The Yamaha BB P35 RW MB 5-String Electric Bass Midnight Blue is a five-string model featuring an alder/maple body, a maple/mahogany neck, a rosewood fingerboard, YGD Custom V7 pickups, and a midnight blue finish. Constructed with an alder/maple/alder multi-laminated body, this electric bass guitar contains a maple/mahogany neck to allow a more uniform transmission of vibrations for unparalleled resonance and sustain. Yamaha’s Initial Response Acceleration technology releases built up stress between the wood and hardware by applying specific vibrations to the completed instruments as part of the crafting process, giving a "played-in" feel from the start.
A slightly thinner neck improves playability and feel for modern and traditional players. Lightweight tuners offer a better balance and complement the overall feel of this guitar, thereby providing an ideal match for the small, light body. Equipped with a six-bolt mitre neck, this bass guitar offers a precision feel and response with plenty of presence and clarity delivered through custom-wound pickups.
The YGD Custom V7 pickups contain alnico magnets and produce a fat yet penetrating tone that works to produce an organic, well-defined sound. Equipped with a Vintage Plus bridge that incorporates “Diagonal Body Thru Stringing”, this guitar features strings angled at the saddle, passing through the instrument to the bridge at a 45º angle. The brass saddle of the Vintage Plus bridge delivers a slightly deeper low-end, and the steel bridge plate offers a brighter tone. All screws and springs are made of stainless steel to guard against corrosion.
The main features of the Yamaha BB P35 RW MB 5-String Electric Bass Midnight Blue include:
Modern version from the BB lineup excels just the way, you would assume from Yamaha Japan model. Build quality is excellent, attention to details is what you would expect at this price point and the bass plays nicely straight out from the box.
The sound from the stock pickups is clear and punchy, bass rings acoustically nicely (perhaps the ARE treatment actually does something) and this bass is fitted for studio use really well (It plays and sounds even across the strings and fretboard, feature rarely seen on even other basses at this price point).
It tunes up really well, thanks to properly fit nut, good tuners + bridge and fretwork & feels super stable on hand, with good weight balance (Partly thanks to those ultralight tuners and ultra rigid construction).
On comparison, the BBP35 offers much better value than comparable F branded P in five string mode and you are clearly getting a higher grade bass than BB735 here (after playing a several examples, they are super nice for the price though), in my honest opinion.
The only thing which may leave you bit underwhelmed are the looks, but otherwise this is a top tier tool for those who know.