when he was influential. Still a cool bass. But it's just a red Yammy with his name on it. Not a significant tribute for such a notable influence. My opinion.
Now show me a pic of Hooky when he was shaping the music of the day (Joy Division, New Order). Was he playing a bass that even remotely looked like that? He is owed better in my opinion.
Actually there is 357 worldwide, 20 in Canada and 17 in USA.
I found a Canadian dealer who has already one!
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I found a Canadian dealer who has already one!
[This invalid link has been removed]
I just found a Reverb listing from them as well. 357 worldwide huh? I guess Yamaha aren't expecting it to sell very well then. Maybe they figure it's too close in spec to the BB734A and a lot of people will just take that option? Odd, but I guess it's understandable. They even have the BB734A listed under "related items" on the Yamaha page.
OK, so last night I binge-watched the new videos about it, including the hour-long PMT interview. PH did work with one of the Yamaha luthiers on it and they described that process a little. Mostly what they talked about is how it's not a neck-through but Hooky was ultimately OK with that.
There are, as far as I can tell, three functional differences between the PH signature and a BB734a with a red paint job:
[1] The neck pickup on the PH is a reverse P; on the BB734a it's a traditional P. In principle this definitely should matter, and Hooky maintains this is critical to the sound.
[2] Different preamp. Apparently the PH model uses something more like the original 1200 preamp than the modern one. Again, this is one of the things mentioned in one of the videos is PH working with Yamaha on the voicing of the preamp.
[3] No J pickup, because the 1200S didn't have one.
I will say that Hooky playing the thing in the PMT interview using the original Clone Theory pedal... it definitely sounds like the real deal. And if you've watched any of the PH & the Light videos they've put up on YouTube over the last six months, he's playing the BBPH and not the BB1200S, and it sounds and looks so close I did not realize that was the case (yes, I went back and checked).
The BBPH definitely does not sound the same as my BB734a. Similar? Yes. But you can't quite get the right sound out of a 734a (I certainly can't, but I also noticed a change in sound when I saw PH & the Light live and he was playing a 734a), where the signature seems to nail it. So it's really not "just" a BB734a with red paint on it.
Now, having said that, as someone who already owns a BB734a, I'm not sure the PH model is worth $1200. I mean, as a huge PH fan, sure, I'd love to have one, but as a bass player I'm not sure it's really a good value vs. a 734a. If all you want to do is get that last ounce of the PH sound, great. But otherwise it's not radically different and definitely less versatile.
The PH signature is prettier, for whatever that's worth. Yamaha definitely either has some of the original red paint from the 1200S still around, or they found a perfect match for it. It's a looker, for sure.
Call me fool or ignorant, I had to google who the hell Peter Hook is.
That was not the music, I ever listened to. He might be hero or legend to someone else. But, I cannot name one single song played by him or his band(s).
However, guitar looks fine.
That was not the music, I ever listened to. He might be hero or legend to someone else. But, I cannot name one single song played by him or his band(s).
However, guitar looks fine.
This is one of the minority of signature models where I *didn't* have to do that.... Having said that, I've always assumed that most of my favourite New Order tracks don't actually have any bass on them and are pure synth
Most New Order songs have Hooky's bass guitar on them, it might not always sound like a bass guitar, but there's a bass guitar somewhere in there. It got buried deeper and deeper into the mix as the years went by. It's basically not there in Republic at all aside from the first track Regret.This is one of the minority of signature models where I *didn't* have to do that.... Having said that, I've always assumed that most of my favourite New Order tracks don't actually have any bass on them and are pure synth
Okay? He's pretty well known even if you don't know him. Closer by Joy Division has my favourite playing by him on it
