Yamaha SBV500 Bass
An affordable axe for alternative artists
by Emile Menasché
October 12, 2000
Summing it Up
The Yamaha SBV500 bass offers sharp looks, decent -- though imperfect -- workmanship, and excellent playability, and its distinctly punchy tone sets it apart. At US $649, it's an affordable alternative for players looking to break outside of vintage-style boundaries.
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Stylish looks and punchy sound set the Yamaha SBV500 apart from the pack |
Retro chic may dominate guitar circles, but bass is a different story. Not that vintage designs like the Fender Precision and Jazz line aren't popular -- they're still going strong after nearly 50 years. But a bassist is more likely to have a modern instrument with, say active electronics and an unusual body shape than his or her six-string bandmate.
For Yamaha, who has made it a point to cater to adventurous tastes, the SBV500 is a like a character in one of those perfume ads -- bold yet simple. With its extreme double-cutaway design, sparkle blue finish and silver knobs, it looks like a space-age combat mace. But with a skinny neck and simple and straightforward electronics, it plays like something much more familiar. The combination is easy to like.
Feel
Thin necks are rare on basses, but I liked the feel of this Yamaha's because everything was in easy reach for my guitar-sized fingers. The cutaways allow very easy access all the way up to the 20th fret, and the action was low, tight, and buzz-free. Right out of the box, I dug the SBV's punchy feel-- the strings didn't flop around, so I felt free to get aggressive. The SBV loses points for slightly jagged frets along the treble side of the neck, not something I've come to expect from Yamahas any price range.
Sonic Preview
The identity promised by the SBV's distinct look and feel is nicely realized by the simple but effective electronics. A pair of single-coil pickups, a pair of corresponding volume controls, and a master tone let you dial in variations on the bass's core, focused tone. The instrument's punchy "unplugged" sound came through and was especially effective for "pick" and "snap" attacks, and the high-end detail that made those sounds jump did not take away from the tone's powerful bottom-end body.
While this SBV doesn't try to be all sounds to all people, it does allow you to go from bright and cutting punch to softer and less cutting punch by adjusting the relative volumes of the pickups and rolling back the tone knob. The pickups themselves are quiet for single-coils and are extremely well matched, so that various settings using them individually or in tandem blend nicely.
These samples were recorded through a Johnson J-Station Preamp's Rock Bass model
Vital Stats
| Price: |
US $649 |
| Body: |
Solid alder |
| Neck: |
Maple, with rosewood fingerboard |
| Scale: |
34" |
| Nut Width: |
1.57" |
| Frets: |
20 |
| Electronics: |
2 special-design Yamaha single-coils
Individual volume controls
Master tone |
| Contact: |
Yamaha (714) 522-9011
http://www.yamahaguitars.com/ |
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