Yamaha TRB 1004J

ManualsBrandsYamaha ManualsElectric BassesElectric-Bass

February 2011 Guitarist 129

YAMAHA TRB 1004J £925

BASS

Yamaha TRB 1004J £925

Top-end features combined with Far Eastern build makes

for a serious sub-£1,000 contender by Roger Newell

amaha is perhaps the

most modest of giants in

the bass guitar world. Its

top-end models are firmly

enconsed in the hands of four-

five- and six-string legends

including Billy Sheehan, Nathan

East and John Patitucci, while

its more affordable instruments

offer a quality:cost ratio that’s

hard to ignore. Here, Yamaha is

tackling that tricky around-a-

grand price point with the

TRB 1004J, built in Indonesia,

and presented beautifully with

its pro-oriented feature set.

With a quilted maple top,

matching headstock and a black

coachline circumnavigating the

body, there’s no evidence of any

cost-cutting here – as we’d

expect from Yamaha. It’s

almost the opposite: the boring-

sounding ‘caramel brown’

colour description seems at

odds with the sumptuousness

of the slightly reddish lustre

finish. It’s very well

constructed, with a laminated

five-ply maple neck, rosewood

fingerboard and six bolts

securing neck to body – this is

clearly built to manage the

rigours of life on the road.

With a minimal headstock

and extended upper body horn,

even with the extended scale

length it’s a very nicely

PhotograPhy by Ph ILIP SoWELS

balanced bass indeed. The

controls are inserted from the

rear of the bass’s body, so there’s

no need for a scratchplate, thus

showing off the glorious maple

top perfectly. The oversized

soapbar pickups, meanwhile,

give finger players great anchor

points for your thumb.

Sounds

Having two identical Alnico-

loaded pickups and a three-

band active EQ means there’s

a huge variety of sound options

available. It naturally plays

The Rivals

Cheaper, but not fully active,

Spector’s Legend 4 Custom

(£720) uses the Special EMG

B30 RevS three-band active

tone circuit with EMG-HZ

passive humbuckers.

Fender’s Active Jazz Bass

(£730) is the original, but

updated with two dual-coil

ceramic Noiseless Jazz Bass

pickups. For more money,

Music Man’s Stingray

Double Humbucker (£1,595)

has a two-band active

preamp and an ash body.

A five-piece neck secured with six recessed bolts – no stability issues here

GIT338.rev_yamaha 129 12/22/10 10:06:42 PM

Summary of content (2 pages)

PAGE 1
YAMAHA TRB 1004J £925 BASS PhotograPhy by PhILIP SoWELS Yamaha TRB 1004J £925 Top-end features combined with Far Eastern build makes for a serious sub-£1,000 contender by Roger Newell Y amaha is perhaps the most modest of giants in the bass guitar world. Its top-end models are firmly enconsed in the hands of fourfive- and six-string legends including Billy Sheehan, Nathan East and John Patitucci, while its more affordable instruments offer a quality:cost ratio that’s hard to ignore.
PAGE 2
YAMAHA TRB 1004J £925 BASS right into the hands of modernminded bassists who are looking for solid sounds that are rich in tone right across the full range, low to high. But it’s not just sweetness and light here – this is also one very throaty beast that excels in funky punch and blended hollow mixed pickup heaven.