Yamaha Review: RBX 170

History:

Purchase: Allans Music, Adelaide - ~$350 (Australian)

What I Like About This Yamaha RBX 170: As a new bass player, I was looking for a first bass that would also last me a long time. I disregarded a Squier the second I played one, as I just disliked their sound. The RBX 170 is a brilliant guitar for my personal playing style. The price is it's main selling point, but this bass has an inbuilt quality which I can't describe. Only after playing this bass for some time will you realise just how good it is for the price. The sound (when in it's only good tonal setting: check below) is comparable to basses five times the price, and we shouldn't forget just how nice looking this guitar is.

What I Do NOT Like About The Yamaha RBX 170: As I mentioned briefly before, this bass might as well not have a P-style pickup: the jazz pickup sounds much, much better. This means there is basically no tonal range. If you can live with that (the tone is perfect for me anyway), you'll be right. The action could be a touch lower, but it's not noticable while playing. The sound could be a bit deeper in the lower ranges, but this doesn't bother me too much. The 24 frets on the fretboard is a cool feature, but not neccesary.

Yamaha RBX 170 Quality Rating: On first inspection, the quality of this bass seems a tad cheap (considering it's a cheap guitar, that's okay). However, once you get used to the guitar's strengths, weaknesses and quirks, you can respect the build quality more. I particularly like the neck, it's very smooth to play. The strings, however, are crap, and the tone knobs/tuning keys are a bit cheap, but this isn't too much of an issue.

Review Summary: For a cheap bass, this is a star. If you're into heavy rock and deep, pumping bass however, you should probably look elsewhere. Give it a shot in the music store, and if you like the sound and the way it plays, you won't be dissapointed. I don't believe I'll need another bass for a few years to come, and even then this will be my trusty backup.

Rating of this Yamaha product: 4

This Yamaha RBX 170 Bass Guitars Review Submitted By: Jarrod M.

Review Date: 2003-11-29