LeftyBassist.com

do they still make them?

I don't think they do.
They had lefty versions of the BB414 and BB614, but the 414 has been replaced by the 424 and 424X and the 614 was dropped altogether. The Yamaha website still mentions those models, but I don't think they still make them.
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical- ... uct_lineup

Here's mine:

Yamaha has almost completely withdrown from the bass market in the US. It now only offers 1 or 2 beginner models. Those bb414 and 614 were fantastic values!

Great basses. Recent listing oneBay:
Lefty Yamaha BB300 Bass Left Handed
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lefty-Yamaha-BB ... 27c8901aa4

No affiliation with the seller but anyone looking for a great P-bass copy (much much better than a squier P Bass IMO) should click on buy it now ASAP

You know, that would be a cool Darkstar pickup conversion.

Matt R. wrote:You know, that would be a cool Darkstar pickup conversion.

And that would certainly be so if you could still buy a Darkstar pickup...

True that.

Does it matter if they're made in Japan or Taiwan - build/quality wise?

Reviving an old thread. What do we think about the BBN5/BB5N? I need to travel to LatAm and want to carry with me a good but inexpensive 5-string, one that I won't care much if anything horrible happens in the way. Suggestions?

belinmad wrote:Reviving an old thread. What do we think about the BBN5/BB5N? I need to travel to LatAm and want to carry with me a good but inexpensive 5-string, one that I won't care much if anything horrible happens in the way. Suggestions?

You talking about this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-5-String ... 1c309f9e42

I had one of those. They sound great and can be setup into a gig-ready bass, no problem. I thought the neck profile was really chunky, and the one I had was not light, between 9.5 and 10 lb.

Lefty007 wrote:

belinmad wrote:Reviving an old thread. What do we think about the BBN5/BB5N? I need to travel to LatAm and want to carry with me a good but inexpensive 5-string, one that I won't care much if anything horrible happens in the way. Suggestions?

You talking about this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-5-String ... 1c309f9e42

I had one of those. They sound great and can be setup into a gig-ready bass, no problem. I thought the neck profile was really chunky, and the one I had was not light, between 9.5 and 10 lb.

Thanks Carlos. Thats exactly the one I was eyeing.... Looks heavy indeed. I wish I could find a SR505, but I dont have a ton of time. Any other ideas?

belinmad wrote:

Lefty007 wrote:

belinmad wrote:Reviving an old thread. What do we think about the BBN5/BB5N? I need to travel to LatAm and want to carry with me a good but inexpensive 5-string, one that I won't care much if anything horrible happens in the way. Suggestions?

You talking about this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-5-String ... 1c309f9e42

I had one of those. They sound great and can be setup into a gig-ready bass, no problem. I thought the neck profile was really chunky, and the one I had was not light, between 9.5 and 10 lb.

Thanks Carlos. Thats exactly the one I was eyeing.... Looks heavy indeed. I wish I could find a SR505, but I dont have a ton of time. Any other ideas?

Not too many decent sub-$500 5-strings out there. Schecter Stilleto: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schecter-Stilet ... 3a7e7a9bf2

And there are other few low-end Schecters on eBay as well.

Or:
Ibanez GSR205:http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-GSR2 ... =106557069

You just missed out on Marley's Ghost Carvin LB70 that was for sale for ever. That would have been a good candidate.

I owned one of those black BB's like Ronn's up there for about a week.

Lefty007 wrote: Not too many decent sub-$500 5-strings out there. Schecter Stilleto: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schecter-Stilet ... 3a7e7a9bf2

And there are other few low-end Schecters on eBay as well.

Or:
Ibanez GSR205:http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-GSR2 ... =106557069

You just missed out on Marley's Ghost Carvin LB70 that was for sale for ever. That would have been a good candidate.

Thanks. I had a Schecter and didn't love it honestly. I'll keep my eyes open.

www.rondomusic.com usually has something decent... here's a 5-string - a Brice model - for $325. They have a good reputation for the price... http://www.rondomusic.com/hxb405natbleft.html . Also, seems like a bolt-on would be the way to go, so you can break it down for travel.