IBANEZ TALMAN TMB35 SHORT SCALE 5 STRING BASS - *SOLD* £175 Fakenham, Norfolk, UK

[Obrienp]

This is a fantastic bass and can’t be beaten for the money, IMO. I would love to hold onto it but unfortunately the 5 string stretch is just too much for my arthritic left hand. I am having to resign myself to sticking to 4 string shorties. It’s a shame as I have only owned it for a few months and have hardly used it.

 

The full standard spec can be found here on the Ibanez website: https://www.ibanez.com/na/products/detail/tmb35_1p_01.html. Essentially it is a 30” scale 5 string with a 45mm nut and quite chunky neck. The Precision pickup is surprisingly good for the price point IMO. The jazz is a bit weak but works well to blend in a bit of brighter tone to the P when you need it. The standard strings are fine for nickel rounds and it has a nice low action.

 

 I have done a few upgrades: completely rewired and shielded, with Alpha potentiometers, with a pickup blend instead of the second volume and a push/pull volume that switches the combined pickups between parallel and series. The pickups in series is like the “all-in” option on the Nordstrand Acinonyx, it effectively makes them into a big humbucker. This boosts the bass and mids, while retaining a slightly  clipped top end. It also boosts the volume a bit. Note in series mode the blend control does nothing unless you turn it all the way to the bridge pickup, when it acts as a mute. The copper shielding, plus ground wires everywhere (see pic) completely removes the single coil hum that is a downside of the standard TMB35. I have also replaced the standard bridge with a Fender high mass item and changed the standard plastic knobs for metal. 
 

Condition wise, the only mark I can find is a tiny white mark on the back of the headstock (see pic). Otherwise it is in as new condition. 
 

I have priced at what I think is reasonable for a quick sale, given I spent more than £80 on component upgrades and these retail for around £220 at the moment. I will provide the original bridge and plastic knobs. You really don’t want the original pots and jack socket. It does not have a case or gig bag.

 

I would prefer a cash sale but would consider a trade for a good condition Hofner Violin bass with extra cash from my side depending on model and condition. Sorry, I can’t afford the extra for a German made model.

 

You can try and buy in Fakenham, Norfolk. Not convenient for most I know, so I will travel to handover/meet around 60 miles, or so. I have the original box, so can ship to UK addresses at buyer’s expense. It’s going to be somewhere between £30-35 by UPS with insurance, I would guess. UPS is a bit more expensive but they do seem more reliable than a lot of others. I’ve had some bad experiences with the usual culprits.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Obrienp

[fretmeister]

What's the weight please?

[Obrienp]

4 hours ago, fretmeister said:

What's the weight please?

According to my bathroom scales it weighs 4Kg. I don’t think they are particularly accurate but I have heard others say about 8.5 lbs, so maybe with the high mass bridge and all the copper shielding 4 Kg (8.8 lbs) is about right.