Yamaha 4 String Bass Guitar, Right Handed, Translucent Black, (TRBX174EW TBL)

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 1,658 ratings

Price: 269.99

Last update: 01-08-2025


About this item

TRBX170EW features exotic mango top with high playability and trusted quality by Yamaha.
Exotic Mango Top
Vintage Style Bridge

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

Dave Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent build quality, great value
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
This bass was set up very well and was ready to play right out of the box. It's light and well-balanced, looks every bit as good as the pictures. The neck is just a bit wider than my 70's Precision (4 string), but it's thinner so is actually much easier to get around. The overall sound is good -- and may be great once I find the best strings for it. The active/passive switch and the LED battery indicator are both really handy and not often found in this price range.

I re-strung it for a high C tuning and changed to a lighter gauge of strings with a 0.040" G string. Though the nut slots are much wider than I need for this setup, I haven't experienced any problems with playability or tuning. I've been able to set the action fairly low, just above 2mm at the 24th fret except for the E string which needed 3mm.

The total length and the body are both somewhat smaller than a Precision, and it feels really comfortable. The flip side is that finding a hard case that fits snugly is a challenge since Yamaha doesn't sell one, and it moves around far too much in the cases I already have. But it's totally fine in my gigbag.

If there's a weak spot for this instrument it's the onboard EQ. I find it useful for making minor tweaks to the sound but not for any kind of radical sculpting. In particular the mid control seems to have a fairly low center frequency so I've not been able to use it to get a good scooped slap sound or to dial in a satisfying mid-forward sound for soloing. But I can use the amp or an outboard processor for that.

I expected high quality from Yamaha, and I feel they delivered.
Johnathan Swift
5.0 out of 5 stars “Translucent” lol
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024
Translucent is kind of a joke, this thing is straight turd brown lol, jokes aside, it sounds great, thin/wide neck is nice, frets are done well. I’ll have to tweak the the intonation and truss rod a tiny bit etc, but I’ve been playing it out of the box and it’s good enough as is. I got this over the 304 because it was in stock, I like it a lot, I like the active/passive switch. I think the higher quality pickups are worth the higher price. The color is whatever, that’s easy to change, its actually more of a rust color than brown(hard cope lol), but overall an excellent bass that punches above its weight.
G. Scimeca
5.0 out of 5 stars A great bass to learn and grow with.
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024
As a keyboard player who thought about trying bass for years before finally taking the plunge I may not be the expert people should listen to, but this instrument is fantastic. The craftsmanship and quality jumps at you right from the box, the neck was straight, the saddle was perfect, and the frets are on the money. It's paired with a Fender Rumble 25 and I found it sounds great with the knobs all just about midway. I am looking forward to learning more about what this bass can do and toying with the sounds as well as the 'active' switch, but as it is currently set I chuckle somewhat when I play the few riffs and exercises I know as it sounds like there is a professional bass player in my basement. There are a lot of great beginner basses out there for half the money, and I have access to half a dozen basses including a Squier Affinity and Ibanez SR500, which sound great as well. But if you're going to spend the hundreds of hours it takes to learn to play the bass the right way, the Yamaha is well worth it and makes learning from scratch a ton easier.
Matt
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid choice
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023
I've been playing guitar for nearly 20 years and this is my first bass. I like it quite a bit and would say it's a good deal for the price. I have a few minor complaints though.

The picture shows a gig bag but mine did not include one. I would have ordered a separate bag/case ahead of time if I knew one wouldn't be included. A $500+ instrument should at least include a cheap basic bag.
The fret ends on my bass aren't great. They're not really sharp but I've been snagged a couple of times while playing. Some have the tang sticking out slightly from the sides of the fretboard too. They could definitely use some work. Pretty disappointing because during my research I saw many people raving about Yamaha's top-notch quality control on their budget instruments. I've had other instruments in this price range with much better fret work.
I got the translucent white model and there is a small blue stain on the front of the body. Not sure how that would have happened. I don't really like the look of the finish much either. It looks cheap up close and in most lighting appears more grey than white. Not a huge deal but worth pointing out for those that care about appearance.
Oh, and some of the knobs/pots are a bit concerning. For instance; If I pull lightly on the volume knob it makes a weird sound, kind of like tape being peeled or velcro being pulled apart. Obviously you shouldn't be tugging on the volume knob, but it's just something odd I noticed during inspection and worries me a bit about durability.

Other than that, the bass sounds great and feels great.
The all-satin finish is very comfortable, as well as the body carves. It's quite lightweight and well-balanced. Honestly one of the best feeling instruments I've ever played. The neck profile is nice and slim too.
The nut is cheap but seems to be carved properly. The tuners are also cheap and don't feel great, but they work just fine.
Pickups sound really good. I haven't experimented with the active EQ much yet because I really like the passive tone, but it seems to be very versatile and responsive to knob turns.
Not sure if the music store I purchased it from through Amazon made any adjustments, but the setup was pretty good out of the box. I had fret buzz from the 7th to 12th frets and made small adjustments to the truss rod and action, but nothing major. I thought it could be due to some high frets but can't say for sure without the appropriate tools to test. I'll update this review if I eventually discover the frets aren't properly leveled.

Overall it's a solid bass for the price and would definitely be a great choice for beginners and experienced players alike. I really love the feel and sound of it despite my complaints. Would definitely be 5 stars if the frets and overall QC were a little better, but hey, maybe you'll have better luck than me. I'll definitely be checking out some more Yamaha instruments in the future.

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