jeremy_crockett's Yamaha Music Gear Setup
My basses now outnumber my guitars. Just as it should be.
More gear photos from jeremy_crockett
Gear in this photo
This rig
~$1,053
Brand mix
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Yamaha
50%
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Ibanez
25%
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Sterling by Music Man
25%
Price mix
Mix of budget and standard
An Odd Duck But, it is MY Duck.
When I was looking for a semi-hollow bass, I was familiar with the Epiphone Jack Casady but couldn't justify the $800 asking price.
After spending some time shopping on FB Marketplace, Craigslist, and other usual locations, I decided on one that I had never heard of before, an Ibanez Artcore AGB140 in Transparent Brown.
It's a bit of an odd critter being a full 34" scale. The neck feels much longer than my Ray34CA, but I love the aesthetic so much that I am learning to deal with it.
One of the previous owners, for reasons that will forever remain shrouded in mystery, decided to first super-glue a CLIP-ON tuner to the upper bout of the bass. Then, when that failed miserably, they glued it to the back of the headstock. As I've pointed out, this is a weird bass that seems to have garnered weird ownership over its 19-year existence.
The overall quality is good and the bridge hardware is excellent, very stout.
The single humbucker is a One-Trick pony but I really like the trick. The bass has a great, round, vintage sound.
Avg price: $389.37
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.
Avg price: $425.00
Amazing Bass, Fantastic Tone, Completely Happy!
For many years, I had a nearly incurable itch for a Stingray. Unfortunately for me, they have been out of my price range for just about as long.
Two years ago, I got a Ray24CA and did not get along with it. It was nicely made, however, the sound was far too bright and the two-band EQ did not shape the tone nearly enough.
Thanks to the information that the website TalkBass provided, it turns out that the older generation of Ray34s was most likely what I was looking for; slab body, alnico pickups, two-band EQ. It was widely reported that those particular axes were much closer to the more expensive USA Stingrays.
My initial impression is that this thing is a beast! I am used to passive instruments so I need to learn how to use the active features. But there is an incredible range of sounds this bass is capable of producing.
As well, I don't know if it's the alnico as compared to the ceramic pickups, or if the active electronics are significantly different but the tone is far more customizable when compared to the Ray24CA. It can be incredibly bright or more mellow and low.
If you have been Jonesing for a Stingray but do not want to shell out +$2,400 for a new one, check this ax out. It may be just what you are looking for.
Yamaha Mango Wood 4-String Electric Bass Guitar
Avg price: $238.74
Extremely Solid Entry-Level Bass
Yamaha makes great products. Yamaha has ALWAYS made great products. Considering that this is an entry-level bass, it is a very good product. My chief complaint is the relative weakness of the Bridge pickup, which is why it gets three stars instead of four.
To begin with, the build quality of the instrument is what you would expect from Yamaha. The fretwork is perfect, the wood used on the body is beautiful. Everything fits together nicely.
I picked up this particular bass second-hand from Guitar Center for around $160 plus tax. This was a screaming deal in my opinion. Even if I end up adding a better Jazz pickup, it's still a bargain.
Overall I would recommend this to any beginner without hesitation.
About this setup
This gear photo by jeremy_crockett features 4 pieces of gear, including Ibanez Artcore AGB140 Semi-Hollowbody, Yamaha TRBX304, and Sterling by Music Man Ray34CA. The rig is a mix of budget and standard pieces.
