NBD: Traveler TB-4P (Red)

Kindly pardon the low-quality cellphone pic!

Well, it arrived. A Traveler TB-4P (Red), shipped in a gig-bag from Music123 for $424.99 (I had a coupon). Anyway, I have long wanted a lightweight medium-scale bass, and while I had my eye on a 32" Japanese Fender Jazz, this one was half the price and had the advantage of a headless design (I can't tell you many times I've knocked a headstock into a mic stand or speaker). I also really prefer the 22 frets of this bass instead of the more-typical 20 or 24. In essence, the Traveler is a lot like a Mustang and a Steinberger fell in love and had a baby.

Some other notable things include a headphone amp (powered by an onboard battery) and an AUX IN for jamming along to an iPod or similar device. The pickup is a Mustang-style Duncan-Designed mini-P. The finish on the back of the neck appears to be a very thin coat of matte/satin. The absence of weight (it likely weighs about 6lbs. 4oz. or so) makes it very nice to play while standing, and the neck is exceedingly comfortable. The nut width is a hefty 1.75" (more than the typical 1.625" for a P-Bass or 1.5" for a J) but it feels very fast and comfortable. Slap players might actually appreciate the slight increase in girth.

Amplified sound is good with a nice helping of grind. Through headphones, the sound is serviceable but not high-fidelity at all. My plan is to use this bass for stage, practices etc. as part of an ultra-portable rig (A Phil Jones BG-75 Double Four is coming soon) that I can play and transport anywhere, including the outdoors. Hopefully, this will be what I play most often.

 

No. It takes regular long-scale strings. The strings go through the bridge and keep going around the tail to the back where the tuners live. You don't need double-ball-end strings like you do on some (all?) Steinberger models, nor do you need tapered strings. Standard strings with balls at just one end work great.

 

Better images:

 

Understood. For me, medium scale is just about ideal, but it's clearly not for everyone.

 

Yeah, I don't know if there is any other bass with quite these specs, but I sure do like it!

 

Future modification idea: Since the headphone preamp is not all that useful, what about using the battery compartment to power a preamp or an active pickup instead? I'll take a look under the pickguard and if the route for the mini-P pickup is large enough to accommodate a "regular" P-style pickup, maybe the pickguard can be cut to fit it and an EMG-PX can go in there. Because of the string spacing, would I need a 5-string pickup with the wider magnet? Hmmmm.

EDIT: I peeked under the pickguard and it looks like the existing route is indeed big enough for a regular "P" style pickup. I'm going to mod this if and only if things like changing the strings fail to get me where I want to go sonically.

 

Thank you for the kind words everybody. Having a lot of fun with it so far. I look forward to being able to navigate the stairs while also carrying my amp at a friend’s house for band practice. My new Phil Jones BG-75 Double Four ought to be the perfect companion for the TB-4P.

Happy (early) Chanukah to me! Like I was gonna wait until Tuesday night!

 

Okay, time for some likes and dislikes:

LIKE

1. Light and playable. 32" medium scale is wonderful.
2. Looks cool, if a bit odd.
3. Easy to transport.

DISLIKE

1. While replacing the strings, it space between the tuning pegs and the back side of the body is very tight. It's tough to avoid scratching the finish; I did.
2. Turning the tuning pegs is a bit awkward. For the G string, it's almost impossible to tune via the comparison-of-harmonic method, because your fingers end up touching/stopping the G string from ringing. Annoying!
3. The tone of the pickup is okay but not fabulous. I prefer my Jazz Bass with EMG-JAX pickups. I know it's not a fair comparison, but there it is.