NAHD
Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2025 7:42 pm
New “Additions to the Herd” Day
The short version:
- Yamaha BB434 bass
- Yamaha TransAcoustic (a decent acoustic with a trick up its sleeve)
- Fender Rumble 100 bass amp (not pictured)
The long story:
We've been playing a $250 bass at the practice warehouse. It makes bass sounds so it’ll do. I have been increasingly filling the bassist role so I thought I’d try something a little nicer. My Sweetwater rep recommended Yamaha instruments because of their bang-for-the-buck. My bandmate says that it’s blue. I’ll go to grave arguing that it’s green. Yamaha calls it teal. Whatever. It plays nicely and will stay at home. I’ll continue to gut it out at practice with the warehouse bass and break out the new one for the two gigs we play each year.
Some of you may recall my search for an inexpensive electric acoustic. Well, I bought one and got what I paid for. The Epiphone Hummingbird was a dud from the beginning. The bottom E boomed and it had a touchy chord input (which just fell out on Monday). It was a piece of junk. I sold it yesterday and was glad to get rid of it. The Yamaha was a bit more than I wanted to pay but the Sweetwater rep dropped the price down to something I could stomach. I like it a lot. ‘Sounds full (not tinny) and plays easy. It has on-board reverb and chorus. Cool, but that’s not why I bought it. The rep recommended it on its merits as a regular acoustic.
The bass amp I purchased because, well… I have a bass at home now. It’s not pictured because, at the time of publication, it’s not here (sigh). We have a 300w amp at the practice room so we have that base covered (pun). I went with the 100-watter because I might take it to play with some bluegrass guys outside in the summer. 40 watts might not be enough.
Here’s a one-minute Pink Floyd cover played with the two newbies. The bass is going straight into the board. For the lead, I went for a Clapton “woman tone.” I’m not sure if I got there or not. Caution: The first chord comes in a little hot.
The short version:
- Yamaha BB434 bass
- Yamaha TransAcoustic (a decent acoustic with a trick up its sleeve)
- Fender Rumble 100 bass amp (not pictured)
The long story:
We've been playing a $250 bass at the practice warehouse. It makes bass sounds so it’ll do. I have been increasingly filling the bassist role so I thought I’d try something a little nicer. My Sweetwater rep recommended Yamaha instruments because of their bang-for-the-buck. My bandmate says that it’s blue. I’ll go to grave arguing that it’s green. Yamaha calls it teal. Whatever. It plays nicely and will stay at home. I’ll continue to gut it out at practice with the warehouse bass and break out the new one for the two gigs we play each year.
Some of you may recall my search for an inexpensive electric acoustic. Well, I bought one and got what I paid for. The Epiphone Hummingbird was a dud from the beginning. The bottom E boomed and it had a touchy chord input (which just fell out on Monday). It was a piece of junk. I sold it yesterday and was glad to get rid of it. The Yamaha was a bit more than I wanted to pay but the Sweetwater rep dropped the price down to something I could stomach. I like it a lot. ‘Sounds full (not tinny) and plays easy. It has on-board reverb and chorus. Cool, but that’s not why I bought it. The rep recommended it on its merits as a regular acoustic.
The bass amp I purchased because, well… I have a bass at home now. It’s not pictured because, at the time of publication, it’s not here (sigh). We have a 300w amp at the practice room so we have that base covered (pun). I went with the 100-watter because I might take it to play with some bluegrass guys outside in the summer. 40 watts might not be enough.
Here’s a one-minute Pink Floyd cover played with the two newbies. The bass is going straight into the board. For the lead, I went for a Clapton “woman tone.” I’m not sure if I got there or not. Caution: The first chord comes in a little hot.