Yamaha BB435 "Broadbass" 5-string bass unboxing and demo

[@juansecar2]

Nathan east plays Yamaha, Billy Sheehan plays Yamaha, and M.r John Patitucci plays Yamaha. That Yamaha Patitucci Trb6 series is a helluva monster bass dude. If you wanna have a real pro 6 string, this is your bass. For a third of the money... you got it

[@leonah2137]

I think a lot of the lack of interest among general guitar and bass players for Yamaha stuff is simply because people haven't experienced their higher end bass/guitar gear. I know among 6 string bassists, their TRB6P, TRB6, TRBJP, models and their revisions (TRB6PII, 6II and JP2) are super highly regarded. My main bass for the past 10 years has been a Yamaha TRB6, the Japanese made bolt on 6 string in a transparent orange finish. Since I've bought it, I've owned a lot of other basses, some from even really high end brands like Status, Sago, Atelier Z, a couple of small custom shop one offs, and a lot of cheap ones like Brice, SX and Squier, and some other mid market brands like Ibanez and Fernandes. The TRB6 has been the only constant the entire time. Nothing compares to it for me, and I got it for 800$ used. Its not trying to copy a P bass or Jazz bass so it doesn't look weird. It's a forward thinking design with a lot of care put into it. The controls are far enough away that they don't get in your way when you do double thumb and slap (A big reason why i sold several other basses), the upper fret access is better than just about any other bass I've owned. Which arguably isn't a big deal for bassists, but i spend more time up there than most people, and this bass is the easiest to play up there. It came with darker sounding bartolini pickups in it that the previous owner installed but ive since replaced the pickups with ones that are similar to the OEM Yamaha pickups, which are bright and snappy, and I've been happy with the sound since. I also own a Yamaha TRB6PII but I've got so much emotional investment in my original TRB6, i play that 90% of the time. I didnt intend to write a love letter to my TRB but here we are LOL

[@danielelise7348]

Vincen Garcia,one of the best bass players on earth plays Yamaha.

[@aproud1]

Great review and nice sound demo. Agree on the weird looking thing. Still, I am considering one of these basses. And FWIW the lack of focus works on the keys. The neck is definitely finished, just a satin matte finish (Satin Polyurethane according to Yamaha) that isn't noticeable . Very few necks truly have no finish. And Sweetwater say they check intonation as part of their 55 point inspection. Like you I have found that is not always the case. I personally plan on a fret touchup, complete setup (intonation, neck relief, saddle height, electronics tidy, pickup height and nut adjustment) on any basses I buy.

[@room34]

Have you played one of these? I'm pretty sure there's no finish. I have a few basses with varying levels of satin finish and this really just feels like raw wood. I'm sure the higher-end models have the satin finish but this one doesn't… or if it does, its thickness could be measured in individual molecules.

[@paulvelez9688]

I don’t think this bass needing a set up out of the box is a bad thing. Many more expensive basses I w ordered come with terrible setups. If it were bad fret work causing the issue that’s different. Otherwise, not big enough a deal to include in a video.

[@sonojon0]

You made a good choice. Loving my BB434. Simply the best PJ bass in the market that Fender can't beat!

[@room34]

Hey, thanks for checking it out. I've been enjoying your videos for a while! Yeah, I do think this is a pretty great instrument for the price. Not sure I conveyed that fully, based on some of the other responses I've gotten here.

[@AdityaPurwanegaraBass]

i have bb435, you need to understand it's not a ready to gig bass instead it's a good platform to start with. I always feel its original pickup doesn't have enough bottom end for my taste, i swapped the pick up with aguilar and put flatwound and it's turns into awesome bass

[@room34]

Yeah, I'm not totally satisfied with the pickups, but for me it's almost too much low end. Or more accurately, almost no high end. I usually roll my tone off anyway, but this isn't really giving me a choice!

[@MaliV.Williams]

Respect...

[@whamni]

Great video Scott, I have the BB734 since it came out and the two things I changed are the bridge pup to a Dimarzio 123b and I use LaBella Flats long scale for through body bridges. I never use it active. The neck is a lot better than my Stingray !

[@warburgaby]

my BB734A is a great bass, perfect baòanced, zero neck diving, top ergonomics and great sounding. Agree with you for bridge pickup... and few days from now I will test the Labellas Deep Talkin Bass on my lovely bass :))) Yamaha are the real deal in bass industry.

[@joetspaulding]

I have heard Yamaha has its' own factory in Indo and that it is not made by cort... not sure

[@BassRacerx]

I like the sound. I just prefer the 1.5 inch nut jazz bass neck. very frustrating how many companies do "p bass = chunky neck" and its harder to find P bass guitars with the slim neck!

[@room34]

Well… this is a 5-string with a nut width the same as a 4-string P Bass, so that’s about as narrow as I think one could hope for. The neck is also a thinner profile like a Jazz.

[@erctaylor023]

I own and played a Yamaha RGX and I got it 11 years ago ang it still sounded great (still stock pick-ups) I still use my RGX :)

[@idickman]

I have been enjoying the BB735 (the next step up after this model) and had a similar issue with the pickups feeling wobbly. The height foam that comes stock on these is small and thin, but it was a piece of cake to replace that when i had the strings off. I didn't care for the looks at first either but it's grown on me over time. Fun Yamaha history fact - that logo is meant to be three overlapping tuning forks. Makes sense for the musical instrument division, maybe less so for the motor vehicle side.

[@room34]

Thanks for the tip… I may end up swapping the pickups but if I don't, I definitely could put some sturdier foam in there. I do like the looks a lot better now that I've swapped on a black pickguard.

[@idickman]

@@room34 yeah mine came with a black pick guard, I don't care for cream color either though! Older BB models had proprietary pickups that were much more challenging to swap out, but this new iteration of the BB line has Fender standard sized pickups. You've got TONS of options. If you find the tone knob too dark you can also swap the capacitor for something with a lower value, I assume that the stock one is 0.047uF as that's pretty standard for a bass guitar but you can find 0.033uF or even 0.022uF for maybe $2 tops at a hobby electronics shop. Lower value = less dark when rolled down all the way.

[@mowler8042]

Dingwall 5 string was very nice and I have short fingers, so far it's the only bass would consider. I did consider buying a Yamaha 4 string and found them too heavy.

[@ivailopetrov2827]

I have seen Peter Hook play a 734

[@jamilantonius1060]

Hello, does it hum?

[@room34]

I haven't played it in an electrically noisy environment yet, so I can't say for sure, but it seems like a fairly typical P/J experience… the split-coil pickup is silent but there's a little bit of buzz if you solo the single-coil bridge pickup.

[@pmdinaz]

I have been contemplating putting flats on my new'ish American Pro II p-bass. I had no idea there was a restriction about through body mounting!! Is that something I should be worried about? You're a champ for giving some advice here. Maybe a string recommendation between DR Legends and say D'Addario Chromes? :) I still have a 1998'ish RBX775 that came in *_flawless_* in a box for what that's worth ($470, IIRC)

[@room34]

Well, you _can_ string flats through-body, but the extreme angle at the saddle can create a weak point in the string. It depends a little on the brand of string and the way they're constructed. Honestly I haven't ever strung flats through-body to see if there's any difference in sound or how easily it damages the strings… I just read on the string packages that you shouldn't do it! This is only the second bass I've ever owned with a through-body option.

[@EricT43]

You could do a lot worse for a $600 bass.