Yamaha BB605

I've been playing this bass for a few years now and wanted to add my thoughts and experiences to the reviews. I have gone through MANY basses over the last 5-6 years. From Modulus to Warwick to Ken Smith to Lakland. The Yamaha BB605 is the bass I still own.

This is a great bass, not just for the money. I love the slim, fast feel of the 24 fret maple neck and rosewood board. The body is small and light.

Although the stock electronics are nice, I did replace them with a Bartolini preamp and pickups. I just really like that sound, and they are hum cancelling.

As with most Yamaha made gear, the build is excellent. There is a reason I don't really miss my high end basses. I really like the red wine finish and gold hardware.

So far, so good. Again with Yamaha you have one of the best warranties in the business.

Haven't needed it yet, but have heard very good things.

I can't recommend this bass highly enough. Great sound, great playability, great value.

This bass has a 24 fret 34" scale bolt-on neck, 5 strings, mine has a gloss black finish, gold hardwear, a pair of active single coil jazz pickups coupled to a 3 band eq with mid freq on/off switch balance and volume pots.

I play this bass for a range of projects and bands. I play most weeks in my church worship group and also in a hard rock and metal band, as well as occasional dips into funk and rock covers etc so i need my bass to cover all genres and sounds. I love how it is very versatile, the pickups have a huge tonal range especially if u make the most of the eq, switching to the bridge pu while cranking bass and treble up while cutting mids gets a great growl that distorts beacutifully (I use and boss GT6B and a overdrive stomp box) while switching to neck pu while boosting mids and bass and reducing treble will get a beautifully rounded smooth tone for those quiet songs and smooth slides etc. it suits all my styles well. complaints on sounds are very few and far between. the mid control for boost or cut doesnt have a centre dent like the others do so its hard to quikly change however iv sound a setting that works and tend to use the switch to boost or cut the mids and leave the control pot alone most of the time. when soloing a pick up it can get very noisy, they hum cancel when together but switch even slightly to one pu and a buzz can be heard, this can be removed by a noise gate or cutting the highs but it is something iv noticed. Iv been playing bass for 4 years and this was my 2nd bass, iv had it for 3 years and it has been my hork horse bass ever since i got it, guitarist and my regular drummer have all commented on its amazing tones and sleak appearence. i give it a 9 because its tone is sometims lost on the low B string, this tends to shake the stage but loose definition and "flops" after time but with new strings this can be solved and it takes months of everyday playing to work through a set on this bass.

i dont remember the factory set up but i didnt change it for a long time so it must have been suficiant for me as a begginer but since becoming a more discerning and technical player i have lowered the action to ain easier speed and high fret access. the action goes beautifuly low thanks to the high neck from the body, this allows bot low finger action with little if any buzz but also easy slap and popping because of the extra heigh between the fingerboard and the body. tapping is easy because of the low action and hammer ons feel effort less even on the high and low frets. after 3 years of solid, pretty much daily use the hardwear has suffered somewhat with pots becoming loose and metal tarnishing, the gold has worn from a corner of the bridge and the tuning pegs are tarnished however i put this down to two things, cleaning neglect in its first 2 years of use and a heavy metal phase of frantic picking that probably wore through the bridges gold coating.

The gloss balck finish is one that requires cleaning to keep shiny but mine dents easily, again partially due to studded wrist bands and frantic picking, but i dont seethis as a problem unless prestine condition is your thing, the dents add character and dont hinder performance at all.

this bass is well balanced for most playing stanecs, i use both super low slung and super high depending on the gig and although its neck is heavy it is balanecd the by body and retains a nice position if left unheld. the neck has a satin finish and is very fast and sleek, allowing for crazy solos if needed cos' the thumb can move easily to support the fretting fingers far up the neck.

i regularly gig with this bass and it withstands playing and repeated tuning and detuning easily and stays intune very very consistantly. i gig without a back up. i replaced the strap pins with strap locks a few years into use but from what i remember the origonal strap pins were big and sturdy and i never had trouble with it slipping or falling. as mentioned above the finish is durable but the wood is easily dented leaving dips and dents in the finish that in gloss reflect light and become noticable but only in a close up inspection. the hardwear is still tight and funstioning after 3 years of abuse and doesnt feel loose or ageing at all.

never ahd to deal with yamaha support in the 3 years iv used this bass but thier good standard of manuafacture and cheap price has promted me to look into upgrading to another yamaha.

iv been playing regularly for 4 year now and own a 4 string jazz bass, this 5 string and an ibanez sr506 6 string bass. for standard playing like church and some projects where upper range playing isnt always needed this is my standard bass. its ability to match any tone and create whole new sounds at the flick of the mid switch is awesome, especially for solos, the upper fret access is brilliant so much so that pentatonic scales that reach the 24th frets and often used in solos because of thier ease in reach while retaining presenec and tones so far up the neck. the action is uniformly low and fits all styles of music from funk to metal to church reflective music and prgressive rock solos even chords and slap work easily on its raised neck. if it were stolen or damagaed beyond repair i would definatley purchase another or the more recent version because of its reliability and tonal versatility. i play through a trace elliot 15" 7 band combo and several effects processors and pedal. the only thing i wish this bass had was a mid dent on the mid control so you could work from no boost to either cut or boost with the switch rather than working by ear and guess/trail and error. but that is something that i have learnt to do without while making the most of this great bass.

+it was made in dezember 2004, it is a bb605 rw(red wine)
+34 frets
+solid top
+it have 5 controls, plus mid-cut.
+it has hambukers pikups
+it is active
+it is( has refered) red win, with gold finishing

+ I use to play in a huge collection of stilles, like old-jazz, country, pop, big band, etc and I must say that this instrument is realy complete, becouse it alows me to do it all wiht major quality!
+ I use an old 15' Marshall and a 12'' Crate
+ it only has null noise at 50/50 in the picup selection
+ it has a realy grate variaty of pocibilitys in configuring it's sound
+ it is notebly better on stage

New bass, made in Japan in either in 2003 or 2004. This is a 34" 5-string, with solid Alder body, Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard with 24 medium frets. Two J pickups (single coil, not stacked - noise cancelling only with blend at 50/50), Master Vol., Pickup Blend, Hi and Lo boost/cut, Mid Cut switch with knob for parametric freq selection. This on is natural finish with gold hardware. Came with cord, wrenches, a 9V batt and a good manual (good setup reference). Great features for the price and way better equipped than any other bass I could find anywhere near this price range. 1 point off for the noise-prone single coils.

Versatile, versatile, versatile, which is exactly what I needed in a bass. I purchased this mainly for recording, and the combination of pickups and electronics give this bass endless tonal possibilities, from vintage tones to very high-fi sounds. Fingerstyle, pick, slap, you name it and this bass has an approrpriate range of sounds for each style. Sustain is remarkable for a bolt-on. My only complaints are that the pickups get very noisy in my environment (in front of a computer-based recording setup) on anything but a 50/50 blend. However, the pickups sound so good, I may just address this problem with a gate. I find the sound completely versatil, whether you want bright or dark or anything in between. The electronics are extremely effective at shaping the tone. I record through a simple active DI right into my system and I couldn't be much happier. I found myseld playing along with Rush, Tool and even some country and the bass had all the tones. When I ordered this bass, I was already looking for some kind of pre-amp or special DI to furhter shape the tone, but after listening to it, I'm not sure any of that is necessary. The Mid-cut switch and frequency control is outstanding, and the bass has the ability to sound absolutely huge, while maintaining clarity and sitting nicely in the mix - while still maintianing enough cut to be heard as well as felt. Oh, and the Low B is very impressive. Piano-quality notes in terms of tone and sustain is what comes to mind.

Fit and finish is remarkable. I couldn't find a flaw on the bass with one exception: the frets on the high side stick our just enough so you can feel the sharpness of their edges. I just got the bass yesterday, and between the fingerboard being dry and the cold Northeast weather, I'm wondering if this might actually stabalize and improve. Not a huge deal, but it was one thing I noticed. Some of the knobs (nice metal dome ones with set screws) were a bit loose, but agian, this is minor and could be related to shipping conditions. The bass is very rich looking and inspiring to play. The body and neck have a sating finish, and it is just beautiful. The gold hardware really accents this bass nicely. The action was a little bit high for my taste, but that was easily lowered at the bridge without the need for any truss rod adjustements. The neck is fairly fast and buzz-free. Something else that I love about this bass is that the neck seems to fill the gap between the large, rounded necks and radius of the Fender type basses and the modern, slim, fast and flat necks of recent. Width is also a comfortable in between. And...the neck is comfortably narrow (but not too narrow) at the nut and fans out towards the bridge. This makes for a bass that responds well to finger style and slapping. Just a wonderful bass to play, and in my opinion, the perfect comprimise between a Fender and something like an MTD (which I recently owned). I'm really not a fan of the strings that came on this, so I might make a change there, but not a really big deal. I should also add that the Nathan East body style is extremely comfortable while sitting or standing, and the bass is very well balanced.

No worries whatsoever here. Solid materials, solid construction and even the wiring and shielding is top-notch.

No experience with Yamaha support except once when I needed to find a replacement adapter for my AG Stomp. They responded promptly and professionally to my e-mail, so no points lost here.

I hunted high and low for a versatile, well made bass that had good electronics, played well and sounded good. Nothing in this price range even comes close - and this bass exceeded my expectations in every way. Every time I'd pickup a Fender (in any price range) I just got a "sloppy" feeling. Fender playability just feels imprecise and too old-school to me, yet the modern Ibanez-type basses feel cheap and lifeless (and tone-less), and the MTD Heir series I had, while great and a little more money, felt a little to "Sterile." This Yamaha is in my opinion one of the best all around basses you can buy at any price, and considering Muscic123 sells these for over 45% off the list price, you cannot beat it!

Features have already been described by others. However, was just what I was looking for!
Please note that the active electronics are (despite what some have said and Yamaha have implied) nothing to do with the "Nathan East" NE1 effect. The BB605 simply has a switchable mid boost/cut circuit. The three-position switchable NE1 is only to be had on the MUCH more expensive Nathan East signature model. Having said that the supplied electronics do the job well, especially for the money.

Sound is very nice, although the pickup mix control is pretty pointless. Its doesn't make very much difference to the sound and really needs to be in the middle for the humbucking effect. Like most actives you have to take it easy on the treble so you don't hear all the stuff you don't want to hear. Switching in the mid cut/boost transforms the sound - it gets much bigger and lounder. It means that you can go from a soft bluesy sound to a scary in-yer-face sound at the flick of a switch - very handy.

Just fantastic. Yamaha build is legendary and kicks ass with the likes of Fender. I can't see why you would want to spend the money on "the real thing". The action was a little high out of the shop and needed a bit of tweeking. Getting the intonation right has left the adjustment on the limit for the B and E strings which is a bit of a worry, but its been like that for over a year and nothing bad has happened yet!

I'm not particularly careful with the bass and the cat likes to try playing it as well. So far it still looks like new - I just can't scratch or mark the finish. I haven't needed to make any adjustments since it was new over a year ago. I would gig this base with no hesitation whatsoever. Very impressed.

No experience.

This bass is great. If it went under a bus I would buy another - simple as that!

Features have already been described by others. However, was just what I was looking for!
Please note that the active electronics are (despite what some have said and Yamaha have implied) nothing to do with the "Nathan East" NE1 effect. The BB605 simply has a switchable mid boost/cut circuit. The three-position switchable NE1 is only to be had on the MUCH more expensive Nathan East signature model. Having said that the supplied electronics do the job well, especially for the money.

Sound is very nice, although the pickup mix control is pretty pointless. Its doesn't make very much difference to the sound and really needs to be in the middle for the humbucking effect. Like most actives you have to take it easy on the treble so you don't hear all the stuff you don't want to hear. Switching in the mid cut/boost transforms the sound - it gets much bigger and lounder. It means that you can go from a soft bluesy sound to a scary in-yer-face sound at the flick of a switch - very handy.

Just fantastic. Yamaha build is legendary and kicks ass with the likes of Fender. I can't see why you would want to spend the money on "the real thing". The action was a little high out of the shop and needed a bit of tweeking. Getting the intonation right has left the adjustment on the limit for the B and E strings which is a bit of a worry, but its been like that for over a year and nothing bad has happened yet!

I'm not particularly careful with the bass and the cat likes to try playing it as well. So far it still looks like new - I just can't scratch or mark the finish. I haven't needed to make any adjustments since it was new over a year ago. I would gig this base with no hesitation whatsoever. Very impressed.

No experience.

This bass is great. If it went under a bus I would buy another - simple as that!

I can't tell you what year it was made in (I was unable to track it at Yamaha.com) but it was bought in September 2003.
*24 medium frets
*Alder body, natural colour with polyurethane finish ("satin")Body
*Maple neck (polyurethane finish) with non-coated rosewood fingerboard
*Body style reminds of Fender J tremendously
*2 Jazz pickups, have humbucking effect when used together
*active 9v electronics
*VERY GOOD, solid bridge (Looks like a Gotoh)
*Gotoh sealed Ibanez-type tuners
*Accesories that came in a bpx: good, long 1/4" cable and a 9 volt battery

Extremely versatile sound. Having active electronics really help contour and shape the sound any way you want. I play primarily mainstream rock, and jazz-fusion, with some tapping and slapping. This bass reproduces all the sounds beaurifully. Actually, it sounds much better than a Fender Jazz I *USED* to own (it's crap now that actives exist): it has much more versatile sound, looks awesome, and has a GOOD STRUDY bridge (=sustain, and better tonal transfer) as opposed to Fender's foil bridges. I love the mid cut switch: it allows such easy transition to go "slapalicous". On the downside though, the pickups hiss a tad when not used together (i.e when the balance knob is not in the middle position), but there are noise gates for that. Great stock pickups. Give it an 8 ONLY for the hiss. (Though for me it doesn't matter, I must write an objective review :)

YAMAHA QUALITY IS KNOWN ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Literally, "Yamaha" is a synonim for "quality". Frets are well polished, the build quality is flawless. Everything is where it should be. TO be honest, I've seen American made Fenders (for $1000+) that are build worse than this bass and "feauture" a famous Fender foil bridge. Bah. Its nonsense to pay 400+ dollars for a Fender. I haven't noticed any flaws per se... The only thing that wasn't perfect, was the action on Low B. It buzzes a tad, but is easily corrected. Give a 9 only because of that.

I can't tell about is durability YET. But it's a Yamaha, and it'll last, thats for sure. Finish looks good, i doub't that it'll wear off anytime soon. Strap buttons are solid, and HAVE A SOFT MATERIAL PATCH between s strap holder and the guitar.
And yeah, I can depend on it. I've put my trust into Yamaha once again, and I don't think I've made a wrong decision. Give it a 9 only because I haven't had it long enough.

THEY HAVE AN AWESOME CUSTOMER SUPPORT! All my questions were answered next business day. I only didnt get a reply for my question that stated: "Are Yamaha's BB-605 and 604 comparable to those of Fender Jazz in size?". The reply i got was: "*a lot of politeness*, I will gladly tell you the size of BB-604/5 Pickups if you will be kind enough as to supply me with the sizes of Fender pickups". I did, and got a reply next day.

I have been playing for a while now. I also have a keen understanding of sound, since I'm an audiphile. This bass is beautiful, and awesome. Since I got the last one for this price, if it was stolen, I guess i'd cry for a long time. I love its natural finish, and though im not a an of gold hardware, on this bass it looks kinda sexy. One thing that I really don't like is THE CRAPPY STRINGS! I've played it for one day, and nickel plating was already worn off in places, and the strings were dying fast. Great instrument!

Made in Taiwan, possibly this year (2003), 24 frets 5 strings - guess its body could either be 1-piece solid alder, OR if not 2 slabs of alder glued together making up the body. Finish was satin Brownburst, body based on Nathan East's latest designs may look from afar J-Bass-ish, bridge is diecast gold-plated, strings are not routed through body, though. Medium frets were installed, though and neck made of maple and fingerboard made of rosewood.

Cool J-Bass vibe - picking out Vic Bailey and Jaco sounds are quite easy, by some tweaking at the midrange and cutting some lows (not too much). Just to note as a fingerstylist, boosting too much highs are not necessary because it will exhibit extraneous finger noise instead of a wholesome tone, but rather my suggestion is to have the pickup balancer panned a little more to the neck pickup and have some considerable amount of lows and mids and have the highs boosted just a tad, and there you go for an all round bass tone....

Pickups adjustment are OK - sound even jumps out well even from a Laney 30W amp....but NOT so the action (rather high) - though I personally know how to readjust it.....otherwise that bass felt excellently well, without flaws whatsoever......

no issues regarding this

No issues regarding this - I have a Yamaha RBX765, though my bass may sound rather fat but to think of versatility, I can give the BB605 a run for its money.

Played bass for about 11 years or so now, had a Squier Jazz 4 (first bass in 1995) which had been defretted and later an RBX765 which rocks and even thumps pretty well - and there came BB604 and 605 - wished these cheapo basses with some souped-up electronics had been produced in the mid nineties....and that would have made up a great, fine hallmark of bass sounds all rite......

This review is for a 2003 BB605 electric bass.

The BB605 is a five string "J-type" bass.
Solid alder body - nice cutaways and contours for playability.
Maple neck - bolt on (4 screw)
24 medium frets on a rosewood fingerboard.
34" scale.
Die cast bridge.
Active bass/treble.
Switchable mid-circuit taken from the Yamaha Nathan East bass pre.
3 top, 2 bottom sealed tuners (looks like Gotoh hardware).

Mine happens to be a beautiful transparent "Wine Red" which is really a two color burst, starting from nearly black at the body edges to a transparent deep red at the center. It is a stunning finish. The finish is complemented by gold plated hardware. Usually I am not a fan of gold hardware on a guitar but it looks perfect with the finish.

The thing is loaded. The only thing which would give this thing a 10 for features is the addition of a piezo.

One thing I love about the design of the BB605 is that the nut spacing is very narrow (allowing those with smaller hands to articulate the lower positions easily), but the strings fan out quite a bit at the bridge allowing plenty of room for finger articulation, slapping, and popping. The fingerboard radius is nearly flat - some will love it, some will hate it.

The sound of the bass could best be described as "hi fi".

In passive mode the bass sounds very J-type'ish. I was comparing it to my Fender Jazz V back to back and they are very similar. The BB605 is a little bit darker than the Jazz V. Roll the tone knobs back a bit and it is in vintage J territory.

Kicking in the actives definitely gives is a more modern sound. The circuit is only 9V so it doesn't have as much headroom as the 18V systems but you can definitely contour the sound well. The bass control gives it good "oomph" and fullness. The treble definitely gives it a punchier sound. There is a little bit of noise added with full treble settings, but nothing really objectionable and easily addressed by a noise gate.

The switchable mid taken from the Yamaha Nathan East EQ (see the effect review in HC) adds another dimension to the sound. At boost it adds the right kick to bring out finger articularion. At cuts it gives it a tighter sound great for slapping/popping.

Add up the passive/active/mid controls and you have an extremely versatile bass.

I play mostly jazz-fusion and progressive rock/metal. This bass is really great for most styles of music though. The BB605 may not be the best for really heavy music as it doesn't have the low boom that really heavy music needs (but really most J-types are not suited for heavy work).

Yamaha produces all their non-signature line in a dedicated Taiwan facility. This worried me, but after checking out the HC Forums and other Yamaha reviews, I thought I would give it a shot.

I have no doubts to Yamaha's workmanship or quality control any longer. Of course this perception is limited to one instrument and maybe I got lucky and struck gold but I tend to be realistic and presume that the instrument I received mail-order is representative of their factory output.

There wasn't a single flaw on the bass out of the box. I own some Am. Dlx Fender gear, as well as custom Carvin gear and I have to admit that the Yamaha is on par with them.

The frets were very well dressed and leveled with nice rolling on the edges. The neck adjusted straight very easily.

The intonation was a bit off from the factory (flat) but that was easy to correct. String height and pickup height were a bit tall, but again that was easy to fix.

I can't attest to the reliability of the bass as I just got it a couple days ago, but the build quality feels top notch. I don't think there will be any long term issues with the build.

The electronics seem of good quality as well. Smooth pots, positive switch, positive input jack. The mid circuit switch is a bit on the small side, but that shouldn't affect the reliability.

I have emailed U.S. customer support regarding "factory setup" questions and they responded promptly. They sent me an additional manual, catalog, stickers, picks - all sorts of fun stuff.

Overall just amazing! I can't wait to write and record some very bass centric compositions.

If you are looking for a modernized J-type bass with a vibe of its own, the BB605 (or BB604 for you four stringers) is an incredible value.

Most shops carry the BB605 for around $550 USD and it would still be a bargain at that price. I got mine for brand new for $399! That is almost robbery!