I rehearsed with it for the first time last night and I'm thoroughly impressed by the bass - it sounds great and plays really well with very minimal setup needed out of the box. I also found out that it's actually an 88 instead of a 98, which makes its near pristine condition even more impressive. The only things that bug me are 1) the pots are righty-oriented so they turn the opposite way and 2) the tuning machines aren't in the best shape. Neither are a big deal and can be fixed pretty easily.

I also want to give a shoutout to Joe's Shed in Toronto where i bought the instrument - they were courteous and professional and the bass shipped exactly as described quickly and without any fuss. They have a few other sneaky interesting lefty instruments in their inventory on Reverb.

Congrats! I really enjoyed my BB 400 and 1600. For the tuning machines, I’m sure you remember, but in case you don’t, they have those odd sleeves on the shafts that allow you to adjust the friction/resistance via a small pin or nail put into the hole (there was an odd little wrench back in the day, but everyone has lost them) and a small loosening or tightening motion.

A friend of mine (Colorblind Fish) is a right handed professional guitarist that is sponsored by Yamaha and he really loves their products. When we last got together I told him next time that he is meeting with Yamaha that the Left Handed Bass Players need some attention.