- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,557
- 38,701
- 5,316
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
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Fender Mustang PJ, or Ibanez Talman TMB30?
- Thread starter The Great Genius
- Start date
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,557
- 38,701
- 5,316
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Talman first impressions.
I got this with a 15% discount (+ 8% Backstage pass) at MF. That makes the final cost of the bass $140.
I am completely blown away by the bang for buck in this instrument. The bass is flawless as far as I can see. I don't know what tightness at the neck joint has to do with the quality of a bass, but I know many people are concerned with that, so I have to start by saying that the neck joint on this Talman is as tight as (or tighter), than any I've ever seen. Can't even fit a thin piece of paper in there. The neck is awesome, wider than the Mustang, but just as comfortable. I think it's a bit thinner. There are no sharp frets whatsoever. Can't cut myself even if I try. I grab my basses by the neck when I pick them up, and realized only recently that the chronic cut I have on the inner side of my right hand thumb, comes from that. Even when there are no protruding frets, the corners get me. There's none of that on this bass. It's definitely lighter than the Mustang, feels about a pound less (Sorry. Don't have a scale), and while this being another thing that doesn't matter to me - it arrived perfectly set up. I like my action real low, too. No buzzes, intonated perfectly... I think I just got lucky on that though.
That's the good
. What I'm NOT 100% on board with yet is the tone.
As others have already said here, there's lots of high end going on here. And when I roll off the highs not a whole lot seems to happen until I get down past 1/4 of the way, and then it gets a tiny little bit honky. Might sound great in a band mix, but alone in the bedroom - I'm not drooling over the sound. What I do like is that the 2 volumes works well, and I can coax some of the goooey sounds out of this that I like with my jazz bass. 2 volumes add versatility to this that the Mustang doesn't have, but I LOVE the sound of the Fender. I don't think this is going to hold up nearly as well when thrown in a band mix. It seems a bit thin sounding, and lacking right now. I might be pleasantly surprised though, and won't know till it plays a gig or 2.
It is DEFINITELY a keeper for me. Feels good enough that I might actually consider doing some upgrades if it still feels lacking a month from now. If I do any upgrades I think it'll only be pickups, a tone control, maybe some chrome knobs, and I like white pickguards on black basses. Forgot to mention that I got a black one, which looks as good as it feels.
I'm a happy camper
!
I got this with a 15% discount (+ 8% Backstage pass) at MF. That makes the final cost of the bass $140.
I am completely blown away by the bang for buck in this instrument. The bass is flawless as far as I can see. I don't know what tightness at the neck joint has to do with the quality of a bass, but I know many people are concerned with that, so I have to start by saying that the neck joint on this Talman is as tight as (or tighter), than any I've ever seen. Can't even fit a thin piece of paper in there. The neck is awesome, wider than the Mustang, but just as comfortable. I think it's a bit thinner. There are no sharp frets whatsoever. Can't cut myself even if I try. I grab my basses by the neck when I pick them up, and realized only recently that the chronic cut I have on the inner side of my right hand thumb, comes from that. Even when there are no protruding frets, the corners get me. There's none of that on this bass. It's definitely lighter than the Mustang, feels about a pound less (Sorry. Don't have a scale), and while this being another thing that doesn't matter to me - it arrived perfectly set up. I like my action real low, too. No buzzes, intonated perfectly... I think I just got lucky on that though.
That's the good
. What I'm NOT 100% on board with yet is the tone.As others have already said here, there's lots of high end going on here. And when I roll off the highs not a whole lot seems to happen until I get down past 1/4 of the way, and then it gets a tiny little bit honky. Might sound great in a band mix, but alone in the bedroom - I'm not drooling over the sound. What I do like is that the 2 volumes works well, and I can coax some of the goooey sounds out of this that I like with my jazz bass. 2 volumes add versatility to this that the Mustang doesn't have, but I LOVE the sound of the Fender. I don't think this is going to hold up nearly as well when thrown in a band mix. It seems a bit thin sounding, and lacking right now. I might be pleasantly surprised though, and won't know till it plays a gig or 2.
It is DEFINITELY a keeper for me. Feels good enough that I might actually consider doing some upgrades if it still feels lacking a month from now. If I do any upgrades I think it'll only be pickups, a tone control, maybe some chrome knobs, and I like white pickguards on black basses. Forgot to mention that I got a black one, which looks as good as it feels.
I'm a happy camper
!
I put a Dimarzio Model P pickup in my TMB (but didn't change out the J-pup). Definitely an improvement for $65, but not a game-changer. I put a used set of Deep Talkin' Flats I had laying around on it and NOW I really, really like the axe. I think the Talman was meant for flats. I tried Chromes on it first but there was too much clank to suit me. The LaBellas are the way to go. Again, just my 2 cents worth...
This is the only thread I found comparing both Talman TMB30 and Mustang. Hope you guys could post a pic of both basses side by side
I am leaning towards talman as of now because of the price, and reading the quoted comment makes me happy.
Is the upgrade to the neck pickup very straight forward? If we later want to upgrade the bridge pickup does it need to ba of the same brand? in a jazz pickups are both the neck and bridge pickup the same or there's a difference?
Thanks
I am leaning towards talman as of now because of the price, and reading the quoted comment makes me happy.
Is the upgrade to the neck pickup very straight forward? If we later want to upgrade the bridge pickup does it need to ba of the same brand? in a jazz pickups are both the neck and bridge pickup the same or there's a difference?
Thanks
Any P pickup will fit the Talman. For the J, you want a bridge pickup so the screw tabs align. (J pickups are either neck-sized or bridge-sized.) P and J don’t have to the same brand, but there are pairs that are designed to have more balanced output—to be a good match for each other. But any P and J can work.
The one catch is that the typical bridge-sized J will be slightly too wide for the Talman (despite the screw tabs lining up), which requires a little bit of sanding to widen the route by a millimeter or so on each side. A piece of sandpaper wrapped around a small square dowel did the trick pretty easily for me.
The one catch is that the typical bridge-sized J will be slightly too wide for the Talman (despite the screw tabs lining up), which requires a little bit of sanding to widen the route by a millimeter or so on each side. A piece of sandpaper wrapped around a small square dowel did the trick pretty easily for me.