Yamaha TRBX 304

Basically my favorite strings :slight_smile:

1 Like

Another question: does anybody know the Allen/hex key size needed to adjust the truss rod? I tried 4 mm, which is too small and 5 mm, which is too large. Guess it must be either 4.5 mm or some weird Imperial size :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

1 Like

Which bass again?? :wink:

UPDATE: D’oh… should have read the title of the thread :crazy_face: :joy:

1 Like

@Mike_NL 4.5 mm = 11/64 inches if that helps . . . :thinking:

Cheers

1 Like

Yeah, I want to sell off a few of my basses I am not using, and that are worth more then enough to do what I want to do as a project.

The first, the Mold Smoothie, an SBMM modded Ray4 to replicate the EBMM 40th anniversary Old Smoothie. Nice thing is the color on the Ray4 is close to the color on the EBMM old smoothie, so this mod actually will fool those if you want to.

Next is the Mint-O-RAY. Another $299 SBMM Ray 4, modded with Darkglass pre-amp, and diandrio pick up (IIRC, I will change if it is wrong), and some aesthetic changes to get all black hardware.
The Pre-amp and pick up, being the most expensive of the bunch, really does not give this the classic stingray sound, which most of the others can with variations, but I love the black hardware and painted control panel to give this the feel of the all new cool colors they have been releasing with black hardware, and I just can’t stop thinking about the black hardware.
The Sterling red Ray4 might be a good contender for this upgrade and asthetic modifications, to make it look OH SOOOOOOOO SEXY

2 Likes

Ummm, not really, but thanks all the same :crazy_face: I should probably explain that I don’t know if it’s exactly 4.5 mm or an inch size that’s somewhere between 4 and 5 mm. So, to rephrase the question: does anyone who actually owns or has owned a TRBX304 (cough @howard cough) know the exact hex key size needed to adjust the truss rod?

Not sure how this relates to the TRBX304 :thinking:

1 Like

it’s metric, 4mm. The three wrenches you should use with the bass are 4mm, 2mm, and 1.5mm.

edit: just checked the service manual to verify and those are the wrenches it ships with.

5 Likes

Thanks for your reply, @howard. I tried my 4 mm hex key and it fits inside the truss rod bolt (or whatever it is called), but it doesn’t “grip” it. It just rotates inside the little hole; the truss rod itself stays in place. Guess one of the previous owners must have demolished it. I’ll try it once more, but I may have to improvise.

Thanks also for the service manual. I was looking for something like that on the Yamaha website, but I couldn’t find it :+1:

Ouch. It’s possible they stripped it, yeah.

There’s also an outer fitting and an inner bolt BTW, can be hard to be sure it’s seated right.

1 Like

Well, I gave it another try, and it turns out I was wrong. The 4 mm hex key fits just fine, and the truss rod turns without any problems. It just did so without any resistance at all. Now I have to admit this is the first time I’ve ever tried to adjust a truss rod, and I was expecting it to take a considerable amount of force. As it turns out, it was already all the way loose. When I tried turning it clockwise, it started getting tighter and it took a little more force to turn it. So it appears to work as it should.

So now the question is: with the truss rod all the way loose, the neck is pretty much dead straight, as far as I can tell. I lowered the action quite a bit last week, and I’m getting a little bit of fret buzz when playing the higher frets (12 and up). So I wanted to loosen the truss rod to get a little more relief, but that turns out to be impossible. Guess I’ll need to raise the action a bit more… But first I’ll replace the strings with the stock D’Addario EXL170’s.

2 Likes

Yeah it’s possible for the truss rod to be completely loose. As long as it tightens and straightens the neck eventually, it’s all good.

How much neck relief currently exists? If you fret the E string first fret and the fret at the body joint, how much gap at the 7th-9th frets are we talking?

1 Like

Not much, but I’ll have to check it. Might take a while though… It’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow, and people are coming over both this afternoon and tomorrow to celebrate :partying_face:

2 Likes

The mystery is solved… It’s a double action truss rod. If you need more back bow, you turn the truss rod clockwise as usual. If you turn it counterclockwise, the tension is released until you reach like a “neutral zone”, where the truss rod nut is really loose and the neck is basically dead straight. Keep turning counterclockwise and it tenses up again, but in the other direction, causing neck relief. So, crisis averted, everything works as it should and I can go ahead and try to set up the neck the way I want it.

4 Likes

Glad your problem got sorted, @Mike_NL . . . :+1:

2 Likes

It’s probably because the neck is so strong. The TRBX’s have great 5-ply necks.

1 Like

You’re right it doesn’t.
somehow I was typing this for another thread, then I went to read a comment somewhere and when I finally posted, it asked if I wanted to post it here or the original thread. I must have said to post it here

3 Likes

You were probably daydreaming :joy::rofl::joy:

3 Likes

What does that have to do with a TRBX304 Brian :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

3 Likes

Not sure🤔
Cheers Brian

3 Likes

This is all very much off topic! Moderator, ban these guys :joy: :crazy_face: :wink:

4 Likes