Just saw this. It's unconventional. Wonder why they didn't just go with a Steinberger-style bridge and tuners? OTOH, there is some tort there for the traditionalists.
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Traveler Bass
- Thread starter ThuzzleFump
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It keeps the body shape intact.... I like it WAY more than any Steinberger I've played(not a whole lot mind you, just a few times).
It has the P tone as well. That pickup is great, I usually upgrade to the American SDs in my Fender style basses, but this Duncan Designed pup works and sounds fine!
It has the P tone as well. That pickup is great, I usually upgrade to the American SDs in my Fender style basses, but this Duncan Designed pup works and sounds fine!
Yup, don't use it as much now that I sold the NR 5 string bird with P/Js and got a IV to help with arthritis. I may put it on the block. I can pretty much cover most tones I need with the Longhorn and Tbird for basses and a Carvin MB10, Carvin MBE115, and a Rumble 2ooc(1x15). The Tbird with the high mids cranked on either amp gets me that grindy Tbird tone that fits so well with rock. All I do is roll off the tone for the rounder ballady type tunes.
The weight would only matter to me. I've wanted a Steinberger or other headless "travel" bass for a while, but I would want the lightest one out there. That would definitely get some looks and comments.
The weight of a Traveler TB-4P is 6.5 lbs. Steinbergers are ~7 lbs. Not a whole lot of difference.
I've had my Traveler guitar TB-4 for a couple of years. It does everything a bass is supposed to do, and then some. The built in pre-amp lets you plug in an MP3 player, or a Smart Phone, or a TabletPC, or any other music source and jam along with recorded music output to headphones. It's easy and convenient to take to jams, etc. (and, will start a lot of conversations with fellow musicians!) I carry a Direct Box in the gig bag. My experience with the TB-4 is that it stays in tune between gigs! I always check my tuning, but usually find that it need little or no tweaking (this attribute may be due to the fact that it is so short ans stiff). I re-strung mine with black tape nylon tape wound strings for the nice smooth feel. It's accompanied me on numerous trips and a couple of cruises. IMHO, the TB-4 is a pretty nifty item.
I tried Chromes on mine, but settled on GHS Precision wound. I use them now on all 3 basses. I used Chromes for over a decade, but due to this forum, I tried a few other strings, and these won. I don't even have a battery in mine. I got it for the scale, looks, tone, and playability. And mine was sitting in a corner for over 2 months untouched and was still in tune yesterday as I am preparing to see all the tones I can get with my equipment(3 basses 2 amps no pedals).
Love mine! I'd recommend one to anyone who flies regularly or just travels a lot. It's very compact and will easily fit on even the smallest commercial jet. I bought my TB-4P here on TB and it came with a set of flats. I restrung it with the OEM-spec D'Addario EXL 165 rounds and it sounds great. I've tried playing a Steinberger before, but the small body shape moves the neck out just a little too far to the left for my comfort. The Traveler bass rests in your lap (or hangs) almost like a full-sized bass. It's only a 32" scale, but the 1.75" nut makes it feel like a larger bass. The built-in headphone amp isn't dead silent, but easily good enough for practicing or playing along with music. The pickup, however, sounds excellent. Accessing the tuning keys isn't super-convenient and remembering which one is which takes a bit of time, but it's a fair tradeoff for the savings in size. Put it this way, when I first got mine and brought it to my local tech to be restrung, checked out, and set up, he actually winced when I pulled it out of the bag. When I went back to pick it up, he had to admit that it was really pretty good!
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Nope, traded it in some time ago. Used it a bunch of times traveling and it was perfect for that. But that was pretty much all I used it for. When home it sat in the case since I used my regular basses. I don't like to hang on to something if I don't get allot of use out of it. Overall it was a cool bass for what it was. Really only had two gripes about it. Was a bit of a pain to re-string. The tuners are not the easiest to get to when winding up a string. For regular tuning they were ok. Also I keep on finding my thumb slipping into one of the tuning holes. Other then that, it did have a good tone and played well.
I've had mine for a month now and love it. It's the only bass I have right now as I am overseas on a working holiday and my other basses are at home.
I was having trouble with thumb position and trying to keep my technique up. But I installed a Jazz bass thumb rest above the E string and Pick ups. It certainly helps.
I was having trouble with thumb position and trying to keep my technique up. But I installed a Jazz bass thumb rest above the E string and Pick ups. It certainly helps.
