BEAUTIFUL! i'm getting my single coil JJ soon, whenever they add the active/passive switch. im stoked.
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My new TBC just arrived!
- Thread starter klocwerk
- Start date
Panda Licker said:
as I said in the original post... it was a b-stock for $300. I think the A-stock 5ers usually go for $400, but they increased the prices on Feb 1st.
Check their ebay store, http://stores.ebay.com/The-Bass-Company
Having spent most of last night playing this bass...
I tweaked a little more relief into the neck, dropped the bridge a bit, and got rid of the fret buzz that it came with. Again, B-stock that had obviously hung in a store for awhile and needed a light setup.
The treble on it is really high, I had trouble getting rid of 'finger-on-string' noise, even with the treble rolled all the way down. This could just be me though... It's my first MM style bass, and i usually play a fretless J with flats, so I'm not used to much in the way of finger-string noise.
I picked up a set of XL Chromes, but I wanted to give it a good working over on the stock setup first, so I haven't tried them yet. I also want to dig up a set of flats (local music shop has no 5string flat sets) and try them out.
The harmonics and overtones are out of this world. I've never heard a bass with a more harmonically full tone. I think it must be the chambering, as this is also the first chambered bass I've played. I wasn't listening for it, but it jumped out at me very clearly.
I can't wait to play this thing through a real amp/cab at a band practice!
I tweaked a little more relief into the neck, dropped the bridge a bit, and got rid of the fret buzz that it came with. Again, B-stock that had obviously hung in a store for awhile and needed a light setup.
The treble on it is really high, I had trouble getting rid of 'finger-on-string' noise, even with the treble rolled all the way down. This could just be me though... It's my first MM style bass, and i usually play a fretless J with flats, so I'm not used to much in the way of finger-string noise.
I picked up a set of XL Chromes, but I wanted to give it a good working over on the stock setup first, so I haven't tried them yet. I also want to dig up a set of flats (local music shop has no 5string flat sets) and try them out.
The harmonics and overtones are out of this world. I've never heard a bass with a more harmonically full tone. I think it must be the chambering, as this is also the first chambered bass I've played. I wasn't listening for it, but it jumped out at me very clearly.
I can't wait to play this thing through a real amp/cab at a band practice!
The big brown truck just came by my office and dropped off a box labelled "TBC JT-500SS". Cables, amplifier and cabinet (and camera!) all at home...but it's 5 PM Pacific, so I'm off with the box! I'll touch base later.
- Rob
- Rob
that looks cool. I saw their adds before and I thought they were a bit ugly but in person that wooden pickguard looks sweet, nice score my man.
klocwerk said:New 5er from The Bass Company, and yes I have photos.
Specs and thoughts are below the photos.
without further ado...
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yay!
Specs:
The Bass Company, Single M model, 5 string.
Quarter-sawn 3-piece maple neck,
Pau Ferro fretboard,
Chambered ash body with "black cherry" pickguard/overlay.
Thoughts:
This is the lightest bass I've picked up with the exception of a fully hollow-bodied custom I played at Rock City Guitars once. Despite it's lightness, it doesn't feel wussy; it's rock solid. They definitely know how to chamber an instrument over at TBC.
The neck is smooth and naked feeling, just the way I like it. Doesn't feel much deeper than my fender Jazz neck, but it's a nice wide 5 string. The width is much easier than I'd expected, as I prefer a tighter spacing most of the time. This thing's just easy to play though.
"Fit and finish" is excellent. This was a B-stock, and you can find the bits of rubber left on the sides of the headstock where it was hanging in a shop at one point, but that rubbed off easily with my thumb. The strings aren't new, but still sound quite good and have some life left in them. Other than that it's a very nice bass for it's price point. Minor quibbles would be that the truss-rod adjustment route is a little rough, it could have used a quick sanding in there. Also the string tree for the A and D doesn't quite hold them straight:
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That's really my only issue with the bass though, and it's a minor one. A string tree is silly easy to replace.
Intonation is right on, the frets feel good, it'll probably need a little action tweak though. I'll let it acclimatize before I go there though.
Sound:
Freakin' superb. I brought my little Korg Pandora headphone amp and Koss Portapro's to work with me today so that I could get some sound out of this thing ASAP. The active electronics in it are wonderful. You can get a nice punchy bass tone (bass maxed and the treble rolled off), or a stingray slap tone (treble centered and the bass up a bit), or a good aproximation of a more anemic Jazz tone (both turned down to 1/4) out of the two band eq. I can only imagine that the three-band eq. on the full-fledged models is even better, but frankly this will do me quite nicely.
Pots are quiet, no hum at all is detectable in the electronics.
Overall:
Compare it to a MIM fender and there's really no comparison. (MM vs. J or P obviously not a straight comparison, but still. Blown away in value.) The B is waaaay better than the fender Jazz 5ers that I've played, but not quite as tight as the one Warwick 5er I've payed. These strings are an unknown quantity though, so that may change with a fresh set.
For the $300 I paid (b-stock) this bass absolutely blows away anything I've ever played with a pricetag of under $500, and compares nicely to stuff in the $700 range imho. Finish not quite as nice perhaps, but the sound is what's important to me.
Quite happy.
klocwerk,
Love my AP 400MM, Gigundo tone, Enjoy yours!!
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2600101&postcount=176
marwady said:
Yeah, I'm absolutely loving this thing.
It's definitely my new main bass.
I'm strongly considering what my next purchase from them will be.
Really hoping they get their custom shop up soon, I want a fretless jazz with an active passive switch. Hopefully I'll have built mine by then, but if not I'll be sending them some more of my hard-earned cash.
I saw this thread a while back...but didn't realize that you got it for 300.
Man, I wonder if they have any more Bstocks? Im in the market for a new bass, and it'll probalby be an Ibby RD500, but man...this intrigues me.
Man, I wonder if they have any more Bstocks? Im in the market for a new bass, and it'll probalby be an Ibby RD500, but man...this intrigues me.
Minger said:
Keep an eye out on ebay. They should be getting a new shipment in pretty soon according to Darrell, their tech in CA. There may be some cosmetic B's in that batch.
Well, this depends on the next batch of auctions I'm watching - mostly the fact that the rd500 ends tomorrow, and it all depends on if my mom remembers to bid...
OK, some pics of the new TBC
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First impression: gorgeous. I love how this bass looks. It is a 34" scale bass with a chambered ash body, 3 piece maple neck and a pau ferro fingerboard.
Weight: 8.4 lbs (postage scale at work). Wow, it's light.
Setup: Action and relief the way I like them. Intonation was a touch off, but easy to dial in.
Construction: Seems rock solid. Neck feels great, frets well dressed, hardware appears to be of high quality.
Sound: Still trying to figure this out. This is my first 5 string and my first bass with soapbar pickups. Of course, I know "soapbar" just describes the pickup covers, but according to the tbc website these are ceramic bar magnets that are supposed to sound like EMGs. I'm comparing to my Geddy Lee, and while the sound is certainly different, I'm not sure my ear is educated enough to say "ah, the sound is much more X" (where "X" is the difference I can't describe - so what are EMGs supposed to sound like again??).
Give me a few days to play with it and I'll let you know more.
- Rob
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First impression: gorgeous. I love how this bass looks. It is a 34" scale bass with a chambered ash body, 3 piece maple neck and a pau ferro fingerboard.
Weight: 8.4 lbs (postage scale at work). Wow, it's light.
Setup: Action and relief the way I like them. Intonation was a touch off, but easy to dial in.
Construction: Seems rock solid. Neck feels great, frets well dressed, hardware appears to be of high quality.
Sound: Still trying to figure this out. This is my first 5 string and my first bass with soapbar pickups. Of course, I know "soapbar" just describes the pickup covers, but according to the tbc website these are ceramic bar magnets that are supposed to sound like EMGs. I'm comparing to my Geddy Lee, and while the sound is certainly different, I'm not sure my ear is educated enough to say "ah, the sound is much more X" (where "X" is the difference I can't describe - so what are EMGs supposed to sound like again??).
Give me a few days to play with it and I'll let you know more.
- Rob
