• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Yamaha SBV

This is probably not everyones cup of tea :eyebrow: But I've fallen in love with this yellow baby. The Yamaha Blue Jean Bass thread sparked my interest. After searching and reading as much as I could on them, I pulled the Ebay trigger on this one last week.

As with most of the "CE" marked instruments the build quality on this is flawless. The neck is fast, the action came set up low and buzzless :) The original strings sounded OK but were pure torture on my fingers, I immediatly swapped them out for some Slinky Hybrids. The tuners are super smooth and work perfectly. Intonation was also dead on even after the string change and minor neck adjustment. If I had to compare it to another bass, I would say it's very close to a Rumblefish but with even slightly hotter pickups. The pickup shape makes a very comfortable thumb rest. The neck is fast but not QUITE at the Reverend level.......but very close. Maybe after some break in it will be :cool: All considered, I would best describe the sound as a solid body Rumblefish :bassist: Rumblefish growl with more sustain.

I'm still playing around with amp and cab models with my XT Live but overall it's got plenty of punch and has very wide range of tone. The pots are the non linear type and really CRACK at the last 1/4 turn providing and almost active sounding boost.

Overall, this is by far the most bass for the buck I've ever encountered. If I could find more of these pups, I would use them in my project bass without a second thought.

Pics below. I forgot to put the trussrod cover back :confused:

Yamahasbv1.jpg


Yamahasbv2.jpg


Yamahasbv3.jpg