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Talman or Yamaha TRBX174?

Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones

Sep 18, 2019
259
791
63
Sylacauga AL
#1
As I posted several days ago, I am new to bass but have been playing guitar rather badly since 2012. I have been researching threads, checking ebay, CL and FB marketplace to find the right first bass. As far as price and specs, these two basses appear to be at the top of the "cheap" bass heap. Which would you guys suggest I try if I play rock, hard rock and try some blues?
 
#2
Eddie Jones said:
As I posted several days ago, I am new to bass but have been playing guitar rather badly since 2012. I have been researching threads, checking ebay, CL and FB marketplace to find the right first bass. As far as price and specs, these two basses appear to be at the top of the "cheap" bass heap. Which would you guys suggest I try if I play rock, hard rock and try some blues?
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My advice is try try them both and pick the one that feels best to you. If you cannot get to a store, I’d go with the Yamaha. That is just my personal opinion.
 
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#3
I had a Talman 100 that I loved but after several gigs and rehearsals decided it just wasn't my thing. The chunky P-style neck was a little big for my hand. If you have little paws like mine, the Yamaha might be better, but I loved the Talmans sound and the neck until it got into the upper register where Inran out finger length
 
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#4
I am mainly looking at Ibanez and Yamaha. Seems like there is a lot of bang for the buck throughout the lines. Not too familiar with Washburn although years ago I had a beautiful vintage Washburn guitar that was great. Several others I may consider, Alvarez, Aria, Squier, Fernandes, and several others.
 
#5
I mentioned on the Yamaha thread that my RBX 170. ...the 174 is an upgrade ...was all the bass I would need in my lifetime. Naturally I now have others , once owning the TMB 100, the Yamaha was my preferred bass. I have short scale , Fretless, a fiver etc. The Yamaha still holds it's own.
 
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#6
I got a TRBX174 as my beginner bass a few months ago and think it's decent for that price, though I have no experience to compare it against anything else. Tone is very nice and overall build is good with a nice feel to the neck (though it's thick to me as I come from guitar) except for some obvious cost-saving issues such as:

Input jack was very tight and hence worked loose - easily fixed
Nut is sharp around the bottom edges and needed a bit of contouring
Nut slot for the A is high and needs filing down

But I had to buy blind, so if you can pick one up and get a feel for it, there's no reason why you can't avoid getting one with similar issues.
 
#7
I don't have any experience with the Talman, but the Yamaha was my first bass. I played it for 3 years at band practice and gigs.

The pros:
- feels very sturdy and durable (nothing failed while I was using it as my main bass)
- nice small body, which can be more comfortable if you're a smaller person like me
- the P pickup sounds good

The cons:
- the tuners are very cheap and imprecise (they hold tune well, though)
- the J pickup is underwhelming
- mine came with a few sharp frets (easily fixable, but still annoying)

Things to consider:
- while the neck is pretty narrow at the nut, it is quite fat front-to-back.

Overall, I was happy with it for the price, as the problems it had are typical in this price range. The Talman gets a lot of love around here, so I'm sure you wouldn't go wrong with either. Ultimately, choose the one that feels, sounds, and looks better to you.
 

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