New Gear for Valentines Day: Ibanez Talman TMB30 (short scale) Bass

For Valentines Day, I picked up an Ibanez Talman TMB30 short-scale bass in mint green (one of my favorite colors). Other than the Mikro bass that they make (which my daughter has), I didn't realize they made any other short-scale basses until I saw this one on a Youtube video.

My first bass was an Ibanez SDGR SR500 (with Bartolini pickups) and almost every Ibanez bass I've bought has been incredible right out of the box. In fact, for several years, I only played Ibanez basses because of how fast the necks were (in the SDGR series) and the quality of the instruments in general.

I bought multiple Fender basses that I was very displeased with--quality-wise--and all of them cost more than my Ibanez basses. (Until I bought my Fender Mustang bass a couple years ago, I had lost all faith in Fender.)

The Ibanez Talman Series basses start at the TMB30 model and end at the TMB2000--ranging in price from $189.99 to $1599.99

I bought mine during a sale for $179.99. I've mentioned this several times before, but up until a few ago, I wouldn't have considered buying an instrument this cheap--for the most obvious reason: you get what you pay for (usually) when it comes to instruments.

I've played basses this cheap before and 99% of the time, the quality (and sound) just didn't cut it. After starting my short-scale bass collection, however, I've started shifting my way of thinking. Does that mean that all cheap basses are quality? That's a big heck no, but some are worth taking a second glance at.

Ibanez is known for producing quality instruments--even in their lower line series, so I took a chance and put the Talman TMB30 in my Musician's Friend cart.

True to Ibanez standards, the bass arrived set up perfectly and was playable right out of the box. (I will be replacing the round wound strings with tape wounds, however).

My only complaint about this bass is the neck thickness and width.

A SDGR neck has a width of 38 mm (at the nut) and a 19.5mm thickness (at the 1st fret)--while the TMB30 has a neck width of 41mm (at the nut) and a 21.5 mm thickness (at the 1st fret). This may not seem like a big jump, but it beefs the neck up just enough to be uncomfortable for those of us with not-so-large hands (which is half the point of playing a short-scale bass). I'm not sure if this larger neck is to help balance the instrument or what...but I sure wish Ibanez would've had the neck comparable to the SDGR series.

(Spec-wise, Musician's Friend has the body of the TMB30 listed as mahogany, but when I check the Ibanez site for this bass, it says the wood is poplar, so that's what I'm going with.)

Body: Poplar
Neck: Maple
Fretboard: Jatoba
Passive Pickups: Dynamix P, Dynamix J
Scale length: 30"



(Bass demo starts at 2:31 on the video)