1966 Yamaha SB-5A "Flying Samurai" Electric Bass Guitar

I've wanted this model bass in this color scheme (luminescent pearl-white with the pickguard lovingly-aged to mint from white) since I lost-out on one a few years ago. I'd already had one of these models on my radar when I saw that last one because it's an instrument that checks a lot of boxes for me in preferences. Surfy? Yes! Reverse offset? Yes! Shorter scale? Yes! Fender vibes? Yes! Bizarre? Yes!

I saw this one pop-up on eBay and I snagged it as soon as I could. It came here direct from Osaka with a paper crane tucked in the strings and the original Yamaha strap stuffed in its gigbag. How about that?

I happen to be a big fan of Japanese surf from the '60s and '70s. "Terry" is in my inner sanctum of guitar heroes and I've always loved Yuzo Kayama's weird '60s pop-surf-Hawaiian output. It's no surprise that I'd also have lingering crushes on some of the instruments used in the music, too.

For example, see the below video for Mr. K's full band playing various Flying Samurais...

The difference between a made-for-domestic-use Yamaha like the SG and SB lines of the '60s and a made-for-export Teisco -- even the fancier Sharkfin models -- or even your average nicer Guyatone -- is night and day, though. These early Yamaha (Japanese-market) electrics are every bit as good as actual period Fenders inside and out. They're rugged, reliable, well-thought-out, have heavy-duty hardware and proper shielding, good pickups and pickup design, and were clearly meant to be high-end instruments when they were made.

There are even some details that go beyond Fender design at the time and improve upon them. For instance -- to get a ton of frets free of the body, Yamaha had to laminate the bottom of the heel and add bolts running under the pickup cavity into an elongated heel. This is very similar to Mosrite designs. The bolts run into threaded inserts in the neck, though, and use lock-washers to keep the joint nice and firm. This design also has the advantage of removing a lot of the "ski-jump" tendencies of your average bolted design (as it ages) as the most-stressed part of the heel via tension from the strings is not actually interacting with the fretboard area.

Truss-rod access is hidden under the neckplate but that's still more convenient than having to take the neck off to adjust at the end of the heel like you would have to do on a period Fender.

Gushing aside -- it's simply a great-sounding and playing bass, too. I'll eventually get lightweight flatwound strings on this but I'm enjoying it with the beefy rounds it has on it at the moment. I was lucky-enough to receive this on Tuesday afternoon and had just enough time (35 minutes or so) to level and dress the frets and give it a quick setup before playing it a couple hours up at our local jam group's meeting that night.

Was I grinning? You bet...

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, pickup tweaking (height/foam adjusters), cleaning, and setup.

Body wood: unsure

Bridge: adjustable 4-saddle

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x original Yamaha single-coils w/adjustable poles

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 105w-45w at the moment

Neck shape: medium C w/hint of V

Board radius: tight ~7 1/2"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: low/small

Scale length: 31 1/2"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 13 3/4"

Body depth: 1 3/4"

Weight: 8 lbs 12 oz

Condition notes: while it's got a ton of usewear, scratching, and some finish yellowing here and there on the body, it's overall in good order. It only took a minor amount of fuss to get it playing perfectly. The thumb rest is missing but the screw separation is the same as Fender ones so I have one on order to replace it.