Yamaha BB735A Bass Guitar - Translucent Matte Black Reviews
At first glance, the Yamaha BB735A 5-string bass is a workhorse instrument capable of a wide range of bass tones. Look a bit closer, and you'll find a slew of innovations that make it a truly unique bass. Its 6-bolt miter neck joint transmits more string vibration to the body for impressive sustain, as does its Vintage Plus bridge with diagonal body-through stringing. The BB735A's switchable active/passive circuits deliver impressive sonic versatility, with automatic level matching for both circuits. Factor in stainless steel hardware to resist corrosion over the years, and the Yamaha BB735A is truly a bass to treasure for a lifetime.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Nice bass guitar
This is a nice Yamaha 5-String bass guitar. This is my third Yamaha bass guitar and my second BB model bass guitar. Much like the 4-string BB714BS, it is heavy in weight. It is a quality bass guitar. Frets, neck profile, build quality, paint job, hardware and electronics are all excellent. One issue was the split-pickup cover was making a click sound when my finger tapped it. I removed the cover and added a thin padded two-sided tape so the cover wouldn't hit the bobbin underneath. It wasn't happening to the other half of the split-P or J-bass pickup. I've had it for almost a year and it was a demo model. I like the tones I can get from it in either passive or active mode. I play it in a church music group where I go through a DI box into the soundboard. Sounds fine. Lately, I have been going through a multi-effects pedal for IR miked-amp effect. The soft case is nice and is not a low-budget item. I don't find the need to get a different gig bag or hard case for it.
Best Budget 5 String!
This thing is killer! Yamaha has got all these awesome details on their instruments that I would have never thought to do, but make a significant difference in performance. The pickups sound great. They do a great job of maintaining classic P and J sounds that everyone is used to while adding some extra punch from modern, active electronics. And if active isn't your thing, you can just switch it off! Even the soft case it came with is outstanding quality.
I can't recommend this enough for any bass player who is looking to get into 5 string, or just wants a super solid workhorse instrument.
p.s. Jason Koons was a great help!
My new favorite bass
I bought this with the intention of getting comfortable on a 5 string. To my surprise there was very little learning curve! On day 1 everything felt super comfortable and I was right on track. This bass looks and sounds killer. The active/passive toggle is a HUGE feature. Pickups sound amazing. A bit heavy on the highs, but it is very easy to find a setting that fits perfect in any situation.
Incredible Bass for the price
I was looking for a road/tour worthy back up bass. After weeks of research, I started getting my hopes up with high expectations for this bass. When it arrived, every bit of my expectations were met. What impressed me most was the craftsmanship & material of this BB735A. Coming in at close to 9lbs was a major plus as well. Yamaha, Sweetwater & Sales Engineer Bob Furlong knocked it out of the park.
THE ULTIMATE WORKHORSE
I have been playing this bass for two weeks now.I am actually a Fender guy but I wanted a five string PJ bass, so I decided to give a shot to the Yamaha. Right out of the box it is well protected with a cardboard box on the outside and a high quality semi-hard yamaha gigbag (which comes with the bass) The fit and finish is great with no flaws or whatsoever, the bass is not too heavy (around 4.2 -4.5kg). The alnico pickups are AMAZING when plugged in and I dig it ! I also love the matte black translucent finish (wood grain could be seen) on the bass. The bass is well balanced on a strap the neck and the matte black makes in looks awesome under the stage lights. The neck profile feels great and the neck width is quite narrow than the usual fender jazz bass V specs. Overall, this bass is a keeper and it is truly an affordable bass with pro specs that other companies or guitar models won't offer !
Great Bass, but overly conservative factory setup
For the most part, the BB735A is an incredible bass. I first saw one in a music store window on a trip to upstate New York a year ago, and have been lusting after it since. I'll go over the positives first, then hit the one big nitpick at the end.
First, this is an incredible value. In hand, it does not feel like a sub-$1000 instrument. I fully intended to use this as a project bass, ripping out the pickups and preamp in short order. That won't be happening. I am astonished at how nice these stock Yamaha pickups sound right out of the gate. The preamp is also perfectly matched and only serves to augment the natural sound of the bass. The transparent black finish is not incredibly transparent, but does look very very nice. My wife, who never comments on my musical instruments said it was sexy. I cannot overstate how uncharacteristic that reaction was.
The BB735A is also has a very solid construction. The miter bolts make the neck joint feel very solid. The body itself is also very resonant when played acoustically. It just sings. All of the hardware components are excellent. Again, much better than you would expect at this price point.
After some tweaking the bass also plays very well. Neck relief was set perfectly right out of the gate. It's always nice when you don't have to adjust the truss. The action at the bridge was very high at ~5mm on the G at the 17th fret. The hardware, being of excellent quality, made it very easy to set to the preferred 2mm.
The one major nitpick is that the nut slots were set *extremely* high for the E string in particular, and moderately high for the A & D strings. B & G slots were mostly fine. Not sure what happened at the factory. The E-string slot has about 1/2 the thickness of the string rolling over the top. As it was, playability was very stiff at frets 1-4 on those three strings. I am comfortable with filing down the nut slots, having done it on parts builds in the past. But do know that this is something you may encounter with this instrument.
Nut issues aside, this is an otherwise wonderful instrument. The neck profile is very nice for a 5-er. The pickups are astonishingly sweet. The preamp is well-matched to the bass. The body is comfortable and resonant. The trans-black finish looks sharp. Overall, it's a winner.
Great Bass for the money
I received my BB735A about a week ago. Bought it on the recommendation of Robert Williams. As with everything I have ordered from Sweetwater, the bass arrived well packaged and ready for action. It plays great, good tight low B string. Great tones from the pickups. Neck is a flat profile and narrow for a 5 string. Frets are level and the fret ends are smooth. The only thing I found wrong was a finish glitch. The holes for the beveled neck screws did not have black finish all the way to the screws. It plays and sounds too good to return it for such a minor issue.
