Telecaster88
Tele-Afflicted
Hey all, after a lifetime of six-stringing it, a few years ago I bought a bass -- a Gretsch G2220 30" short scale (subject to much current controversy), which I love. I use it for recording. Only issue is I busted up the nerves in my strumming arm a year ago and since then playing anything without a forearm contour is painful. I ended up getting one of the Squier Mini Precision basses, which are cheap but nice 28.6" scale instruments. The Squier sounds pretty good, but it's almost too small for me. I can't quite get it to sit comfortably on my lap. So I recently went on the lookout for a short scale bass with contours but a more traditional sized body.
I was really curious about the Talman TMB30 from Ibanez, but have not been able to find one locally to try. Then this last weekend I came across this used TMB100 (full scale, but same Jaguar-type body shape as the TMB30)... for $150. Long story short, I couldn't resist the price. The offset body seems to "offset" some of the long reach to the nut end of the board, so it's not as intimidating feeling to me as a typical full-scale bass. It includes an active EQ, which I'm not fully sold on, but again, for the price I took the leap. If it doesn't work out I will sell it along or gift it to a friend.
After a few hours of playing time, my arms are a little sore, but I think more from using different muscles than I'm used to, not the nerve pain that I get from resting my forearm on a slab body. There's a little neck-dive, but I play mostly sitting so no biggie. The bass is way hotter than I'm used to, but with things at 50/50 on the balance and EQ knobs, I'm getting a nice thumpy vintage sounding bass tone, which is what I was after.
It's also an older model, in coral red, so I'm pretty sure this is a mahogany body and real rosewood board, for what it's worth. The guitar feels totally solid, with the fit and finish of a nice MIM Fender. For $150 I figured I couldn't go wrong -- so here she is (my first RED GUITAR!):
I was really curious about the Talman TMB30 from Ibanez, but have not been able to find one locally to try. Then this last weekend I came across this used TMB100 (full scale, but same Jaguar-type body shape as the TMB30)... for $150. Long story short, I couldn't resist the price. The offset body seems to "offset" some of the long reach to the nut end of the board, so it's not as intimidating feeling to me as a typical full-scale bass. It includes an active EQ, which I'm not fully sold on, but again, for the price I took the leap. If it doesn't work out I will sell it along or gift it to a friend.
After a few hours of playing time, my arms are a little sore, but I think more from using different muscles than I'm used to, not the nerve pain that I get from resting my forearm on a slab body. There's a little neck-dive, but I play mostly sitting so no biggie. The bass is way hotter than I'm used to, but with things at 50/50 on the balance and EQ knobs, I'm getting a nice thumpy vintage sounding bass tone, which is what I was after.
It's also an older model, in coral red, so I'm pretty sure this is a mahogany body and real rosewood board, for what it's worth. The guitar feels totally solid, with the fit and finish of a nice MIM Fender. For $150 I figured I couldn't go wrong -- so here she is (my first RED GUITAR!):
