And I think it's pretty cool - Yamaha RBX4 A2 from a dude on craigslist for $250
The big gimmick with this (besides the LED knobs, and yes, the tone knob doesn't light up, kind of annoying) is their Alternative Internal Resonance technology (AKA A.I.R.)
It also has three "sound tubes" going from the bridge to the other end of the body that transmit vibrations to all the layers of the wood. Here's the Yamaha page for it, there's a little flash animation that shows a cross-section type deal for it.
And it definitely does resonate well; it's incredibly loud even when unplugged, far more than most basses I've played (never played a really high-end one though), but one thing that gives me pause is on low notes (especially an open low-e) it has this sorta strange harmonic overtone quality to it that almost makes it sound like it has a chorus on it. Here's a random improvised noodling clip of the DI smashed to hell and mixed with the same track duplicated and with TSS on it (mixed in a bit lower), and then both to a bus with a pretty epic cut at 300 Hz. Basically, do you think that sorta chorus-like effect will be noticeable in a big mix? I don't have a guitar in standard right now, so I can't test it with them.
I read A LOT of positive reviews of this sucker before buying it, and overall I think it's pretty cool, but we shall see!
EDIT: And here's that same clip 100% raw
The big gimmick with this (besides the LED knobs, and yes, the tone knob doesn't light up, kind of annoying) is their Alternative Internal Resonance technology (AKA A.I.R.)
Yamaha Marketing Spiel said:
It also has three "sound tubes" going from the bridge to the other end of the body that transmit vibrations to all the layers of the wood. Here's the Yamaha page for it, there's a little flash animation that shows a cross-section type deal for it.
And it definitely does resonate well; it's incredibly loud even when unplugged, far more than most basses I've played (never played a really high-end one though), but one thing that gives me pause is on low notes (especially an open low-e) it has this sorta strange harmonic overtone quality to it that almost makes it sound like it has a chorus on it. Here's a random improvised noodling clip of the DI smashed to hell and mixed with the same track duplicated and with TSS on it (mixed in a bit lower), and then both to a bus with a pretty epic cut at 300 Hz. Basically, do you think that sorta chorus-like effect will be noticeable in a big mix? I don't have a guitar in standard right now, so I can't test it with them.
I read A LOT of positive reviews of this sucker before buying it, and overall I think it's pretty cool, but we shall see!
EDIT: And here's that same clip 100% raw
Thanks for the positive feedback man!
And actually no, it's totally passive, the battery is strictly for the LED's! 
