Yamaha BBG4S

I bought this bass new in 1985, for $895.00. Mine was made in Japan and is the best passive bass I have owned. It has a pearl finish, gold hardware, easily adjustable bridge with no unusual twists in the string track. Full two octave easy travel neck.

The sound has become my signature and hard to reproduce with other basses. The closest I have found is my Yamaha RBX775 active 5 string.
The bass is punchy & bright, though a little weak in the upper register. I have owned probably 10 other basses since I bought this one in '85, but this and my RBX remain my primary instruments. I use this with a David Eden Time Traveller & a JBL 18" cab with a SWR 4X10 cab.
Push-in boost tends to muddy the sound so I don't use it often. Have played lots of driving rock in all size venues with this bass.

Well desigend neck and fret layout, this bass plays perfectly. Have never felt the need to upgrade any of the electronics or hardware. The Pearl finish has maintained its gloss over the years and a lot of road time.

This is the most reliable bass I have owned. Years of road travel, and abuse have never had a negative effect. FInish and hardware have remained good. Added strap locks after dropping it onstage (with no adverse effects other than a paint chip)

Never needed it.

Have been playing since 1978. Mostly rock, punk and metal. Still playing full time current rock material. This bass kicks ass. I have always been able to dig into it and it pays back with solid punch.
Currently use Basses: Yamaha RBX775, Yamaha MB II. Yamaha BBG4S Ibanez BTB575FM .
With David Eden Time Traveller, JBL 18" SWR 4X10.
Have owned other Yamaha, Ibanez, Music Man, Carvin, Peavy and Warwick.
I always seem to come back to Yamaha, and this remains my fave.

I guess this bass was made circa '99/'00 in Taiwan. It's a full two octave (24 fret) maple neck. Mine's a metallic blue colour(Fender call it Lake Placid Blue!)and looks superb. I've heard that some metallics are a bit poor and that undercoats can show through, but not on mine. The bridge looks like it's off a much more expensive bass (certainly looks better than the what appears to be a folded over bit of scrap iron that you see on some USA Fenders!) The hardware is gold plated and holding up well, although there's some slight wear on the tuners.

This bass sounds absolutely amazing. I'm only three years into my playing career and haven't tried that many basses, but it sure beats most of the 'one trick pony' passive basses out there. I'm using it with a Trace Eliot Boxer practice amp through a Zoom effects unit, but there's enough tonal variety on tap from the bass's active pickups without having to tax the Zoom too much. I like a wide variety of music from dub reggae to jazz, rock, folk, UK punk and so on and this bass can handle them all - want a Ricky sound?, then wind up the treble, emphasise the bridge pick up and play with a pick. Want a reggae sound, then reverse the above and tweak up the bass pot!!

Now this is where things go off a bit. I find the frets just too tall on the fingerboard and I'm forever catching them with my fingers. The frets on my example are a liitle sharp too. However, the bass is so good in all other respects that I can handle this and intend to get a proper pro set up which will include reducing the fret height (apparently frets can be 'shaved' by up to half their original height)

I'm still a stay at home player, but from what I've found I'd say that this bass could hack it anywhere - live or studio. The Made In the Far East tag may upset some of the badge snobs, but for the money there's nothing to touch it.

Another confession - this is my second example of this bass. The first had some very iffy fret work and the dealer swapped it. Yamaha UK also said they'd consider looking at my replacement bass if I'd similar problems with it. However, it seems a feature of this bass that the frets are very tall (see earlier) - some may like this chunkiness, but it's not quite to my taste hence why I'm going for a pro set up.

Overall, I love this bass. If it came supplied with fretwork to my taste I'd say it was flawless. I've been tempted to trade it in for a Fender Jazz, but that bass's passive pickups, lack of tonal varation and four fewer frets puts me off.

THIS IS A FOUR STRING BASS, WITH ACTIVE SOAPBAR PICKUPS, ROSEWOOD NECK WITH 24 FRETS, NICE GOLD HARDWARE, GOTOH TUNERS, NICE SOLID TOP LOAD BRIDGE. NICE VIOLIN SUNBURST FINISH AND I BELIEVE IT WAS MADE IN TIAWAN YEAR 2000.

SOUND ON THIS BASS IS AWESOME. YOU CAN GET A JAZZ BASS SOUND, P-BASS, STINGRAY, ALL WITH A FULL RICH KICK! THAT IS WHAT I REALLY DIG ABOUT THIS BASS. THE SOUND YOU CAN GET OUT OF THESE ACTIVE YAMAHA SOAP BAR IS SUPER. IN MY OPINION IT IS MUCH, MUCH FULLER THAN MY JAZZ BASS + P-BASS. I PLAY DIRECT NO EFFECTS THROUGH MY SVT AMP. AND TWO 8,10 SPEAKER CABINETS. FANTASTIC! I PLAY ALOT OF BLUES, AND JUST GOOD OLD ROCK, YOU KNOW, STEVEY RAY, HUMBLE PIE, MOUNTAIN, ETC.

MY ONLY GRIP HERE IS, THE ACTION FROM THE FACTORY I HAD TO ADJUST, NO BIG DEAL. THE VOLUME KNOB IS A BIT LOOSE, THE FINISH ON MY BASS IS A VIOLIN SUNBURST. IT HAS GOT TO BE THE NICEST SUNBURST FINISH I HAVE EVER SEEN, AND IT IS FLAWLESS, BEAUTIFULLY APPLIED. FRETS AND NUT WORK, PERFECT.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IN REFERENCE TO RELIABILITY AND DEPENDABILITY IS FINE BY BE. YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT AT LIVE GIGS, THE HARDWARE IS SUPER SOLID, NEVER GOES OUT OF TUNE, TRUSS ROD NEVER REALLY NEEDS ANY ADJUSTING. THE FINISH IS SUPER, I DON'T USE A BACKUP BASS WITH MY BBG4S NO NEED TO WORRY WHEN YOU GOT THIS BABY STRAPPED ON.

YAMAHA IS A GREAT COMPANY TO DEAL WITH. THEY ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL, VERY FRIENDLY, AND FAST GETTING INFO TO YOU. JUST GREAT TO DEAL WITH.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING BASS FOR ABOUT 28 YEARS. I OWN A 51 P-BASS, JAZZ BASS AND A SPECTOR AND OVER THE YEARS HAVE PROBABLY OWNED THEM ALL. I MUST SAY I REALLY LOVE THIS BASS IT PULLS OUT THE SAME SOUNDS OF THE MORE COSTLY BASSES IF NOT BETTER. YES I HAVE COMPARED IT TO MANY BASSES AND CAN SAY HONESTLY THIS BASS IS BETTER SOUNDING AND MORE COMFORTABLE TO PLAY THAN A JAZZ OR P-BASS. WOULD REPLACE IT FOR SURE IF IT WERE LOST OR STOLEN.

I think It's a long scale bass, which is what I like. It has active pickups, which give it a great tone, especially when popping. A nice finish and the gold hardware makes it look great.

Because of the active style pickups, you can adjust very easily the difference in tone. It can be full and warm or brighter for funkier stuff. I run it through a Trace Elliot rig, and the tone is incredible.

The place I bought it from sets all the guitars up first, so it has been great from the get - go.

The thing never falls out of tune and it solid all around. Very dependable for live gigs, and it shows no sign of wear.

LIFETIME WARRANTY!! That's cool. Plus a service warranty from the store. It was all around a great deal. I got the truss rod adjusted once when the seasons changed, but it was no big deal.

I've been playing for three years now and its the third bass I've owned. I had an American made Fender p-bass, and this definately sounds better.

Hey its the same as a BBG4N but its has active pickups and gold hardware, its longscale.

Great sound, not real punchy, but its never ever goes out of tune, i tune it about once a month, partly old strings but its mostly the guitar.

The action was kinda high when i got it, but i had it lowered, and the pickups raised and it sounds ten times better, theres a little weird stuff on the hardware, but scrubbing will probably get it off, never tried cause it doesn't show, the finish is bulletproof and looks great,

10 thats it
perfect

never tried

I play my yahmaha with a swr 350 and a 2x10, i mess around with pedals occasionally but dont care for em, Its a good bass, I would keep it forevr but i got a line on a ernie ball musicman for 500.