Styled in a dark coffee sunburst finish, the Yamaha BB Series BBP735A is a five-string electric bass with a sleek, double-cutaway designed and a maple/alder/maple body construction. The hard maple center is intended to bolster body stiffness, accentuating midrange, while the alder provides the solid tone you'd expect from a BB series bass.
The instrument's six-bolt, miter-joint, five-piece maple neck sports a 34" scale, a 600mm radius, 21 frets, and a fingerboard fashioned out of rosewood. Compared to the traditional bolt-on neck joint, this miter joint reinforces string vibration throughout the body, resulting in a bolstered sustain and harmonic resonance.
Strings are secured to the body with a vintage-style fixed bridge that features a diagonal string-thru design, one that alleviates unnecessary string-stress while reinforcing resonance and sustain. This string-thru design is optional, meaning you can also attach strings to the tail end of the bridge. The bridge comes with a convertible saddle that can be adjusted between two different angles, giving you more control over your feel and tone. Constructed out of brass, the saddle of this bridge delivers a deeper low-end, while the steel plate of the bridge emphasizes highs. All of this helps provide a well-rounded sound. At the headstock, you'll find open-gear tuners designed to complement this BB bass, which is comparably lightweight when compared to earlier iterations.
For electronics, this bass offers two Custom V7 pickups. A split single coil P-style pickup can be found in the neck, while a single coil J-style pickup sits in the bridge. These pickups have been engineered to give you an articulated sound that is nevertheless warm, organic, and fat.
This bass features an active EQ circuit that can be switched in via the active/passive selector. Controls are provided here for trebles, mids, and lows. You'll also find a master volume and pickup balancer knob. The bass comes with a gigbag.
High-quality gold plated parts are used for key signal chain contacts, providing increased conductivity and reliability and a battery alert LED installed on the back panel gives instant indication of low power to eliminate sudden power loss during performance.
Controls are on hand for bass, middle, and treble. You'll also note the active/passive switch, which engages the circuit.
Strings can also be set to the tail end of the bridge, which comes equipped with a convertible saddle that can be adjusted to two different angles for more precise tonal shaping and feel. The rounder side of the saddle gives a slightly duller sound, while the more angled area of the saddle produces a slightly tighter one. Furthermore, brass saddles deliver a slightly deeper low-end, while the steel bridge plate offers more response. All screws and springs are made of stainless steel to guard against corrosion.