I have been eyeballing these basses for months since I first saw their ad in Bass Player. They seem like an awesome deal for the money, in fact an awesome deal all the way around. My Christmas bonus is heading in this direction very soon I believe! 
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The Bass Company
- Thread starter rontalsaurus
- Start date
K
kithdotus
Guest
Like petch, I've been looking at TBC since I saw their add. I'm a new player that currently has a MusicMan SUB. I've been thinking about "upgrading" to a AP-500MJ or MM so that I can start out with a 5-string sooner rather than later. I was looking at other instruments, but they are 3 to 4 times the cost of TBC products. What do you folks think? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions that you may have.
I can see you are new and welcome, but do a search on here, there are a couple TBC (the bass company) threads, including ones with guys from the company.
Very nice pics Pasdabeer. How does it sound? I got one of the 5 string soapbars 2 weeks ago and have not been able to post pics because I am out of town. I will be headed home tomorrow so I can add to the collection.
These basses play so nice and feel and sound so good I am GASSIN' for one of those 5 string musicman basses in midnight blue.
These basses play so nice and feel and sound so good I am GASSIN' for one of those 5 string musicman basses in midnight blue.
I love it, completly, its replaced my dean that ive played for years ( over many more higher priced basses ) as my main already.
im thinking about one of the 5 string M's also.
im thinking about one of the 5 string M's also.
klocwerk said:
Sorry I did not update you guys after the rehearsal. I have not been playing at my church since I got this bass. I really want to put it through the paces in a live setting before I go anymore in depth. I have a gig Friday for a group and I have to play at my New Years Eve service. Then I have to play Sunday morning so I will have plenty of new info and pics to post. But from what I have observed and heard over the past two weeks is this bass is a winner.
Hey Darryl, what type of strings do you guys use? The are phenomenal!!!!
mine came with SIT powerrounds i belive. I dig them big time, almost as much as my Pro Steels: P
PasdaBeer is correct; we initially used SIT Powerwounds on all of our basses. Now, however, some of the newer basses are coming in with a different type of string on them. I'm unsure as to what brand they are, but I know RoBear's has SITs.
It's one of the many things I'll be updated on after I get back from my holiday. I'm in Indiana right now (my homestate). It's cold compared to LA.
^^^
you..are a ****ing god send
this sounds ********, but whats the tonal difference between the single coil pickups and your "vintage" soapbars? i've never really looked into soapbars before, but these basses are getting me really tempted to.
i have a few qeustions about your JT models. will i have to pay extra money for an active/passive switch? what are the knobs/active EQ set up like on the JT? and will it be possible to get different colored pickguards for the basses? any other colors on the bass? or just the color on the pictures on the site?
you..are a ****ing god send
this sounds ********, but whats the tonal difference between the single coil pickups and your "vintage" soapbars? i've never really looked into soapbars before, but these basses are getting me really tempted to.
i have a few qeustions about your JT models. will i have to pay extra money for an active/passive switch? what are the knobs/active EQ set up like on the JT? and will it be possible to get different colored pickguards for the basses? any other colors on the bass? or just the color on the pictures on the site?
Darrell...still waiting on the active/passive switches so i can buy.....hurry oh on the JJ or MJ model for me.
oh on the JJ or MJ model for me.That's not ********, it's a good question! Our pickups are described as 'vintage' because they were all modeled after older pickups. Jack designed them all, and during that process he took certain pickups (using both his judgment and the judgment of several prominent bass players) and replicated the wire, winds, etc. to get as accurate a result as possible.
As a stock response, we basically say that our soapbar pickups are simiar to EMGs (though I couldn't tell you what type), as they have a more modern sound, and seem quieter to me than single-coils. In my opinion, they also seem to have a warmer tone, but I'm merely pulling this from memory as I haven't played one in over a week. Robear may be able to shed some light as to how they sound.
Yes, although we haven't put a price on it quite yet, modding the basses would require enough work that we would have to charge extra.
There are 5 knobs: three are set into the pickguard, and these are the active EQ: bass, mid, and treble. Two are set into the body, and these are the volume/blend knobs.
As of right now, only the two colors on the website are available. However, Jack will definitely be offering different colors as custom options in the near future after the custom shop is operational.
I am--I promise! I'm currently waiting on the preamp schematics from Jack, but it will be soon. I want to install one on my own bass, so I have a vested interest.
Darrell, it is great to have you here at TB. I have some questions about the JT-400 SS and JT-400 JJ models.
In regards to the basses on your Ebay store, why are the pickguards on the SS and JJ models different? Specifically, bottom of the pickguard. On the JJ models the pickguard follows the bottom edge of the body, but on the SS models the edge of the pickguard gets further away from the edge of the body as it goes back toward the control knobs. Is there a reason for this? I prefer the look of the JJ style pickguard. I have seen pictures in this post of a JT-500 SS with a pickguard that follows the body contour. Your TBC website shows the JT-400 SS without a pickguard. What's the deal? Is there a standard design or are things still being changed?
How much room is there between the strings and the pickguard on a JT? I like a little space there for popping technique.
How thick is the pickguard and how much does it stand out from the body?
In regards to the basses on your Ebay store, why are the pickguards on the SS and JJ models different? Specifically, bottom of the pickguard. On the JJ models the pickguard follows the bottom edge of the body, but on the SS models the edge of the pickguard gets further away from the edge of the body as it goes back toward the control knobs. Is there a reason for this? I prefer the look of the JJ style pickguard. I have seen pictures in this post of a JT-500 SS with a pickguard that follows the body contour. Your TBC website shows the JT-400 SS without a pickguard. What's the deal? Is there a standard design or are things still being changed?
How much room is there between the strings and the pickguard on a JT? I like a little space there for popping technique.
How thick is the pickguard and how much does it stand out from the body?
Hello all,
Got this today and have been playing and tweaking it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7372443191&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
Let me give you my initial impressions of this bass.
It was double boxed and packed very well. It includes a nice certificate of authenticity with the particulars (date, model, and ser. #) hand written and signed by Jack Wilson. Nice touch!!
Fit and finish are exceptional and the wood selection is beautiful, nicely figured swamp ash body, 3 peice maple neck, and Pao Ferro fingerboard. Both the neck and body have a nice satin finish which appeals to me. If you are looking for a "mile deep" gloss finish, this is not for you. I did not put it on a scale but, I would say that is weighs in at 7 or 8 pounds.
Out of the box, the action and intonation were set up well however, the neck had a little too much negative relief and buzzed a little. I backed off the truss rod a 1/4 turn with the enclosed cut off allen key and retuned..... no buzz. In all fairness, this came across country from California to Michigan in the winter so I expected to adjust it to my climate and taste. This neck feels great, very similar to a Fender Jazz. The fretwork is good with no sharp edges. I am curious to see how stable the neck will be over time but, so far, so good.
Now for the tone. Because this is a dual HB pup version a la Stingray, I A/B'd it against my SR4 3EQ to see how close I could get to that sound. I have to say, apart from a slightly different boost in the mid range control, it is almost spot on to my SR4. Pan to the neck pickup (nice pan pot with detent) and a whole other world of tone appears. I have not played a HH Ray yet but I would suspect a similar sound, that Ray bite with more bottom and low end overtones. Oh, by the way, this thing is dead quiet, even with the treble EQ cranked. I was able to get a slight buzz out of it with the treble maxed and not touching the strings but, as soon as I put my hands on, it went away. Very impressive!
I own a bunch of different basses and there is no way I would guess the price for this instrument would be $400.00. Clearly, IMHO, this has to be one of the "biggest bangs for the buck" I have seen. A gigging pro would have no issues with this bass and a beginner would have an instrument that would take them through many years of learning and developing. I need to see how this bass sounds on a live gig before I go too nuts but my SR4 sounds great and this is very, very close.
Let's see how the test of time goes on this one but, unless there is a hidden time bomb inside, this will be in my stable for a long time.
Got this today and have been playing and tweaking it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7372443191&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
Let me give you my initial impressions of this bass.
It was double boxed and packed very well. It includes a nice certificate of authenticity with the particulars (date, model, and ser. #) hand written and signed by Jack Wilson. Nice touch!!
Fit and finish are exceptional and the wood selection is beautiful, nicely figured swamp ash body, 3 peice maple neck, and Pao Ferro fingerboard. Both the neck and body have a nice satin finish which appeals to me. If you are looking for a "mile deep" gloss finish, this is not for you. I did not put it on a scale but, I would say that is weighs in at 7 or 8 pounds.
Out of the box, the action and intonation were set up well however, the neck had a little too much negative relief and buzzed a little. I backed off the truss rod a 1/4 turn with the enclosed cut off allen key and retuned..... no buzz. In all fairness, this came across country from California to Michigan in the winter so I expected to adjust it to my climate and taste. This neck feels great, very similar to a Fender Jazz. The fretwork is good with no sharp edges. I am curious to see how stable the neck will be over time but, so far, so good.
Now for the tone. Because this is a dual HB pup version a la Stingray, I A/B'd it against my SR4 3EQ to see how close I could get to that sound. I have to say, apart from a slightly different boost in the mid range control, it is almost spot on to my SR4. Pan to the neck pickup (nice pan pot with detent) and a whole other world of tone appears. I have not played a HH Ray yet but I would suspect a similar sound, that Ray bite with more bottom and low end overtones. Oh, by the way, this thing is dead quiet, even with the treble EQ cranked. I was able to get a slight buzz out of it with the treble maxed and not touching the strings but, as soon as I put my hands on, it went away. Very impressive!
I own a bunch of different basses and there is no way I would guess the price for this instrument would be $400.00. Clearly, IMHO, this has to be one of the "biggest bangs for the buck" I have seen. A gigging pro would have no issues with this bass and a beginner would have an instrument that would take them through many years of learning and developing. I need to see how this bass sounds on a live gig before I go too nuts but my SR4 sounds great and this is very, very close.
Let's see how the test of time goes on this one but, unless there is a hidden time bomb inside, this will be in my stable for a long time.
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i knowticed mine has a bit of buzz on it, but its also a single coil in front, so expected.
I did my first full band setting practice with it the other day, and must say, very impressive showing, expecialy for the price, and light as a feather.
im waiting for the fretless to come out, then deffintly picking up a M/M fretless 5 and a M 5
I did my first full band setting practice with it the other day, and must say, very impressive showing, expecialy for the price, and light as a feather.
im waiting for the fretless to come out, then deffintly picking up a M/M fretless 5 and a M 5
Darrell,
First thank you for all the advice and help here. This is what makes this and other forums so valuable. I too am interested in having a active passive switch. My thoughts..although I am sure this has been discussed by the company...is to use the same knob layout but have one of the pots be a on/off push/pull type. This would eliminate the adding of another switch to an already very attractive layout. Do you have an idea when these might be available?
Tom
Cape Cod
First thank you for all the advice and help here. This is what makes this and other forums so valuable. I too am interested in having a active passive switch. My thoughts..although I am sure this has been discussed by the company...is to use the same knob layout but have one of the pots be a on/off push/pull type. This would eliminate the adding of another switch to an already very attractive layout. Do you have an idea when these might be available?
Tom
Cape Cod
I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a TBC - I'm just holding off until they open up again tomorrow for the new year.
Has anyone else played a TBC recently? Any further comments/criticism/praise to add to this already detailed thread?
I'm specifically interested in a 5 string, either the dual humbucker AP-500MM or the dual soapbar JT-500SS. Of course, the single humbucker "M" is such a screaming deal at $349 for the five string that I could be swayed that way, too. Based on their ebay page I suspect they are out of stock on the soapbar 5's, so that may help me with my decision.
-- Rob
Has anyone else played a TBC recently? Any further comments/criticism/praise to add to this already detailed thread?
I'm specifically interested in a 5 string, either the dual humbucker AP-500MM or the dual soapbar JT-500SS. Of course, the single humbucker "M" is such a screaming deal at $349 for the five string that I could be swayed that way, too. Based on their ebay page I suspect they are out of stock on the soapbar 5's, so that may help me with my decision.
-- Rob
