Yamaha BB Series BB735A Dark Coffee Sunburst with gig bag

General

Yamaha's BB735A is a versatile 5-string bass guitar. It comes with a low B string as standard but you can always choose to fit a high C string instead, giving you extra notes at the upper end if you prefer. This attractively-priced Broadbass from the 700 series is beautifully constructed and it offers a wide variety of sounds. One of the first things you might notice is that the neck has been bolted on to the body using six screws. This doesn't just ensure an ultra-stable connection but also creates a closer, tighter join between the neck and the body that results in optimal resonance and sustain.

BB735A: wood types and adjustments

While the neck is slimmer than before, it's made of 3 pieces of maple with 2 pieces of mahogany sandwiched in between, making it extremely robust. The body is made of alder with a piece of maple in the middle that combine to produce a well-balanced sound with prominent mids and a light punch that's not too bright. The open-gear machine heads and Vintage Plus bridge add to this instrument's excellent stability. The strings on the BB735A can run through the bridge and the body at an angle of 45° and can be accurately adjusted using the bridge saddles. Bassists will appreciate being able to set the instrument up to match their playing style and you'll be able to have greater string tension than you normally would on a standard 34-inch 5-string bass.

Versatile

It's not just the set up of this instrument that is versatile, its sound is too. There are two YGD Custom V7 pickups on board, a single-coil at the bridge and a split single-coil in the mid position. Both pickups have Alnico V magnetics for a warm sound and extra polarity to prevent the 60-cycle hum. The BB735A also features an active/passive circuit and in active mode, the modern well-balanced sound can be tweaked using the 3-band EQ, giving you even more versatility. In passive mode, you'll enjoy a classic, warm bass sound. No matter what style of music you play, Yamaha's BB735A 5-sting bass guitar can handle anything you throw at it.