jeremy_crockett's Music Gear Setup
Yamaha calls the color "Mist Green". It's not particularly green.
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This rig
~$405
Avg price: $404.62
Why I Chose Yamaha for a "Modern" Bass
I want to preface this review by saying that up until (literally) 5 minutes ago, I was buying into the "Ceramic pickups sound sterile, cold, and brittle" myth. It was upon that myth that I decided to buy the Yamaha TRBX304 because I was looking for a more "modern" sound.
So digression aside, here we go:
This is an excellent bass overall. The construction is first-rate, as is 99.9% of anything Yamaha produces. The neck is a little thinner than anything else I have owned, but its 5-piece maple and mahogany laminate is not just beautiful but solid and easy to play. That combined with the Rosewood fretboard and you've got darn near a "Hippie Sandwich" neck-wise.
24 frets means a two octave range, the pots have a center detent, as does the pickup blend pot. Bass and treble tone pots (no mid) have always been sufficient as far as I am concerned.
Yamaha has included a 5-way "Performance EQ Tone Circuit" switch that modifies the bass's active tone as well. It's not completely "a gimmick" and can be useful depending on what you are looking for.
The TRBX304 is extremely versatile, more so than I expected. You CAN coax vintage thump out of it without issue.
The bass required a little neck relief tweaking out-of-the-box (not surprising), but it did ship with D'Addario XL Chromes so that saved me my usual string swap whenever I buy a new or used bass.
I think the price of the bass ($380) is exceptional when you consider that the current Squire Classic Vibe line of basses is $450.
I have (foolishly) ignored the Yamaha brand for a long time, the TRBX304 has completely changed that. And I am glad that it has.
About this setup
This gear photo by jeremy_crockett features 1 piece of gear, including Yamaha TRBX304.
