No love for Yamaha?

[Bassist_Diver]

I had some time to kill while I was in Austin this weekend so I hopped into the local Guitar Center and started noodling around on some of their bass stock. The one I played and loved the most was the Yamaha TRBX505 - wide range of tones, very light, awesome neck, and a fit and finish that would compare with basses four times the price. And you can find them used for around $400 if you're patient and know where to look. Holy shit, Batman, daddy likey!

But that's the problem - I've found them go for $400, but they very rarely go on sale. And they seem to be impossible to find locally, leaving one to buy online and trust that UPieceofShit doesn't break it during delivery. I asked the GC employee why and he said that for some reason nobody seems to buy Yamaha guitars or basses - the marketing doesn't work, no new or hot artists are playing them (but a lot of jazz artists do), and most seem to think the company is only good for motorcycles and percussion, the latter thanks to Yamaha's stranglehold in high school and college marching (and these mother fucking legends).

So what do y'all think? Do you think Yamaha's guitars and basses don't get enough love, or do you think they're right where they want - in the jazz and percussion world?

[Eivind August]

I play Yamaha guitars, and love them. Great quality, prices are fair, and they look, feel and sound amazing. The guitar people are a separate branch of the company, so the jazz and percussion thing doesn't really affect that. They've been making rad guitars since the sixties. But yeah, people might look a bit down on the brand since they make so much different stuff.

[Eivind August]

Let's share some Yamaha love!

[Chankgeez]

Don't forget the motorcycles:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9F9DNWEOhA

[Mudfuzz]

Let's share some Yamaha love!

If they made a 5 string bass one of those.. I'd buy one fast..

[StephanCOH]

Got a Yamaha Revstar last year (720 I think). Fantastic guitar. Beautiful looks. Great sound, great playability. Swaped the PUs for some Railhammers though.

[Ghost Hip]

Yamaha acoustic guitars are legit as fuck. From the beginner to the top of the line. I used to be a GC employee and its what we all pitched to beginners because they were super consistent in quality/finish/fit/etc.

Yamaha basses play and sound great. I think a lot of musicians get stuck in the aesthetic of classic basses that their favorite artists use, and the sleeker/modern look of Yamahas don't really appeal to them? Musicians have a hard time breaking away from what they are used to.

[fcknoise]

Let's share some Yamaha love!

I never get tired of seeing these

[Addy Bart]

Let's share some Yamaha love!

Hi Eivind,
Did you do any upgrades to your Yamahas? I've always had tuning problems on my svg300 - it goes flat far too quickly, and as such I don't play it as much as I should.

[Eivind August]

Hm, I've actually been astounded at how well they stay in tune. I seldom have to tune at all during our sets. But I don't abuse the trem that much either. As far as I know, mine are stock (got both used).

[Addy Bart]

Nice! I think I’ll swap the tuning pegs, see if that helps. I really like the colours on both of yours. Mine’s a custard yellow :-)

[coldbrightsunlight]

I've played some Yamaha basses and they were great but not my aesthetic/active pickups and stuff.

I think the older BB basses are super pretty though, nearly pulled the trigger on a few used ones several times over the years.

[Chankgeez]

This one looks pretty sweet:



https://reverb.com/item/6434716-yamaha- ... 7-sunburst

[mct]

I played a Revstar one time, I thought it was pretty nice and quite playable. I think I was messing around on the RS502T BGR. Pretty slick.

One or both of the brothers in Valkyrie (VA based doom rock) play the shit out of some Yamaha's. SBG series looking models, I'm not familiar enough though to know exactly which models they play.

[repoman]

This one looks pretty sweet:



https://reverb.com/item/6434716-yamaha- ... 7-sunburst