Yamaha RBX-250

Mine is plain black, I dunno the year of production (the serial number is mostly unreadable) but I bought it brand new in 1992.
One split coil Precision style pickup, tone and volume.
Enough for a starter, but nowadays it's still amazing how good this one looks and feels compared to other entry level basses.

Well. I started to play with this. I moved my first steps on it. I broke my first string tuning by mistake the E string to A, it was the first time I touched it, on Saturday, with all shops already closed and not opening until next Monday. Technically I started on a 3 string bass. Why am I telling you this? Because it's all about feelings and memories! It's THE first bass. You know, that one you don't even know how to setup, but you play anyway until sweat and blood are soaked into the wood. Then came the 'serious' bass. Then another one, and another. Expensive, gorgeous, with big names. The RBX was tossed away. A couple of years after, it was picked up again only to violently tear off all the frets and brutally sand the fretboard, in an attempt to make it an inexpensive fretless. Then tossed away again. Until yesterday. I tried a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass at the shop, found it good looking and cheap, but with playability, sound and construction issues. So I came home, picked up my Yamaha again, swept the dust and plugged it. This lil' SOB sounds better than a brand new 300??? Squier! Yes, not a bass I'd use on a pro recording but hey, it has passed at least 5 years near the wall without a case, all covered in dust and dirt and with rugged strings and still has a great sound! It was still in tune, what the hell! This must make you think. I decided I will bring this friend back to life, maybe change the pickup (sometimes muddy, but not bad at all: it even has clear highs and mids!) and adjust the bridge and nut (somehow stiff, high action), nourish and refine the fretboard (maybe I'll fill the fret slots someday, or maybe not, it plays great anyhow!).
This is a bass that deserves respect. Sure as hell it has mine.

I can't remember for the love of God how it was set up at the factory. I wouldn't have been able to tell at that time as I was a total noob.
No flaws whatsoever, ever.
Great neck and fretboard feel, for a cheap-as-peanuts bass. Still kicks ass.

Well, after all it endured and my Guinea Pig treatment (and I mean the japanese splatter movies Guinea Pig) on the fretboard... considering that it was still in tune after 5 years of inactivity, covered under a coat of dust and badly placed beside the wall... you tell me. 16 years, not a problem.

Never needed them. Couldn't figure out the year of production with the serial on the website though. Bad, bad...

I've played since 1992. I have a 1975 Fender Jazz Bass, a 200x Warwick Streamer LX5, a Trace Elliot GP11 combo, a Markbass Minicombo 112, some pedals, other stuff on the guitar department (Epiphone ZW Les Paul bullseye finish, Cort acoustic etc etc).
Nobody would ever steal this, it's not worth anything except for me. So, if anyone was out of his mind enough to steal it or if I lost it, there would be no point at all buying another one like it.
I have the Warwick being luthier-ed and the Jazz Bass stuck in the studio so this afternoon I played it in my bedroom for the sake of playing. The fretless sound is amazing (considering that I butchered it with a kitchen knife) and the overall feel is great. This is a precious, miracle piece of equipment. I don't know if RBXs come this good nowadays, but I suggest you buy one to begin playing. You'll not regret it and, who knows, when you will be good enough to play an expensive bass you could feel the urge to take it out of the bag every once in a while for a jam. And you could be just as amazed as I am.

Mine was made in the early 1990's and the color is "Crimson Red". I won it new in a raffle at a Ann Arbor, MI music store when John Pattituci(sp?) did a bass clinic there in 1994 or 95. Features are like those mentioned in the above reviews. I will say that it's pretty light in weight which I love. I like the modern body style as well.

The sound was too boomy for me so I give it a 7. I guess to cut costs for this "beginners" bass they used cheaper pick ups. I took the stock pick ups out and put in Semour Duncan P-style for replacement. It's the same one that's in the Steve Harris signature fender precision bass. Man what a difference. This bass now sounds great with Roto Sound roundwound strings!! I think the better pick up helps with the tone control making a difference.

I have no complaints except the color. I like the cutaway for the forearm to rest on.

This has seen many a gig and has stood up well. Both pots never have made noise, tuning keys are great. No bridge problem, but I will be putting a Badass bridge on it someday.

Never needed it.

Even though I have a Fender Geddy Lee sig Jazz, Rickenbacker 4001 and Gibson Grabber in my arsinal, I use this bass more than the others to play out and I have played out a lot in a classic/modern rock dance cover band. Mostly because I like the live sound through my Ampeg with the replacement pick up and it's overall light weight. I would get another if lost/stolen.

I AM REVIEWING MY SECOND BASS
A YAMAHA RBX 250

IT WAS MADE AROUND 1995 (ACCORDING TO THE SITE)
4 STRINGS, 24 FRETS
LAMINATED TOP (MINES IS BLACK)
VOLUME AND VOLUME FOR THE SPLIT PICKUP
MAPLE NECK AND BODY
IT IS REALLY HEAVY COMPARED TO OTHER BASSES I HAVE PLAYED
YAMAHA TUNERS
MAPLE NECK, FAT SCALES
MINES CAME WITH A STAND, 20 WATT PEAVY BASS AMP, AND A 20 FOOT CHORD
I BOUGHT MINES USED

IT PLAYS MOSTLY ANYTHING
I HAVE PERSONALLY PLAYED PUNK, REGEAA, ALTERNATIVE, POP, OLDIES, AND HARD ROCK
I PERSONALLY USE A 20 WATT PEAVY BASS AMP ( BUT I LOVE TO ADD A LITTLE DISTORTION HERE AND THERE)
IT HAS A RICH FULL SOUND
IT IS ALSO DEFINATLEY BETTER FOR THE STUDIO--WAY TO HEAVY FOR A SHOW
I LOVE PLAYING IT, VERY NICE SOUND, HATE STRAPPING IT ON TOO HEAVY

MY MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THIS BASS IS IN THIS SECTION
EVERYTHING WORKS FINE BUT THE ACTUAL HOLE (THE ONE YOU PLUG YOUR CHORD INTO) HAS A NUT THAT KEEPS UNLOOSING ITSELF AND FALLING
THIS SOMETIMES JIGGLES A COUPLE OF WIRES CAUSING STATIC, BUT I FIXED IT BY HOT GLUING THE WIRES
ALSO MY VOLUME CONTROL KNOB FELL, LEAVING ONLY A STUB TO MOVE IT WITH

THE BASS WILL LIVE
AND MOST OF THE HARDWARE WILL LAST EXCEPT FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED OBJECTS
VERY STRONG STRAP BUTTONS, I HAVE STRAP LOCKS ON MINE AND I USE A DIMARZIO STRAP, WHICH IS ALSO VERY STRONG
I WOULD DEPEND ON MINES TO PLAY A GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP, AS LONG AS THE NUT IS TIGHTLY SECURED

HAVENT DEALT WITH CUSTOMER SUPPORT

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING THE BASS FOR A WHILE NOW, THIS IS MY SECOND BASS BEFORE IT I HAD AN EPIPHONE BASS GUITAR
I ALSO KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE DRUMS, GUITAR, AND KEYBOARDS, ALL OF WHICH I LEARNED BEFORE PICKIN UP THE BASS
IF MY BASS WAS SOLD, OR LOST, I WOULD BUY ANOHTER ONE MAINLY BECUASE MINES IS SOO HEAVY
I COMPARED IT TO JACKSON BASSES
I WISH IT WAS LIGHTER,

Hi ! I'm a very young newbye of the bass guitar and I'm going to review my first bass guitar (but I tried many, many others) : the Yamaha RBX 250 ! I apologize for my english, I'm italian, but I hope you understand at least a word of what I wrote. Enough chit-chat, on to the hot stuff :

Yamaha RBX-250
Made around 1991, by Kaohsiung Yamaha in Taiwan.
22 Frets, 4 Strings.
Solid-Top.
1 Master Volume Control, 1 Master Tone Control.
1 Split-Coil Pickup.
Passive electronics.
Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard.
Electric Blue Finish.
Precision Style.
Bolt-On Neck with 4 Bolts.
Just enough features for the beginning and intermediate bassist, but I'm hoping you have a good amplifier. A real good one.

I mainly play Blues, Rock Blues, like Led Zeppelin, Pop Rock, like Bon Jovi, and Heavy Metal.
The Yamaha RBX 250 fits my style just well.
My equipment is composed by the quintessence of CRAP, the Korean Made Arai/AB-30GE Amplifier, and an awesome Boss ME-6B Multieffects board, which is truly capable of miracles, like making my Amplifier sound like a Markbass (Italian Bass Guitar Amplifiers, best in the known world).
Anyway, without the Noise Suppressor included in my Boss ME-6B, this bass sounds slightly buzzy, and the bridge setting will really need a lot of tweaking, but on some good amplifiers, the buzz is no big deal.
Compressed with an FX, this bass sounds awesome. It can really roar, with a rich punch. Without any FX, it still sounds quite warm. But the real problem is ... This bass can sound like a Precision if properly tweaked, but can and will only sound like a Precision set to a low-end tone. It has no tonal variety at all. I'm not into Jazz, but if I've been, I would have thrown this bass off my window. It has just two tones, corresponding to the maximum and the minimum of the Master Tone Control. The middle tones sound just too plain. The maximum of the Master Tone can be quite nice for slap, but this bass isn't really made for slapping or for Funk music. It does only one thing, and it really does it good, for a bass guitar of this price. And that thing ...
Is good ol'times Rock'n'Roll.

The bass finish is flawless, and really beautiful. I hate the color, but, I must tell, this bass guitar has a booty like one of a top model.
Good action and neck as fast as a gun, but the bridge is way too high.
Another considerable flaw of the RBX-250 is his pickup placement. A single split coil in the middle of the body is maybe useful for that characteristic P-Bass sound, but it is against all laws of ergomony. Just tell me where the fuck I should put my right hand thumb ... You'd better need to play with your thumb on the upper strings.

I think it will withstand anything ... It's really a strong and healthy girl with the nicest booty in town.
But I must say, that damned jack input will need a change. In 1 month that I had the bass I already needed to change it. And I had to fix an internal cable, under the jack input, as well. This counts as two points less in this Category ... And 5 Euro less in my pocket

Never needed to give 'em a call.

I've been playing for about a year ... And I tried them all ... The best amplifiers and best bass guitars ever ... I have no regrets at all in buying this bass. It fits me like a glove.
If it was stolen, which is really easy in the city I live, Naples, i would buy another one. Another bass. Not a RBX-250, of course ! Maybe an Ibanez EDA-905 5-String Ergodyne ? They look nice, and the piezoelectric pickup is way too cool. I like that futuristic sound. Anyway, I love the punch of this bass. When I play the Chorus from Communication Breakdown it's ... Wow ! And I love her booty, you know ! I hate the tonal variety, and his bad sustain on thumbing and popping.
I wish it had another pick-up, an active one, just under the neck, for a nice slapping sound, but it hasn't. I'm happy however, because I'm just a newbye, and this suits me hella good.
I bought that bass reading your reviews, however.
Hope mine will help you as much as other reviews helped me in my choice.

It was made in Taiwan, 26th July 1991. I found this on the Yamaha homepage's serial number finder. It's made of 2 or 3 pieces of alder, the neck is maple with rosewood fingerboard. The finish is good, maybe a little thin. It was originally fretted, but i bought it for fretless so i modified it. Now it has mahogany inlays instead of frets. The bridge is stock vintage style, not the best but reliable. The tuning keys are "real" Yamahas from Japan and working great. The stock pickup (one P style) wasn't good for fretless sound so i changed to EMG-P which gives more headroom and clarity to the sound. I string this bass with D'addario 040 ECB.

It has got very nice, smooth but clear fretless sound. I play death/prog metal and guitar/bass/vocal lineup bar-band. Two whole different worlds, but the rbx can handle with almost every kind of music. My other bass is a Fame 5 string neckthrough. They're plugged into a Behringer bx3000 top, with a custom made 4x12 box.

The hardwares are in good condition, even after 12 years on the road (only one year with me). The finish is dulled, and scratched one place, but it protects the wood, doesn't need to re-paint.

It's reliable. I use it with a Fame 5 string on stage and in studio. I protect them with hard cases on the road and with strong stands on stage. The strap buttons are changed to Schaller straplocks.

I never deal with them, repair made by myself and a luthier friend. The Yamaha webpage's serial no. finder is very good when you buy a bass used, like i did.

I play bass for 9 years, 2 years on fretless. I've tried a lot of instruments so i can say that the RBX250 is a VERY good choice for this price. Its a full value bass and don't need special tuning except the change of the pickup.

A great bass for the beginner- or those on a budget. Although the bass is now out of production, surpassed by the RBX-170 and RBX-270. The basic rundown- 24-fret Rosewood fingerboard with standard abalone inlays, 3 piece Alder body, P style alnico passive pick-ups, master tone, master volume and chrome hardware. I have a black gloss finish. The bass came with a plastic moulded lead and 2 hex keys.

Well this bass doesn't offer a lot of tonal variety- then again, you get what you pay for. If you're looking for tonal expermentation- you'll be using your amp. With roundwounds, this bass sounds very deep a-la double bass. With standard strings, it sounds good for rock, but for jazz it's ok. The pickups are very, very noisy with the tone at full. The tone control gives you decent treble but it lacks performance in the upper octave.

There was a horrible finish at the headstock end of the finger board. I've seen other 260's that have a flush finish, but mine was slightly sanded off- but it didn't affect the sound. Everything else was fine- although I recomend the bottom part of the pick-up be lowered. I was slapping one day and that night I noticed the string made a groove into the corner of the pickup- but it didn't affect the sound.

I've used this bass for my first gigs and a few times in competitions and it hasn't failed. The bass will last with some occaisional TLC. Everything's solid except the pots. They constantly came loose for me and I would have to tighten them once every 6 months. They're plastic- but to be honest- who (in the audience) gives a damn about the knobs??? So I wouldn't worry about changing them.

I wouldn't buy this bass again- bassiclly because I'm a follower of P/J or P/P Pick-Up configurations now. But If you want something that you can play without worrying about damaging it or if you're starting out and need a durable axe- this is the perfect bass. I love the tone (just not the noise!) and this bass can keep you going for years.

I bought this bass used it caught my eye the pice was right and being a bass player for quite some time, I like to just pick one up as I can to add to my collection.Black body and rose wood neck. Plays very well and the tone is awsome. Good pickups.and most of all stays in tune.

My music style is heavy.Metalica and such.I play it threw a nitro bass amp with two 15"black widow speaker cabinets. The sound is awsome. It delivers what I want.I can roar and I can clap with this thing. I have no problem with power the pick ups are hot.I have no dislikes of this bass.Of courseI haven't let it fall from a tower or ran over it with a pick up or any thing.

The bass is flawless. The finish to me looks great. I have had zero problems.

Believe me this bass will withstand live playing and the hardware will last and stay in tune.The finish is good the strap buttons are solid.I have never had to have the neck adjusted.Completely dependable. I would play a gig without a back up bass. Ive owned alot that I would have a back up for.

Typical p-bass type instrument. Alder body (mine has a natural wood finish). Single passive split p-bass pickup. One piece maple neck, 34" scale. The body has it's own look so it's not a run-of-the-mill p-bass clone. It's only got 2 controls, volume & tone, that have real cheap plastic knobs on them. It came with a real cheezy vinyl gig bag.

This bass has a real nice rock & roll growl (like a p-bass). So it your playing straight ahead rock, this bass sounds fine. Problem is that there is virtually no control over the tone. You can get a nice treble slap tone but outside of the usual p-bass growl, that's about it. Another thing I don't like is that the pickups are very noisy. They really put out (volume wise) but they also hum all night long. If your playing rock, this is a good bass for you. If you need versatility in your sound, you may want something with a better electronics setup.

I bought the bass from a local music shop who claims they do a set up as part of the sale. So the action was very reasonable. Over time thought, the neck has needed seasonal adjustment to keep the action that way. The truss rod is very tough to play with because it's a hex nut instead of a hex key. I haven't found a real good tool to use for it. I also don't like the way the bass sounds as I go up the neck. It's basically dead after the 12th fret. I've tried to do some adjustments to correct this but I believe it's just the nature of the beast for a $200 instrument. The bass stays in tune very well and for the most part is well made. The body is made of 3 peices and the grains do not match well so it looks kind of strange. But once again, it's a low end bass so I cannot complain. At least it's not a plywood body. The knobs are real cheap plastic and sometimes fall off. I would recommend replacing them with something better.

This bass has been a work horse for me. I know I've said a few unkind things about it already. But keep in mind this is a $200 bass. I've had it dropped off a stage (about 3 or 4 feet down), stepped on, played with by my kids, etc. and it's held up under all the banging. I've played out with it many time, usually without a backup. The neck needs to be looked at during every season change but that isn't too much to ask. It stays in tune. I think this bass has been very dependable.

I've never had to use Yamaha's support so I cannot comment of this.

I've been playing for many years and will have to say that this bass has served me very well (for about 5 years now). I bought it because I needed a bass quick and didn't have a lot of $. I love the durability of the bass. It's as solid an instrument as you can get in this price range. It's also very light so it doesn't kill your shoulder. I would say that this instrument is on par with some of the lower end Ibanez SR models, the Mexcian Fenders & Squire products. For a beginner, this bass is a great deal. It's not very "flexible" for someone requiring a variety of tones but for some people that works well. If I had it to do over again, I would replace the plastic knobs with something better and get a decent gig bag for it.