NBD - Ibanez Talman TMB100 - honest, impartial first impressions :)

[nerkoids]

Okay. Read this whole thread last night. Went to my local music store today and Boom. They had all the colors of the 100's but the Sonic Blue hanging on the wall. No 300's. I picked up and played every one they had. Now, this a a GREAT, Competitively priced local shop that does Quality repair and set up work. Whether, or not, that played a part in every one of them feeling Rock Solid and not having a single blemish, I have no idea. But, they were ALL very well put together. I even checked the Tuners on every single one. I ended up going back and forth between the Tri Burst and the Transparent Red. It may just be me and my OCD, but each one did seem to have its own unique feel. The Transparent Red felt AMAZING in my hands, so it came home with me. I didn't even plug it in, I just bought it cause it felt Awesome to play.

Got it home and immediately plugged into my Carvin rig. Holy MOLY. I couldn't believe the Sounds this thing Produces. The Low and High Boost/Cut can take you from a Pounding P-Bass sound, to a Growling Snarly Music Man tone, or a nice, tinny sit in the mix Jazz tone. Sonically, this has to be the most Versatile P/J I have ever touched. Might not be saying a lot though, as I am a tried and true P-Bass guy. My Experience with a P/J is fairly limited, I will say. Nonetheless, I am VERY Impressed with not just the playability of this bass, but also the Sounds it is capable of producing for such an Inexpensive bass.

My ONLY gripe is that it does Buzz a bit when you up the Treble boost, but my sweet spot is only about 1/4 on anyway. Nothing that isn't fixable, especially at the Price Point.

None of the interweb photos I am seeing of these basses do them much justice. The colors are much deeper and richer in person, to my eye. I Hated the Transparent Red in photos, but in hand, it was my Favorite. These photos don't do it much justice, either. My Cell phone is the only camera I have right now. The actual color is a bit more Maroon with A LOT more grain showing in the body. Tried to give you sun shots and one inside shot to see the difference. Only thing I can see is that my photos suck and it looks better in person.

Tortie tortie tortie.... arrrrrggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[ERIC31]

Great pictures! Way better than the crappy ones I've shot and not wanted to post.

Glad others share my fondness for this amazing bass!

It is true that the Ivory model I have looks different colorwise that the pictures.

It is a joy to play and I have decided that doing any modding is not for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[Neveragain55]

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.
View attachment 597494

In other words: so much for under $200.00 basses not being worth a Damn, and even in less than stellar QC conditions, it blows away it's American counterpart......

Can you say: Honda / Chrysler argument in a different venue - with the Japanese winning........again????

 

[.BumeStik.]

If they introduce the TMB's in a 5 string, I will do a little happy dance. Anyone got the insider info 5 string release?

 

[Maxdusty]

In other words: so much for under $200.00 basses not being worth a Damn, and even in less than stellar QC conditions, it blows away it's American counterpart......

Can you say: Honda / Chrysler argument in a different venue - with the Japanese winning........again????

Actually got my scratch and dent special for a whopping $127 - MF currently has 3 TMB300s open box specials (two Green and one soda blue). Lowest price is $234 .

If they introduce the TMB's in a 5 string, I will do a little happy dance. Anyone got the insider info 5 string release?

I also sent an email to Ibanez a while back inquiring about the possibility of a Left handed version for another TBer, haven't heard back. A fiver would be awesome! I think Ibanez is just trying to keep pace with the demand for production of the TMB100 right now-sold out of all colors except I think one or two on Sweetwater, still in stock on MF. As a sub-$200 bass (TMB100), the Talman really has no equal imo - as a $300 bass (TMB300), it's a high consideration given the other makes and models right around that price range.

 

[Neveragain55]

Actually got my scratch and dent special for a whopping $127 - MF currently has 3 TMB300s open box specials (two Green and one soda blue). Lowest price is $234 .



I also sent an email to Ibanez a while back inquiring about the possibility of a Left handed version for another TBer, haven't heard back. A fiver would be awesome! I think Ibanez is just trying to keep pace with the demand for production of the TMB100 right now-sold out of all colors except I think one or two on Sweetwater, still in stock on MF. As a sub-$200 bass (TMB100), the Talman really has no equal imo - as a $300 bass (TMB300), it's a high consideration given the other makes and models right around that price range.

You got a great deal, seriously.........

I have five basses, and the most expensive one was close to $600.00............yeah.........sure.........ask me which one I play the most?????

My pawn shop special for $100.00 bucks..........(ESP LTD B-104)

 

[wintremute]

I....must....resist.....the.......GAS!

 

[wintremute]

As you can see below, I'm a member of the PJ club- a lot of basses I've had are of this pickup configuration- everything from a Squier Jaguar to a MIA Fender JP90. I don't remember having played anything with quite this range on an already versatile pickup configuration. The most astonishing thing is that this versatility is in a $200 bass. I had other Ibanez PJ active basses, I don't know what's new in these TMB basses, but they seem quite a bit more versatile and a lot of umph.

What's interesting is that the pickups are not active, just the EQ.

 

[CM63]

Gas is killing me! Please tell that these are NOT under 8 lbs (My back requires this), before I go further into debt!

 

[.BumeStik.]

My very Mean and Brutal digital bathroom scale shows 8.2lbs on mine. That is WITH Schaller strap locks and the NeoTech Super Strap ATTACHED. GAS.... Beano never helps me.

 

[CM63]

My very Mean and Brutal digital bathroom scale shows 8.2lbs on mine. That is WITH Schaller strap locks and the NeoTech Super Strap ATTACHED. GAS.... Beano never helps me.

You could have lied and said it was 12lbs, now I need the beano!
Some ultralite tuners and an aluminum bridge would put it just in my range!

 

[.BumeStik.]

You could have lied and said it was 12lbs, now I need the beano!
Some ultralite tuners and an aluminum bridge would put it just in my range!

I may be fibbing somewhat, too. I call my scale Mean and Brutal because I SWEAR the damn thing LIES and says things are heavier than they actually are.

 

[CM63]

I may be fibbing somewhat, too. I call my scale Mean and Brutal because I SWEAR the damn thing LIES and says things a heavier than they actually are.

Mine does the same thing! My pants lie too!

 

[wintremute]

You can never trust pants. That's why I try to leave mine off whenever possible.

 

[Maxdusty]

What's interesting is that the pickups are not active, just the EQ.

Exactly. I had an Ibanez SR800 with the active EQ and active pickups. I absolutely love the MIJ SR800 but this Talman is pretty much neck to neck in terms of versatility and volume.
AND CM63, it weighs 12 pounds until you're ready to buy one, then it's pretty close to 8 lbs. If you replace the heavy open back tuners, it'll be under 8.

 

[CM63]

Exactly. I had an Ibanez SR800 with the active EQ and active pickups. I absolutely love the MIJ SR800 but this Talman is pretty much neck to neck in terms of versatility and volume.
AND CM63, it weighs 12 pounds until you're ready to buy one, then it's pretty close to 8 lbs. If you replace the heavy open back tuners, it'll be under 8.

Dang it!

 

[hrodbert696]

Got to try a TMB300 in the local store today. Seemed well put together. Although the nut was narrow, the neck was clubby, rather like a Spector - not what I expected from an Ibanez at all. The preamp was very hot, I had to turn the amp way down from the previous bass I'd been trying, a BTB. On the whole... interesting, but not the bass for me.

 

[bassporter]

Question for anyone that owns one: how do they balance while standing? looking for an inexpensive P/J beater and I've always loved this body style.

 

[Maxdusty]

Question for anyone that owns one: how do they balance while standing? looking for an inexpensive P/J beater and I've always loved this body style.

It's pretty well balanced imo but I've only strapped it on once, it's my beater bass and that often means practicing on a sofa.
As my beater every-day kind of bass it's perfect because of the versatility of the bass, no need to get up and grab another bass.

 

[.BumeStik.]

It's pretty well balanced imo but I've only strapped it on once, it's my beater bass and that often means practicing on a sofa.
As my beater every-day kind of bass it's perfect because of the versatility of the bass, no need to get up and grab another bass.

I am playing mostly standing on mine and it balances fine. I will say that I use NeoTech Straps. They are fairly tacky and hold basses in place fairly well, but the TMB does not dive on me.