Ibanez Talman TMB30 Short Scale Bass - Budget Shorty Comes Up a Bit Short - LowEndLobster Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.พ. 2023
- Looking to snag one of these basses? Use my Reverb affiliate link!- reverb.grsm.io/lowendlobster
Ibanez Talman TMB30: www.ibanez.com/na/products/de...
Hey everyone! Today we're going to be reviewing the Ibanez Talman TMB30, the short scale entry level Talman bass from Ibanez!
This bass and all my other basses with rounds are strung with SIT Foundation Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-105(125) unless otherwise noted. Check them out at sitstrings.com/
Info on my signal chain, setup and more: • Lobster's Filming & Re...
Discord: discord.gg/dzrFMzD
Facebook: LowEndLobster
Instagram: LowEndLobster
Reverb Shop: reverb.com/shop/lowendlobster - เพลง
Always great reviews and very helpful to see weight plus possible head dive being discussed.
Only 2 out of 5. I was surprised. I bought a TMB30 in 2020 when they were $179. I absolutely love mine. It is a little neck heavy but not bad with a good strap. I have a Fender Mustang MIM also and totally prefer the TMB30 to the Fender. In the almost 3 years I've had it the neck has not moved, so very stable so far. I've compared it to a friends Music Man short scale and prefer this Ibby to it. Its not a flashy bass, but I think its a great buy on the money. In 40 years of playing, Its one of my favorite short scales (I mainly play 34's).
This guy is a clown, a typical high end brand snob. I've had my TMB30 for over a year and it's a fantastic bass for the money.
I love the look and sound of this bass. Change the tuners and tone pot and it's all set. Lovely.
Love my TMB30, feels great and the price was right on. Thanks for the review Lobster.
Thank you so much for reviewing this bass. I had been curious about this one as I am searching for the perfect (for me) short scale. Just returned a Danelectro 59 Short Scale bass. What a piece of......Well, QC was terrible! The bridge with it's 3 screws was not even screwed down to the body. Had many other issues too. the search continues....
Thanks Lobster!
Jeremy
I have had the mint green one since 2021 and love it now. When I first got it, I strung it with D'Adarrio flatwounds, and it never wanted to intonate and stay in tune. Then sometime last year, it finally intonated and now it stays in tune very well. The neck has a perfect feel to me, and with the flatwounds it sounds different, and I use it in church plugged into a Sansamp in a modern sounding context and I love it! I also had a rough time with neck dive, but I adjusted the strap at a certain length that I don't notice it anymore, but I also always rest my right forearm on the bass, so it's no problem at all.. It is definitely more than just a ¨beginner's" instrument if you set it up well and play well, of course. And the only thing I changed was the volume knobs into normal size knobs, but keeping the tone knob the same mini size.
Thank you for reviewing this little bass. I've had mine for awhile now, and I really don't mind it at all. My biggest beef is the huge ugly headstock. It is what it is. I will be honest, I wasn't too pleased with the tone either, so I swapped out the stings for some short scale Dunlop Flatwound 45/105. The tone was way better. Strings do make a difference, and with a low end bass like the TMB30, you're not going to expect too much. You're probably right, there are perhaps better options out there. I purchased mine when COVID was going strong which made it difficult for me, considering my health issue, to go out and play any short scale basses that were available. To be honest, this is the very first instrument I have purchased online without trying first. I could have perhaps found something better, but for the price point and that I didn't get a chance to try any out before purchasing, I'm happy with it. Until I can save up and become a full fledged member of the "heavy wallet brigade 😊, the TMB30 will stay. One thing I really enjoy about your videos, is that you say it as it is. You're the least biased reviewer on TH-cam, and that's a huge reason why I enjoy your channel. Keep'm coming. You are great!
Excited for that short scale comparison
I have the 5 string version, it’s a great piece of kit! Great build quality and sounds great with stock pick ups
Thank you for another great review!
I’ve been very impressed with the talman range. I’d definitely recommend them for new players.
Hey Lobster! Just got this one a couple of days ago. But in mint green. I can’t believe how much I actually like it. It sounds amazing to me and feels like a relief from a long scale.
After spending a small fortune on fender basses I really did not want this bass to sound as good as them but it does🤨
@@zibbezabba2491 I hear ya. My TMB30 sounds and plays better than my Fender Mustang.
@@sunn_bass Yes I fully agree. with you, I bought one over the mustang, even to I could afford the Mustang. I upgraded the pickups for Seymor Duncan QP's and the bridge for a Usa made Wilkinson one, and it still came in $120 cheaper than the Fender. Also it feels more solid to play.
I felt the same. I came from years of playing guitar until I injured my thumb on the left hand a number of years ago. It's developed into tendonitis and whenever I would play chords, my thumb would start hurting. I decided to start playing bass, and discovered how much I enjoyed it. Especially with no pain. I tried the full scale, but it felt a little odd, so-to-speak. I soon discovered that the short scale bass was a much better fit considering the years of playing guitar. I took a chance by ordering the TMB30 online during COVID because of being quarantined. I was pleasantly surprised. Right out of the box, nothing to adjust except change out the strings. The sound just wasn't there with the stock strings. So, why purchase an expensive, and in many cases, over priced bass when this one serves up a very pleasant playing experience.
I just painted my Mint Greet TMB35 in this super funky nail polish - Cupcake Polish - SO badass now and changes colors.
Still digging the channel, baby. Fave is your coral sparkle MM Stingray. Gold hardware , right? ooooh. Wow what a stunner!!! haha cheers to the Lobster bass king!
First off Donny Rules!!! That bass did sound really bright and spanky for a P-style short scale. Tone off did sound coolish but I, like you, would like to hear some variation in tone with that control other than full spank and tone all off. I'm looking forward to the comparison video with the Harley Benton Mustang(ish) shorty. I have that bass, now with the with the push/pull pot mod. you provided in that video. Thanks for doing that video but on a side note I had my more experienced guitar/amp tecky buddy do the mod. with me and we couldn't figure out what to do with the 2 wires coming from the tone pot but he figured it out eventually. We couldn't find in the video where you explained that. All is good now and that mod. really helped increase the tone versatility having now the ability to solo the P-pickup!
I love it. I agree it has a bit of neckdive but that's all I could find to nitpick about. I have 3 Fender basses including a limited edition precision (PJ type) and I honestly think this sounds as good as any of them. I was so impressed with it I bought a 5 string version too. The price? £139 for the 4 string, £160 for the 5 string. Both brand new. That was a year ago. The prices on these seem to have gone up a bit for some reason but you can still get a new one for around the £150 mark if you shop around.
I really like these little Talman Basses. It was the first bass I bought when I started playing bass, having already played guitar for well over 30 years. I think the brightness of the pickups were one thing that I actually liked about it when transitioning from guitar to bass. It took my ears a year or more to start "hearing" what some of you bass players were talking about when you described different bass tones. I don't think I could hear some of the low frequencies well when I started bass. I have one of the older TMB30's with mahogany body and rosewood fretboard. They feel much more "solid" than the new ones I have played in the store. Mine is balanced way better than yours. The thing I love most is the string spacing. Jazz bass type spacing on a short scale feels cramped to me, and P-bass spacing feels too far apart. This one lies somewhere in the Goldilocks zone in between. My favorite neck of any of my now too-many basses.
I think this is a great bass, I enjoy a lot with it with no problem at all.
I just got a new one and after set up, I love it
Hey man! Thank you for the video! Although you said it is not a great instrument, the sound is good OR you are just really good at mixing your sound. I'll take a look on other of your videos! :-)
Got the TMB35. Shortest 5 I’ve ever played! Sounds just fine…
I have a TMB35 and think it's fantastic
Despite the low rating it seems to be a very satisfying bass for the audience they aimed at: people who are into vintage style, comfortable short scale and punchy but not too aggressive PJ sound. I think Ibanez is keeping up with their high quality budget friendly standards, and this could be a great buddy if you make minor adjustments like installing a tone knob, and you'll be really good to go. I liked it, I'd give it a 3 in my rating system, but Lobster knows his business, if it's about reliable, critical and unbiased bass reviews, it's about Lobster. Great video.
I have every incarnation of the Talman series and honestly I have to say I love my 30 w/ flats the most.Last year I had carpal tunnel,(both hands)surgery and two trigger finger releases on my fret hand,(bad year). After that was done shorties were my gigging "Go to" basses. My current drug of choice is my gloss black Danelectro longhorn short scale that sounds amazing. My Talman is supposed to be made of Mahogany,(at least that's what it says) and sounds great to my ears.
I originally bought this two years ago (the all black one) during the first lockdown and I seriously wanted to like it, but the neck diving, the fake tone switch and the huge volume difference (it was a common production issue for that year, for what I saw) between the P and the J pickups forced me to send it back. It was very well built and nice looking, in every case.
These have a lot fans, and though I don't own one, I've always found the tone pretty great, and pretty distinctive when other people are playing them. They have a really big sound. I'm always skeptical of Jaguar/Jazzmaster body shapes on basses because of the weight distribution, though.
Slap a high mass bridge, some import ultralight tuners, and a new tone pot on it, and it'll groove.
Love mine. Perfect string spacing, wonderful neck profile, sounds great and has zero neck dive. Beats the pants off any other short scale I've tried, including many mustangs. Horses for courses.
It's such a great affordable package. I only wish it was an SR bass and not a Talman, just not a big fan of the shape.
@@Unchainedmaple888get the mikro
Bought this 3 years ago as my first bass. Chose this because I wanted a short scale, and this is the only one I can find in my city. Did not notice the neck dive, but overall it was pretty heavy. Neck is wide but still comfortable to play. Strange thing about this bass is on certain days it sounded great I could play for hours, on other days it sounded so dull I stopped after a few songs.
I know what you mean about the bass sounding good on some days ...and dull on others. I have basses with good and bad days as well.... seriously. I have 3 Ibanez basses.....I love the way that the Soundgear basses feel and play ...I think Lobster's bass in this video could be having a "meh" day ....LOL...I thought it sounded decent...and usable... especially for the money.
Hi Lobster, loved the review, shame you didn't get on with it too much. I agree on the neck dive, it's bad. I have one and love it, (altho I swopped out the pickups for Quater pounders and the bridge for a Wilkison one before I took it home) - yeah it was too bright sounding- . And have gigged it at both a punk and regie show.
I now have mine strung with 60 to 130 gauge strings and tuned it D to B. For full darkness .
I wish there was an in between tone using the tone knob. I’m a fan of these basses but it’s nice to know that they’re a good upgrade platform.
Love your reviews and I'm really surprised at this one! My TMB 30 was kind of rough out-of-box, and came with the worst strings I have ever seen, but after some set-up work it actually has become my go to bass for gigs and rehearsals. I guess I never noticed the neck dive because I'm always standing when I play this bass (and I use a wide strap), but I just tried it sitting and sure enough, mine dives like yours. I think the thing that bothered me the most when I got it was razor sharp edges/points on the pickup and nut, but that was easily taken care of with a file. My tone knob also works normally, so maybe they are using different parts now??? Looking forward to any mods you might do with this bass!
Impressed by the tone. I’m sure it would kill with replacing the stock strings, tuners and tone pot. Pickups sound decent. As long as the fret edges aren’t “pokey” and you have a strap that can fight neck dive- it’s not a bad value overall.
Love the Donny B Tshirt!
Good looking bass sound okay fine for beginners enjoy !
I have just brought this bass and to be honest straight out of the box the fret buzz was horrendous I was going to send it back , but I decided to have a go and set it up I loosened the truss rod set the sting height and the intonation the guitar couldn't be sweater it plays in tune with a nice action, found I had to lower the pickups for a better sound ,I do find it versatile as you can blend the pickups and i do find the tone knob does work ,I found the fit and finish was great for a budget guitar but maybe later on I will change the pickups and pot then it will be a truly great bass for the money
Perfect bass for a Geezer pickup set.
I've had a TMB30 since 2017. I'm a guitar player that occasionally needs a Bass for recording. I had a Fender Precision Bass, but since I'm a lazy Bassist that got tired of my lousy fretting of notes on a 34" scale Bass. A short scale sounded right to me. I don't need a Bass too often. I didn't want to spend a small fortune on a instrument. This Ibanez seem to fit the bill. I might add my TMB30 Came with a Rosewood Fretboard. I totally agree with your review. Neck dive is awful. I struggle with tone, tone control is terrible. The neck is good. I put a set of La Bella Flats on. I strictly use the neck pickup, I'm able to work with it. I would like to get a better Bass, maybe a Squier Rascal. Thanks for your reviews!
Love you have short scale bass videos I play a fender Mustang limited edition black out bass with geezer emg I learned to install from you your awesome my favorite show ever
Suggestion for a mod:
Slap in a decent 2band eq, swap neck pu volume for a p/p to go passive, swap the bridge pu vol fir a p/p to go out of phase. And finally.... Hardwire a capacitor to the passive option so u have an instant vintage sound switch.
Also: high mass bridge + some light weight tuners, adding sec. Locks wont hurt either
The P pick up / dark tone was the best sound from this one. Just a tone pot mod and it's good to go.
Its a Big Butt Jag Paul.
I got one with a chip on it new.... for $140.00 in the same cream color. Happy with the bass and the price. It seems they were closing out the cream color. That color didn't show up on the Ibanez site. I see your point and have not played mine in a while and don't recall the tone being so on or off. I need to revisit that. Could be a bad pot. Remember new Bass players don't have much opinion on some of your points if they have only played one or two.
Just received a black one. Found some hum through my Fender Rumble. After isolating it through my Vox Amphones found the only the J pickup was the culprit.
hey man, love your stuff... Think you could review the Vintage v4 p bass from Wilkinson's company, it's been my main bass for years and I think it's very underrated.
Man I would love to see you review the GSR100EX. Nobody has done a good review on one!
I think the shape is cool and the head stock isn't the worst. I have had the chance to check them out but couldn't handle the thick neck . If they took it down from the tree trunk that it was I'd get one
I bought the 5 string version (is it TMB35?) when I was searching for a short scale. I really find some very usable tones with it. I later purchased Spector Bamtam series, 32 inch scale.
The Spector is quite a high quality instrument, but I never bothered to sell the TMB since it cost so little and sounds quite pleasing, to my ear. Thanks for the review.
I was pretty impressed with this bass; i tried a few next to each other and they differed in weight and tone but both sounded great in my opinion and i'm not sure what you mean by the tone being an on/off switch; i had no problems with the tone knob. At this price i think this bass is a steal
For a lil budget Bass, you are getting a really nice tone, I think.
That neck dive is the deal killer for me. I’d like a short scale as it’s handy sitting at a desk with space restrictions but the dive would defeat the purpose
I've been playing this little beast for about a month now in a loud band (post-punk styled), and it holds up really well. With the tone fully up and both pickups engaged to the max it has quite some power. Add some boost/overdrive to the mix (and maybe go a bit lower with the J-pickup) and you have some serious business going on
Same. I'm also using this in my post-punk band, it sounds great for brighter sounds. It also does well with some echo and delay effects.
I have the TMB30 as back then no real alternative existed on the market - I have also quite mixed feelings about it. If I would buy now and being located in Germany I would definitely buy the Gotoh Shortscale from Harley Benton (and add a balance pot to be perfectly happy). The TMB30 is not bad but it was 150 bucks when I bought it - now the inflation corrected price and the available alternatives makes it much less attractive than some years ago.
Just bought one of these partly based on viewing this demo, thanks. I agree that the neck dive is not cool. IMO the pickups are indeed bright sounding but still decent. I plan to swap them out for some EMG HZ passives at some point (EMG pickup user for over 30 years). Nitpicks notwithstanding the TMB30 is a very playable and musical instrument as-is. Given its very approachable price point I'd rate it only slightly higher than you (around 3 out of 5).
sounds so good for a short scale wow. is there anything better for the pricepoint?
It does sound good for a short scale budget bass. I have a 600 model with Nordstrands. It’s very versatile with the passive switch and I do like the look. The ash body does help the balance but also makes it quite heavy.
I have that model as well. Love the sound but it's a boat anchor that I won't bring on gigs which is too bad.
@@TheChef470 Same for me. I did half a dozen gigs with it but they were long 3 hrs on the left shoulder.
I wish the J pickup was bridge size to put the GZR set in it, but I upgraded my TMB100 (same pickups) with Nords & love that bass.
Great Review. I just reviewed the TMB-100....my experience with it was also "Meh" lol
I modded mine with different pickups and preamp. Let me know if you want to compare it.
Unfortunate about the hit or miss quality of the electronics -- my neck pickup volume pot has the same on/off "feature" as your tone knob. I say unfortunate because otherwise it is one hell of a short-scale bass. Doesn't feel small or cheap in my hands. That's important. And I really like the full PJ tone with some EB cobalt flats. But that Ibanez (lack of) QC makes this something less than a daily driver for me. Thanks for another accurate review.
This is one of my favorite basses, but I did swap the pickups, electronics, and tuners, converted to fretless, and installed flatwounds. I really don't remember if it sounded good stock, because I bought it just for modding. It's a great body and neck for a fun project!
Hi I’m thinking of putting flats on mine. What make did you use?
@@paulstaniford7602 Thomastik-Infeld JF324
I'm really happy with the playability of my TMB35. But I'll be putting flatwounds on it to give it a more classic bass tone.
I may also swap out the tuners for smaller and lighter Hipshots, to improve the neck dive.
I got a TMB35 too and love it. I have been flirting with the idea of flats on it...any suggestions on brands to consider?
@@simbome I always go back to the Labella Deep Talkin Flats, can definitely recommend them
This was my first short scale bass. I put flat wounds on it, got a good setup and it sounded good with jazz tunes. Recently sold it after 5 users of use and upgraded to Sire U5 short scale.
@@smop much appreciated, I'll check those out
@@simbome There's a TH-cam video of a guy playing it with Dunlop SS Flats which has the tone I'm after.
I love the content Lobster! What if someone added a G&L MFD J style pickup to an L-1000? What do you think it sound like? This is my plan on my current bass build, Id love to hear your thoughts.
Probably want to get a suede strap with those, baby. Like with SG guitars. Yep.
Its an excellent bass for home recording if u have amp plugins.
Instead of flatwounds , try some black nylon tapewounds, preferably labellas , feel and sound better to me than flats any day
your cat is so neet, I have the same in black colour :)
Flats of any kind will make a big improvement on that bass.
I put them in mine and loved the sound
You mentioned other good options for a budget shortscale. What would those be with a P-config? Thanks.
Are you going to review the Ibanez miKro GSRM20 bass guitar some time? It's even shorter scale than the TMB30 and there are a few reviews on TH-cam saying how great it is. It would be interesting to see a review by a pro or somebody with a more jaded eye. I don't think any of these say anything about neck dive which came up for the Talman TMB30 in the review. (At least one written review says it does not have that problem.) It looks like it has fairly chunky tuners though.
One of those reviews refers to "best bass ever" in the title; but it appears the bass is fairly similar to the TMB30 minus the neck dive but with some big QC issue that meant the reviewer had to have his bass replaced by the company.
I want to see Sterling SUB mods with 5-strings. I don’t think I’ve seen you do any yet.
I really like this one! Why aren't the TMB100 passive? Short scales feel weird to me.
I have a fiver, the tmb35. Threw out the J and asked a luthier to drill a hole and stick a soapbar humbucker by the neck. I use it a lot.
I love my 30 but it’s heavily modded with better tuners, a tbird bridge pup, qp p pup, and hipshot bridge. Changing the pots really woke it up.
What pots did you use, value, audio, linear, etc?
@@debhart4302 CTS 500k but keep in mind the pickups I put in there. Audio taper for volumes and linear for tone.
@formula73 that was my guess. Thank you.
I own this bass and I kinda like it but don't love it. I thought the tone know was indistinguishable but now I realize it wasn't me. I never liked how the low E string was boomy sounding compared to the other strings. I did go with flat wounds on mine. Good review don't disagree with you at all.
Me: Can I have a Fender Jaguar?
Mom: We have a Jaguar at home!
The Jaguar at home: Talman
I would love to have given the five string version a go, but the standard 19mm string spacing at the bridge doesn't really fit the shorter scale as far as I'm concerned, which is a real pity.
From a repair/ technician perspective the design of this bass drives me nutz! The control placement makes no sense. Why split the controls between the jack plate and pick guard? This has got to make working on the electronics a total PITA! Other than that I love my shorties and offsets, I also dig Ibanez guitars, but I just can't get behind this one!
I got the Tallman 30 as my first bass 2 years ago. I was curious to find out what the Lobster was thinking about it.
A good set of flats could be the answer to the excessive top end.
So what are the better budget short (or mid) scale options? Thanks!
I tell my students in NYC.Just Get a Yamaha BB300 ,has a sweet 'piano tone'
Maybe you could check out the Ibanez Mezzo 5 string, same pickups I think, difficult to find strings, but maybe a little better than this one, cheers!
Unrelated review question: Not considering price, if you could only get one bass, which one would you choose. G&L L-1000 or FGN Mighty Power. No pressure of you choose not to respond. Thx Lobster.
I really wanted this bass, but I opted for the Harley-Benton/Fender Mustang copy short scale. I wanted to like the Ibanez, but it applies poor choices, especially that headstock. Their other basses have very small headstocks, like the SR or Mikro series (too small for my liking), so I'm surprised.
I think you fix the tone control and throw some flats on it it would probably sound pretty decent.
I just wish it was an SR bass instead of the Talman shape
The Talman TMB100 neck dive must be terrible if the 30 is bad, something I haven't really noticed on mine much. Maybe it's more a problem for crustaceans.
Lost me at poplar body. I've never had a poplar guitar that I didn't have to plug and redrill the strap pin screws because the holes got stripped. The mahogany Talmans are really nice though.
have you reviewed the TMb100 34scale??
The head is heavy, just change the original tuners with lighter ones
Gotoh GB640 for example
I got one but returned it. The bass wouldn’t intonate. Didn’t have enough adjustment range to make it work. Even took it to a shop and they couldn’t make it right. Real strange.
I don’t understand why Ibanez still persist with that silly jack socket on the Talman
My first bass. Very nice for the price overall, but i didn't like the neck profile so i swapped it for... Epiphone EB-0. Dumbest decision ever lol
I can only imagine how bad neck dive is on the 5-string version of this.
What short scale below $500 gets a 5 claw rating?
Poplar wood is lighter per metric cube than maple/jatoba so no surprise it has that nasty neckdive even as a short scale bass. Very punchy pickups!
Do a mod episode on it..
Squier should brung back a simple PB 32 inch scale… why is it so difficult to come with such a simple design ?
Seriously!
My squier Jag bass is 32 scale and a perfect size for me.
@@superduperj1202 I don’t like the ergonomic of the Jaguar.
A PB feels more balanced to me.
Heard your cat meowing in the intro
Is this really just a 30" Mikro? ... Same pickups?
13:41
the gamers' opening strikes again LOL
What would you buy under 500?
Any genre of music or something specific?
Me personally I’d get a jazz bass style for something to cover everything. Squier classic vibe is always a good option, vintage brand makes a good one, tagima too, the new sire v3 are solid.
If your looking for something more specific that changes the options a lot.
@@jamesmarkham7489 Those are not short scale...
@@nicholasflamel1134 I guess that could be the inferred question but I didn’t see that in the information.
Great question. Kinda kicking myself because most of the 499 shorties are 549 or 599 now LOL. For a PJ shorty, the U5 is still my favorite. I really liked the neck profile and the playing experience. I need to revisit that bass in more detail as I last reviewed it like two years ago. The Harley Benton mustang thing is also a great option. I have a comparison coming later this week :)
Second hand (passive) Sire