Okay, I got my scratch and dent Musicians Friend special Ibanez Talman TMB100 this morning. I tried to temper my expectations - it was after all a bass on the low end of the price spectrum $199.99 and $299 for the slightly beefed up TMB300 model. I got one with a custom dent on for $127, great bargain!
I did try one previously at a local music store but on their amp and thought it sounded great, but that was on their expensive amp, so the true test was to plug it into my equipment. We know how it goes....
Initial impressions:-
1) the ding/dent was definitely not from the factory as the box bore a corresponding hole in it - so it was conceived during shipment or at the warehouse. No biggie, got a discount.
2) The QC from Ibanez....okay, this is where the budget money was saved or perhaps they rushed the initial shipment of Talman basses to meet the demand. Who the heck did QC for Ibanez for this bass, James Jamerson????The string height was set at it's maximum height! I only know one person who likes to play like that.
-The neck had a little too much relief.
-There was a rattling sound emanating from the headstock.
-frets were fine though, no sharp edges.
I've bought a lot of Ibanez basses in the past and the QC slipped on this one, perhaps subsequent shipments will address this. It smells of a rushed production schedule to get this initial batch out the door.
I did a setup, adjusted the truss rod slightly, lowered the saddles (considerably), and tried to isolate where the rattling was coming from. Found it - it was the "D" tuner, the tuner peg/clover (whatever you call it) was a little wiggly, enough to cause it to rattle when certain notes were played. Not enough of a gap to put a piece of paper in there, very small. I called Musicians Friend to see if I could get a replacement tuner, unfortunately all they could do was to accept a return and give me a good deal on a brand new one. Kudos to Musicians Friend for that offer! I asked if i could try my "fix" and would it void the return? Answer - no. Okay, so carte blanche to try my fix which involved introducing epoxy glue into the really small gap to seal it. Removed excess glue and you can't tell anything was done.
It worked, no more rattling- the dried epoxy is acting as a buffer in the gap to keep the metal parts from hitting each other. Yay!
Playing the bass:
This looks similar to the Squier VM Jaguar I once had which sells for around the same price- so I was expecting to compare it to that one.
BUT...
this bass blows it away! I had my bass volume set at what I had it for my Schecter Elite I played earlier. The increase in output of this Talman was totally unexpected.
Think of the Sterling Sub but in a P/J form and you'll have an idea how loud this thing is.
Unlike the Squier VM Jaguar with the boost, the 9 volt battery in the Talman is put to far better use.
It has two stacked knobs 2 band EQ,
volume/balancer and treble boost cut/bass boost cut
It has the ability to dial in a wide variety of tones with great clarity - this is what I was hoping out of the Jaguar and some of the other P/J basses I've had- other Ibanez basses, Yamaha, heck even a MIA JP90. This bass is incredible! This is one P/J bass I would definitely keep in the arsenal.
The neck is not SR in girth, it's more of a Yamaha RBX type neck, a little chunkier but comfortable.
Conclusion (well after several hours of playing it)
As mentioned in the sub title, the true test is to play it for a much longer time frame to better assess the nuances and limitations of the bass.
As it is right now, I would recommend this bass to anyone who's looking for a versatile bass within this price range with "Fender - like" abilities with the added punch of a preamp. Not partial towards anything or a fanboy of any one brand, I love Fender as much as I love Ibanez and Warwick but I wouldn't hesitate recommending this bass to anyone.
This is essentially a P/J version of the Sterling Sub Ray in terms of the value per dollar factor(and volume!) , you're certainly getting a lot of bass for the money here.
If you're opting for an inexpensive Ibanez bass, this would be a model I would consider, along with the SR300 as the minimum models to aim for, bypass the Gio series altogether.
Anyone who remotely loves the Squier Jaguar should give this bass a try and compare, the results may surprise you. I like the Jag, but this ups the ante in my opinion.
HOWEVER, be wary of potential QC issues if you're buying one of these early ones, it feels rushed and expect to have to do a set up. Check the bass carefully for defective parts. I've heard of some in the other Talman post that have had mis-matched saddle screws and broken tuners.
Well worth the money, whether you want to pony up the additional $100 for the TMB300 with the block inlays, binding and additional coil on the bridge pickup, that's up to you. I have tried that and actually prefer this cheaper one, perhaps I'm a P/J purist.(that being said, I wouldn't mind the inlays and binding though).
If you've been uncertain about this bass,this is just my opinion and suggestion, go and try it out, you may be pleasantly surprised.
I did try one previously at a local music store but on their amp and thought it sounded great, but that was on their expensive amp, so the true test was to plug it into my equipment. We know how it goes....
Initial impressions:-
1) the ding/dent was definitely not from the factory as the box bore a corresponding hole in it - so it was conceived during shipment or at the warehouse. No biggie, got a discount.
2) The QC from Ibanez....okay, this is where the budget money was saved or perhaps they rushed the initial shipment of Talman basses to meet the demand. Who the heck did QC for Ibanez for this bass, James Jamerson????The string height was set at it's maximum height! I only know one person who likes to play like that.
-The neck had a little too much relief.
-There was a rattling sound emanating from the headstock.
-frets were fine though, no sharp edges.
I've bought a lot of Ibanez basses in the past and the QC slipped on this one, perhaps subsequent shipments will address this. It smells of a rushed production schedule to get this initial batch out the door.
I did a setup, adjusted the truss rod slightly, lowered the saddles (considerably), and tried to isolate where the rattling was coming from. Found it - it was the "D" tuner, the tuner peg/clover (whatever you call it) was a little wiggly, enough to cause it to rattle when certain notes were played. Not enough of a gap to put a piece of paper in there, very small. I called Musicians Friend to see if I could get a replacement tuner, unfortunately all they could do was to accept a return and give me a good deal on a brand new one. Kudos to Musicians Friend for that offer! I asked if i could try my "fix" and would it void the return? Answer - no. Okay, so carte blanche to try my fix which involved introducing epoxy glue into the really small gap to seal it. Removed excess glue and you can't tell anything was done.
It worked, no more rattling- the dried epoxy is acting as a buffer in the gap to keep the metal parts from hitting each other. Yay!
Playing the bass:
This looks similar to the Squier VM Jaguar I once had which sells for around the same price- so I was expecting to compare it to that one.
BUT...
this bass blows it away! I had my bass volume set at what I had it for my Schecter Elite I played earlier. The increase in output of this Talman was totally unexpected.
Think of the Sterling Sub but in a P/J form and you'll have an idea how loud this thing is.
Unlike the Squier VM Jaguar with the boost, the 9 volt battery in the Talman is put to far better use.
It has two stacked knobs 2 band EQ,
volume/balancer and treble boost cut/bass boost cut
It has the ability to dial in a wide variety of tones with great clarity - this is what I was hoping out of the Jaguar and some of the other P/J basses I've had- other Ibanez basses, Yamaha, heck even a MIA JP90. This bass is incredible! This is one P/J bass I would definitely keep in the arsenal.
The neck is not SR in girth, it's more of a Yamaha RBX type neck, a little chunkier but comfortable.
Conclusion (well after several hours of playing it)
As mentioned in the sub title, the true test is to play it for a much longer time frame to better assess the nuances and limitations of the bass.
As it is right now, I would recommend this bass to anyone who's looking for a versatile bass within this price range with "Fender - like" abilities with the added punch of a preamp. Not partial towards anything or a fanboy of any one brand, I love Fender as much as I love Ibanez and Warwick but I wouldn't hesitate recommending this bass to anyone.
This is essentially a P/J version of the Sterling Sub Ray in terms of the value per dollar factor(and volume!) , you're certainly getting a lot of bass for the money here.
If you're opting for an inexpensive Ibanez bass, this would be a model I would consider, along with the SR300 as the minimum models to aim for, bypass the Gio series altogether.
Anyone who remotely loves the Squier Jaguar should give this bass a try and compare, the results may surprise you. I like the Jag, but this ups the ante in my opinion.
HOWEVER, be wary of potential QC issues if you're buying one of these early ones, it feels rushed and expect to have to do a set up. Check the bass carefully for defective parts. I've heard of some in the other Talman post that have had mis-matched saddle screws and broken tuners.
Well worth the money, whether you want to pony up the additional $100 for the TMB300 with the block inlays, binding and additional coil on the bridge pickup, that's up to you. I have tried that and actually prefer this cheaper one, perhaps I'm a P/J purist.(that being said, I wouldn't mind the inlays and binding though).
If you've been uncertain about this bass,this is just my opinion and suggestion, go and try it out, you may be pleasantly surprised.
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