Ibanez TMB100 $200 Price Increase for Bling

[Mr. B]

Looks like Ibanez decided to add a tiny bit of bling to the TMB100 and charge an extra 200 dollars this year. They have added a ash veneer top and some binding. Other than that, it is the same bass. No pickup improvement, no improvement to the active circuit, no added versatility, no upgraded tuners. It would even have been better if they had just upped the price 20 dollars and offered ANY color other than the boring seafoam green that EVERY guitar nowadays is painted in.

I get how capitalism works, and companies are too chicken to make a guitar in any color other than the 3 or 4 that market research has shown sell the most, but it is creating a VERY boring landscape for the consumer. Ibanez has already put those blue and brown burl tops on every other guitar they make. Are consumers REALLY going to shell out an extra 200 for the same look on their bass?

At least Ibanez did SOMETHING new for the extra 200 dollars, I suppose. Fender just ups their prices 50 dollar every 6 months with no upgrade whatsoever.​

​​

 

[JOLLY]

I'm lost. Are you talking about the TMB100 Talman Bass? They're $249 right now. Were they $49 before? lol

 

[Mr. B]

Those are the old models. The new ones coming into stores are called the TMB400 and they are 400 dollars.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez...-Guitar-Iced-Americano-Burst-1500000413303.gc

 

[Seashore]

They're different tiers of the Talman line. The 400 is the top of the line. The extra money gets you a figured ash top, roasted maple neck, rosewood board, and block inlays. If you don't want those features, the cheaper models are still in production.

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/model/talman_bass/

 

[St_Genesius]

So they haven't raised the price of the TMB100 at all. They've introduced an additional model, with some extra appointments, at a higher price.

OH NOES HOW HORRIBLE!

Those are the old models. The new ones coming into stores are called the TMB400 and they are 400 dollars.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez...-Guitar-Iced-Americano-Burst-1500000413303.gc

 

[Mr. B]

Top of the line in TMB Basses was the TMB2000. Those had Nordstrand NP4 and NJ4 pickups along with an Ibanez Custom Electronics preamp, Gotoh 203B-4 bridge and higher-quality tuning machines. Even the older versions that were only slightly higher end, like the TMB 310 offered a humbucking double coil bridge pickup, and active/passive switch. My point here is that this new one offers nothing but bling. Other than that, IT IS THE TMB100. Ibanez used to offer actual value for the price jumps.

 

[Seashore]

It doesn't sound unreasonable to me to ask $150 more for a roasted maple neck, rosewood board, block inlays, and a different top wood, and a total of $400 doesn't strike me as excessive for what you get with that model. It's not like they discontinued the budget models and now everyone has to pay a higher price for features they don't want.

 

[Mr. B]

Based on the ones I have owned, the weaknesses in the TMB100 have always been cheap tuners, cheap noisy active circuit, cheap feeling control knobs, cheap pickups, and no bypass for the battery/active circuit. If everyone is OK keeping all of those issues and paying that much more for a different look, then more power to you I guess.

 

[Mr. B]

Got to check out one of the new TMB400 at Guitar Center today. The neck was "roasted maple" and looked nice, but also felt like it had no sealer on it at all. Felt like raw wood, and felt a bit rough, like the Sterling basses often do, like they still need to be finish sanded. The pure white neck binding made a stark brightness contrast against the darker neck. Would probably look better with darker tinted binding, but no big deal.

Control knobs felt super cheap and gritty just like the TMB100's. The volume knob on the TMB400 was completely loose and wobbling from side to side. Probably a loose nut under the dual pot. Body was lighter than most of the older TMB100's causing a bit of neck dive.

Compared the TMB400 side by side with a used 2017 TMB100 that they also had in yellow finish. The 2017 TMB100 felt and looked like a better finished instrument. The control knobs felt less gritty on the old TMB100, and the neck finish was way better, although playing may have smoothed that out a bit. Both basses had the same pickups, hardware, etc.

Came back home and played my older TMB310 for a while. It is a night and day quality difference. Those older TMB300/TMB310 models were much better instruments. Solid control knobs, less noisy preamps, well finished necks, amazing sparkle finishes, active/passive switches, humbucking bridge pickups.

I stand by my comment that the TMB400 is just a cheap TMB100 with a fancy looking veneer. People who have not played the older TMB300, TMB600, TMB2000 models don't know what a real upgrade could look/feel like on these TMB basses.