Recommended series: BB series, TRBX series
Yamaha is currently the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments, including pianos, electronic organs, wind instruments, string instruments, percussion instruments, and a full line of musical instruments. In the 80s of the last century, Yamaha's brand electric bass began to emerge, successively launched BB, TRB, RBX and other series of products, won market recognition, the famous hard rock band Guns N' Roses Duff McKagan, Guitar Player magazine readers voted "best rock bass" Billy Sheehan, the American avant-garde metal band Dream Theater bassist John Myung, etc., are Yamaha's early brand spokespersons.
However, in the 21st century, Yamaha's electric bass performance is not as good as before, the low-end products are relatively flat, the mid-range products are not cost-effective, and the high-end products are sold at a high price. At present, the brand has begun to take a streamlined route, and the entire product line has been integrated into three series: BB, TRBX, and RBX, plus three signature models: BBNE2, TRBJP2, and Attitude Limited 3. In addition, experienced musicians with plenty of money can also opt for Yamaha's American-made Custom Shop, which is a world away from mass-produced instruments due to its meticulous workmanship and high quality.
Born in 1977, the BB series has the longest history and the highest popularity among Yamaha's many electric bass products. Among them, the most classic model is the BB3000, with an alder body, ebony fingerboard, Neck-Through design, and a set of magnetic alloy P/J pickups, with a transparent tone and an extra-long sustain. The now-discontinued BB3000MA is a signature model by Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, with a similar configuration to the BB3000, but with a catchy red pepper overtone markings on the fretboard. These two classic models are relatively rare in China, and they are also hard to find in the second-hand market, so you need to buy them in the United States or Japan.
The new BB series, now available on the official website, is a continuation of the traditional BB series, with 9 models clearly categorized, from the entry-level BB234 to the professional-grade BBP34. Among them, BBP34 is a product for the high-end market, priced at 16090 yuan, using alder/maple/alder three-piece piano body structure, 6-bolt oblique neck structure, equipped with YGD custom aluminum-nickel-cobalt magnet pickups, the timbre is more warm, and the middle frequency is prominent. The highlight of this series is the exclusive IRA (Initial Response Acceleration) technology, which applies specific vibrations to the instrument to relieve pressure in the structure, making the new instrument play with a certain sense of age.
BB234 is set as the middle and low end, with alder wood as the neck material, using ceramic magnet pickups, equipped with a timbre knob, two volume control buttons, although the material is relatively single, but the timbre is clean, there is a certain degree of recognition, the slightly thinner neck can increase the user's hand experience, the price is 3100 yuan, suitable for novices to get started.
The mahogany body of the TRBX series has been lightweighted. The streamlined neck adopts a 5-layer structure of maple and mahogany to ensure stability and enhance the convenience of playing, and its bolt-on connection method is suitable for high-level playing. Due to the different configurations of pickups and control circuits, they are mainly divided into 6 models, such as TRBX505, TRBX174, and TRBX305, and the prices range from 1900 to 6100 yuan.
