Yamaha BB players

#27
mike buzzetti said:
Yamaha has always made good intruments Pianos , guitars , basses etc. which is suprizing seeing that they are a motorcycle company ??? anyhow they know how to work with wood as well , I have a BB5ga ? and for a $500 bass it kills ! BTW I bought it in Tokyo.
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michael_t said:
I was born and raised in Japan, where Yamaha is known as a music company first and foremost. It's actually surprising we have motorcycles with the same name. ;)
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Yamaha is a zaibatsu, which is basically a category of massive companies diversified in all kinds of ways. Mitsubishi is another one (cars and trucks, cameras and optics (Nikon), electronics, beverages (Kirin), shipping, etc.), Nissan (cars and trucks, consumer electronics, finances, etc), Kawasaki (motorcycles, robotics, shipping, aerospace, etc.), and many more.

South Korea has chaebol, which are similar -- for example Samsung is best known in the west for electronics but they also build container ships and are one of the largest financial firms and building construction companies within the country.
 
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#28
Congrats, those are beautiful instruments. Underrated except among those in the know, which you now are part of.

Some other famous BB players include Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Tony Kanal of No Doubt and Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order. Peter actually has his own signature model BB which came out a few years ago - it's an active 4 string model with a reverse P pickup and a really nice translucent red stain.

@ardgedee, you're close to the mark on your Japanese business structure comment, but I believe the Zaibatsu were dissolved after WWII, and the modern day equivalent are called Keiretsu. Similar idea, they're large conglomerate companies that encompass a wide range of industries. Yamaha is one such conglomerate but they did get their start making musical instruments, which is why their logo is three tuning forks.
 
#29
#31
bbg5a.jpg
I have a BBg5A and it is a great sounding/playing bass
 
#32
ToddB1963 said:
I suppose it depends on what sort of bass sounds you like, but as someone who owns a BB2000 and a BB3000, there's no way I'd trade the former for the latter, especially if you've already got the latter, albeit with an added B string ( essentially what the BB5000 is).

The 3000 is slightly smaller, more svelte/refined, a bit more comfortable to play.

The neck on the 3000 is like a jazz bass, the 2000 is just like a precision.

The tone on the 3000 is very good, but it's not as good as the 2000 IMO. The front pickup on the 3000 gives you a great P sound and the bridge pickup is very punchy, but the pickup blend is slightly too nasal on the D and G for my taste. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very useable sound, but when the strings are popped it sounds like a jazz bass with a slight head cold. The 2000 sounds much better with pickups blended and better all round.

Yamaha caught lightning in a bottle with the BB2000.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Ya I do like my basses. That BB5000 is very nice and easy to play. The BB2000 does have something different in the sound. Must be the reverse P bass pick up. The BB3000 that I'm thinking of looks exactly like yours but has a Gotoh High Mass bridge. Not quite sure if it factory.
 
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#34
My 1984 BB3000s is hands down the best PJ bass I’ve ever played. Yamaha got the pickups and electronics dialed in 40 years ago with their design. Not to mention this bass is of the highest quality production basses around and the fact that it has stood the test of time playing as well or even better then new proves it. Unfortunately I haven’t played it as much as I used to, the band I specifically used it for disbanded after Covid.. might end up in the classifieds someday :(

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#38
"I suppose it depends on what sort of bass sounds you like, but as someone who owns a BB2000 and a BB3000, there's no way I'd trade the former for the latter, especially if you've already got the latter, albeit with an added B string ( essentially what the BB5000 is)."

Truth spoken. I regret having sold my BB1200 from 1981. Should had kept it along with the others. Buyer says will never sell back or to anyone else. Don't do it, keep both.
 
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#39
J Wilson said:
You,'re welcome.

I am a hopeless fanboy for that era BB (like a grandfather that can NOT say no to his grandchildren).

Owing to the ultra clean nature of the two you have, if you don't need to sell the 2000 to buy the 3000, don't. It's getting very hard to find originals like yours in that condition.

The reissues are fine, and 3000 's are much easier playing instruments than 2000's:. Far slimmer neck, traditional P pickup orientation, thinner body. Stunning in that met black and gold (or the rare met red).

The 2000's were a sensation in their day among a lot of West Coast pros. Yamaha had courted several big players for endorsements. The 3000 was the result of a collaboration with one of those guys (not Leland Sklar): The instrument came to production, and the endorsement
. . . didn't.
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Could this have been Louis Johnson? I read in his tribute issue of Bass Olayer Magazine that Yamaha consulted with him in the original BB basses.
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