Yamaha BB2000 Fretless

I owned one of these basses in the early 1990s (features just as the instruments described by the other reviewers). Mine had fret markers.

I played it in a bluesband. The sound was warm but a little 'nosy', like Pino Palladino without the octaver. Fine if you like it, but I got bored with it eventually.

The only real flaw was in the neck, which had an irregularity resulting in a dead spot.

The bass was pretty solid: no problem there.

Given the fact that the bass was flawed, I have it a low overall rating. Without it, the instrument would have been fine. I used it next to a P-bass. I have now settled for a fretless electro-acoustic bass 'on the side'.

Mine is an 80's fretless brown/amber burst. These BB's look somewhat Precision style at first, but strapped on they are "Jazz Friendly" to die-hard Fender Jazz Bass players (like me!).

The pickups are first rate. I am currently doing some mods to my bass (see later) but nothing is being removed.

I am not a superfast "chops" player, but even I find that the neck finish (the bullet proof lacquer that has been enthused about in the Fretless and Fretted versions of these reviews) slow you down a little. This is not a complaint though, but something I feel I ought to raise if I am to write a fair review of this product.

I am a semi-pro player (meaning I hold down a "responsible", "middle class" "day" job - but "think" about music all day) mainly doing weddings, cabaret, festivals and the like.

I used the bass a few years ago for a "gypsy kings" type show. Gerard Provost of the GK also used a fretless, so it is easy to get that sound. Most of my gigs are reading gigs, so I don't use it for fear of being asked that most dreaded question of fretless players on the first break: "Nice tone and playing, but is your bass in tune ?"

The tone is awesome, and in my view the noise from being passive (especially the bridge pick up alone) is only minor and gives it character. The neck pickup is a touch dark, and does need some help from the single coil. This is a matter of taste though.

I bought is used and really had to do nothing on the set-up, except adjust the G string up a little. Whoever had it before me must be my long lost musical bass playing twin brother.

As everyone else has said, the finish is flawless and bullet proof.

This bass will outlive me. The only stronger basses I have seen are (some) Alembics. I would use it without backup any day (anyway, what is a backup bass? Do people also take back up bass players just in case they don't feel well?)

Whilst other basses are also tough, I am yet to see a well used 20 year old bass still look good. Colonel Sanders must also have provided a secret recipe with these little mothers.

Not really applicable. If worst were to happen, I guess replacement parts from other companies could be found, even if some substitution was required.

I only have two other basses, 1978 & 1997 American Jazz basses. I divide bass players into two types. Those who grow up on P's and those who grow up on J's. That tends to dictate your buying preferences later. I was a "J type" personality, which is why I mostly play the Jazz. I have had the full range of basses at some time or other. I sold most, but was reluctant to part with this. It is J friendly, but also lets you venture in P territory as well (something like cross-dressing I think!)

However, I could not see the point of such a beautiful bass not being used that often, due to its fretlessness. It has slept under the bed for years. I decided I can get a fretless anytime, as there are always players offloading their fretless bass after the novelty wears off and frustration wears in (playing Pino Palladino tones all night tends to annoy your bandmates after the second bracket as well) .

Because it is such a good bass, I am having it (guess) fretted!. My luthier is also a bass player, and when he saw it, he wanted to (and still wants to) buy if off me. But it ain't for sale. I don't think I could land another one, and whilst the money would be nice, I know I would regret that decision after one month.

We are going to add frets. The original fretted BB2000 I think had ornate mother of pearl fret markers/inlays, but I think this is going to look really cool without that. Just simple and understated. If I am happy with it, we will then add an onboard Bartolini or EMG preamp - bassically to keep the same tone but make it a touch more modern in its approach.

This bass dates from the early 80's.
4 strings, FRETLESS.
1 volume, 1 tone, + old-school 3 way selector switch for p/ups.
Pickups are: 1 Precision style split-coil midway, and a blade type J-style single coil at the bridge. These are presumably Yamaha's own. The bass is passive.
The neck appears to be a maple and mahogany sandwich; mainly maple but with 2 strips of darker wood laminated in along the entire length of the neck (and body too - this is a through-neck instrument) There are therefore 2 wings glued on either side of this centre block to form the body. The neck heel is minimal as th neck carries straight through into the body. The finish is a cherry sunburst with an absolutely bullet-proof clear coating on top.
Body wise, it apes the classic P-bass style - not offset. The bridge is a decidedly chunky engraved affair - which I like, with a top load design - which I do not. I much prefer the sustain imparted by passing the strings through the body. The machine heads are the standard open-backed Kluson elephant ear type.
The neck width at the nut is similar to Jazz bass dimesions. Depth wise it's pretty thin too. The 'board is rosewood and completely blank. No frets - no position markers. Beautiful. There are small abalone dots on the side of the fingerboard.
I bought this bass used so nothing came with it.
Of course there are loads of basses out there loaded with tons of features that'll give you a 25db mid boost, have 3-band eq, and will add built in compression and chorus to the signal, all while making you a cup of tea at the same time. Truth is - thats not what I was looking for. I just wanted a fretless bass.
Give it a 9 coz I don't believe in 10's, but with regard features - its got everything I need. That's why I bought it.

I play mostly Jazz with this baby, with a little bit of classic rock (Zeppelin etc) mixed in there. Sounds great for walking basslines. Don't use a pick with one of these basses - IMVHO its a crime. Think John-Paul Jones on "What is And What Should Never Be" on LZ II and thats pretty much the tone you get from this machine. I currently play it into a Yamaha DG series digital amp with a touch of compression. Clean for jazz (with the tone rolled back a bit) and with a bit of mild crunch for the rock stuff.
The bass is as noisy as you would expect from an instrument without 'buckers but certainly not intrusively so. Slight bit of hum when the bridge pickup is soloed but nothing to get upset about.
The overall sound due to the rosewood fingerboard and tapewound strings is very warm. When played unplugged it sounds much darker than my fretted 5.
In terms of sounds, we're really limited to classic Fender-type tones, but if thats your thing then it does a pretty good job. The sound can be varied from fat walking jazzlines to a fairly convincing redition of the "in yer face" Jaco solo tone. That's about it - which is more than adequate for my needs. If however, slapping and popping all over the place is more your bag you're better off with an active instrument. This bass will do the odd slap-octave-pop every once in a while and sound ok, but she certainly won't stand up to the Marcus Miller treatment.

I can't make a comment on the setup from the factory as I bought it used and immediately set it up to my own spec. The guy before me had it set up pretty well though, except for the roundwound strings :-|

The bass will, and has survived live playing - admittedly not a huge achievement - it's not like I jump all over the place with the thing, but, nevertheless, the first thing that grabs you when strap this bass on is how solid it feels. It honestly is built like a brick shithouse. The hardware is big, chunky, and heavy duty - that bridge dosn't look like its gonna fall off any time soon, and the tuners work ok. All the metalware is however slighlty oxidised over so it dos'nt shine anymore. Big deal.
As I said before, that finish is tough as nails. The bass is like 20 years old, and I think I noticed a couple of dings in the finish where some plonker's obviously had a go at it with a sledgehammer or accidentally detonated an atom bomb under it or something. Two words about the finish: Bullet Proof.
Strap buttons are fine - not much of a need for straplocks for me -what we've got are big and chunky and substantial enough to take the considerable weight of this bass.
I haven't adjusted the rod since first setting it up on purchase and the relief's good.
Whenever I play a gig on guitar I always take a backup, but as far as this bass goes, I'd be happy to take along just a spare set of strings in case the worst happened - and thats it. No worries as regard the stability and solidness of this instrument.

As the bloke who reviewed the fretted version of this bass said - I don't think Yamaha would be all that interested in a 20 year old discontinued bass.

I've played bass for 4 years and have owned 2 basses previous to this, both lower end "to learn on" copies of a 4str Stingray and 5str Warwick respectively. This was my first fretless and man, was I pleased with this purchase! Nothing quite like it. My other (fretted) bass is a self-built Jazz bass. In terms of other gear I own, its mainly guitars - an Aria Pro II 335-alike, an acoustic 12 str, and a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24. My main guitar for recording and stage work is one that I built out of a door and an old mahogany packing crate. Its a replica of Brian May's Red Special. (Big big inlfuence on me - Brian May) Amplifiers are a Yamaha DG series, and a small Fender Champ, 30w for jamming.
I wish I could have found out more about the history of this bass - date of manufacture etc.
If this bass were to be lost or stolen, I'd have a fit. As it was bought used and is now discontinued, I'm not sure what it would be like trying to find a replacement. I would definately try to find this same model again. If none came up, I would try to find an older Fender Jazz fretless - they used to make them with no lines across the fingerboard face like this. I just prefer the look of a blank fingerboard on a fretless. If you're going to do something (like defy the point of the original bass guitar, which made a big deal of having frets, by making one without them)- then you may as well do it fully. Besides, it looks damn cool.
I guess my favourite features of it are: the fact that it is a fretless; the absolutely missile-proof clear finish; and that funky selector switch.
My one gripe is that top-load bridge, but its something I can definately live with. The thing sustains well enough for me.
When buying this bass, it was mainly compared with a Washburn Bantam XB 500 5str fretless. This one won because of its simplicity (no 9v battery giving you jip every few weeks coz you forgot to unplug it), and its old-school image. This is a straight forward plug in and play fretless bass which could also be used to hide behind in the event of nuclear fallout. I definately reccomend this instrument to any player thats looking for simplicity and reliability combined.