Bruno! - Ibanez TMB100-BK Talman Bass | Black | 2020

Bruno looks as though he wandered out of the 1960s, only for somebody at Ibanez to quietly install a modern active electronics package while he was not paying attention.

The TMB100 takes the wonderfully unconventional Talman offset body shape and combines it with a gloss black finish, large tortoiseshell scratchplate and chrome hardware. It is distinctly retro without simply copying anything else.

Underneath that vintage-inspired appearance is a remarkably versatile bass.

An Ibanez Dynamix P split-coil pickup at the neck is paired with a Dynamix J single-coil at the bridge, providing the familiar combination of weight and warmth from the P pickup with additional bite and definition available from the bridge.

The pickups are complemented by Ibanez Custom Electronics active 2-band EQ. Two stacked controls provide volume and pickup balance alongside bass and treble boost/cut, allowing Bruno to move easily between warm, rounded tones and brighter, more aggressive sounds.

The full-scale 34-inch TMB4 maple neck is paired with a jatoba fingerboard and 20 medium frets. A B10 bridge provides individual string adjustment for accurate action and intonation.

Bruno has been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and serviced at The Stray Chord. His frets have been levelled, crowned and polished, his fretboard cleaned and conditioned, his electronics checked and a complete professional setup carried out.

He is now playing beautifully and is ready for his next home.

Specification

• Ibanez TMB100-BK Talman Bass
• Black gloss finish
• Poplar offset body
• TMB4 maple neck
• Jatoba fingerboard
• 34-inch scale length
• 20 medium frets
• Dynamix P split-coil neck pickup
• Dynamix J bridge pickup
• Ibanez Custom Electronics active 2-band EQ
• Volume and pickup balance stacked control
• Bass and treble stacked control
• B10 bridge
• Chrome hardware
• Made in Indonesia
• Frets levelled, crowned and polished
• Fully serviced and professionally set up

Bruno is comfortable, versatile and refreshingly uncomplicated, while still having enough personality to stand apart from the endless procession of conventional black basses.

Sometimes you do not need six strings, seventeen switches and a body carved from a tree discovered on the moon.

Sometimes you just need a very good bass.

Preferably with an enormous tortoiseshell scratchplate.