The Yamaha BBP35 Midnight Blue II is manufactured in Japan and represents an absolutely professional tool for ambitious bassists. The top-class E-Bass convinces not only with a mercilessly good playing comfort, but also with an impeccable workmanship and an innovative construction, which includes, among other things, the elaborate and particularly robust "Miter" neck connection and the "Diagonal Body Thru Stringing" at the bridge. At the amplifier furthermore a classic passive circuit with Alnico pickups in the PJ setup provides organic bass sounds that feel at home in any style of music.
The Japanese-built Yamaha BBP35 Midnight Blue II is an absolutely professional electric bass and convinces with elaborate construction, first-class playability and versatile sounds.
The elaborate miter joint guarantees a particularly stable and sound-enhancing connection between neck and body.
Yamaha BBP35: Flawless workmanship and elaborate construction
In the construction of the Yamaha BBP35, the Japanese bass makers rely on elaborate ingredients that guarantee a first-class sound and unhindered playability. On the body, a thick maple layer between the alder back and top ensures an assertive midrange and tight sound development, which is supported by the five-piece neck made of maple and mahogany. From Billy Sheehan's Yamaha Attitude Bass the "Miter" neck joint was also adopted, where two slanted screws pull the neck heel deep into the neck pocket, where four more screws secure it bombproof. furthermore, the entire Bass undergoes Yamaha's Initial Response Acceleration (I.R.A.) to achieve the lively tone of a long-rehearsed instrument through a vibration treatment. With the flat C neck profile, the Yamaha BB Pro five-string furthermore offers smooth playability from the low B to the high G string.
Yamaha YGD VSP7n and VSC7b ALnico pickups in PJ setup and tradition-conscious passive circuit promise diverse bass sounds for almost any genre.
Alnico pickups for organic bass sounds
When it comes to the pickups for Yamaha's BBP35 bass guitar, the choice falls on Alnico V pickups from the in-house YGD division. Accordingly, thanks to the Yamaha VSP7b split coil in the middle position and the Yamaha VSC7b single coil at the bridge, the E-Bass impresses with classic, versatile sounds that deliver a rich yet defined bass foundation for almost any style of music. The pickups are combined with straightforward passive electronics that include individual volume controls and a generally acting tone pot.
Lightweight Yamaha open-gear tuners with satin chrome finish keep the BBP35 securely in tune.
High-quality hardware
Completing Yamaha's BBP35 Midnight Blue II E-Bass is high-quality, perfectly matched hardware. On the body sits the Yamaha Vintage Plus bridge, which, thanks to the massive construction with steel base plate and brass tail pieces, not only supports the sustain-joyful sound of the Bass, but also guarantees exact intonation and comfortable string position. The innovative bridge also offers the possibility to switch between "Diagonal Thru Body Stringing", where the strings are fed through the body at a 45° angle, and the classic "Top Load" string suspension, and influence the response of the strings. At the headstock, furthermore Yamaha Lightweight Open-Gear tuners provide an especially precise tuning and a significantly reduced neck dive.
Fantastic studio bass. Wonderful sound, just passive, so deep and dynamic. It will cut through in your mix in a pleasant way. It came setup very low, but after a few tweaks it is more to my liking. Responds well to adjustments. Very fast neck, wide but thin. Incredible sustain, strings will ring for minutes. P-sound very much available, like velvet, J-sound not so because of different position of bridge pickup. Both pickups together make a lovely slap tone. This would be comparable to Fenders custom shop offerings. No regrets.
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(This review is from the same product in color Vintage Sunburst)
Modern version from the BB lineup excels just the way, you would assume from Yamaha Japan model. Build quality is excellent, attention to details is what you would expect at this price point and the bass plays nicely straight out from the box.
The sound from the stock pickups is clear and punchy, bass rings acoustically nicely (perhaps the ARE treatment actually does something) and this bass is fitted for studio use really well (It plays and sounds even across the strings and fretboard, feature rarely seen on even other basses at this price point).
It tunes up really well, thanks to properly fit nut, good tuners + bridge and fretwork & feels super stable on hand, with good weight balance (Partly thanks to those ultralight tuners and ultra rigid construction).
On comparison, the BBP35 offers much better value than comparable F branded P in five string mode and you are clearly getting a higher grade bass than BB735 here (after playing a several examples, they are super nice for the price though), in my honest opinion.
The only thing which may leave you bit underwhelmed are the looks, but otherwise this is a top tier tool for those who know.
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(This review is from the same product in color Midnight Blue)
As a bassist playing in many different genres I have been on the lookout for a versatile instrument that covers all I could want. Sure I have particular basses that do different genres amazingly but none that will do them all really well. This is where the Yamaha BBP35 comes in! Wow! As one of the professional models that Yamaha produce this is crafted by their master luthiers in Japan. This shows! The attention to detail and build quality is rock solid. Capable of such a wide range of tones covering a smooth warm sound reminiscent of a classic jazz, all the way through to grunty, pokey p-bass and slap along with everything in between this bass does it all... the best part.... it’s passive! The pickups used have some kind of witchcraft to allow them to produce such a high output akin to an active bass. I love it! Easy to play and you immediately feel ‘at home’ when you pick it up this has replaced so many of my other basses and is now going to be my daily bass. The Vintage Sunburst finish is great and one of the nicest you’ll find along with the little touches such as the frosted Matte tuners. Overall - a great quality instrument at a bargain price. A real hidden gem! Buy this and you won’t be disappointed. Props to DV247 for a fast efficient service getting the bass to me in the UK from Germany in 3 days. Great service!
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