I cannot believe I found a video on the exact 2 basses and exact models I was in a toss up about! Excellent professional video, informative. Howiyeah, from Ireland.

The trick to the ibanez is to put in just a tiny blend of the preamp, not turning the dials to the max. And panning slightly towards jazz or slightly towards pbass depending on the song.

Thanks for using a pick in the sound section

I had some $ and wanted a cool budget bass for recording. I did some research, watched this video, and I must say I've got a lot of respect for Yamaha (I've got 2 of their guitars and the build quality and sound is fantastic) so I thought the 234 was for me. I went to the guitar store and tried it out... was pretty good but I wasn't sure, so I tried the Ibanez, other Yamahas and a Squier and none felt the same as the BB234, the pups sounded fantastic, I ended up peeling off $499 Aussie Dollary-doos for the black BB234 with white pickguard and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for the great shootout, I think you were spot on!

Its insane the price differences in other countries! In the U.S the Yamaha BB234 retailed at $299 and the Ibanez TMB100 retailed at $199!

Good review, thank you. I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a BB234. I have a Yamaha Tele six string which is so well made that I was leaning towards the BB anyway, but always good to get a second opinion.

Great video great job! Bought the BB234 after the TRBX174, same one you got. I'm a total beginner playing bass, but I'm life long into sound. Yamaha had the smoothest, roundest, fullest tones. Blown away by price versus quality. BB434 is next on my short list.

I have yamaha bb 235 whicis it’s versatile with the precision and Jazz pick up, u can play like james jamerson with the neck pick up (precision PU) and like Jaco pastorius with the bridge PU ( Jazz PU) also if you turn on those pick up’s you can slap the bass and get that marcus miller/flea’s sounds

Pretty much a lost case for the Ibanez as the Yamaha would always be a better instrument. I have 10 yamahas in my collection vintage and modern and all are exceptional.

The Yama wins!

I totally agree with you on all the aspects! Just for looks it's a draw for me. In the end, sound and feel are the most important things, so the Yamaha would still be the winner for me. I also started with a Yamaha BB 25 years ago, so this is also a real classic (and they have even been available much longer). I think the pickups on the Yamaha are decent for the price, but for a little bit more money, you can get the BB 434 with better pickups and construction. Would love to see how they compare. Also I found the tone control a bit too strong, it takes too much midrange away and makes it sound a bit dead. But this is easily fixed with a different capacitor. For the Ibanez, I was not a fan of the bass boost, but the treble control is very well tuned. The pickups however sound a bit lifeless when compared to the Yamaha.

Ok, I did this to make a 1vs1 comparison, maybe it's useful to someone else: *Only Neck* -Fingers 4:40 Ibanez 7:17 Yamaha -Pick 4:49 Ibanez 7:26 Yamaha *Neck, Bridge* -Fingers 4:58 Ibanez 6:42 Yamaha -Pick 5:06 Ibanez 6:51 Yamaha *Only Bridge* -Fingers 5:15 Ibanez 7:52 Yamaha -Pick 5:24 Ibanez 8:01 Yamaha * --- Variations of EQ (Ibanez); Tone (Yamaha) --- * *Only neck* IBANEZ -Boost bass; cut treb 6:07 Fingers 6:16 Pick -Bass flat; boost treb 6:25 Fingers 6:33 Pick YAMAHA (Tone 0%) 7:35 Fingers 7:43 Pick *Neck, Bridge* IBANEZ -Boost bass; treb flat 5:33 Fingers 5:41 Pick -Boost bass and treb 5:50 Fingers 5:59 Pick YAMAHA (Tone 0%) 7:00 Fingers 7:08 Pick *Only bridge* YAMAHA (Tone 0%) 8:10 Fingers 8:18 Pick

Because BB won the "sound" category it kinda nullifies the "versatility" win by Ibinez. I mean really right? What good is the "versatility" if it doesn't make the bass "sound" better? IMHO. Both are manufactured in Indo but it would be nice to know if they are in fact Ibinez/Yamaha owned/run locations or a Cort factory.. Lastly, the Truss Rod adjustment location on the BB makes it a clear winner. Again. IMHO. Nice review, but a little more detail might improve it? Didn't really talk about hardware.

I have the BB234 and a video of me playing it. I like it too!

what song was the tone section done in? im new to bass and i really enjoyed the melody, if anyone could help me!!

Neck dive is about what happens with a strap. You should always use a strap, sitting or standing.

A preamp in a bass is for me mostly a drawback. I find a passive configuration is a winner not to mention the hassle of concentric knobs tweaking. And why is it always 100% or 0% tone adjustment on these videos. I practically you are much more likely to use 25, 50 or 75% balance since the extreme settings really arn't that useful. But that's a common problem with most of these KZfaq reviews.

I have a BB414x, i love it so much

Value: Talman Sound: Talman Looks: Talman

You aught to do a shootout with squier classic vibe vs yamaha bb234

the weight of the Yamaha bb234 (Lbs/Kgs) ?

Did you find that they intonated well? I kept thinking the Ibanez sounded way out on the D string. But I preferred the tone.

I'm easily going with the Ibanez. As far as the Yamaha, there is a difference between deep and dull sounding.

I don't understand the point of active electronics that don't boost and cut the mids. I have only personally owned 2 active basses of the 25 or so I've owned over the last 30 years, from high-end custom made basses to really cheap imports, but my wife has always been a fan of active electronics and all of her basses have active electronics, but neither of us have ever used active electronics to boost either treble or bass, it just usually doesn't work well in the mix. I'd prefer Ibanez change the active electronics to boost low mids and high mids then have a standard treble cut and offer a bypass switch for those annoying moments when the battery dies mid gig or I'm jamming with friends and I've had a few beers and don't want to risk driving to the corner gas station. Just my opinion. My first bass was a 1993 Yamaha rbx 250. It was my go to bass, even when I owned much more expensive basses, it served me well for 6 years before I sold it. I'd go with the Yamaha out of nostalgia and personal history with their basses. The Ibanez is a fine choice too. I've never owned an Ibanez bass, but I've played several and owned a couple of their guitars and they were all fine instruments. Honestly, it's the classic Ginger or Mary Ann question. Either one is perfectly fine and very similar.

where did you get your 234? why so expensive, that's almost the same price as my BB435 and TRBX305.. I've also got it in Australia

I have the tmb100. But if you can afford, buy the mid level basses..

BB wins every time

cort action pj bass or ibanez tmb100?

Ok then

I think the Yamaha looks bad, and the Ibanez looks cool. The pickguard design on the Yamaha looks horrible to me. in the US you can put a gourmet Duncan quarter pounder in the P position on a TMB100, and it willl be the same price or cheaper. "rough feeling neck" ??? get some fine sandpaper and the finish of your choosing, and make it perfect in ten minutes. No contest. Ibby wins.

Definitely think the yamaha deserves the win . Ive played the Bb 234 in my local music store and you'd swear it cost more with the playability and sound