Yamaha 4-String Bass Guitar, Right Handed, Mist Green, 4-String (TRBX304 MGR)

Yamaha TRBX Series Bass Guitars

You’re the bedrock of your music. The foundation. The fundamental. The link. You need an instrument with the strength and power to perform. An instrument that gives you the freedom to innovate, to create and push the boundaries. You need a bass where everything‘s just right. Sound, feel, looks – nothing comes second. This is TRBX. This is the bass you’ve been waiting for.

With Yamaha’s unique combination of advanced design, precision engineering and time-honored craftsmanship, the Yamaha Guitar Development team have created the perfect instrument for bass players who aren’t ready to compromise. An instrument with the tone you need to underpin your performance and the flexibility to allow you to create and define your own voice. An instrument that offers unparalleled comfort, incredible playability and road-ready durability - night after night, session after session. An instrument designed and built to be the core of your music.

I am a novice player, with 4 basses now (Fender, Ibanez, Schecter), but kept reading many articles about this bass. It was on my list for a while and it arrived 2 days ago. I bought the black gloss, which has a tiger maple look under the gloss-and I view this as beautiful. The bass is heavier than my others and has some neck drop, but the controls are all spot on sensitive and adjustable to what sound/tone I am looking for. The piece arrived with round wound strings and I prefer tape wound and am switching them out. 

Even so, the action is smooth; the bass tone is throaty with the round wounds. The active/passive switch still has me a bit puzzled, but I am liking the passive sound a bit more at the early stage, as the tone is more passive-not as bold. I adjusted the action just a little bit closer to the fretboard and got a clean and throaty sound. The pickups are spaced far enough apart that the controls do adjust between them nicely; that is, in center toward the neck more or more toward the action end. They are indeed sensitive, more so than either of my fenders. The controls can be set in the middle/neutral or to cut or boost each , from bass to middle to treble. There is a pickup balance control as well and that is nice for the obvious.

 The master volume control has a lot of range built in, so I needed to spend a lot of time on my amp (Behringer BXL 3000) to reduce an echo effect. The bass is just strikingly beautiful. The back of the neck is a lighter maple and the body, the gloss black I chose, is stunning with the tiger maple faint striping (very faint but still distinct). I am thrilled with this bass and heartily recommend it. At the local guitar stores, comparable basses I have tried go for many hundred more, and didn't have the look or the sound this one does. Buy it.

I really wanted to like this bass guitar, but apparently there might be a quality control problem with made in Indonesia Yamaha guitars.

The Yamaha TBRX504 I received had a problem with its active circuit picking up a local radio station and playing it through my amp. In the passive mode the radio signals are cut out. This guitar can be played without a battery in the passive mode. Anyway, after playing it for a couple of weeks the E string suddenly because about 10db louder than the other 3 strings. I measured the loudness difference with the Sound Meter app for Android, it is a good app. Continuing, the pickup poles cannot be adjusted.

 I tried raising the E string height, but it made little difference. However, the string can only be raised so high without making it more difficult to play. I changed the strings and the uneven volume problem initially went away, but about 10-14 days later it came back. 

It seems that after the E string breaks in and becomes looser and therefore vibrates more, it sounds about 10db louder than the other 3 strings. Because the E string has to break in before the uneven loudness problem becomes apparent, the factory will not be able to catch it.

The loud E string problem combined with an active circuit that cannot be used in an environment of strong radio signals, I decided to ask Amazon for an even exchange.

The replacement TRBX504 arrived and I was pleased to find that the active circuit did not pick up a local radio station. On the other hand, this active circuit had significantly less gain that the first TRBX504. The E string volume seemed to be equal to the other 3 strings, but I knew that the string had to break in before a final conclusion could be made.

I adjusted the intonation of G, D, and A strings in that order. When I tried to intonate the E string, I found that it was 10 cents flat at the 12th fret and I couldn’t move the saddle closer to the nut, because the saddle adjustment screw ran out of travel. As I recall, the E string was about 20 cents flat at the 12th fret because I started the saddle adjustment. A local specialty guitar repair shop opined over email, that the factory might have installed the bridge incorrectly, but without actually seeing the guitar in person a definitive diagnosis could not be made.

I also noticed that the E string was beginning to sound louder than the other 3 strings, perhaps about 3db or so. Unfortunately at this point, I decided not to wait any longer for the string to completely break in and I returned this even exchange TRBX504 to Amazon for a refund. Thanks Amazon.

Yamaha makes excellent quality pianos and its made in Japan guitars very probably show the same level of excellence, but Yamaha’s made in Indonesia bass guitars are a question mark in terms of quality control.

This is an excellent low-priced bass guitar. It did require some set up as the action was a bit high. However, the quality of the instrument is great and the active controls allow a lot of tone shaping. If you are a expert player you may want more than this model but for beginner thru intermediate players-this will be with you for years. My second Yamaha guitar and I feel both have excellent tone, playability, and value. Looked at many inexpensive guitars before buying this and do not regret it.

Okay seriously, for the price, this bass is excellent! It looks and feels excellent. It sounds great too. I was surprised when there was no pickup switch but then realized the control knobs adjust the mix. I can't imagine a better bass anywhere in this range. I play guitar but needed/wanted a bass. I'm perfectly pleased with this bass guitar and recommend it to anyone.

Packaging was awful and not substantial for a delicate instrument. When I went to set the bass up, I found that one of the string length adjustment screws was cross-threaded so badly that I couldn't properly adjust the intonation. Then, I went to adjust the action and the bridge saddle allen screws were stripped out and wouldn't move at all. That's when I opted to return the thing. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!