Yamaha Pickups

The Yamahas I've owned did not have markings.

In the US they are low priced - I'm confident we have not seen fake Yamahas around here.

 

I've owned about 20.. ranging from the 80s to current models.

In US Dollars.. RB series basses commonly sell around $100 USD.. it's rare to see an expensive Yamaha.

Good gear.. just not in high demand in the US.

 

I have a Yamaha rbx374, it has no markings on the humbuckers. A lot of yamaha models are starting to use the humbuckers that have thumb notches in them, that would be a good sign of being an original. Also, yamaha humbuckers tend to be a bit larger than say a dimarzio or emg humbucker...

Just take a look on musiciansfriend, the yamahas should all have pictures, and you'd be able to tell from the image whether they're the same as what you're seeing.

 

My RBX375 definitely has "Yamaha" written over the pickups, logo and all.

 

I have a Yamaha RBX-5 that I bought used in around 1989 (wow, 20 years?!?). I love it and love its sound - lots of compliments. Anyway, the pickups are black with no markings on them (P-style at neck, and J-style at bridge). I'm fairly sure that they are original material - I even got the owner's manual with the bass - however, there's a picture of the RBX800 in the manual that shows pickups with the name on them.

 

I have a BBG5S and it has a "Yamaha" name on its pickups too.

 

I've just finished working on a Yamaha RBX270J, the guy wanted better pickups as he felt the original Yamaha ones lacked bottom end. I fitted SD SPB-3 at the neck and STK-J2b at the bridge, rewired it with quality pots in the conventional P/J set up. The guy was delighted with the result, made a hell of a difference, much more bottom end.