Other than the body woods (504-mahogany) (604- Alder, maple top) what is difference between the Yamaha TRBX 504 and 604.
Is the 604 worth the extra $100?
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I have no idea but I would like to welcome you to the forum
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Youāll pull more women with a 604.
Easily.
Whether youāre male or female, straight or gay.
Youāll be fighting them off.
Thatās what the extra 100 is for.
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The 605 is a very sexy looking instrument
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Different woods could certainly account for the price differenceā¦
However, I think @howard could explain the differences and pros and cons much better. After all, he is the resident Yamaha fanboy here 
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Guilty as charged 
Both the 604 and the 504 are excellent basses. Medium price range but with features typically at much higher price points. They share the same electronics and pickups and the entire package is very high quality on both.
Both are also in my opinion very nice looking instruments.
The 504 has a one piece mahogany body.
The 604 has an alder body with a flame maple top, as the OP noted. This makes it both lighter and (slightly) brighter sounding, though the latter is pretty subjective.
I was looking to buy a 504 when I found a 604 at an amazing price. I am very happy with it, to the point that I donāt really have GAS for other basses at the moment. However a 504 is still a damn good instrument in every way.
My 604 is about a pound lighter than my 304 was. This actually makes more of a difference than you might think.
I have not compared its weight to a 504.
All in all you cannot go wrong with either choice.
Not gonna lie though, I think both the dark burst red (like mine) and transparent black 604s look amazing, as @Mark_D stated even better above than I just did
Iām partial to red basses:
But the translucent black one is this freaking gorgeous dark grey/bluish-black:
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The electronicsā¦ The 504 is āActiveā, and the 604 is both āActive/Passiveā. Is it worth it?? Guess it depends on āwhereā youāre gonna use itā¦ If playing heavy stage performances where a battery might go dead, having the passive option could come in quite handy.
Keep on Thumpinā!
Lanny
Actually they share the same electronics, both have an active/passive switch (which is awesome btw 
The midrange knob on the 604 eq is at a slightly higher freq than the 504 to account for the different tonewood but thats the only difference. Same pickups, same electronics.
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Yes, I own a used (higher end (apparently)) Yamaha and my ONLY complaint with an otherwise fantastic bass is that I wished it had an active/passive switch! If I ever take it on stage, Iād make sure to insert a new battery before every gig!
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Thanks for the correction @howard! Personally, Iāve had my eye on a 604 for a little while now and havenāt really looked seriously into the 504 (my bad)ā¦ Anyway, once I can save up a few pennies here and there I might be able to upgradeā¦ Not sure if by then Iāll be able to retire my candy apple red 304 thoughā¦ Love that bass!!
Keep on Thumpinā!
Lanny
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Thanks for the help!- I get that the 604 has the better look- But which one SOUNDS better? Is there a clear winner as far as tone/sound?
Getting ready to pull the trigger on buying one- I need someone to push me over the edge.
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Thank you Howard. The one negative Iāve read about the 604 is that some people donāt care for the tone. They feel the 504 (perhaps because of the body wood) has a better tone. Any thoughts?
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youāll have to define what is a ābetter toneā ā¦ 
pure theory based on the body wood, which if I understood well is the only major difference between the 504 and 604. :
- the 604 must sound clearer, more precise, more scooped, with more attack. Iād say more modern overall.
- the 504 must sound fatter, warmer, more mellow, with more complex mids, less brighness, a softer attack. also the 504 must be heavier.
what sounds better ? you decide 
anyway with an active preamp and the same pickups (and I suppose the same neck ?) the difference should not be that huge.
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Thank you terb- Iām an absolute beginner, so i know as much about bass as I do about women and nuclear physics- that is, nothing. Iāve done enough research to narrow my choices down to the two yamaha guitars- The majority of reviews of both are quite positive, but there are several people (who I assume know more than me) who complain about the ātoneā of the 604- I was just wondering if anybody had more information or a strong opinion either way. The last thing I want is bad tone!
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if youāre a total beginner, Iām not sure you would notice a tonal difference between those two (very similar overall) instruments. if one looks better than the other to you, take this one !
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The tone on the 604 sounds amazing to me.
I remade my soundcloud account just to show you
This is the bass, clean into my DAI, neutral EQ.
Here it is through an Ampeg preamp I used to have, to give you an idea of what it might sound like through an amp:
As @terb said, bright attack, punchy low mids, higher mids a little scooped sounding. I really like the sound.
Go to a store and try them both!
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You realize, of course, that knowledge of these two subjects typically is mutually exclusiveā¦ unless you are Richard Feynman 
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I have a 604, sweet bass, prob wonāt need to upgrade for many years. Yamaha makes a solid product.
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Yeah Iāve had a few of their bikes.
My FZR Thou EXUP was ace 
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I wanted an R1 or R6 for a long long time. Always ended up with Kawasakis for some reason though.
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