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Takamine TB-10 Users

#101
The TB10 didn't work for me.
Partly because it's also an awkward shape to play, and, the tone wasn't exactly what I wanted.
I could have lived with the tone, but I couldn't live with botht the shape being bad for me, and the tone not being what I wanted.

I -really- like the RA Mouse, and could have lived with the short scale bc it sounded so great.
But I found a really nice MB5, and I can also live with 35" scale, so, I've had that a good amount of time and used it a lot.
Band mates and producers all like it and so do I.

I've almost sold my DB twice, and I may yet. I got called to play it last night, and since my back injury, it just hurts to play it.
post gig hot tub, ibuprofen, and yoga and I'm mostly back to feeling good, but, dang.
I wish it wasn't like that, but it is.
 
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#102

Is your problem related to the position or the hand strength?


You can play a TB10 in upright position and the neck and fingerboard are a bit more like an upright.

Have you listened to the videos? The TB10 sounds more like a fretless than an upright. Lot's of sustain and not much thump.

If your problem is more related to strength, consider getting you bass setup to play very easily. You can use lighter gauge strings, cut down the nut and lower the action. It won't necessarily be cheap because the finger board will need to be dressed so you can play up and down the neck without excess buzz. But you would probably be surprised how easily a string bass can play.

You could also consider a smaller upright.
 
#104
About a year-and-a-half ago I bought a Takamine TB-10 fretless bass guitar online. I've been looking for it for about 5 years, trying to find a price that I would pay, and got what I wanted. Looking online now, I see that this guitar has skyrocketed in price.
This guitar weighs 10.251 lb or 4.65 kg (with the end pin). Because of the weight distribution of the guitar, you really can't set it down without it falling over, especially with the long base pin installed. I paired it with an Engles base stand and added PVC pipes that fit in the base stand tube legs to increase stability of the stand, otherwise, the stand would fall over... It needed to be re-engineered, so I did that.
The TB-10 has what's called a Cool Tube preamp with a tuner. You can set the guitar to sound like a hard body electric guitar or a fully upright bass. It has bass treble and reverb controls on the pre-amp. It also has quite a sustain, so you might need to dampen the strings. I had the TB-10 setup by Dennis Rauen of Milwaukee Wisconsin. He filled in the floating bridge so it is now solid and he put on some great flat-wound strings. He then set the action for how I play...only upright, kind of hard Bluegrass style. I run the guitar through a Phil Jones Bass Cub 100 watt amplifier which really does a very good job as a practice amp or on stage. You can plug that amp right into your main speakers with the line-out or DI-out (either quarter inch or XLR). If I'm busking and not near electricity, I plug the amplifier into a Suaoki lithium ion battery...which will last five to six hours. When I get tired at a jam, I just drop the endpin a bit and sit down in a chair, and play very comfortably. I find that I don't have to play it very hard so it doesn't hurt my hands.
I recommend getting a cello case for the TB-10 because you need to store the long (29 3/4") bass pin. I got a Kaces cello case which does the job.
I really enjoy this Takamine TB-10 bass guitar...it's a nice alternative to my 3/4 sized upright bass. It's easy to travel with, although you do have to carry a bass amplifier and bass Stand with you. I'm also considering getting a wireless system so I don't have to mess with an instrument chord.

Poul Sandersen
www.pickinupspeed.com
Facebook: Search pickin' up speed bluegrass band and/or Libra as Poul & Linda Sandersen
 
#105
:)I see I’m late to this party. But it’s relevant, as I’ll be receiving a TB10 soon!

I actually dreamed this instrument. Have been looking at all kinds of alternatives, thinking up things like simply stringing a cello with bass strings etc. Because there used to be a 3/4 double bass in my house for years, but we could never get it to sound right in the context of the band. It was too ‘dark’. Too deep to sound good playing jazz. And so darn huge.... it was a pleasure to see the instrument I’d dreamed had already been invented, and can be had on the used market. :)

The physics of the double bass are interesting. The reason it thumps when plucking is because that big body absorbs the string energy. When bowing this is not an issue, as the bow provides continuous energy. So the box amplifies that. But plucking? It amps the pluck, then swallows the string energy.

It’s a distinctive sound indeed.
But is it desirable, aside from the reality that it is historically on so much jazz music? Yeah I know, silly question. No one arrives at the TB10 or items like it without seeking that sound, do we? lol Anyway, it occurs to me that the sustaining higher notes sound something like a bowed string - yet also sound much more like a plucked upright than like, say, my Ibanez Portamento. Which itself sounds closer to an upright than, say, an Fbass fretless does.

So I think one could say the TB10 is definitely “close enough for jazz”. And proceed as if its unique sound is desirable.
I will also, when mine arrives, try the obvious: some foam rubber at the bridge a la Jamerson. See if that makes it more ‘thumpy’ without degrading things too much.
 
#106
Mansa said:
About a year-and-a-half ago I bought a Takamine TB-10 fretless bass guitar online. I've been looking for it for about 5 years, trying to find a price that I would pay, and got what I wanted. Looking online now, I see that this guitar has skyrocketed in price.
This guitar weighs 10.251 lb or 4.65 kg (with the end pin). Because of the weight distribution of the guitar, you really can't set it down without it falling over, especially with the long base pin installed. I paired it with an Engles base stand and added PVC pipes that fit in the base stand tube legs to increase stability of the stand, otherwise, the stand would fall over... It needed to be re-engineered, so I did that.
The TB-10 has what's called a Cool Tube preamp with a tuner. You can set the guitar to sound like a hard body electric guitar or a fully upright bass. It has bass treble and reverb controls on the pre-amp. It also has quite a sustain, so you might need to dampen the strings. I had the TB-10 setup by Dennis Rauen of Milwaukee Wisconsin. He filled in the floating bridge so it is now solid and he put on some great flat-wound strings. He then set the action for how I play...only upright, kind of hard Bluegrass style. I run the guitar through a Phil Jones Bass Cub 100 watt amplifier which really does a very good job as a practice amp or on stage. You can plug that amp right into your main speakers with the line-out or DI-out (either quarter inch or XLR). If I'm busking and not near electricity, I plug the amplifier into a Suaoki lithium ion battery...which will last five to six hours. When I get tired at a jam, I just drop the endpin a bit and sit down in a chair, and play very comfortably. I find that I don't have to play it very hard so it doesn't hurt my hands.
I recommend getting a cello case for the TB-10 because you need to store the long (29 3/4") bass pin. I got a Kaces cello case which does the job.
I really enjoy this Takamine TB-10 bass guitar...it's a nice alternative to my 3/4 sized upright bass. It's easy to travel with, although you do have to carry a bass amplifier and bass Stand with you. I'm also considering getting a wireless system so I don't have to mess with an instrument chord.

Poul Sandersen
www.pickinupspeed.com
Facebook: Search pickin' up speed bluegrass band and/or Libra as Poul & Linda Sandersen
Click to expand...

Greetings…I chanced upon this thread a couple days ago amd see that you were faced with the same problem as I am; namely, a more user-friendly case for your TB-10. You apparently solved it with a cello soft case. Which model did you select and where did you buy it? Any advice appreciated. BTW, I’m in Wausau.

Thanks in advance.
Charles.
 
#108
yonatan1991 said:
Hey people . basically the Takamine TB10 come wity lines or without ? Didn't realize . Also i see differents in the prices . it's because there are differences versions? Or year?
Click to expand...

The "newer" TB10 replaced the the B10, not sure of the transition year. There are different electronics in the TB.
Both are naked slabs of striped ebony, aka macassar ebony, and have a FB radius closer to that of a DB than EBG.

B10 radius.jpg
 
#109
yonatan1991 said:
Hey people . basically the Takamine TB10 come wity lines or without ? Didn't realize . Also i see differents in the prices . it's because there are differences versions? Or year?
Click to expand...

Unless something new is available, it only comes in one unlined model.

However, there were also older versions with different model designation such as B10 and PB30 that used a different preamp, and in some instances different wood.
 
#110
Wasnex said:
Unless something new is available, it only comes in one unlined model.

However, there were also older versions with different model designation such as B10 and PB30 that used a different preamp, and in some instances different wood.
Click to expand...
https://reverb.com/item/6104899-takamine-pb30-1990-1-first-edition
Also different colour . Thanks for your answer . I will keep looking . If i will ever buy one , it will be with lines. Without , I will be completely lost.
 
#111
#115
I had one, played it and sent it back. It is beautiful. The vids have it so processed that that tone can be had from many other basses with other form factors. It's price calls for true commitment to it. I'm sure it works for some people. That's why we have choices.

Personally I wanted it to have a built in acoustic woody sound that it just didn't have. Tone I could have accentuated with eq but I don't want to make it all after the fact. My gosh it looks like it would sound great.

All of this, "In My Humble Opinion & Your Mileage May Vary."
 
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#116
I haven't had much of a chance to plug this new toy in (I'm playing after my kids go to bed) but it certainly has an amazing acoustic tone - very creamy and full. I'm guessing what you're hearing is the nature of piezo pickups. It is extremely hard to get a natural acoustic tone through a piezo.
 
#117
I’m about ready to replace the strings on my Tak TB-10. Presently strung with LaBella Deep Talkin’ tape wounds (.060 — .115). I’m very pleased with the strings and the sound. Sounds very much like a full-size upright bass with lots of sustain.

However…the G-string has always sounded pretty thin above C - and downright strident when approaching the 12th position. I’m wondering if any TBers have had a similar experience and what I might do to provide a fuller and more rounded note above C on the G-string?

As always, thanks in advance.
Charles
 

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