Yamaha Attitude 30th Review & Prices
- From Yamaha's 2020 Attitude 30th series
- Billy Sheehan Signature
- Made in Japan
- 4 strings
- 34"'' scale
- 9.843" Fretboard Radius
- Alder 3-Piece with Spline Joint body
- Maple neck
- Maple (Scallopps from frets 17th through 21th) fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Neck pickup: Yamaha Designed DiMarzio Woofer Pickup with custom milled pickup cover (Single Coil/Passive)
- 2 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- Solid Brass bridge
- Bass C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Medium frets
- Gotoh GB2 with Hipshot D-Tuner tuners
- Compare Specs >
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Yamaha Attitude 30th
- Made in Japan
- Top Brand Pickups
- Active/Passive Preamp
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock
Price Overview
Its average competitor's price is $1650, which means that the Yamaha Attitude 30th costs around 145% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 4 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Japan.
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Your feedback
Not all instruments are created equally, and there are many important things they won't tell you about the one you're buying. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this bass say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!
Weight
VoteTuning stability
VoteNeck speed (thickness)
VoteNeck access to high frets
VoteNeck profile shape
VoteFret edges
VoteIs it Easy to Play?
The Yamaha Attitude 30th meets 4 out of our 6 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good bass to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.
New Player Friendliness
Yamaha Attitude 30th- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Yamaha Attitude 30th's construction favors people with relatively big hands.
Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this bass—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.
Scale Length
Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.
Here's the Yamaha Attitude 30th's 34" scale length compared to other common sizes:
This is considered a long scale bass, and it's the most popular choice for several reasons. Even though it might be more difficult to play than short scale basses due to their increased string tension, their punchier low-end results in a clear and defined bass tone that can cut through in a mix, making them well-suited for genres like rock, metal, and funk.
Neck Profile
The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.
It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.
Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.
Fretboard Radius
When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.
The Yamaha Attitude 30th has a 9.843" fingerboard radius. Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:
This is a radius that makes it comfortable to play chords, but that's just slightly flatter than the typical Strat fingerboard. It's still not as flat as a Les Paul, so it might not be as comfortable for soloing. The feel sits right in between a Strat and a Les Paul, although it feels more like the former.
Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Yamaha Attitude 30th has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Yamaha Attitude 30th has a nut width of 44.5mm (1.752''). This is considered a wide width for a 4-string bass. A wider nut provides more space between the strings, making it easier for players to execute techniques like slap bass and tapping, which require extra room for precision. However, players with smaller hands might find it challenging to comfortably reach across the wider fretboard, as it requires a wider stretch between the fingers.
Frets
The Yamaha Attitude 30th has 21 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.
However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.
It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.
Fret Size
Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.
The Yamaha Attitude 30th's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.
Playability Score
Tone Analysis
Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.
Wood
Alder Body: This is a lightweight type of wood that was popularized by Fender. According to them, it's a wood that offers a balanced tone but that favors the upper midrange slightly.
Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.
Pickups
This bass comes with pickups from one of the top brands: DiMarzio. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.
These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.
Preamp
The preamp is an electronic circuit that serves as an intermediary between the bass's pickups and the amplifier. Its primary function is to boost and shape the bass's raw signal before it reaches the amplifier. This allows for greater control over the bass's tone, volume, and other sound characteristics. Preamps often include tone controls, equalization settings, and sometimes even onboard effects, enabling bassists to tailor their sound to their preferences and the musical context.
This bass has a Active/Passive preamp. This means it combines both passive and active electronics in one instrument. This versatile setup allows the player to switch between passive and active modes, providing a wide range of tonal options. In passive mode, the bass relies on traditional passive pickups and tone controls for a warm and organic sound. In active mode, the onboard preamp circuit is engaged, offering enhanced EQ shaping capabilities and sometimes a signal boost. This flexibility caters to a broader spectrum of musical styles and playing preferences, as it allows the bassist to switch between the classic, vintage tone of passive operation and the more versatile and finely tuned active mode, all within the same instrument.
The Yamaha Attitude 30th's configuration is HS. One humbucker at the bridge will give you a lot of output, but you'll also have the bright sound of a Tele or Strat neck pickup for your clean tones.
Versatility
Naturally, the Yamaha Attitude 30th doesn't come with a pickup selector because it's a single-pickup bass. These instruments have less versatility, but they're good for practicing. Besides being cheaper, limiting yourself to a single-pickup bass can help you improve by learning to control the tone with your technique and playing style. Things like playing further away from the bridge for a warmer tone, or plucking the strings fast for a snappy sound can help you become a better player.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.
What music genre is it good for?
As a 4 strings, Solid Body bass with HS configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Heavy Metal or similar. However, you can use almost any bass for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.
Sound Score
Build Quality Analysis
Country of Origin
Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.
The Yamaha Attitude 30th is made in Japan. You should expect a high-quality guitar with excellent quality control. It can be compared to guitars made in the US, which is why they're also expensive.
Bridge
Solid Brass: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.
Nut Material
Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your bass. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.
In this case, the Yamaha Attitude 30th has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
Neck Joint
The neck joint is the part where the neck of the bass meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.
This bass has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.
Build Quality Score
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