YAMAHA TRB CLUB

#1,543
Micaiah3 said:
sooooo while i like the middle position the NECK pickup is AMAZING solo'd is it just me? i was like ehh its a jazz pup i've heard jazz neck pups a hundred times BUT THE TRB is brutal both in a mix and live!
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When I use my TRB I bias mostly towards the neck pickup. I learned that from David Swift (Jools Holland)... That neck pickup has a lot of grunt.
 
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#1,545
Hey y’all!

I have a TRB-JP2 that I love and gig regularly. I’m interested in adding a piezo option to the electronics.

Does any have experience with this?
Is this a bad idea?
Do I need to replace the preamp to do this?

Graphtechs Ghost piezo saddles appear that they would drop into the bridge with some help from a luthier to drill holes through the brass. But I don’t understand how it could get hooked up to the electronics.

Would I need to add an additional preamp from Graphtech to achieve this or could I somehow wire it into the preamp that is already in the bass? Do I need to have a second battery box added?

At some point it might be better/cheaper to buy a second bass with a factory piezo like the ibanez affirma to have a piezo option…
 
#1,546
ben-pdf said:
Hey y’all!

I have a TRB-JP2 that I love and gig regularly. I’m interested in adding a piezo option to the electronics.

Does any have experience with this?
Is this a bad idea?
Do I need to replace the preamp to do this?

Graphtechs Ghost piezo saddles appear that they would drop into the bridge with some help from a luthier to drill holes through the brass. But I don’t understand how it could get hooked up to the electronics.

Would I need to add an additional preamp from Graphtech to achieve this or could I somehow wire it into the preamp that is already in the bass? Do I need to have a second battery box added?

At some point it might be better/cheaper to buy a second bass with a factory piezo like the ibanez affirma to have a piezo option…
Click to expand...

So you’re basically considering turning your JP2 into an original TRB-4/5/6P, at least electronically. I’ll vote that it’s a bad idea for a few reasons;
1. Yes, you’ll need to replace the preamp
2. I’m guessing you’ll need a new bridge too, as I’ve never seen drop-in saddles with piezos embedded for bass (but maybe they’re out there)
3. You’ll be significantly modifying an otherwise desirable stock production bass (should you decide to sell in the future)
4. You need to find the right luthier that also has experience with piezo technology

I’m far from an expert but have monkeyed around quite a bit with products from Artec Sound on a few projects. In general there’s at least three designs you’ll need to consider for the preamp (assuming you want it onboard the instrument):
1. One the sums a single piezo electric signal
2. One that blends a piezo electric signal with a traditional magnetic signal
3. One that gives you multiple piezo electric inputs for something like per-string control

Then there’s the placement of the piezo elements themselves and debugging unwanted vibrations, signal amplitude issues, and possible cross-talk. It can be a bit of trial and error.

Good luck!
 
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#1,547
externalFile.jpgexternalFile.jpg


My TRB1006J arrived last week. Lowered its string height with pickup height, and it sounds much better than I expected. It became my main instrument position instead of Modulus Quantum. B string is quite tight and its sound is natural and organic. Exactly what I need. Modulus had strong lows but it lacked mid. The versatility is of course amazing. I think I will use it mainly unless I have to play some djent or some similar genre.. but I think TRB can do those genres too. Amazing instrument. If this instrument really fits me, then my next gear will be JP2.. maybe?
 
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#1,548
gscroggin said:
So you’re basically considering turning your JP2 into an original TRB-4/5/6P, at least electronically. I’ll vote that it’s a bad idea for a few reasons;
1. Yes, you’ll need to replace the preamp
2. I’m guessing you’ll need a new bridge too, as I’ve never seen drop-in saddles with piezos embedded for bass (but maybe they’re out there)
3. You’ll be significantly modifying an otherwise desirable stock production bass (should you decide to sell in the future)
4. You need to find the right luthier that also has experience with piezo technology

I’m far from an expert but have monkeyed around quite a bit with products from Artec Sound on a few projects. In general there’s at least three designs you’ll need to consider for the preamp (assuming you want it onboard the instrument):
1. One the sums a single piezo electric signal
2. One that blends a piezo electric signal with a traditional magnetic signal
3. One that gives you multiple piezo electric inputs for something like per-string control

Then there’s the placement of the piezo elements themselves and debugging unwanted vibrations, signal amplitude issues, and possible cross-talk. It can be a bit of trial and error.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Well, I think you’ve talked me out of it I appreciate your detailed response! As much as I like to believe that I’ll have this instrument forever, keeping the resale value up is something I probably should put more thought into. Maybe I’ll start hunting for an older TRB with the piezo instead. Cheers! Thanks again
 
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#1,549
Recover9720 said:
View attachment 5384114

My TRB1006J arrived last week. Lowered its string height with pickup height, and it sounds much better than I expected. It became my main instrument position instead of Modulus Quantum. B string is quite tight and its sound is natural and organic. Exactly what I need. Modulus had strong lows but it lacked mid. The versatility is of course amazing. I think I will use it mainly unless I have to play some djent or some similar genre.. but I think TRB can do those genres too. Amazing instrument. If this instrument really fits me, then my next gear will be JP2.. maybe?
Click to expand...

For me, your TRB is much more comfortable than the JP2. I had both, sold the JP2.
 
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#1,551
ben-pdf said:
Well, I think you’ve talked me out of it I appreciate your detailed response! As much as I like to believe that I’ll have this instrument forever, keeping the resale value up is something I probably should put more thought into. Maybe I’ll start hunting for an older TRB with the piezo instead. Cheers! Thanks again
Click to expand...

While I fully support you finding a used original TRB, check out Ibanez too. Lower price point, generally good quality, and I think they have a few models that have magnetic and piezo systems together. The Portamento series comes to mind, though I’ve only ever seen them fretless.
 
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#1,552
Recover9720 said:
IIRC, JP2 is much bigger than TRB so I assume there will be some difficulty in playing compared to TRB. I guess that difference is much bigger than I thought. How were those two different sound-wise?
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For me the JP2 sounded more articulated, with more definition ala piano like.
But it was heavy as hell and I the nut was too wide for my hands.
The TRB is still on the heavy side but with narrower nut. The sound is just...great, you can do magic playing with the mid pot as it affects bass and treble.
 
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#1,553
gscroggin said:
While I fully support you finding a used original TRB, check out Ibanez too. Lower price point, generally good quality, and I think they have a few models that have magnetic and piezo systems together. The Portamento series comes to mind, though I’ve only ever seen them fretless.
Click to expand...

Thanks for tip! I’ll do some digging on Ibanez. A 5 string with a high C would work for 85% of what I do, so that should make it much easier to find something
 
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