zecacosta wrote:
PJ, what can you tell us about this bass, e.g. Playability, neck and sound?
I have a soft spot for Yamahas but haven't touched a BB yet.
Crave the color and flawed finish too...
Sorry I missed this until now.
These basses have been called a P bass on steroids, and for good reason. They are pretty versatile and unique in tones, IMO, especially given the fact that there's only 1 PUP. The combination of 3 band active EQ (treble/mid/bass boost/cut) and reverse P (my personal favorite setup, especially when in a PJ configured bass like a Spector, since it results in a more balanced sound from string to string overall) can make for some significant tonal variations. The 3 band EQ can get pretty extreme, especially the treble, whereby if you boost it way up, along with the bass and roll back the mids, you can totally nail Simon Gallup's scratchy bright tone on The Cure's, "Fascination Street" (which wasn't even a BB1200, but whatever
):
New Order (Peter Hook on BB1200):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfRYGVWZilUThe Cure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n2t7on6MR8Also has a passive/active switch with master tone and volume knobs. As for playability/build, etc. it's a little on the heavy side (mine's about 9-1/2lbs), but not too bad. The neck is fairly thick and chunky with 1-3/4" nut but with a flatter fretboard radius and stays chunky and wide up the neck. Very solid and well-built, I'd say.
I don't know why you don't see more companies offering active 3 band P basses.