How To Make A Vintage Yamaha Bass - DIY

[@jaapdesticker]

Cool! I reversed a P-pickup twice, on a Yamaha BB2025X and on a Squier P-bass. Tighter B and E, warmer D and G.

[@slogan5786]

Congratulations! What a fantastic project with an even more fantastic result! Your BB42K sounds exactly like a BB2000. You've put a lot of work into this bass and your family and friends are also part of it. Imho that's even better than just buying a BB2000. Btw: The bass that Tetsuo is playing on Mint Jams is not a standard BB2000; the P-Pickup on his personal bass is slightly closer to the neck, which gives it a more "70s-Jazz-Bass-ish" tone and it has 22 frets.

[@BlockThief]

Thanks so much! Yes, I'm SO glad it sounds so much like a BB2000 -- for half the price too! Yup! The Milk BB2000 is slightly different, and I've been thinking of making that pickup placement modification at some point in the future. It's the extra 5% of work which will take 50% more time to complete, but it'll bring about 100% improvement in the tone.

[@cleaningmyroom1000]

Mad respect for taking that project on, I know I'd be to scared to!

[@BlockThief]

Thanks! It was hard to take the first 'point of no return' step, but it paid off in the end.

[@SnarkyRC]

Decent job. I love Yamaha BB basses. I have many including two BB2000s! 👍

wow. this is doing numbers

[@BlockThief]

the algorithm has blessed me

[@seebo6461]

this was fr sick, I've always loved the sound of vintage yamaha stuff, and to add to that they're gorgeous instruments

[@BlockThief]

Thanks! I entirely agree, vintage Yamaha is some of the finest quality product out there.

[@thorugs2816]

Looks like i found another Yamaha bass lover. I salute you sir for your content. 👏

[@crimsone35]

I covet that bb2000 so much, nice vid

[@BlockThief]

Haha thanks! An original 2000 will always be the goal, but mine is enough for now

[@crimsone35]

@@BlockThief Good luck on the hunt vrother. I am going to grind for one this year hopefully. ( I am also terrified of shipping damage etc)

[@BlockThief]

Shipping damage is one fear, but my biggest one is that it's simply ineligible for shipping. Some wood types can't be exported (or imported...? Might depend on the country), so there's a chance that the initial payment might be lost without getting anything in return I must say that I really do love your channel and your covers -- it's one of the few channels that does Casiopea covers really well! I'd love to see a Homestretch cover one day ;)

[@crimsone35]

@@BlockThief Yeah, a lot of pitfalls frfr. Thanks very much for checking out my content 😎

[@kingstumble]

You are braver man than me! As far as removing the finish goes. I once had a 1962 Precision Bass which the previous owner had removed the original finish(Fiesta Red)and replaced it with a horrible brown paint/varnish(he must have been mad.) I removed it with Nitromors paint stripper which worked a treat. I have never seen anybody else recommend this and I've no idea why. It's so much quicker and requires little effort compared to sanding.

[@BlockThief]

Thank you for the insight! I tried using a paint stripper I had lying around, but it barely did anything...probably not the right tool for the job.

[@odeep2147]

that's a good work brother! 🎉 really sick.

[@RClayFM]

This is great! The paint actually looks better than the original bb2k, in my opinion, much softer and less glossy, which I like! The first song you played in the sound demo-- is that from the key and bass solo from Jam's Take Me?

[@BlockThief]

Thank you! (a surprise to see a familiar name from the Jord) I'm glad you like the paint. I'm currently in the process of improving it, especially on the wood pieces around the pickups. They stood out too much so I've decided to stain them. On top of that, I'm planning on recoating the body in proper varnish, rather than the spray-on type; the surface itself is somewhat uneven. Very close with the guess! It's the key and bass solo from Super Flight's Take Me, which was the second Casiopea piece I learned (after Thunder Live's Space Road). I have a cover of it on my Instagram!

[@RClayFM]

​@@BlockThief ahh, though it sounded a little different than how I play it, Super Flight's my favorite Casiopea album yet I only know the other arrangements of those songs. Space Road is a beast, I'm trying to learn the 1983 version with the unison solo, very difficult to learn, Sakurai didn't make the hand positioning easy! I didn't make the connection that you are the same guy from the server, cool seeing you here!

[@BlockThief]

I initially tried to learn the Mint Jams version but at that point I was too new to bass to attempt it. For some reason I put my mind to learning the Super Flight version, which is still tricky... I learned that 1983 Budokan version some time ago, but I just watch the unison every time I play it. I've memorized it, but I can't get close to playing it. Sakurai is a phenomenal bassist and he knows it. His fingers are too fast to keep up with, and that's the drawback of trying to learn such complex lines. One day we'll get to that level, I hope!

[@Dante_tea_v]

Yes, realy appriciate all of this!😊

[@jeffayoe7468]

this is very cool

[@cheewaiyuen4237]

Amazing project 😊

[@BlockThief]

Thanks so much!!

[@theluthiersapprentice3309]

Interesting...Cheers and Well Done!

[@BlockThief]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ImJustStandingHere]

I want nothing more than the BB2000 tone

[@ahmetbiyiq]

I listened with headphones. To be honest bb424 sounds better imo😊

[@BlockThief]

I'm glad you like the sound of the 424! It's still got amazing tone; the 42K's tone isn't for everyone.

[@bagindasubur]

this video is represent my feeling i love casiopea i love bass, i love tetsuo sakurai... i love the yamaha BB bass but can't afford bb2000.... so this is the solution

[@jdjk7]

After some thought, I don't think the pickup rings probably affect the tone /that/ much. The reason is, there is a practical limit to how close the pickups can get to the strings, and you don't need pickup rings to reach it. You just need longer mounting screws and a block of mounting foam (which puts tension on the pickup to keep it from sliding down). The practical limit to how close the pickups can get stems from the fact that pickups too close to vibrating strings will affect their pitch stability. However, slightly unrelated, something I noticed when looking at some BB-2000 specs are that the bridge pickup has a very high value for resistance measured across its leads. The factory spec is 16k. Compare that to 6-8k for a normal bridge pickup, or 11k for a decently hot one. I suspect the difference is in the wire gauge used, but I'm not at all a pickup winding specialist.

[@BlockThief]

I see your point regarding the pickup heights and methods. The 424X had minimal foam; compared to that, the 2000's method may have brought the pickups slightly closer to the strings. Maybe in my next project, if I find another cheap 424/X, I'll measure the max pickup height and compare it to mine. Great point though! I too found a spreadsheet containing wire gauges and resistance. The difference I saw between the BB2000 and (for example) the BB450 was in the gauges. While the 2000 had 0.04mm gauge, the 450 had 0.05mm. Then again, the bridge pickup of the 450 is different, and it's resistance is different, but the number of turns is the same. It's an interesting item to look into further.

[@jdjk7]

@@BlockThief I actually just got a 1987 BB300 that I posted about in the Jord server. Great bass! I've thought about modding/rodding it, but as it stands I don't think I'll do too much to it. Especially since it's vintage.

[@BlockThief]

Now I've got a user to match the channel to! Glad to see you here. That 300 looks really nice; looking forward to seeing what happens to it!

[@jakestringer513]

very good video! if the tone that your after is tetsuo sakurai’s then you would need to string the bass with roundwounds, although that is your choice and the flatwounds sound fine. also sakurai modded his bass so that the p pickup was closer to the neck which gave his tone a bit more bass.

[@BlockThief]

Thanks! Sakurai's string selection on the Milk Bass is still foggy. He may have used stock Yamaha roundwounds (H4030). The LaBella flats are his current favorites though -- I'm happy with them so far! I'll give rounds a shot once I get tired of the flats. And yes, the Milk Bass has that extra pickup mod, something I might do with the next project...

[@jakestringer513]

@@BlockThiefi look forward to seeing what your next project is. i’ve got a white yamaha bb424 and i’ve been thinking of doing a mod similar to this since i bought it so thanks for the inspiration. i posted a cover of part of the bass solo in domino line on that bass if you want to check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5WvZoaFqqiSZ9U

[@BlockThief]

I hope my video helps out with the process (if you choose to go through with it). Let me know if you need any tips or files! Your cover is one of the ones I watched as I tried to learn the solo, albeit unsuccessfully. Not sure if I'll ever get to the point you're at; well done on it!

[@jakestringer513]

@@BlockThief thanks for the help and i’m glad i could help you. you’ll get to that point one day, you just need to practice.

[@kiel7142]

Bro's so dedicated to copy Sakurai he also grew a mustache just to do the cover

[@BlockThief]

There are no alternatives

[@danten7774]

i had a bb3000v back in the day i was am a huge billy sheehan fan he played a pink 1 i wish i still had it

[@carlosgarciabanda]

I just tarde a Darkglass element that I wasn’t using very often, and I got a broad bass VII. Is in great condition and I will love to upgrade it to a 2k. What you suggest to start the process?

[@BlockThief]

Wow! A BB-VII is optimal for this conversion! There are 2 key differences that I can see between the VII and the 2000: the J-pickup and the neck inlays. Those are 2 elements which are difficult to find, so the only option I can think of is to find a cheap used BB414/415/424/424X/425/425X and removing the neck & J-pickup from that. You *could* make your own inlays but I'm not experienced with that process. The J-pickup is hardest to find. The downside of having a BB-VII is that the J-pickup is longer than that of the 2000. Something would have to fill in the space above and below the pickup. Another very small difference is that the 2000 has 'pot pointers', small metal pieces underneath the vol/tone dials which indicate their current level. That's something I didn't buy for my conversion. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[@bassedthechannel]

Killer video! I’ve always loved the BB2000 pickups but really disliked the huge neck and high weight.

[@BlockThief]

Thanks so much! It's not for everyone, and I'm seeing the negative effects of the dense body now! The pickups are the saving element of the bass for me.

[@bloophero]

You should have gone for "BlockThief 2000 since 2024". It's a BT2K ;)

[@Arikashirukashi]

It was a good guitar)

[@roguearrow3507]

Can we all appreciate how much effort he puts into his videos for us?

[@commander-fox-q7573]

Agreed

[@BlockThief]

a smile was instantly on my face when I read this

[@ErikShen2907]

Chopper Bass is FUKKYSAN

[@RoloTonyBrown]

I really want to congratulate you on your effort but this felt oddly unnecessary. You went to great efforts doing this, and fair play but you could have got any number of other vintage BBs with the reverse P and tracked down a bridge blade single coil pickup and would have been pretty much ‘there’ in tone. There’s even the bolt Japan only BB-VI you could have imported for pennies with reverse P. Even the BB1000MA has the reverse P. Part of the BB2000 sound is it’s ebony board and neck thru construction, ALNICO pickups not just the reverse P, so it’s not like any of those models would have got the exact sound, just in the same way your own 42K refinish doesn’t sound quite like a BB2000.

[@BlockThief]

Thanks for your comment! I appreciate the insights. Before starting this project, I took a couple of months to look at other vintage BBs I could import (whether on Reverb, eBay, or other Japanese auction sites), but nothing was within the acceptable price range. That's why I opted to modify the best alternative option. Even within the last year, it's been hard to find a vintage BB that isn't exorbitantly expensive to import or even ship. The BB42K doesn't have the exact tone of the BB2000, and that's something I'm fine with. To me, it's close enough -- which isn't close enough for everyone.

[@RoloTonyBrown]

@@BlockThief strange, I’ve seen some models go for peanuts. I’ve used buyee as a proxy to buy from yahoo japan to buy gear and never had issues.

[@BlockThief]

I had help from some friends of mine who had bought from Buyee and Zenmarket in the past. With their insights on the import process and on the bass market, it seemed to be the better choice not to buy from there. I'd love to import on one day, but the costs are just too high at the moment (at least in Canada).