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New Ibanez Talman

#261
jimmykicker said:
My question is this...When can we expect a 5 string version? I'd hate to have to hack a 4 string up to have one...but I'll do it!!
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I think this may be my option...I play guitar as well, and I own two Talman guitars. I have always loved the style of this guitar and it stands out vs the "me too" JP style and Stratocopies. Since I play somewhat "professionally" (snicker), I have wanted to make a custom bass. Believe it or not, right before these came out I was considering having this same bass made, 5 string of course, with maple neck and ebony fingerboard and silverburst finish with the Talman body. Course this would have been all custom work and seriously expensive. Now, since this bass is available, I was considering buying a quality custom Carvin neck and having the neck joint routed to fit the Talman body as well as routing the it to fit the correct pickups for a 5er. This would probably save me a LOT of money using the pre-manufactured guitar body and with the parts I need vs sourcing them somewhere else while still giving me kind of a "custom" unit.

Course, this is speculation from a guy that really only knows enough to get in trouble and really doesn't know that much about modifying a bass like this. Course I am also going to pay someone to modify the body, paint etc. Can anyone confirm or deny this possibility??

What is that body made of anyway?
 
#263
Well I just bit the bullet and bought a transparent red one from Sweetwater. I've got a line on an Alvarez neck that might just work with this bass with some modification. I can do it a little at a time. Play as is for now...then have the body routed to fit the neck, modify the pickguard and any necessary mods for the pickup cavities. Install new pickups and install a bridge that will work. That shouldn't kill my wallet too bad. . From what you guys say the preamp is pretty good so I can leave that for a bit. I will upload a pic when it arrives.

Nothing like taking a brand new bass and hacking it up!
 
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#264
Hipshots ordered and installed!

IMG_20150725_175825742_zpsfvmtmn1i.jpg


Way smoother than the stock tuners. totally worth it.


Ordered Schaller strap locks as well. The paint under the strap buttons was chipped. No biggie. The Schaller screws were way thinner than stock and while they fit, I'm considering using the ol' toothpick method to get 'em more snug.
IMG_20150723_161605096_zpsw6tlldjv.jpg


Just waiting on my Lo-Riders to come in and I'm set to take this puppy out on tour!

I considered ordering Novak pickups and an Audere 2-band, but I like the sound of this bass so much. Don't want to mess with it.
 
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#265
primussucks9126 said:
Ordered Schaller strap locks as well. The paint under the strap buttons was chipped. No biggie. The Schaller screws were way thinner than stock and while they fit, I'm considering using the ol' toothpick method to get 'em more snug.
IMG_20150723_161605096_zpsw6tlldjv.jpg


Just waiting on my Lo-Riders to come in and I'm set to take this puppy out on tour!

I considered ordering Novak pickups and an Audere 2-band, but I like the sound of this bass so much. Don't want to mess with it.
Click to expand...

You can put a slightly larger felt strap holder ring, it'll cover up that chip. I've done that with all the basses I've switched the strap holders. Can be bought pretty cheaply.
 
#266
primussucks9126 said:
Hipshots ordered and installed!

IMG_20150725_175825742_zpsfvmtmn1i.jpg


Way smoother than the stock tuners. totally worth it.


Ordered Schaller strap locks as well. The paint under the strap buttons was chipped. No biggie. The Schaller screws were way thinner than stock and while they fit, I'm considering using the ol' toothpick method to get 'em more snug.
Click to expand...

I just drill it out larger than the hole and glue in a small dowel rod and then cut it off after letting it sit overnight. Redrill. Same concept I suppose.
 
#267
The bass arrived today! It's a really gorgeous instrument. It plays really damn good too!

I bought the neck that I want to put on it. I got really lucky on this, I didn't think it was going to work. It looks pretty close. I'm pretty sure, well hell I know I'm going to have to have the neck bucket in large to accommodate this neck but I can't see any reason why it won't work. There will be a little bit of overhang on one side but I don't think a big deal.

For some reason my pix won't post!!
 
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#271
The neck might not be a longer scale, just longer. Measure from the nut to the 12th fret and that should be the 1/2 way point.

So a 34" scale bass will measure 17" to the 12" fret.

That's how you can determine the scale of the new neck.

You might need to reposition the bridge once you get the neck installed.
 
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#275
SO... the universe hath aligned and sitting next to me is a brand new Ibanez TMB300. And it happened quite by accident, kinda, sorta :). There was a crazy stupid deal of the day for the Gibson EB ($599) and I couldn't pass it up. Bought it. Had a problem with it and realized at the same time that I didn't really need 2 EBs (this was a white, to match my black), and decided I'd save a couple of hundred bucks and get me a TMB. That means to me that GOD (or whatever powers turn a seed into a maple tree, and then into a bass) willed this instrument on me, not the other way around. I mean, how could I not do the obvious once I got a flawed EB and realized I didn't need 2.... SO...

First things first. My TMB, like the EB, also has an issue. I'm not doing well these days with Musiciansfriend :/. It had an absolutely horrific rattle on the E and A strings that I finally realized was a tuner, though it sounded like it was coming from inside the neck. The flat part came loose from the post and well, it's just busted. Ain't no tightening that can be done, and the rattle is enough to make it unplayable for a gig or recording. It's bad. So I have to figure out what to do. Exchange the bass? Ask MF to send me a tuner? Ask them to knock the price of a tuner off the price of bass and buy one? Call Ibanez? So many choices. Will have a go at them all, I guess.

As for the bass beyond that, I'm floored. I bought the sunburst cuz I'm not feeling the "let my bass stand out" thing as much these days as I used to. I felt it was the most generic, and wouldn't raise any eyebrows. I was never one for wood colored basses but I'm getting there. The finish on this is perfect, looks very much like a one piece body - is it? Don't know anything about that kind of stuff, but like that the grain doesn't look like a bunch of slabs thrown together. Anyhow, I plugged it in and DANG! I concur with all the people that are saying this thing is loud. I don't quite get it. I A/Bd it with my Bongo and it's louder. The Bongo is 18v, to boot. Not sure what difference the volume of a bass actually makes when thrown into a band mix, but I like that cranked this bass seems to give my head just the perfect amount of overdrive that I like. It gets growly. And a very good kind of growly, dare I say almost Warwick like. It doesn't do the Stingray or MM thing, but it does do the J and the P thing, and I can't complain at all about any of it's sounds. In the house, anyhow. True test always comes in the band mix. That won't happen though till I get the tuner thing straightened out.

As for the rest, the things I know others care about but don't mean much to me - I can't slip a dollar bill into the neck pocket, it's a little heavier than the basses I've been playing lately, my best guess being about 9.5 lbs., and it has a wee bit of neck dive. Not tons. The frets are smooth, neck and binding seem flawless. I did a quick setup, was able to set it up to my liking with no problem, did get a little buzzing when I tried to go ridiculously low, but I don't need to go ridiculously low.

When I first encountered the rattling I considered just sending it back and sticking with all the other basses I have. After playing it for a half an hour I couldn't put it down, so me thinks it's going to be a keeper.

I'd say this bass is a big win. Absolutely would be my first recommendation for someone looking for a new, cheap bass. Das all for now. Going to play it some more :).
 
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#276
Joe Nerve said:
..

First things first. My TMB, like the EB, also has an issue. I'm not doing well these days with Musiciansfriend :/. It had an absolutely horrific rattle on the E and A strings that I finally realized was a tuner, though it sounded like it was coming from inside the neck. The flat part came loose from the post and well, it's just busted. Ain't no tightening that can be done, and the rattle is enough to make it unplayable for a gig or recording. It's bad. So I have to figure out what to do. Exchange the bass? Ask MF to send me a tuner? Ask them to knock the price of a tuner off the price of bass and buy one? Call Ibanez? So many choices. Will have a go at them all, I guess.
Click to expand...

I bought a MF scratch and dent special- Had that rattle too from the A tuner, same reason. Called them and they offered to accept the return but thought I'd try one thing being that it wasn't covered by any repair warranty, just a return. I put epoxy glue between the post and the tuner key, allowed it to seep in as deep as possible and then wipe the excess glue off so you can't see the fix. Seems to have fixed it so I decided to keep it, and 3 months later, it's still holding solid and have had no problems at all.
I had a scratch and dent special, however you bought a brand new one covered by the Ibanez warranty, so they'll likely send you a replacement tuner. While the tuner's being mailed out to you, you can always do what I did with the epoxy glue while you're waiting for the replacement- it'll easily hold until it does.

I have the TMB100 and was looking for an everyday, practice , beater bass to replace a Squier Jag I had in that role- given the price, I wasn't expecting much but was pretty much blown away by yes, the volume, but also the versatility of the instrument. It's also one of those basses that is so comfortable to play, neck is neither too slim or too chunky-a large range of tones are possible and easily controlled- it's like that proverbial old pair of comfy sneakers. I still can't stop playing it and really have to make the conscious effort to play my other basses and give them some attention.
 
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#277
I considered the glue solution also, but spoke with them and decided I'd exchange it. Another minor issue on the one I had was that the truss rod seemed slightly stripped. I only had to give it a minor tweak, but it took a little more maneuvering than it should have. I loved the bass, but it wasnt "perfect". I like to have a little headroom on my action too, and while it was fine, it was as low as it could go without getting dead notes and buzzes. New one will probably be here Thursday. Psyched.
 
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#278
Got my new Talman yesterday. Dang, it's amazing how different 2 basses can be.

The original and this one sound pretty much the same, but there's little to no neckdive on the one I got yesterday, and I was able to get the action ridiculously low on this one. The whole thing feels a little more solidly put together also, but that just might be a psychological thing due to the rattling machine head.

The ONLY thing I absolutely can't stand about this bass is the pickguard. And while I think it works best on the sunburst, what the hell were they thinking over there. A white pearloid, black, or white would have worked far better on any of these basses. Oh hwell....

I'd say this bass was hands down the best bass available for the money, though I have to give some respect to the Squier active Jazz 5 I had a while back. But I think I paid a bit more for that, and I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore. OK. This is the best value you can get in bass buying, 2015. Cuz I said so!

It will be gig tested tomorrow night.
 
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#280
primussucks9126 said:
For anyone interested, I'll be going on tour supporting Blues Traveler this fall and will be bringing my TMB-100 as my main player.

I have no doubts this will prove to be a roadworthy instrument. I'll keep you updated on how it holds up.



How'd the gig go, Joe?
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About 2 hours before the gig I pulled my back badly, and could hardly stand up. Wound up taking my Gibson cuz of that as its a couple of lbs lighter. Haven't had a gig or rehearsal since. Gotta say though that I'm loving this bass in the house. If I didn't know what this was, and someone they told me they paid $1000 for it, I wouldn't question it. The neck and binding are flawless, as is the finish. And I love the difference in tone with the humbucker kicked in. It gets some serious growl happening, and is pretty clean in single coil mode.
 

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