Just joined this club yesterday. Noob starting out and wanting to learn. So far so good, learned my first practice "song" and will continue to work on that one to get my fingers going good, and continue to work at it. Looking forward to learning more.....
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Yamaha RBX170 Owners
- Thread starter scottder
- Start date
Personally,
I think it's a quite fine bass for first beginners.
The price is one of the smallers of the hole market ! The sound is correct, and you can tune it in many kind of styles !
Actually, I would suggest to change this bass after one year, cause you will have new needs, and you'll be lookin for new sounds !
I think it's a quite fine bass for first beginners.
The price is one of the smallers of the hole market ! The sound is correct, and you can tune it in many kind of styles !
Actually, I would suggest to change this bass after one year, cause you will have new needs, and you'll be lookin for new sounds !
- Jan 12, 2011
- 4,578
- 2,460
- Disclosures
- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
I used to own one and was quite proud of it. I went to an open mic and played through a rig that had a Walter Woods head and a SWR 4x10. and guess what. It held it's own against an Alembic and a Ken Lawrence. Of course they sounded more sophisticated, but I was rocking that RBX170 and it sounded sooo good. To all of you that still have one, try playing it through a monster high end rig and you'll see what I mean.
It's a great bass for under $200! I have it in old violin sunburst and the finish is gorgeous; the woodgrain finish is a classy look and the bass looks like it costs a whole lot more. Fit and finish are flawless, and the setup was very good out the box (a little high, but easily remedied). I've had different basses over the years, and while my gigging bass has and probably always will be my Fender Jazz, I love having the RBX170 as second bass and wouldn't hesitate to play it out anywhere. The pickups are powerful, it's easy to play, and it's a lot lighter than my jazz bass. That's a plus during those 3-hour rehearsals!
I have a couple of basses that are more expensive, but I keep coming back to the RBX 170. Mine is black with a tan headstock. I actually like the look. We rehearse 2x/week and I'm constantly doodling on it at home. Love it for the price. I tried lower end Fenders, etc. in the same price range but they just weren't comfortable for me. As soon as a I picked up the RBX (just joking at the store) I loved the feel. For me, the body style is just great and it's very comfortable. I've had it for one year and it's still going strong. The guys in the band were apprehensive at first when I brought it to rehearsal but they were all pleasantly suprised. The only mods I did was to swap the knobs. I got the all black RBX model so I bought some chrome knobs (off Amazon) and just swapped them. Such a simple change and so many compliments on look alone.
ps - excuse the fingerprints in the picture. I'll post a better picture later. i just wanted to show with the chrom knobs.
ps - excuse the fingerprints in the picture. I'll post a better picture later. i just wanted to show with the chrom knobs.
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I had one as my first bass. Great bass to learn on, though the neck pickup is a little muddy. Really comfy neck. Mine is now defretted.
had one for years. great bass to pimp out. upgraded pickups and installed Kreuzer's powerpot boost. got rid of the string tree because it mutes the strings. the mids growl like crazy
Hi,
I've bought my RBX 2 years ago, in 2nd hand from a friend (story)
This guy lives near a river ( 1/2 Km far away (.3 mil)) so the bass was a bit rusty...and dirty. I remember i took away the strings he had, cleaned it all....Cleaned the fretboard with some product for woods....and the body with a mildly wet clean fabric. It was like new, and it sounded like new.
Now he's got 4 years old he still looks awesome, and let me tell you....I've had, since always, a Stagg 20 Wats amp...yeah it does the job for beginners, this year I've decided to go for a new Ampeg BA-110 35 Watts of Ampeg power...
SIDENOTE-This amp is really powerfull, at home i cannot go above 1 (7 o'clock), at the band practice I WON'T go above 5 (12 o'clock). The room is over 100m2 (1076 squarefoot) and it fills...every...little...hole! Drummer's super happy, I'm happy
I've got a new Amp and a new BASS....seriously now i know what this bass sounds like, it sounds even more bony, and with that ampeg tone...man...I get wet after hitting the G, F or E on the E string....every....time
I'm keeping the rbx forever, next year I'm gonna think about improving the bass, new tuners(the A tuner is messed up) and new electronics, prob gonna spend around 200, idk.
It's a wonderful bass, I went to shops to try different basses, I'm not an expert, but i wouldn't trade it
I've bought my RBX 2 years ago, in 2nd hand from a friend (story)
This guy lives near a river ( 1/2 Km far away (.3 mil)) so the bass was a bit rusty...and dirty. I remember i took away the strings he had, cleaned it all....Cleaned the fretboard with some product for woods....and the body with a mildly wet clean fabric. It was like new, and it sounded like new.
Now he's got 4 years old he still looks awesome, and let me tell you....I've had, since always, a Stagg 20 Wats amp...yeah it does the job for beginners, this year I've decided to go for a new Ampeg BA-110 35 Watts of Ampeg power...
SIDENOTE-This amp is really powerfull, at home i cannot go above 1 (7 o'clock), at the band practice I WON'T go above 5 (12 o'clock). The room is over 100m2 (1076 squarefoot) and it fills...every...little...hole! Drummer's super happy, I'm happy
I've got a new Amp and a new BASS....seriously now i know what this bass sounds like, it sounds even more bony, and with that ampeg tone...man...I get wet after hitting the G, F or E on the E string....every....time
I'm keeping the rbx forever, next year I'm gonna think about improving the bass, new tuners(the A tuner is messed up) and new electronics, prob gonna spend around 200, idk.
It's a wonderful bass, I went to shops to try different basses, I'm not an expert, but i wouldn't trade it
Your thoughts. Was it a major improvement? Like many I have grown to like the stock pups. I did restring her awhile back with DR black beauties and was quite surprised how well they sounded. I put those on mostly because I did the black hardware bridge, tuners. So far the strings have not "flaked" . Anyway, thanks for responding
TBH I don't think the Delanos suit the bass well. They have a very hi-fi feel to them. The RBX is naturally weak on the E-string IME, and the Delanos don't help at all.
Best upgrade are strings as you said, you have a myriad of ways to fine tune the sound to your liking. Currently a big fan of GHS pressure wounds. Closely followed by tuners (stock ones are crap). The bridge is fine though IMO.
Do you happen to know what aftermarket tuners would be a drop in fit without having to drill new holes?
The 170 comes with really poopy tuners in with 12mm shaft diameter. Usually there is drilling/milling necessary to mount standard 14mm Gotoh-style tuners.
270 comes with standard drilling and OK tuners.
Do you have a link to the 12mm Wilkinson replacements?
270 comes with standard drilling and OK tuners.
Do you have a link to the 12mm Wilkinson replacements?
Hi bassfolks,
Total noob here - just got my first ever bass in Old Violin and spending time learning with the Complete Idiot’s Guide.
Electrical question for you all. I know some folks have mentioned “noise” and shielding the cavities. My RBX170, brand new from GC, has a hum when I’m not touching the metal parts (not amp hiss; it’s coming from the bass). I know this is common but not really sure what causes it. It is worse when I turn the volume or tone up. Also more accentuated if I touch the metal on a pickup, especially one side of the P pickup.
I talked to the guy at GC on the phone, and he suggested getting a power conditioner and Hum-X type of device. I got both, but nothing seems to work (also tried turning off the fluorescent lighting - no dice). He also suggested it might need shielding since the pickups aren’t noiseless or humbuckers.
So am I stuck with this hum since it’s a lower end instrument? It’s not super terrible for playing at home, but it’s a bit distracting when I’ve paused playing and am trying to learn something from a book. I’m still in the return period so won’t attempt any shielding at this point. I’m not very knowledgeable about electricals but can follow diagrams and directions.
Suggestions? Try shielding, or do you think it’s faulty? I was also going to take it back to the store and try it out there. I don’t remember hearing the hum there, but it was my first time holding a bass, so I could have missed it.
Thanks for any help and for reading this far.
Total noob here - just got my first ever bass in Old Violin and spending time learning with the Complete Idiot’s Guide.
Electrical question for you all. I know some folks have mentioned “noise” and shielding the cavities. My RBX170, brand new from GC, has a hum when I’m not touching the metal parts (not amp hiss; it’s coming from the bass). I know this is common but not really sure what causes it. It is worse when I turn the volume or tone up. Also more accentuated if I touch the metal on a pickup, especially one side of the P pickup.
I talked to the guy at GC on the phone, and he suggested getting a power conditioner and Hum-X type of device. I got both, but nothing seems to work (also tried turning off the fluorescent lighting - no dice). He also suggested it might need shielding since the pickups aren’t noiseless or humbuckers.
So am I stuck with this hum since it’s a lower end instrument? It’s not super terrible for playing at home, but it’s a bit distracting when I’ve paused playing and am trying to learn something from a book. I’m still in the return period so won’t attempt any shielding at this point. I’m not very knowledgeable about electricals but can follow diagrams and directions.
Suggestions? Try shielding, or do you think it’s faulty? I was also going to take it back to the store and try it out there. I don’t remember hearing the hum there, but it was my first time holding a bass, so I could have missed it.
Thanks for any help and for reading this far.
