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TBC Blowout on their eBay store.
- Thread starter patrickshofner
- Start date
Came home to a box that UPS had put through its paces. Nice gash on one face of the box, but fortunately it was double boxed (I had my doubts with how thin the box was!) and untouched inside.
First observations: Fairly nice craftsmanship (superb for a $200 bass, no doubt). Nice grain and a pretty fast neck. Very thin neck for a guy used to Lakland and Fender 5 strings lately. Reminiscent of the Ibanez GSR200 neck I started on way back in the day. One or two of the EQ pots seem to be mounted crooked, as the knobs don't appear to be straight vertical. Also noted that the tuners seem to be mounted off to the side a bit too far, as the strings are angled to one side as they come off the nut (see pic). Electronics are a bit on the hissy side through the little GK rig and my monitors that I have next to the computer. Probably not an issue live. Definitely could use better grounding, but again, nothing major. Input jack is mounted in an odd place to me, but maybe that's where he normally puts it. Only about 3 inches down from the strap pin, so the cable sticks straight out from the butt basically. Used to it being another 3-5 inches lower than that. Action is pretty high out of the box, too. All in all it's really solid, especially for $200 bucks.
Here's a link to pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentd/sets/72157629641919822/show/
First observations: Fairly nice craftsmanship (superb for a $200 bass, no doubt). Nice grain and a pretty fast neck. Very thin neck for a guy used to Lakland and Fender 5 strings lately. Reminiscent of the Ibanez GSR200 neck I started on way back in the day. One or two of the EQ pots seem to be mounted crooked, as the knobs don't appear to be straight vertical. Also noted that the tuners seem to be mounted off to the side a bit too far, as the strings are angled to one side as they come off the nut (see pic). Electronics are a bit on the hissy side through the little GK rig and my monitors that I have next to the computer. Probably not an issue live. Definitely could use better grounding, but again, nothing major. Input jack is mounted in an odd place to me, but maybe that's where he normally puts it. Only about 3 inches down from the strap pin, so the cable sticks straight out from the butt basically. Used to it being another 3-5 inches lower than that. Action is pretty high out of the box, too. All in all it's really solid, especially for $200 bucks.
Here's a link to pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentd/sets/72157629641919822/show/
Just curious... Saw someone posted a 5 string TBC MM config bass for sale. The back of the headstock says "Designed in the USA. Handcrafted by TBC in *somewhere*, China".
As my pictures that I linked to in my previous post show, they now just say "Handcrafted in the USA". Anybody know what the difference is now?
As my pictures that I linked to in my previous post show, they now just say "Handcrafted in the USA". Anybody know what the difference is now?
That's my bass listed in the classifieds. It's really nice. I like the no-pickguard model more than the ones with the wooden 'guard.
I don't know if there are any differences, but there are references here on the foums to "quality issues" on the Chinese-made basses. I have no complaints on the quality of the one I have for sale. It's a great bass.
I've never been a fan of no-guard basses unless there was a highly figured or otherwise unique finish underneath. That's all just personal preference, though. I was just curious after seeing the back of the headstock on yours what changed in the process to go from saying handcrafted in China to handcrafted in the USA. As far as I recall reading, the bodies in the current models are still made overseas, so I was curious as to what's different now that the wording is completely different.
I'd drop Jack a line to inquire, but you know... ha
From what I've read Jack used to have an assembly shop in China where the basses that were produced were labeled as such. He then later move production back to the US and thus were branded as US Made.
Just found this thread. Emailed yesterday for availability, 400ss. No word! So should I just send money and tell him what I want? Eeek!
You should probably at least to hear some sort of confirmation from him that he still has stuff available as he's getting down to the end of his stock. You might try calling him as a better solution to email because he will most likely reply to your email and then fall off the face of the earth (which if you've read this thread, you're probably aware of).
Everyone who has sent him money without an invoice has previously heard from him that he has what they want or will reserve one for them if they let him know which they want out of what he offers them. Wouldn't advise sending anything until you at least hear some sort of confirmation from him or you'll be creating a hassle for both Jack and yourself.
+1 I was in the same boat ready to send money and hope for the best. I was glad that I got him via phone. He clearly specified that he doesn't take deposits for the mere fact that he may not be able to deliver. That's near verbatim.
I was able to get him the phone later in the day. I called 2:30pm PST. 5:30pm EST?
Well I've got mixed feelings about doing it, especially since it took so long to get hold of, but I'll likely put mine up for sale in the next week or so. Found a deal on a Lakland I'd been keeping an eye out for, so I bit. I'd rather this one not just sit in the corner and look handsome, as I know it would after this purchase, so I'll probably put it up soon along with my '08 Fender USA Jazz V. Bittersweet, I suppose. I'll post about it in here first (if that's cool) before putting it in the Classified section, as I'd rather those who have been paying attention and waiting patiently to get first dibs. Don't consider this the official on sale yet! Waiting til the Lakland comes in to confirm my love for it. ha
That really put a huge damper on things... I was really looking forward to getting one especially after having a good talk with Jack.
I really hope he's doing fine after that injury and the big move.
I really hope he's doing fine after that injury and the big move.
