Yamaha TRB 1005L

[paulo]

https://reverb.com/item/36318041-yamaha ... 5l-natural

[donahue]

This bass seems slick. I darn near bought it. The listing has since ended. Does anyone own one of this model? I like it!

[Jeroen]

I don't, but I've owned two TRB5II's, its predecessor, and those were fantastic. Those were made in Japan, I believe the 1005 was made in Taiwan but otherwise very similar except for the body woods / veneers (the TRB5II was solid ash). I know the 35" scale isn't for everybody, and both my TRB's were fairly heavy with chunky but comfortably smooth necks. I loved the tone, Yamaha used to refer to it as "piano-like" in their catalogs and it really was. Tight, articulate but still fat! The pickups are humbuckers, but can sound very singlecoil-like because they both have their own internal blend control to set the output level of the second coil. Very subtle, but definitely audible difference. I would love to own one again, but I would probably still grab my Status for most stuff.

[donahue]

I don't, but I've owned two TRB5II's, its predecessor, and those were fantastic. Those were made in Japan, I believe the 1005 was made in Taiwan but otherwise very similar except for the body woods / veneers (the TRB5II was solid ash). I know the 35" scale isn't for everybody, and both my TRB's were fairly heavy with chunky but comfortably smooth necks. I loved the tone, Yamaha used to refer to it as "piano-like" in their catalogs and it really was. Tight, articulate but still fat! The pickups are humbuckers, but can sound very singlecoil-like because they both have their own internal blend control to set the output level of the second coil. Very subtle, but definitely audible difference. I would love to own one again, but I would probably still grab my Status for most stuff.

Well that didn’t help my gas any lol. Thanks for the description.

[paulo]

There was one on CL somewhere for $400 OBO, if I find the link I'll let u know! It was actually posted on Leftybassist WhatsApp group not long ago, look at the previous links shared.

[tim]

Now in black!

https://reverb.com/item/36507493-yamaha-trb1005l

[tim]

And a really gorgeous TRB-5 II in trans blue:

https://reverb.com/item/36548374-yamaha ... nded-lefty

[donahue]

Good finds Tim. That blue one is gorgeous but that fret job is not my thing. At least not by choice. Yikes.

[NoXX]

Good finds Tim. That blue one is gorgeous but that fret job is not my thing. At least not by choice. Yikes.

Woah! Yikes indeed. Maybe I don’t get out much, but I didn’t know that deliberately making your frets flatter than a pancake was a thing....

[Jeroen]

And a really gorgeous TRB-5 II in trans blue:

https://reverb.com/item/36548374-yamaha ... nded-lefty

I bought my first TRB5II brand new for that exact price around 2002-2003.
I would be weary of neck or truss rod issues on this one, since it's mostly the upper frets that have been flattened. I was once given a righty Ibanez ST924 that has been exposed to a lot of moisture while sitting in a gigbag in a garage for years, and it developed a sort of ski ramp near the end of the fingerboard that can't be adjusted out. My guitarist plays it now, and has levelled the upper frets in a similar way to make it playable without buzz.

[tim]

Good finds Tim. That blue one is gorgeous but that fret job is not my thing. At least not by choice. Yikes.

Good catch. I hadn't noticed on my phone. My SB-1 frets are almost that short now (but consistently up and down the fretboard, at least) and it plays just fine, but yeah, I'd be wary of neck that probably needs to be replaned at this point, especially at that price.