Yamaha RBX-270

Made in Indonesia.
24 fret, 4 strings.
1 master volumes, and one volume for each pick-up
One split coil and one single coil pick up.
Passive electronics.
Alder body, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.
Available in a range of colours, mine in black.
34" scale neck, very slim.
Mine came in the box with a chep instrument cable ( to connect to the amp), cable only lasted a month or two.

Got all the features you'd expect for an instrument in this price range.

I play mainly punk (Clash, Rancid), reggae, and rock music. Suits me fine, but for a more traditional rock sound you'd probly be better off with a P-Bass.

I play it two a Laney RB-2 30W bass combo and its got just the right sounds for me.

For me the only sound that works is to have the neck pick up slighty off full, with a little bit of volume on the bridge. Playing with any other combination just seems a bit bad, but probly just down to taste. Get's a reasonal Prescision tone though.

I don't have to mess with EQ on the amp to get a tone I like with this bass, and on the one occasion I played live it cut through the mix fine.

Love the tone I have, but having a stronger rock tone, or jazz tone would be nice.

The factory set-up was abit low for my taste (but i think I have it high anyway).

Pick ups were abit uneven, with noticably more volume on the thick E, and the G string is fairly quiet.

There are no major flaws I've found with this instrument, and no set-up problems that couldn't be tweaked at home with a screwdriver.

I've only played it live once but it worked fine for me.

Hardware seems fine, not expecting it to break any time soon.

The only place the finish seems to have worn away is on the back where it rubs against my chest sometimes.

Strap buttons are fine, I don't use strap locks so they must be pretty good.

Never adjusted the truss rod, and it's not something I'd advise someone todo without getting a decent opinion first.

I'd happily gig this without a backup.

It had alot of bangs and scratches, and been dropped on occasions. This is a very tough bass.

Never had to contact them.

I've been playing it for a year, and it's my first and only bass guitar. If it were stolen or lost I would most likely buy a different bass, uprgade to something more expensive. But this is definately a brilliant bass to start with.

I love that it has a sound that suits me perfectly, although its abit annoying that it's the only sound i can get that I like.

I compared this to several simialrely priced basses and found this suited me most.

I do wish it had a better slap tone.

If possibly you should try as many basses as you can before buying one, but if not you can place your faith in this.

- 24 frets
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Palisander fretboard
- Passive P/J mic setup
- Volume, mic balance, tone pots
- 2+2 tuners
- Vintage styled bridge

Pretty basic, with all the things it needs. No more, no less.

Sound does not exted as far low as with active setups and the variety of sounds isn't that great, due to the lack of eq. However, the general sound is quite good for most of the styles you will ever play. I'm fairly impressed about the sound of the P-mic - it's nice, solid and even some degree punchy. Playing solely with J-mic gives you nice, bit bottomless sound which I also like, but it lacks the solidness of the P-mic, which makes it sound somewhat muddy. This is not what I expect from a J-mic, as they are supposed to sound better with high notes. Not so on this one, ergo the verdict. P-mic 8, J-mic 5.

I bought the bass used, so it was setup already nicely. Though it's few years old, there are no major flaws on the paint, the frets are spot on perfect, the saddle hasn't become loose and there are no excessive noises coming out of it - it even keeps the tuning! It does, however, have a loose volume pot. Nothing 5 minutes of work won't fix.

I'd say if only thing you need to service after 2-3 years of usage is volume pot, it's pretty much as solid as it can get on this pricerange.

Never dealt with them, so I can't say bad or good word about them.

I'd buy another one. I find the bass so good, I'm going to buy EMG set for it. I mean, it's not as well finnished as RBX 374 or BB414, but for the money you will not find a better bass. It's not quite the workhorse type of instrument, but it does get the job done.

This is a straightforward 4 string bass guitar. It has two single coil pickups, neck P-style; bridge J-style. Volume, pick-up balance and tone controls. No thrills but everything you need is there.

It has a 24 fret neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The headstock is painted black and has two tuners on each side. The neck has a D shape and is rather thin, which ensures excellent playability. It has a very basic fender-style bridge.

I've got the natural finish type body. If seen from a distance it makes the RBX 270 look a far more classy and expensive instrument than it actually is. Fellow band members are always shocked to hear how little it cost.

Sound-wise this instrument outclasses any instrument cheaper than 400 Euro's I ever played, including all recent Squiers and MIM Fenders. Ibanez is a different sound concept, but to my taste this bass sounds much better!

Yet it is the sound of the instrument which makes you realise sometimes that this is not a 1000 Euro+ bass guitar.

Although it sounds quite good for a passive bass, it is a slight bit short on low-mid (punch if you like). On most equipment you are not likely to hear any serious shortcomings. But ever since I got an SWR bassic black amp, which reproduces the sound of any instrument very accurately, I started noticing the lack of punch, especially on the lowest notes on the E-string. During recording i noticed the same thing. A bit of eq around 200 Hz will solve this problem however.

Slapping and plucking is not my specialty, but the RBX-270 sounds well if I try.

Rather unique is how beautiful it sings on the D and G strings past the seventh position. It is a bit like a fretless bass and I actually learned to play riffs and melodies in this area. This was all new to me, for I am a very functional bass player for most of the time.

Maybe I was lucky, but different from some other reviews, I got mine in excellent condition, perfectly adjusted with the best action I ever found on a bass guitar. No rattles or strange noises whatsoever, just 24 frets of pure playing joy. Tuners are great; sometimes weeks go by without having to tune the instrument!

It plays very lightly. I received a lot of compliments from other players how great it plays!

The entire instrument is very well finished but it is not luxerious.

I've owned and played it for seven years now, and it still looks like new. Only a small trace of corrosion on two of the pickup adjustment screws.

Never had to deal with them.

This definitely is one of the best bass-guitars for a starting bass player. It sounds fine, it plays very comfortably, stays in tune well and is quity inexpensive for the amount of bass guitar you get. Wipes out most of the competition in the same price range and above.

I used to be a bass player in the early eighties, but I switched to other instruments later on. Every once in a while people asked me to play bass on an ad-hoc basis, like in church services or staff parties. I bought this instrument for these occasions and I have played a lot of gigs with it.

Recently I started playing bass more seriously and now I am considering buying a better instrument. But I find it a hard job to one! I played several instruments which cost twice as much, but are in fact inferior to this one.

A significant step forward would be the 800 - 1000 Euro price category, where you can find a.o. the USA Fenders, MusicMan Sub and the upper range Yamaha's.

I bought this bass earlier this year, not sure where it was made. It's your standard 24 fret rosewood fingerboard, on a maple neck, bolted onto an alder body. It has passive split P/J style pickups. Controls are just your basic volume, pickup balance and tone. I don't use the tone or the bridge pickup though. For your average beginner, which I was, this is a perfect starter bass.

I only use the P pickup with no tone when playing this bass. I used this bass at a gig and it created a really warm sound out of a half decent amp. I have played around with the pickup configuration and the tone before, but I have always gone back to the P pickup and no tone. I can't beat that sound.

When this bass arrived, I thought the action was fine. I didn't know any better. As time has gone on, I have found I hit the strings quite hard so I've had to raise the action to stop it from buzzing. The height of the pickups is great because I can rest my thumb easily when playing. Although that area of the black finish has now started to go hazy. So the finish isn't GREAT.
Also the jack seems to become loose quite often. I have taken it to the shop once to be fixed. Cost me a fiver to have it tightened. It became loose again soon after so I just took off the back, and found it's just a nut that unwinds. In other words, 4 minutes of fiddling around and you can fix that problem.
Other than that, this bass seems well built and can take a lot of punishment. This thing has hit various things and has enjoyed cramped rides in cars and still smiles at me.

I have used this bass once live. I didn't take a back up, so I put all my faith in this bass and it pulled through. Although now it might be the back up because I have bought a Fender Precision.
The hardware seems good to last. No real issues there apart from the jack as I mentioned earlier. The finish may need tarting up in the future. I suggest you don't wear a belt buckle! The finish around the pickup has worn as well due to my thumb, not a good sign.

I haven't had to deal with them.

I have been playing every day now for over half a year. I also own a Fender Precision, a 25w Marshall combo and a 200w Randall combo. I do not regret buying this bass for a second. If it was stolen I may buy another, but I may not. This bass has a lot of character and being my first bass, a lot of sentimental value. It has made me the obsessive bassist I am today :) I love that I can just throw it over my shoulder and it will perform exactly how I want it to. No niggling little features, just plug in and play. For such a good price I would suggest any one considering learning bass to buy this.

This is a 2005 Indonesian-made 24 fret 4 string bass with PJ pickup configuration (pickups appears to be generic passive Yamaha-made). It has a master tone, master volume, and a mix knob for the two pickups. Body (alder) resembles a pickguardless P-Bass with sharper cutoffs - very modern look which I like. Fretboard is rosewood on a maple neck, I believe. 8 for having what you need without confusing you with all that active bass or onboard eq hoopla.

The PJ setup with the alder body really make this bass - you can get virtually any sound you want out of it, I've found, from cold metal-ish tones to nice, warm, and funky rhythms. The J pickup seems to be susceptible to hum to a small degree, but it's not really noticeable unless you happen to be in a fluorescent lighting store or somewhere equally absurd. 10 for the sheer variety of tone - there's something for everyone in this bass, which can hardly be said for virtually any other bass at this price point!

Setup was flawless - took the thing out of the case right after getting home after buying it, put it in tune, and just went from there. I've noticed nothing wrong with it. 10 for perfect out-of-the-case setup.

It feels solid yet lightweight, the finish seems built to last, the strap buttons are well mounted - what's not to like about this? I'll need to play this a while yet before being able to determine how long I think it'll last, so no opinion for now.

Never had to deal with them. Hope I don't have to. Probably won't, seeing how solid the guitar feels.

I've mostly been a guitarist with an affinity for basslines, so I bought this to hone that skill with a real instrument. Not only have I not been disappointed, I absolutely love this bass and would buy it again in a heartbeat. Killer tones with killer variety at a killer price - what's not to love about it? Every bassist really should try one of these out at some point - they are most certainly worth buying!

Its says "...made in idonesia in accordance with specifications of Yamaha corp."

It's a;

RBX 270 J

you already know the specificatons...if not check emm out.


7 for lack of anything mind bogglingly superb, as it has pretty basic features - but very well done

currently I am playing through a 300watt behringer amp and a 600watt behringer cabinet. As someone here said before there is a hum that is resonably loud, but I plated the backplate with tinfoil to reduce that.

In my opinion the sound is very bright and high notes are picked up very very well, but the bassier notes seem to lack just that little bit - I have recently fitted a new input jack + some replacment wiring and the loudness and low notes of the bass improved loads!

I've used it on stage and in the studio, and I feel it works ok in both but their isn't a good balance in sound, where some notes practicaly disappear

I bought it at a music store about 2 years ago, and I guess they adjusted the set-up as the action was very nice and smooth.

Pickups are great, they're a bit big so sometimes they get in the way of fingers while picking which can hurt...the electronics area is extremely small, which makes it nearly impossible to make your own adjustments which really annoys me!

-no rusting, good wood, as I said theres a strange hum when pausing etc...

the electronics were great for a while, until about 6 months ago when the wiring went all s****y.....

This bass has withstood a lot of heavy beating, most of the hardware has lasted quite well.....
BUT the input jack has had to be replaced twice and this last time fixed it for good, as I got a completlety different jack with a locking thing on it - The wiring had to be replaced as well cause it was shockingly crap.

I have used it in gigs without backup, but thats because it is the only bass I have at the moment.... it worked fine, but just before I got the jack fixed it was a nightmare for cutting out and playing up in the middle of sets!!

The finish on my bass is a natural wood - unglossed which means its get really bad scratches, but it still looks good B)

I can definitley depend on it now...but I'm getting a new bass to see what else is out there really, and to be careful....after all it was a lot of bother getting a new jack, and wiring and a little bit costly!

Never troubled them....maybe I should have?

I wish I had of asked what the customer support number was!.....damn it

If it were lost or stolen I would buy a different bass....simply beacuse I couldnt be bothered modifying a new one, and I have progressed to the point where I want a more expensive bass.

beacuse of the great feel out of this I might buy a yamaha RBX774 or higher because there is definitley a feel of decent quality for its price....In retrospect it is the best bass in its price range, there is some crap out there!

hope I'm not too contradicting in what I say, as I like the bass but know that I went through a bit of bother getting it fixed!
definitley the best starter bass and very good intermediate bass

I bought this one in new in 2002. no wood grain is shown, and its very light, so maybe its alder. a J and P passive pickups, 2 volume pots and one ''blend'' pot. very basic setup, but efficient. Looks ok without getting any wows for its looks. Its built to get the job done without any bells and whistles, and it does it very well.

Im mostly a studio rat, and I bought this thing to give punch to my recordings. Its very sensitive to any hum source (computers, ect), so keep it as far as possible. It hums a lot more than any other instrument I have, and in some quiet recordings, it can be a bummer. On the up side, IT GETS THE JOB DONE. Very versatile bass: it rumbles like hell on metal tracks, pops and sings on funk tracks, and sounds just right for bass solos. Oh, and it sounds great on blues too! Who cares it dosent have active pickups...If you have a compressor somewhere in the sound chain, youll never miss active pickups. Im a purist, so I just plug it in a tube MP preamp, and straight in the recording board. Works great, no complaints. Just add a touch of compression, and presto! Its never seen the stage, so i cant say anything for that. It dosent sound AWESOME on any style, but like I said, it gets the job done...And for 350$, its a great deal.

The neck setup was ok, nice and low. The pups were at the right height..... BUT the bridge, oh my god! it was sooooooooo off! It was basically impossible to play a song on tune! Since im a cheap bastard, ive set the bridge at the best of my abilities, using only a tuner and a screwdriver...And never had a problem since, its a great bass.

a tank. Take it from me, im a clumsy musician. All my instruments took a dive to the floor at least 10 times due to my darn lack of hand-eye reflexes. It got marks off the multiple falls, but the body never moved, and I dont even think I had to put it back in tune after a fall. Believe me, it takes abuse a hell lot better than some of my other instruments.

never had to deal with them.

Ok, im mostly a guitarist, and I play bass only for recordings. So all my equipment is guitar related, and therefore useless here. But, as a studio rat, Im VERY fussy about sound. I can spend hours just to get the sound I want. With that bass, things are so easy. I just plug it in the board, play 3 minutes with the pots to find the sound that fits the song, and bang away. No huss, no fuss. It sounds good enough that only a preamp with no tone controls is needed. Plug and play! A sound man's dream! If it wasnt for the dreadful hum, id give it a 10.

Bought the bass in 2003. Second-hand, about a year old, but virtually mint condition. I'm not sure where it was made; probably Korea, being one of the cheaper Yamaha's. Pretty light, so probably basswood or alder, with what seem like bog standard passive pickups, decent bridge and tuners and a maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Style is the typically-Yamaha rock/metal/do-anything shape. Mine's in that metallic sea-green you always see in the pictures. Normal sort of full scale, I think. Volume, tone and pickup mix control. About as much as you can expect to find on an entry-level bass.

I bought it because I always wanted a bass, for low-end giggles and a bit of recording. I'll have to be careful not to blow my guitar amp!! It's capable of a surprisingly broad range of tones, from high-attack Chili Pepper funk to warm, long sustain. Very little pickup hum. I've been playing mainly with a pick (a product of playing guitar and listening to metal!) but it's very easy to remove the harsh edge with a tweak of the tone control. The pickup mixer really is very good, and is pretty much all I use for varying the sound from bright to dark. (For anyone who has an RBX already, I reckon the best sound is with the mixer turned just off-centre, towards the neck pickup, with the tone on fully bright. Whaddaya think?) I play anything from metal to Dire Straits, and it copes just fine. I'd imagine an active bass would suit the studio better, but hey, it's a sub-200 quid Yamaha.

The action is absolutely spot-on. It's hard to believe such a cheap bass could be so easy to play, but it's the same with all Yamahas I've ever played/owned. Mass-production gets a bit of a bad rap with guitarists, but I think the Japanese have used it to good effect, making some consistently reliable and well finished guitars. The overall finish of the body and neck is decent, if not spectacular, and the hardware looks almost new, despite the bass being a couple of years old now. I haven't moved the pickups, but it's my first bass, and just for practice and home recording. My one gripe? The volume and tone pots. They work fine, but feel extreeeemely cheap. I'd recommend anyone to replace them with higher quality ones, especially if you plan on playing live, as their action is far too light, and the flimsy plastic knobs would feel much nicer in metal, with a bit more physical resistance. The RBX also suits a more upright stance, as the lightweight body balances the neck best when it's worn at about 45 degrees (is this a problem?!)

I don't see why you couldn't use this bass for any smallish gig. It's well made, comfortable to play and would probably look quite cool with few scraches and dents. The strap buttons are large enough, and feel solid, and the tuning machines seem to hold their tuning no matter how many times I casually throw it on the sofa. It's probably way out of it's depth in a studio, but I've just leant it to a mate who does a lot of home recording, and he's absolutely loving it. If you play aggressively, though, I'd suggest replacing the pots and knobs with sturdier items. Either that or just pick a good tone and gaffer-tape the pots in position so you don't knock them out of place. I have seen a few jobbing bassists playing these at live gigs. They've all looked quite battle-scarred, but I couldn't fault the sound.

The bass was second-hand and came with a gig bag, so was the best bargain I've ever found. Even at the #179 it normally sells for, I reckon you'd be hard-pushed to find anything better. I trust Yamaha's fit and finish, as I have an APX6 acoustic which sounds great through an amp and has stood up to numerous open-mic sessions being abused by drunken idiots including myself. Having only played #80 for it, if it breaks, I'll probably throw it away and buy a new bass; perhaps an Ibanez SGR, or one of the new Musicman SUB 5-strings.

The RBX is my most recent purchase, just to see how I'd transfer my guitar playing onto the bass, and because I was sick of the lame bass guitar effects that make my recordings sound completely shite. The decent action has made things pretty easy, and I wouldn't have thought many budget basses would be quite so welcoming to inexperienced fingers. I've been playing guitar for nearly 10 years, and have a Yamaha APX6A acoustic, a Maverick F1 hardtail, and a Marshall MG50 amp (see my other reviews!) and a Zoom 505II for recording and general arsing about. The RBX sort of has been stolen; my mate doesn't want to give it back! Like I said, I'm tempted to replace the pots with higher quality ones, but I think I'd only bother if I was playing gigs with it. I've also seen some skull knobs which look quite cool (sad I know).

Yellow natural satin finish, Alder body, Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard, 24 frets, P/J type pickups, Volume control, pickup blend and tone control.

The pickups on this bass don't do it justice in my opinion. the pole pieces are covered, unlike the cheaper RBX170 which has pickups with exposed pole pieces?! I also own an RBX170 and have to say that the pickups sound better! I have done a transplant and swapped the pickups over which has improved the sound greatly. I am putting a DiMarzio P/J set in this bass soon anyway, but if you're not thinking of changing the pickups I'd say this is the RBX270's only downfall. The stock pickups don't sound terrible or anything, it's just that they sound duller than the RBX170's, which have great clarity and ballanced tone.

I always set up all my own instruments, but when it arrived it was set up resonably well so I'll give it a 7.

This is a verry well made bass, in this price range I have yet to find a bass that's built/made as well as this! Although because of the natural finish you have to take a bit more care, because scratches/dents will really show up.

Never dealt with them, although Yamaha make very good instruments so i'd be suprised if they let themselves down by having bad customer support.

I've been playing drums for nearly 7 years, bass for nearly 6 years and guitar for nearly 4 years. I've played many styles of music in many bands. I've owned and played several expensive basses and this bass is as good as, if not better than some of them. I also re-wired it so it has no tone control (because i never use it) and 1 volume control to adjust the volume of both pickups at the same time. I find this works better for me, but only because I personaly don't use the other controls! Would I buy it again? Well, I'm about to buy another one for songs in a lower tunning and the fretless version, so, Yes! and at this price, I don't ever have to worry at gigs about weather it's going to get nicked/broken/heavily abused in transit! You should at least try one of these out, I strongly recomend it! PS. I also submitted a review for the RBX170 and overall this is a much better bass. The pickups don't sound bad, in fact they sound much better that a lot of other basses in this price range. If you are thinking of buying the RBX170, you should definately save up more and buy the RBX270.

* 4-string solid body electric bass guitar
* Made in Idonesia, don't know what year, but I think 2004
* 24 frets, 4 strings (G-D-A-E)
* Solid Top
* 3 control pots: volume, pickup balancer (with detente), tone
* 2 passive pickups, P and J style, NO exposed polepieces! single-Coil
* Passive electronics
* Body made of alder(I think), neck maple, fingerboard rosewood
* Black Finish, headstock also painted (always black, also on other RBX 270's with other finishes)
* Body is RBX-style
* Bridge is standard, Fender Style, chrome
* Tuners are non-locking closed tuners (better then on the RBX 170), chrome
* 34" Scale, Medium frets, Neck is standard, thin, very smooth
* Accessories: 2 allen wrenches (for truss-rod&bridge), small manual, cable (about 2m, one straight, one angled jack, pretty cheap)

It suits very well with my style (alternative-grunge-psychadelic with my band, but my style is actually hardcore). The strings lost their brightness after 1 week. I use it with no effects, but I will get as soon as possible a Boss GEB 7 (Graphic Equalizer for bass) for more tonal possibilities. I have no amp, but i play on rehersals on a Trace Elliot Boxer 65. More output then my first bass (P-Bass copy, bad). With fresh strings nice bright sound. J pickup produces a little bit of hum, but it's not that much. Not noisy at all. Nice sound, from warm to agressive, full enough, various, very good for that price! With a Boss GEB 7 I hope it will sound very good. Maybe I will change my J pickup, but not now. Used it once live, and sounded VERY good. All the people said they felt the bass in their liver and tummy, but it was a small club-gig, with a good PA-system. I like the sound, I will get the EQ, and then... let's rock! No dislikes! Rating is 9 because of the SMALL, LITTLE hum from the J pickup.

The bass was set up very well from the factory, action was OK, a little bit high for my style, pickups were a little bit high for my style (because i DIG in, and i was hitting the pickups with the strings). P pickup was strange, the part between the D and A strings (the edges from both pickups) was pretty high, but i fixed it in 2 minutes. Neck is straight, I think it will get some relief by tweaking the Truss-Rod. Frets are very OK! No finish flaws! Wood very good, very smooth. Finish takes small fingernail scratches (from popping for example) but that is normal! Hardware also very OK, standard but OK. Nut is cut well, pots are plastic but OK. Very good bass for that price. Very good quality, good strap-buttons. It only had a small flaw on the back of the neck (like hiting with screwdriver on it, but i think that's from the factory, because the bass had no fingerprints when I got it out from the case, anyway, nothing serious, very small, you almost can feel it, other basses won't have this minor flaw)

This bass will defenitly whitstand live playing. It seems pretty durable, I got it 2 weeks now, so I can't tell you much about durability, but it seems solid like a rock. It's a Yamaha, Yamaha makes no shitty stuff, like Squiers, and the Ibanez GSR line. I got it friday, and I played with it live the next day, I would defenitly play with it without a backup. I would take extra strings for backup, you never know... The next thing I'm gonna buy for it is a cool gig-bag, a better strap, new strings (Warwick Red Label), a tuner, and the Boss GEB 7. My next bass will be a top line bass: Yamaha BB 2005, or Ibanez SR 905. Yamaha rules! Get Yamaha Basses, and you will be satisfied!

Not that good. I sent them about 10 mails with tech questions, and they answered just one! Well, I think they have too many mails, and they hadn't answered all mails, because they found my questions weren't important... I think. Warranty is 1 year, but I haven't got any certificate!

I have been playing for one and a half year now. I own an bad P-Bass copy, that is gonna be sold. I haven't played the bass before buying it, because I ordered it from that dude. It's a VERY GOOD BASS, maybe the best you can get in this price-class. You have to get an EQ, and your bass will sound like hell. If it were stolen I would buy it again, or if I had more money, I'll get the BB 405, or the top of the RBX/BB line: RBX 774/5, BB 2004/5, then I will have on-board 3 band EQ! I love the way it plays, I wish it had a better place to rest your thumb, I hate P pickups because I don't have where to put my thumb on (because of the screw), I would like soapbars, maybe humbuckers, but the stock-ones are very OK! I choose this bass because I read reviews at this site, and the RBX 270 was the best in this price-class. I compared it to a RBX 170, and i didn't liked the exposed polepieces on the pickups, the separate pickup volume controls, and the unpainted headstock. (I haven't heard the RBX 170, just played it). I wish it had humbucker soapbars. Very good 200 bucks bass, maybe the best you can find on the market! Yamaha rules!!!