• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

TBC Blowout on their eBay store.

#584
RockFistMusic said:
Bob, I was hunting that one but it took 3 days to get a response and by the time they responded you grabbed it!

If you let er go down the line let me know I'll try it out, we are close too.

BEST!
Click to expand...

Oh man! I sensed it was jump now or miss it (and that is what I told my wife after the deed was done). I will keep you in the loop if and when I give er the boot. (the bass, not the wife - the latter is a keeper) :-)
 
#586
Anybody interested in trading something with a fatter neck than my single humbucker 4 string with wine colored pickguard. It truly is a great bass but all 1.5" nut 4 stringers, be they jazzes or sterlings, eventually move to a new owner. Tell me what you have.
 
#587
Bass delivered this evening.

First impressions - not bad for a $300 bass, not great. Neck is very thin front to back, feels good, low action. Preamp is OK, nothing special. Bridge and tuners seem excellent. Strings are not that great, will be changed soon. Pots are crappy - one of the preamp control pots really barks when you adjust - maybe even a bad solder joint? The finish is OK, unexceptional.

The sound? Well, nothing that knocks me over yet - we'll see when I put some new strings on.
 
#589
Hi I'm the guy who bought the assets of TBC. The Basses on ebay are being sold by Jack Wilson the owner of TBC.
I will be liquidating parts soon.

Here is the deal.

About 1-1/2 to 2 years ago, I bought the assets to TBC. Sold the Ken Smith ( my Avatar), and several other great basses to try and make this happen. I thought they were fun basses and had wanted to get into the industry. My Father was an investor/ partner.
I come from the machine trades (currently working as a Welding estimator). Dad is a retired Master Machinist. The Plan was to refine the TBC design as well as upgrade the electronics and hardware and offer the basses under the name Milan Bass Works ( as Dad is located in Milan Tennessee. they would be rough assembled by Dad. and I would do the fit and finish in Illinois. Eventually I wanted to offer original designs as well as a modern super J as a premium instrument under my name Cody Electric basses. I was in talks with Audere, Duncan, Moses Graphite and others.
However things didn't quite go to plan. Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's and while working on a project cut off two fingers. I did sell about 4 TBC design basses as Cody Electric Basses to friends ect. as well as parts to a few guys here on TB. Dad became more and more upset with the business as I was unhappy with the quality of some of the instruments and refused to sell them, until I felt they were an improvement over what was previously offered by Jack. Dad just couldn't move past the quantity is more important than quality mindset of a grinding shop. Jack and I had a gentlemen's agreement that He would ship the remaining stock, which I was assured was back ordered and already had been purchased within a month of when we purchased the equipment. This did not happen.
With Dad's condition and the fact that mentally he was struggling, I sought to bring up the machinery, but could not afford rent on a suitable workshop, so I began to seek to sell the equipment off and use those funds to set up a small CNC and work shop.
Dad, much to my dismay started selling on Ebay under Milan Bass Works.
All the while waiting for Jack to close up shop.
Dad becoming falling further and further into the grips of depression sold ( gave away) the equipment at a very substantial loss.
This last weekend I went down and picked up what is left and will be SERIOUSLY blowing out parts. I'm hoping to get a small CNC and start over.
The TBC basses are a solid value at there original list price and a steal and Jack blow out price. They're decent basses, and with a few upgrades and tweaking by a solid luthier or builder could be a very nice bass.
______________
 
#590
I think it will make a solid modding platform for a long-term project bass.

The evaluation of the finish I'll need to downgrade to sub-par. It was not sanded with sufficiently high enough grit prior to finishing.

The bass is clearly inferior in quality to most SX basses, (I've had several), which cost less.
 
#592
Wow Bob, sorry to hear I would have put the TBC's I've owned on par with SX / Mexi Fenders, old peavey ect. The Bass was made almost completely by hand mostly on a pin router. Which means you have to have a steady hand and good forms. It also means each instrument will be slightly different. On the few ones I did we were using the same company that mfgs EMG HZ Pickups and there 3 band Pre (a bit of a battery hog, but it sounded great.) To compare a USA handmade instrument to a China mass produced really isn't fair. I always said that they were better than a Wish (for about the same money) and not quite a Carvin (although getting them to that point was the goal, maybe even with higher grade electronics)
 
#593
that's kind of realdrag. let us know as you proceed back in the business. Always open to some new builders and designs. We actually spoke early on as i had and still have some wood i have been collecting/ holding for years and it is finally clear i will never to do much with it other than resell or barter for woodworking skills as mine are not that good and time is even less.
 
#594
davec said:
Wow Bob, sorry to hear I would have put the TBC's I've owned on par with SX / Mexi Fenders, old peavey ect. The Bass was made almost completely by hand mostly on a pin router. Which means you have to have a steady hand and good forms. It also means each instrument will be slightly different. On the few ones I did we were using the same company that mfgs EMG HZ Pickups and there 3 band Pre (a bit of a battery hog, but it sounded great.) To compare a USA handmade instrument to a China mass produced really isn't fair. I always said that they were better than a Wish (for about the same money) and not quite a Carvin (although getting them to that point was the goal, maybe even with higher grade electronics)
Click to expand...

I think the bones are good, but the finished product is not gig-ready IMO (unlike some SX basses which I would and have gigged stock).
 
#595
Sorry to hear what you've been going through Bob.

As with any handmade product, there will be infinite variations. It's not a CNC made bass. Mine has been stellar. The pro bassists that have played mine have been knocked out by sound and playability. Your mileage may vary.
 
#596
Epidrake said:
Sorry to hear what you've been going through Bob.

As with any handmade product, there will be infinite variations. It's not a CNC made bass. Mine has been stellar. The pro bassists that have played mine have been knocked out by sound and playability. Your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...

Same here for the most part. Everyone that has played my JT500-MM can't believe that it's a $300 bass. The French polish finish on mine is very well done and the neck is excellent. When I got mine the setup was not great and the nut was not good. There were also a few high spots on some of the frets. The first order of business was to get it into the shop for a full setup and new bone nut. It now plays like a dream. Only other 5-strings that I've played that I can compare it to are Laklands.

I also replaced the stock preamp with a BassMods 18v active/passive preamp (which I've since modified to 9v because the output was just too hot with the MM pickups). This was a nice upgrade over the stock electronics, but I'm looking at replacing this with an ACG filter preamp so it gives me something different than boost/cut at a set frequency, which I can do with the preamp stage on my amp. I also plan on replacing the original pickups with Nordstrands at some point soon. Last night I also swapped out the original tuning machines for some Hipshot Ultralite cloverleafs (more for personal preference, but also a bit of an upgrade from both a weight and tuning stability/adjustment standpoint). I only wish that Hipshot made tuners with the black nickel finish, as I really like that.

All in all, I've got about $600 in this bass at this point, and plan on putting about $300 or so more in w/ pickups and preamp. When finished I should have less than $1000 into the bass and the components, playability, and tone will rival basses costing more than 2-3 times as much. I'll have basically a custom, hand-made bass and I'm very happy with that! :D
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back