Yamaha BB1600

1984 BB1600 (MIJ). Alder bady. Bolt on maple neck. P & J style passive pickups. Two volume, one tone.
Very simple set up. Easy to use. I replaced the stock bridge with a Leo Quan Badass II. I'm giving this a 8 because I don't need or want a lot of complicated stuff on my basses. I'd prefer a set neck or neck through but there's nothing wrong with the bolt on neck. Like I said, I replaced the bridge so I'm giving this bass an 8 for features.

The sound of this bass is a little thin. It's not as fat and warm as a Fender but it does have a growl that I like. The bass doesn't sound "Bad" just different than what I'm used to with the Fender 'P'.
The single coil bridge pickup has a little hum to it but not real bad. The sound of this bass is actually very good. Often better than a lot of other basses that I've played in it's price range.

This guitar is light weight, comfortable and the neck is fairly narrow. I adjusted the action low and the guitar plays really well.
My back doesn't hurt from holding it all night. The P-pickups have these little ribs in them where I rest my thumb while picking with my fingers. After a while it gave me a sore thumb because of those little ridges digging into me.

This bass will fool you. Because of it's light weight you might not thing that it is as solid as some other basses. It is a solid instrument though. The tuning keys turn VERY easily but they are smooth. You'll need to be careful not to bump them puting the guitar in the case. This guitar sounds and plays like it did 24 years ago.
Durability? Holding up after 24 years. You do the math.

Never needed any. That's the best kind. But I have to go No Opinion.

I have a collection of basses ranging from Fender to Schecter.
I always love playing this bass and I keep it out on a stand where I can grab it whenever the mood hits me. My other basses may rotate within the living room spotlight but my Fender and Yamaha are always out.

Standard 4-string passive fretted, made in Japan during the Japanese heyday - the '80s. Standard J-bass controls vol-vol-tone. Quasi-P neck pickup, bar magnet bridge pickup. I say 10 because this is the setup I like. Any more "features" would detract.

The bass is very lively and cuts through the mix well. It doesn't sound like a Fender Precision - it has a more versatile, agressive character. The neck pickup provides body, as you would expect. The bridge pickup adds a lot of punch. Makes it sound like an active bass! I'd be tempted to try a different capacitor for the tone knob - higher value for a duller "thud". Like my other Yamaha, this bass is very dynamic.

The bass plays well - all the registers speak clearly. The wood work seems pretty tight and the finish is sharp. Doesn't look like a beginner bass.

The tone knobs seem slightly cheap and the tuners are crazy loose. They usually hold tune for the gig, but sometimes not, and whenever I take it out of the case, the tuning is WAY off. The other Yamaha is the same way. I might upgrade to Schaller gears, which are much better.

Japanese instruments from the '80s seem a lot like the cars: they appear to be light and fragile, but they work really really well and last forever. I'm used to beefier hardware. I'd want a backup for any kind of major gig or tour, but I trust this rig as much as any.

Playing almost 20 years. This is a nice, versatile, passive bass with good thump and growl. These basses are still vastly underpriced on the used market (UNLIKE the Fenders!!!). If it got stolen, I'd be bummed but I probably wouldn't try to replace it with another BB 1600. I'd try something different, something with classier hardware. I'd probably miss the sound.

pretty straight forward bolt-on passive bass -- comfortable weight and contour-- p pup at the neck and j pup at the bridge -- volume for each and overall tone knob.

awesome -- sort of a cross between a snappy active bass and a warm passive tone. This bass is great with effects i can see why so many of the eighties players used this series of basses (kanal, east, peter hook, michael anthony) -- they are great with effects i.e. chorus and distortion

no complaints