I really wanted a Lakland Hollow Body but will happily settle for this one. Once I picked it up and played it... I was hooked. Sorry Lakland.
Model Year: 2005
Price: $399.00
Where Obtained: Guitar Center
Again another made in Japan bass takes me by surprise. Semi Hollow body in "Ocean Blue" sounds like a Semi Hollowbody should with a nice smooth, warm, and round tone.
Basic Features but they are nice:
Body Alder / Laminated Spruce
Neck Maple Bolt-on
Fretboard Rosewood
Pickups 1 split single coil, Piezo bridge sensor
Hardware Chrome
Controls Master volume, pickup balance
Frets 22
Bridge Brass
Scale 34"
Controls are made of Rosewood to match the Bass... Nice touch.
Nice action not being to high like many other semi hollow basses that I have played. It has a very large body and the weight is more than you would think, but this bass is fun to play. Limited higher frets at the neck as it has a chunky 4 bolt neck... but again I play a bass and not a guitar.
Mine has ground wounds on it and it has a nice warm old school tone. No noise or hum. Haven't had any feedback issues yet. I am playing this with an Ashdown Superfly and a GB 1x12 cab upgraded with a Delta Kappa Pro speaker. Much FUN!!!! But the bass cannot be used for all types of music as it is what it is... a semi hollow body bass.
I wouldn't rate this bass very high on duability as the top is hollow and we all know how with age this will be affected. But... this bass is well built.
I'm in the process of falling in love with this instrument. I pick it up and start playing, then just don't want to stop. I'll update you when I've played it with different groups. Also, this instrument no longer seems to be made for sale new; there appears to be a model update of it coming out, according to Yamaha. If you can find a new one still kicking around, you might want to pick it up; the price will probably be right. I'm surprised that they've been discontinued, but perhaps it didn't find its niche. I think it would be excellent for folks like me: jazzers who freelance in many different styles.
Price: $380.00
Where Obtained: E-bay sale
Lightweight, single-cutaway hollowbody bass with tiger-stripe maple top on an alder body, two pickups and a 22-fret neck. The top is actually a laminate of maple on the alder body, according to the description from Yamaha. The bridge is probably ebony, and contains a ribbon-style peizo pickup (rather like my Godin A4). The strings lock into the bridge instead of going through the body. Active electronics blend the peizo with the humbucker placed on the body (I love it that the knobs are wood!) Tuners are lightweight, closed-gear.
A very playable instrument, and well-balanced. I'm new to it, so I'll update on this later. Very fast neck, although a little thicker than I'm used to. The cutaway isn't as deep as on a solid-body, so it's a stretch to hit the high e' on the g-string. But I can tear it up on this instrument. I haven't noticed any flaws in the finish.
I play this through an Eden head and a 15" Genz Benz cabinet. It seems to have a wide range of sounds -- very mellow, even boomy on the low end, or very edgy and modern if the mids and highs are boosted. Played acoustically it emphasizes the highs, but electrically it sounds quite full-ranged. The seller said this was a very flexible bass, and I think he was correct. It would probably be limited only by feedback problems at high volume.
Built like a rock, very solid. It came set up perfectly (how often does a bass arrive by UPS in midwinter and play almost in tune?!). I don't think it will be too sensitive to climate because of this. The frets are beautifully dressed.
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