1990s Yamaha RBX650 Electric Bass Guitar
I bought this as part of a lot from a local guy offloading gear. It was kinda gross, had paint marks all over the top, a bad wiring harness, and it played like garbage -- at the time. After cleaning, a "glorified setup," and a new wiring harness, this thing is righteous. It's completely not my style but I admire it as a bass. It's lightweight, plays fast as heck, is comfortable to play, and sounds like a more "acoustic" P-bass, if you will. It's got more "breath" to it or something. Maybe because it's light and probably totes brighter ceramic pickups?
Either way, it now belongs to a friend of mine. More power to him! I heard him trying it out and blasting-out tunes like he'd just powdered his nose with confectioner's and put on sparkly pants. I mean -- dang!
So -- if you see one of these out there, don't deny it. Yamaha sure knows how to build fun toys.
Repairs included: fret level dress, new wiring harness (500k pots, 010 cap, Switchcraft jack), lots of cleaning, restring, and setup.
Body wood: several-piece ash
Bridge: upgraded to a cast aluminum one at some point
Fretboard: rosewood
Neck wood: maple
Pickups: 1x P-Bass-style
Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: real light, "clear nylon" tapewound of some sort, feels like 85w-35w equivalent
Neck shape: slim C
Board radius: ~14"
Truss rod: adjustable
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium-big
Scale length: 34"
Nut width: 1 5/8"
Condition notes: it's got 20+ years of wear on it -- light scuffs and scrapes and scratches here and there and some heavy pickwear just north of the pickup.
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