New Ibanez Talman

[Maxdusty]

Thanks. Yes, I somehow missed that the first time around. To my ears a sort of MMish sound may be able to be coaxed out of that. I think you've made my decision for me .

Now to imagine what the different colors would look like with different pickguards.

Where are all the photoshop people?

Anyone have it in them to post these basses with white and/or black picguards on them? Would be nice to see what a white pearloid one would look like on the red, and sunburst one, too. If I knew where to find a fingers crossed smiley, I'd post it right here.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Forgot to mention, I was checking ebay last night and noticed a music store was selling the Talman TMB100 basses in different colors at a discount price (10% off) for a limited time. Free shipping for $179.99. Brand new.
Ibanez Talman TMB100 4 String Electric Bass Transparent Red Free Shipping | eBay

the different colors:-
spotlightmusicstore | eBay

 

[JonW]

Hi Folks,

I was bass shopping today and there were a couple of the TBM100's on the wall. So I played them and thought that I'd provide a brief rundown. I played them for a few minutes. Nothing too extensive.

General build quality:
Both basses were set up fine and felt good. I did not notice any of the quality issues that have been mentioned, although I did not look closely. They were just good. I would put them right on par with, say, a Squire. Maybe more in the Affinity range than the Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified. The satin feel on the back of the neck felt just like some Squier Affinities that I have played. Like the poly (or whatever it is) was the same thing, put on by the same people. It's a different feel from, say, the satin neck on a US Fender. Note that every Squier that I have played over the past few years has been nice. Not a clunker in there. So I'd say that these are in line with their price. Not some bargain miracle. But being in line with the price and using Squier as a benchmark is a good thing. It is not as nice, to me, as a US made Music Man, for example. But it is very good for $200. When I was a kid, nothing remotely close to this nice was available for $200.

It was not a heavy bass. Not light, either. Maybe a tad lighter than average. Maybe not. Nothing to complain about. Does not feel like a cheap toy.

In general, it played well. It did not scream "amazing." But it was not lacking anything specific, either. Really, I would put it in line with other good quality basses at the same price.


Sound:
The first bass was distorting badly on the low strings with the bass knob turned up a bit. Bad battery? I played the other one and it sounded... amazing! I'm still new to this bass thing. But this was one of the best sounding basses that I have played today at any price. The P pickup was punchy and clear. More fun to my ears than the Fender MIM Standard P bass on the wall that I also tried. The bridge pickup, alone, was also a nice sound, more fun than many Jazz bass bridge pickups. I could not play it loudly, being in a store and all. But I played several other Fender and Squier Jazz and P basses today and the Talman was my favorite overall sound. If I could only pick one bass from what I played, based only on sound, the Talman would have been it.


Colors and appearance:
It is a good looking bass in person. I like the non-standard shape of it. A little variety in life, you know? They had a soda blue and a candy apple red. Both colors are very nice. I like the blue better. It looks like what you see in the photos here. The red looks a little bit better in person than in the photos. A little nicer than just another red bass.


Other comments:
Now I would like to try a TBM300. That neck is gloss. There is the different bridge pickup. Plus the other colors (OK, the green), the blocks, and the binding. As much as the TBM100 is good for the price, I'm guessing that the 300 might feel generally nicer. We'll see.

Overall on the TBM100:
Good build quality for the price, but nothing unusual. Great sound. Fun looks.

 

[Maxdusty]

Hi Folks,

I was bass shopping today and there were a couple of the TBM100's on the wall. So I played them and thought that I'd provide a brief rundown. I played them for a few minutes. Nothing too extensive.

General build quality:
Both basses were set up fine and felt good. I did not notice any of the quality issues that have been mentioned, although I did not look closely. They were just good. I would put them right on par with, say, a Squire. Maybe more in the Affinity range than the Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified. The satin feel on the back of the neck felt just like some Squier Affinities that I have played. Like the poly (or whatever it is) was the same thing, put on by the same people. It's a different feel from, say, the satin neck on a US Fender. Note that every Squier that I have played over the past few years has been nice. Not a clunker in there. So I'd say that these are in line with their price. Not some bargain miracle. But being in line with the price and using Squier as a benchmark is a good thing. It is not as nice, to me, as a US made Music Man, for example. But it is very good for $200. When I was a kid, nothing remotely close to this nice was available for $200.

It was not a heavy bass. Not light, either. Maybe a tad lighter than average. Maybe not. Nothing to complain about. Does not feel like a cheap toy.

In general, it played well. It did not scream "amazing." But it was not lacking anything specific, either. Really, I would put it in line with other good quality basses at the same price.


Sound:
The first bass was distorting badly on the low strings with the bass knob turned up a bit. Bad battery? I played the other one and it sounded... amazing! I'm still new to this bass thing. But this was one of the best sounding basses that I have played today at any price. The P pickup was punchy and clear. More fun to my ears than the Fender MIM Standard P bass on the wall that I also tried. The bridge pickup, alone, was also a nice sound, more fun than many Jazz bass bridge pickups. I could not play it loudly, being in a store and all. But I played several other Fender and Squier Jazz and P basses today and the Talman was my favorite overall sound. If I could only pick one bass from what I played, based only on sound, the Talman would have been it.


Colors and appearance:
It is a good looking bass in person. I like the non-standard shape of it. A little variety in life, you know? They had a soda blue and a candy apple red. Both colors are very nice. I like the blue better. It looks like what you see in the photos here. The red looks a little bit better in person than in the photos. A little nicer than just another red bass.


Other comments:
Now I would like to try a TBM300. That neck is gloss. There is the different bridge pickup. Plus the other colors (OK, the green), the blocks, and the binding. As much as the TBM100 is good for the price, I'm guessing that the 300 might feel generally nicer. We'll see.

Overall on the TBM100:
Good build quality for the price, but nothing unusual. Great sound. Fun looks.

Nice review Jon! Pretty much similar to my first experience with them. Unplugged, it was similar to the Squier VM Jaguar I had- I liked the body style but knowing the price I subconsciously kept my expectations relatively low, it was a $200 bass so I was expecting something similar to the Jaguar. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound of the bass, much, much better than expected. Still love it after several months of having it. Wish I hadn't lent it out as I'm really missing it now.

 

[Maxdusty]

Thanks. Yes, I somehow missed that the first time around. To my ears a sort of MMish sound may be able to be coaxed out of that. I think you've made my decision for me .

Now to imagine what the different colors would look like with different pickguards.

Where are all the photoshop people?

Anyone have it in them to post these basses with white and/or black picguards on them? Would be nice to see what a white pearloid one would look like on the red, and sunburst one, too. If I knew where to find a fingers crossed smiley, I'd post it right here.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Joe - The Ibanez TMB300 in Soda Blue is on sale today at MF for $269 if you're interested. Only in that color.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[ggvicviper]

Like a Jaguar, except with an Ibby spin. Not my thing personally, but I see the appeal. Dig.

 

[Maxdusty]

Like a Jaguar, except with an Ibby spin. Not my thing personally, but I see the appeal. Dig.

Yes, it looks like an Ibanezified (lol) Jaguar- but the sound is completely something else. A guaranteed surprise.

 

[Danomo]

My son-in-law was over last week, and got his hands on my Talman, he didn't say much at the time, but today when I was by their place, I picked up his Epi G-400 (SG), he looked at me, smiled and said: "You wouldn't trade me that for your watermelon Ibby, would you?"

 

[old_strings]

Hello good people of TB,

I just wanted to share my honeymoon thoughts on the Talman TMB100. Full disclosure, I'm a guitar player, so bass isn't my primary instrument. That said, I've played bass on and off for years

I've been bassless for about 6 months and needed to change that. Yesterday, I went to Guitar Center and played a bunch of basses – Yamaha TRBX174, several Squires, a SUB bass and many low and high end Ibanezes. None of them really spoke to me until I played the Talman. This bass just blows me away! It's a player and sounds absolutely stellar – earth moving low end with harmonics that just jump off the fretboard. I am seriously in awe of this instrument. It's the only bass I've ever owned that I just didn't want to stop playing – it's that good.

They had 3 of these basses in stock and while the other 2 weren't bad, the one I got was just on a different level – truly a remarkable instrument - and light – I don't have a scale but I doubt it's over 8lbs – the other 2 were much heavier. I guess my point is, if you're interested in this bass go play them in person – if you find a good one you will not be disappointed.

PROS:
Jaw-dropping TONE
The neck is outstanding. Much fuller than the SR series basses or any of the basses I played yesterday. Very nice fretwork as well.
The P pickup sounds HUGE - full and rich.
Electronics sound very good and are really versatile
Ridiculously affordable
Near perfect intonation across the fretboard
IMHO it looks great
Did I mention TONE??

CONS:
Nut work looks sloppy but functions just fine
Just a slight hint of neck dive
The J pickup isn't great – not that it's bad, it's just that the P pickup is so good – I also haven't tried adjusting it yet

After getting the bass home yesterday I looked it up online because I knew nothing about it. My bass is white. The strange thing is I don't even see white offered as a color.

Also bought a Rumble 100 to go along with it – FANTASTIC amp!

Hope this info helps someone and I'll update my thoughts after the honeymoon has ended. For now, I am in bass nirvana.

 

[LoTone]

Good for you, you must have hit a golden one! I have tried a few in stores and none of them matched the description you are giving. It's probably a keeper.

Hello good people of TB,

I just wanted to share my honeymoon thoughts on the Talman TMB100. Full disclosure, I'm a guitar player, so bass isn't my primary instrument. That said, I've played bass on and off for years

I've been bassless for about 6 months and needed to change that. Yesterday, I went to Guitar Center and played a bunch of basses – Yamaha TRBX174, several Squires, a SUB bass and many low and high end Ibanezes. None of them really spoke to me until I played the Talman. This bass just blows me away! It's a player and sounds absolutely stellar – earth moving low end with harmonics that just jump off the fretboard. I am seriously in awe of this instrument. It's the only bass I've ever owned that I just didn't want to stop playing – it's that good.

They had 3 of these basses in stock and while the other 2 weren't bad, the one I got was just on a different level – truly a remarkable instrument - and light – I don't have a scale but I doubt it's over 8lbs – the other 2 were much heavier. I guess my point is, if you're interested in this bass go play them in person – if you find a good one you will not be disappointed.

PROS:
Jaw-dropping TONE
The neck is outstanding. Much fuller than the SR series basses or any of the basses I played yesterday. Very nice fretwork as well.
The P pickup sounds HUGE - full and rich.
Electronics sound very good and are really versatile
Ridiculously affordable
Near perfect intonation across the fretboard
IMHO it looks great
Did I mention TONE??

CONS:
Nut work looks sloppy but functions just fine
Just a slight hint of neck dive
The J pickup isn't great – not that it's bad, it's just that the P pickup is so good – I also haven't tried adjusting it yet

After getting the bass home yesterday I looked it up online because I knew nothing about it. My bass is white. The strange thing is I don't even see white offered as a color.

Also bought a Rumble 100 to go along with it – FANTASTIC amp!

Hope this info helps someone and I'll update my thoughts after the honeymoon has ended. For now, I am in bass nirvana.

 

[old_strings]

Good for you, you must have hit a golden one! I have tried a few in stores and none of them matched the description you are giving. It's probably a keeper.

Yeah, they got this one right! The other 2 were nothing special. This experience really taught me how important it is to play the instrument before buying it as there's so much variation between individual instruments. No 2 are alike.

 

[bholder]

The new Musician's Friend catalog that arrived last week has the 300 models at about $100 off - including the 5er. Hmmm.

Edit: I should clarify, this may just be marketing hype or even a misprint, the site and catalog don't match:

On page 60 of the latest catalog: the price on the TMB-300 4 string is $199.99, which I remember as being $299 a few months ago, but it now says current list is $285.70, so not really clear what the actual savings is. I don't remember there being a 5 string before, but it's at $299.99, current list $428.56. Make of it what you will.

5-String J18861 List 428.56 $299.99
4-string J18871 List 285.70 $199.99

"Choose candy apple, soda blue, metallic forrest or tri-fade burst finish."

Strangely, the TMB-100, which used to be $199, is no longer listed in the catalog, but on the site, it still is, and comes out in the cart as:

Ibanez TMB100 4 String Bass Mint Green

Item #J18871000005000

Makes me think the catalog 4-string and 5-string might be a typo, and they meant TMB-100 and TMB-300. The site and the catalog don't match at all. Deal or not? Hard to say...

Oh, and the "5-string" number from the catalog, J18861, brings up the 4-string TMB-300 on the site - so very misleading, since the prices are really the same as they've always been.



Oh, well. Tricksy marketing ploy.

 

[Maxdusty]

Hello good people of TB,

I just wanted to share my honeymoon thoughts on the Talman TMB100. Full disclosure, I'm a guitar player, so bass isn't my primary instrument. That said, I've played bass on and off for years

I've been bassless for about 6 months and needed to change that. Yesterday, I went to Guitar Center and played a bunch of basses – Yamaha TRBX174, several Squires, a SUB bass and many low and high end Ibanezes. None of them really spoke to me until I played the Talman. This bass just blows me away! It's a player and sounds absolutely stellar – earth moving low end with harmonics that just jump off the fretboard. I am seriously in awe of this instrument. It's the only bass I've ever owned that I just didn't want to stop playing – it's that good.

They had 3 of these basses in stock and while the other 2 weren't bad, the one I got was just on a different level – truly a remarkable instrument - and light – I don't have a scale but I doubt it's over 8lbs – the other 2 were much heavier. I guess my point is, if you're interested in this bass go play them in person – if you find a good one you will not be disappointed.

PROS:
Jaw-dropping TONE
The neck is outstanding. Much fuller than the SR series basses or any of the basses I played yesterday. Very nice fretwork as well.
The P pickup sounds HUGE - full and rich.
Electronics sound very good and are really versatile
Ridiculously affordable
Near perfect intonation across the fretboard
IMHO it looks great
Did I mention TONE??

CONS:
Nut work looks sloppy but functions just fine
Just a slight hint of neck dive
The J pickup isn't great – not that it's bad, it's just that the P pickup is so good – I also haven't tried adjusting it yet

After getting the bass home yesterday I looked it up online because I knew nothing about it. My bass is white. The strange thing is I don't even see white offered as a color.

Also bought a Rumble 100 to go along with it – FANTASTIC amp!

Hope this info helps someone and I'll update my thoughts after the honeymoon has ended. For now, I am in bass nirvana.

Nice review...the White is a new color option for the TMB100, also new are soda blue, and candy apple red. (these two colors were ones initially available for the TMB300 but they've made them available for the TMB100 now)
I've had mine for about 4 months now and I have to say, my honeymoon period hasn't diminished one bit, I currently have 14 basses and I always come back to this one. As you mentioned, this thing has terrific tone and presence. I've had oh..maybe about 25 ibanez basses in my lifetime, none that sound quite like this one - and given the ridiculous price, it's really puzzling how Ibanez did it. It can give me the boomy bass or the punchy sound and everything in between.
One thing I did do with mine was lower the pickups as they were too hot and now I've got it just right, perhaps lowering or raising your jazz pickup will be all you need to do.
As I've mentioned previously, it's one of those unassuming basses that'll surprise anyone when they first plug it in to try it. I can almost guarantee it won't be what that person expected- it's a terrific value.

 

[Danomo]

Nice review...the White is a new color option for the TMB100, also new are soda blue, and candy apple red. (these two colors were ones initially available for the TMB300 but they've made them available for the TMB100 now)
I've had mine for about 4 months now and I have to say, my honeymoon period hasn't diminished one bit, I currently have 14 basses and I always come back to this one. As you mentioned, this thing has terrific tone and presence. I've had oh..maybe about 25 ibanez basses in my lifetime, none that sound quite like this one - and given the ridiculous price, it's really puzzling how Ibanez did it. It can give me the boomy bass or the punchy sound and everything in between.
One thing I did do with mine was lower the pickups as they were too hot and now I've got it just right, perhaps lowering or raising your jazz pickup will be all you need to do.
As I've mentioned previously, it's one of those unassuming basses that'll surprise anyone when they first plug it in to try it. I can almost guarantee it won't be what that person expected- it's a terrific value.

Yes, I had to SIGNIFICANTLY lower the pups on my 300 as well, too much finger noise, and would just fart if you slapped at all. All OK now!

It's weird, when I pick this bass up, I play and come up with lines and riffs unlike my other basses.

 

[bholder]

Yes, I had to SIGNIFICANTLY lower the pups on my 300 as well, too much finger noise, and would just fart if you slapped at all. All OK now!

It's weird, when I pick this bass up, I play and come up with lines and riffs unlike my other basses.

Heck, I tend to fart when slapped as well.

 

[Maxdusty]

Yes, I had to SIGNIFICANTLY lower the pups on my 300 as well, too much finger noise, and would just fart if you slapped at all. All OK now!

It's weird, when I pick this bass up, I play and come up with lines and riffs unlike my other basses.

I can totally relate to that...I play this bass and I actually sound half-way decent! Something about how it feels in my hand and the ability to dial in that perfect sound that makes me try new things on it which I don't seem inclined to do on my other basses (my other basses are set up perfectly, thin necks most of them). Figures my ideal bass is one that costs $199 and not the ones that cost over $1000. I guess that makes me a cheap bassist?
To be honest with you, that's puzzling me too and a teeny bit perturbing. I want to play my other basses -I bought my sexier Ibanez SR700 around the same time as the Talman but I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it since.
My TMB100 has become that old pair of sneakers you can't imagine parting with as it has become a part of you.

 

[old_strings]

Nice review...the White is a new color option for the TMB100, also new are soda blue, and candy apple red. (these two colors were ones initially available for the TMB300 but they've made them available for the TMB100 now)
I've had mine for about 4 months now and I have to say, my honeymoon period hasn't diminished one bit, I currently have 14 basses and I always come back to this one. As you mentioned, this thing has terrific tone and presence. I've had oh..maybe about 25 ibanez basses in my lifetime, none that sound quite like this one - and given the ridiculous price, it's really puzzling how Ibanez did it. It can give me the boomy bass or the punchy sound and everything in between.
One thing I did do with mine was lower the pickups as they were too hot and now I've got it just right, perhaps lowering or raising your jazz pickup will be all you need to do.
As I've mentioned previously, it's one of those unassuming basses that'll surprise anyone when they first plug it in to try it. I can almost guarantee it won't be what that person expected- it's a terrific value.

Thanks for the info and advice. Much appreciated. I'm going to experiment with the pickup heights. Any advice on new strings to put on this when the time comes?

I can totally relate to that...I play this bass and I actually sound half-way decent! Something about how it feels in my hand and the ability to dial in that perfect sound that makes me try new things on it which I don't seem inclined to do on my other basses (my other basses are set up perfectly, thin necks most of them). Figures my ideal bass is one that costs $199 and not the ones that cost over $1000. I guess that makes me a cheap bassist?
To be honest with you, that's puzzling me too and a teeny bit perturbing. I want to play my other basses -I bought my sexier Ibanez SR700 around the same time as the Talman but I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it since.
My TMB100 has become that old pair of sneakers you can't imagine parting with as it has become a part of you.

Totally agree with your sentiment. This bass just sounds and feels right - it's inspiring and makes me want to play. I played the SR700 right before I played the Talman and while it sounded good, it sounded completely different - very modern. It didn't have the thump and growl of the Talman and I didn't like the neck - it was pencil thin.

 

[Maxdusty]

Thanks for the info and advice. Much appreciated. I'm going to experiment with the pickup heights. Any advice on new strings to put on this when the time comes?

I haven't changed mine yet but getting to that time, I plan on using D'Addario Nickel Light Rounds on mine as I have a few packs of these. I play a lot of funk so these strings seem to work for me. Plus it's a good cheap set of strings for a heavily used bass. (sometimes you can get a 2 pack for like $20)
One thing I should say about most Ibanez basses is that you would probably want to stay within the Light or Medium(regular) gauge strings. Heavier gauge strings will put a lot of stress on the neck.

 

[old_strings]

I haven't changed mine yet but getting to that time, I plan on using D'Addario Nickel Light Rounds on mine as I have a few packs of these. I play a lot of funk so these strings seem to work for me. Plus it's a good cheap set of strings for a heavily used bass. (sometimes you can get a 2 pack for like $20)
One thing I should say about most Ibanez basses is that you would probably want to stay within the Light or Medium(regular) gauge strings. Heavier gauge strings will put a lot of stress on the neck.

Thanks Maxdusty. I don't think the original strings that are on it are bad. I just noticed that my fingers are getting a little eaten up but I think this has more to do with the fact that I'm used to playing guitar. I played the bass for about 5 hours the day I got it and several more yesterday, this instrument just begs to be played!

 

[dfp]

has anyone tried putting Alnico 5 type (traditional Fender magnet) pickups in these basses? Never been a fan of ceramic magnet pickups...

 

[Danomo]

has anyone tried putting Alnico 5 type (traditional Fender magnet) pickups in these basses? Never been a fan of ceramic magnet pickups...

Considering how the majority of posters in this thread are raving about this bass's tone, and the fact the active preamp is designed to work with the stock pups...

You should probably try one before preemptively denouncing the pickups, Regardless of their type.