Yamaha BB350

I bought this Bass new in 1995. It has all the features a bass need to have without any silly gimmicks.

It's a great sounding bass, as long as you don't crank that tone knob too much.

Everything was set up fine from the factory. I might have adjusted the action, but I don't remember.

I used it to play Hardcore-Death Metal in *****y dive bars and clubs when I was in my late teens. It took a lot of abuse. Aside from the scratches on the back, from my awesome heavy metal belt buckle, it still looks great.

I've never had to repair anything. Just change the strings, keep it clean, and tune it.

I've had the BB350 since I was in my late teens. Now I'm in my 30's, using it to play Steely Dan and Sting. It's a very versitle, bombproof, and great sounding bass. It also looks like a more expensive instrument. I get a lot of compliments on it. I don't think you'll find a better bass for anywhere near this price. As far as dependibility: You just don't need to wory about anything with this bass. It will never fail.

I bought my Yamaha BB350 for $300 Canadian back in 1994 to replace my 1972 Fender pre as my work bass and have never looked back. It's a 4 string and has 2 jazz p/u's. Alder wood grain body, rose wood fingerboard and maple neck. Has Heart shaped tuners and stock bridge etc.

I love the sound of this bass. I have used it live and in many studio projects and have always had great results. Has terrific cut for the jazz p/u and when you have both p/u's turn up full you get a great slap sound! Every time I play live at a club I get other players drooling over the tone of this bass and they can't believe it's all stock. I know Yamaha changed things a bit the following yr with the same bass and it doesn't come close to my 1994 BB350.I guess my 94 was the winning yr. Ive never had to adjust it in any fashion or intonate it. I only wish I had bought the 5string model as well for that same yr. I have played many other expensive basses and have always found myself going back to my BB30 Yamaha is the very best bang for your buck bar none !

It's a four string fretted bass, 1997-98 Model, Made in Taiwan. Since been discontinued by Yamaha I believe. Pretty basic setup...21 frets, 2 slim passive pickups, 2 volume controls and one tone control, simple bridge, but the 35" scale is good. This is my one and only bass, alder and mahogany construction with a satin finish, and a Fender style thin neck and headstock w/no name tuners, but they are rock solid. In the six years i've been playing this bass, the neck has stayed straight as an arrow...this bass is SOLID. Bolt on neck with 4 bolts

I've played this bass on everything from 10 watt practice amps to 300 watt combos, and it sounds excellent every time. I play fingerstyle and slap, with Rotosound, D'addario XL, and GHS Boomers strings...this thing is a slap machine. String spacing (18mm at the bridge)is comfortable for that. It can get a little noisy when the tone knob is cranked to ten. It's a very versatile bass, with a rich and warm sound that can be made bright or dark through your amp. I've gigged with it and it's held up fine.

From the factory, I can't remember the setup; that doesn't matter though because they've discontinued it and you will find only used ones. Yamaha is one of my favorite brands...their quality is unsurpassed in the industry in my opinion. No flaws, no mis-alignments, no bad cuts or broken hardware...and even now after six years it's never let me down.

This bass will definately withstand live playing! The hardware has lasted these years and shows little sign of wear. The satin finish is excellent, you don't notice any scratches or minor dents. I've used different straps, now leather ones, and the strap buttons are great, they will come loose like on all basses over the years but they are solid, never broke. In six years, I have NEVER even looked at the truss rod. The neck is incredible and extremely solid. The whole thing is a rock, and it's fairly lightweight and balanced. I have already gigged w/o a backup using this bass.

I cannot remember how long the warranty was...didn't matter because this bass never let me down, or even needed minor repairs. Yamaha has excellent customer service from their stores I've been to, very helpful and they stand by their equipment (and are very knowledgeable about all their basses)

I have been playing this one and only bass for six years. I plan to get a Yamaha TRB 6 string soon...I've always been extremely impressed by their basses. Those who think Yamahas suck need to sit down and learn a little something about quality. Try one of their 2K dollar and up TRB basses and you'll see what I mean. If it were lost, I'd go out and get another one or one just like it. I've tried numerous other basses twice the price or more...Fender Jazz's, Ibanez BTB's, Peavey Cirrus basses and I think the BB350 can hold it's own against them.

My BB350 is a '95. It has 21 frets, two passive J-bass PUs, two volume knobs and one tone knob. The body finish is satin. It features a traditional bridge and open tuners. The headstock is Fender style. The neck is pretty narrow (like a J-bass).

I'm playing praise&worship and the BB350 covers all the different styles perfectly. I play it through a Warwick Wamp180 head and a Zeck 2-way speaker cab and I play fingerstyle only. The Bass has a rich and warm sound, but especially with the neck PU turned off it's brilliant, too. As the pickups are singlecoils, they are a little bit noisy. There are no deadspots.

I bought the bass used, so I cannot judge on the factory set-up. But the quality is really good for the price.

It's a very dependable instrument featuring good quality hardware. The finish is very sensitive, though. It has many scratches but luckily they don't affect the sound.

I simply love the BB350. It's my first and only bass but I've played many others and haven't found that much for the money.

This is basically a bare-bones bass: 21 frets, one split-P style passive pickup, one tone and one volume knob, affordable woods, with a straightforward glossy black finish. It's very pretty in its simplicity.

This could very well be the BEST bass in it's price range. The price range I'm talking about is $150.00-$200.00 US used, because of course Yamaha don't make these anymore, although they do have a more modern version that's taken the role of their low-end starter bass.
Considering it has the bare minimum components necessary to make ANY noise whatsoever, the sound is beautiful. The pickups are pretty quiet - a bit of hiss at high volumes but nothing you'd notice if you weren't looking for it. The sound is supple and very '70s. Of course, it's not versatile. You can't get a clean, sharp, aggressive, or growling sound at all. If you turn the tone knob up to attempt this, you just end up with a scratchy, hissy mess. But if you keep that knob where it's supposed to be, it's gorgeous.

The action and playability are excellent. The neck is a bit wider than a lot of 4-strings these days, aiming for the more traditional size, but that doesn't detract from your speed unless you're trying to be Victor Wooten. A couple of my frets buzz, but then the frets themselves are quite old and have been played a lot, so I don't think this would be a problem if I maintained it properly.

Some drunk guy tripped over my bass once in a bar, bending the neck with all the weight of his foot. No problems. Judging by the number of scratches on it, I'd guess it's been through quite a bit of abuse before I owned it. But it's still playing perfectly, so I'm going to give it a big 8 for durability.

Never used it. Nice website, though.

I can't believe how lucky I was to have bought this bass as my starter bass when I knew absolutely nothing. If I was looking for something that would give me that traditional Fender Precision '60s/'70s sound, no matter how experienced I was, I'd count myself lucky to find this. I wouldn't necessarily say you get a lot of BANG for your buck, but you definitely get down-to-earth quality. I'll never sell it.