Yamaha BB1000S

The Yamaha BB1000S is a passive 4-string bass, with a Jazz pickup & a reverse-configured Precision pickup. The controls are master volume, master tone, & pickup toggle switch. It has a 3-piece through-neck, full scale, with a 21-fret rosewood fingerboard & dot fret markers. My guess is that the body wings are alder, but I'm not sure; the neck appears to be maple sandwiching a strip of darker wood. It has a massive, front-loading bridge, and 4-in-a-row tuners. The neck is sleek, yet substantial; not unlike a Rickenbacker neck. There is a single truss-rod accessible at the heel. The finish on mine is a glossy translucent red, in near mint condition, even though these basses date from the 80s. It comes in a custom-fitted hard case with the Nippon Gakki logo, and all the tools you'll need for set-up.

The Yamaha BB1000S was produced in Japan in the 1980s. It was part of Yamaha's higher-end, neck-through basses in the BB series (the 3-digit BB-series basses had bolt-on necks). It is the simplest, I believe, of the 4-digit BB-series basses, lacking active electronics, ebony fretboard, gold hardware, or oval-shaped fret markers. If you like a neck-through bass, P/J pickups, passive electronics, a rosewood fretboard, & don't really care about stuff like gold hardware--that is, if you're like me--then this is a great choice.

This thing is extremely well built. All set-up adjustments are very easy to make. The quality of the construction & materials is just flawless, especially given the price. Even the control cavity is a study in cleanliness!

Some people rate instruments lower if they have few bells & whistles. I think that simplicity can be a great feature in its own right! However, a volume/volume/tone configuration might appeal to some more than the master + selector configuration. I usually like to roll of a pickup slightly, rather than just soloing either of them; fortunately, though, this thing sounds good in all 3 positions.

I had been shopping for a while for a P Bass (or P/J hybrid). I looked especially at the Lakland Bob Glaub bass, as well as the new Fender American Standard P Basses. Let me say that both of these are really outstanding basses. I tried enough to know what sort of sound I was really hoping to get out of whatever bass I bought. I took a chance & picked up this BB1000S off eBay, because I've had good experience before with Yamaha basses, & the price was just too good not to have a try. After a thorough set-up & some new D'Addario roundwound strings, this thing totally nailed the sound I was after. Totally. It has an outstanding tone for rock. It is deep with lots of growl and good treble bite; if you think of that growling tone on songs like "Longview," "Over You," and "The Chain," this bass has that tone in spades. I haven't tried it with effects, only a little EQ. I find that it actually sounds really good with a flat EQ, so it only takes some minor EQ adjustments to dial it right in. (If you have a Yamaha NE-1 box, try it with Q set to "deep" and the frequency on setting 7. Yummy!)

The 3 different pickup settings yield 3 diverse tones, each of them useful, & the tones change again depending on where you strike the strings. It's nicely responsive to playing style. It sounds equally good with fingers or a pick, and although I don't slap, it has a great slap tone as well. For all its natural growl, though, it can also sit pretty smooth in a mix. All that growl & bite helps it cut through, yet it still blends in nicely. (Isn't that why bassists love P basses?) So I find that it has a lot of versatility, and I haven't found a bad tone in it yet. Full marks here--especially when you consider what a bargain this bass is. Quite literally, I would've paid 3x as much to get tone this good.

The level of craftsmanship here is simply amazing for a production instrument. I made a choice a few years ago never to buy any bass that felt like a compromise. When I moved continents, I sold off all my basses, except for my Rickenbacker 4003. Since then I've taken my time & insisted on the very best quality for the money. This bass definitely satisfies. The previous owner had set the action about a mile above the fingerboard, with excessive neck bow. It was easy to adjust the bass to my liking, & it stays put. The finish is gorgeous, and everything fits together perfectly. Even the case is great: it's well padded, & is so closely fitted to the shape of the instrument that it could never shift inside; as long as the case isn't snapped in half, that bass should stay pretty safe!

I could point out a couple of minor flaws, though. One is that the E-string tuner seems a bit weak to me (but it's keeping the string in tune, so...); this is made worse by the fact that the headstock fits so snugly inside the case that the E-string tuner almost invariably gets bumped when you put the bass in the case or take it out. Also, I get some scratchy noise every now & then, but I may be able to fix that with contact cleaner. Not much to complain about, really.

Well, after 25 years, this thing still performs like--and even looks like--a brand new bass. And it's built so sturdy, I fully expect another 25 years out of it. No worries at all.

Never contacted them. This thing probably hasn't been under warranty since the first Bush or maybe even the Reagan administration, so...

I have been playing for about 15 years. I have owned several basses: 3 Yamahas, a couple of Fender Jazz basses, a Sterling, a Godin, a Carvin... These are all good basses. I've had only my trusty Rickenbacker 4003 for a while now, & I've been carefully looking for that one "right" bass with the Fender-ish vibe. This bass is exactly what I was looking for, with quality I couldn't get elsewhere at even three times the price. The original Yamaha BB-series basses are definitely one of the best-kept secrets, and the one of the greatest bargains, in the whole bass market. If it were lost or stolen, I would immediately start looking for another one. The BB1000 isn't as fancy as the other models in the original BB line, but there's nothing that I miss. The best things about this bass are the quality of construction--that means reliability and, oh yeah, sustain!!--and the range of really useful tones. It can stand alongside a Rickenbacker bass, and to me, that's saying something.

Compared to other production instruments, and especially considering the price, overall I give it full marks.

1980 model made in Japan by Nippon Gakki. Cherry-burst in color, neck-thru, passive pickups in reverse p and j. Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays (unlike the ebony board/oval inlays that came on the BB2000 and BB3000) models). All original hardware and original form-fitting Yamaha case (brown case with mint green interior). Even after 25 years, it was in great shape. No intonation or fret ware problems. Bridge (jazz) pickup needed rewinding but, other than that, it had held up much better than my vintage Fenders.

This is a great sounding bass! Deep and resonant. Tracks extremely well to tape. Maybe this is why so many session musicians used these in the 1980s. Mine is strung with Dean Markley SR2000 Will Lee strings and I play through an Eden Metro combo. Great, warm tone when played with fingers, but really comes alive when played with a pick. And if you like to slap and pop, these are incredible!! Nothing made today sounds like it. I bought this one trying to cop that Joy Divison/Smiths tone and it nails it. Now I play it for everything.

As noted above, it still maintained great set up over 25 years after it left the factory. The frets have held up extremely well. All the machines perform perfectly, as does the strangely engraved bridge. Only issue was the bridge pickup, which needed rewinding. Now its fixed and it sounds huge.

Built like a tank

Yamaha web site told me exactly when it was made (year/month). I even got an old sales brochure for this model online. I have never had to rely on them for repairs, as this one is 25 years old and still rockin and rollin along. But, Yamaha has been around forever and they care about keeping us consumers happy.

I've been playing bass for 26 years. I remember watching Andy Rourke of The Smiths play his Yamaha BB and George Hawkins, Jr. played one with Kenny Loggins/Fleetwood Mac. That just shows how versatile this bass really is. I'm a tone freak who really pays attention to these things and this one has TONE like no other. I have bought and sold again Laklands, Warwicks, Fenders (even pre CBS ones), Tobias and MusicMan to name a few. I will not sell this one.

Yamaha BB1000s bass, 34" scale 4 string neck-thru body made by Nippon Gaki Co. in Japan in early 1980's. Rosewood fretboard 21 frets, passive electronics with "reversed" P with a J pickup configuration with vol,tone and a toggle switch.
Mahogany (I think) body wings with single dark stripe running through middle of body that runs to headstock, sunburst finish. Headstock has a stripe. A heavy bass that came with rugged hard shell case. I give the features a "8" because it is simply a straight ahead bass with no frills, no big bells and whistles, just does the job.

Best versatile tone is with both pickups on, but you can imitate an old P bass with just "P" pickup soloed. Good strong/hot pickups on this one, a little hum with both pickups on, I may need to shield some components, maybe the jack is old. With just the "J" pickup soloed is a good sound for a solo and is trebly. The bass has good growl and almost nails early Van Halen bass tone. Sound is not too muddy and is like a good old P bass. I see why Michael Anthony likes these old Japanese Yamahas. Right now it is humming, so its probably not suited for studio untill I fix the problem. This rating would be a 8 or 9 for tone if it didn't hum, but this is probably because of age factors of electrical components.

I bought used, but was setup close to my liking. There was normal dings and a couple chips on the backside of bass, but this just adds to the "mojo". Bridge and tuners are surprisingly not oxidized, which happens to many basses of this age. Frets are still good and hardware is tight. All controls are tight. The heavy neck thru constuction and mahogany body wings add a lot of punch to the sound. If you close your eyes and forget it's a yamaha, it feels like a reliable fender from years back.

The finish is very thick on these basses and hardware is heavy high-quality. These are professional made basses. I didn't recieve a truss rod wrench when I bought this and will need one since it can't be adjusted with a simple allen wrench. The truss nut is simply a nut on the end of the rod which requires a special wrench. This should last forever if I take care of it. Has a good old P-bass feel to the bass and a chunky neck. I'm sure I won't need a backup since there is nothing that can break on these or short circuit. You could drop this bass from 5 feet and you would do nothing more than dent or chip the finish, it's not gonna fall apart.

I emailed Yamaha about getting an adjustment wrench but haven't heard from him or her. They must be busy, so I guess its up to the owner of the bass to get the tool. They sell em at fine luthier stores.

I've been playing for like 16 years and have owned many basses and haven't kept a one. (kicking self), I will though always keep this one and never sell. I would definitely buy again if stolen. These old BB series yamahas are a diamond and are very underated. I like the powerful pickups even if they hum a little, I can fix. I like the neck thru body. In weight, it feels like my old 1980 precison bass special in solidness. I chose because of opinions of people, the history, and the fact its made in Japan and not Taiwan. It also looks great is not a wimpy bass with a pencil thin neck with no sound. Buy one, you won't be dissapointed.