The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post any sweet lefty finds on ebay, in your local stores or for sale online here.
Post Reply
LefThanDed
Posts: 254
Joined: May 12th, 2008, 5:55 pm

The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by LefThanDed »

Relisting on eBay: (no affiliation)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

(IMO: The old Yamaha BB300 series basses are well made and a bargain at any price!)
"Still trying to find some wine-tasting-style way to describe the almost-Jaco tone the bass player had going on."
User avatar
AustinLeftyBass
Posts: 825
Joined: March 13th, 2008, 6:40 am
Location: Austin,Texas
Contact:

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by AustinLeftyBass »

I love mine, my go-to "P" bass.
Image
"Top 10 Best Bass Players" Austin Music Poll 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 2666
Joined: March 4th, 2008, 3:51 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by andrew »

I don't own one, but I'm also a fan. A couple friends had them years back and they sound good.
User avatar
markcv
Posts: 750
Joined: February 3rd, 2009, 2:29 pm
Location: Parksville, B.C.
Contact:

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by markcv »

I'm not sure about the bass but I'm digging your handle: "LefThanDed". Very clever! :-)
User avatar
Agent00Soul
Posts: 904
Joined: June 18th, 2009, 2:36 pm
Location: Londinium

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Agent00Soul »

Those are great hard rock basses. I rented one for a session specifically because it sounded best through distortion pedals.
User avatar
AustinLeftyBass
Posts: 825
Joined: March 13th, 2008, 6:40 am
Location: Austin,Texas
Contact:

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by AustinLeftyBass »

I don't know what it is about those basses, I have several other P-basses that cost much more, but that Yamaha always delivers. Even Yamaha made/make more expensive basses in the BB range, most of which I've tried, but the 300 just sounds great(to me).
Yep, sounds great with distortion, and with chorus too.
"Top 10 Best Bass Players" Austin Music Poll 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
Basshappi
Posts: 965
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 2:28 pm

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Basshappi »

Those are great basses and that is a real good price.

I have a BB400 I bought back in '83. I have left it completely stock and it wears a set of TI Flats though it sounds great with rounds as well. An absolutely fantastic bass. The only "bad" thing about it is that it has the widest fretboard of any 4 string bass I've ever seen, it makes my Precision feel like a Jazz! :shock:

In the future I really want to add one of the old, higher end neck-thru BBs to my stable.

Cheers!
"Nothing is what is seems, but everything is exactly what it is." B. Banzai
User avatar
Missingbullet69
Posts: 4
Joined: February 24th, 2011, 10:07 pm
Location: Redmond, WA

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Missingbullet69 »

I've got a Lefty Yamaha BB300 that I bought from Chelsea 2nd Hand Guitars in Manhattan, NYC about 15 years ago and it rocks! It came with flatwound strings and sounded really old-school, but warm. And you can't beat a Cherry Apple red finish, primo! It was first bass and I will probably keep it for the rest of my life. Pictures to follow soon. :)
YAMAHA BB300: MP03215; MIT; SEPTEMBER 03, 1986; UNIT#215
YAMAHA BB1600: 0L31197; MIT; MAY 31, 1990; UNIT#197
Basshappi
Posts: 965
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 2:28 pm

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Basshappi »

Very cool MB69! The reversed pickup really makes a difference and I think it is better sounding. Is the neck on your BB300 very wide? If you bought it new that would put it about mid-90s so maybe they making them narrower by then. I handled a new BB414 and it had a much narrower neck than mine.

Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Welcome aboard!

Cheers!
"Nothing is what is seems, but everything is exactly what it is." B. Banzai
User avatar
Agent00Soul
Posts: 904
Joined: June 18th, 2009, 2:36 pm
Location: Londinium

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Agent00Soul »

Basshappi wrote:The reversed pickup really makes a difference and I think it is better sounding.
+1
User avatar
pjmuck
Posts: 3993
Joined: March 9th, 2008, 7:46 am
Location: West Orange, NJ

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by pjmuck »

[quote="Basshappi"]Very cool MB69! The reversed pickup really makes a difference and I think it is better sounding. /quote]

Am I missing something? The pickup is not reversed in the photo that Austin (aka Nigel) posted. (It IS on my Yamaha BB1200 however). Did these come in both configurations?

I agree sonically, however. Much prefer the reverse P configuration over standard, especially when combined in a PJ setup. More even balance across the strings, IMO.
Basshappi
Posts: 965
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 2:28 pm

Re: The Great Yamaha BB300: Lefty!

Post by Basshappi »

You're right PJ, I didn't notice that. The pup in my BB400 is reversed odd that the BB300 in the pic is standard config. After a quick serch it sems that all the current models have standard config, what a shame I wonder why Yamaha did that. :?:
"Nothing is what is seems, but everything is exactly what it is." B. Banzai
Post Reply