Ibanez TMB35 Review - Very Detailed for Potential Buyers!

[@JCLolerz]

Thanks for the deep review! This is my current #1 choice to get as my first bass from Long & McQuade :) 0:00 Intro 0:17 Sound Demo Reasons to consider short-scale basses: 3:20 Easier to play 4:47 Lighter 5:46 Great "Beater" Bass 7:43 The Ibanez TMB35 Issues: 13:14 Neck Dive 14:30 Sharp-Edged Nut 15:15 String Selection 16:34 Control Knobs 17:17 Input Jack 18:25 "Sensodyne" Green 19:45 The B String 21:45 Final Thoughts 23:09 Gig Bags 27:04 Shipping & Packaging 30:17 Thank you for watching!

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you for the feedback - and the timeline template - I'll have to add that!

[@vichelton2002]

Best review of a bass or guitar that I’ve watched! Very detailed & informative thanks. I plan on purchasing one soon, for a lot of the reasons that you gave.

[@WorshipBlender]

It's a fun bass - enjoy! And thank you for the kind feedback!

[@dnipllr4057]

Great review, thanks! The color is fantastic!

[@EpictheEpicest]

Good review, I have the bass and agree with much of what you said. Only thing I would add is I dislike the fact that the volume knobs are audio pots and not linear pots; they're like on/off vs a smooth progression. Simply replacing them with linear pots makes it a much better instrument. Or I would replace them with a 3-way switch if I preferred the on-off. I also still haven't warmed up to the color, I think I'm going to refinish it.

[@bigdennyh]

Thanks a lot ! This video was super helpful . The gig bag was good bonus.

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you for the feedback.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

The best part of the demo is the neck dive test. Lol! Liked and subscribed!

[@WorshipBlender]

Thanks for the sub!

[@morrisdane]

I’ve owned hundreds of basses. Ibanez basses are Fantastic for the money. I play a zebra wood sr505 5 string bass in my band because it’s super light and sounds Great!

[@la196]

Sweetwater is an excellent place to buy an instrument, especially "sight unseen" online. I've bought stuff from them and it's always packed very securely:) Great customer service. I'm patiently waiting for my back ordered short scale stingray. It has been 3 wks yesterday. But this Ibanez short scale 5 string bass is kind of interesting:) Love the color too! Nice comprehensive review!

[@WorshipBlender]

Hi Lori, thank you for the feedback. The short scale Stingray is a lovely instrument - having the full size version I can say it's a fantastic bass that has served me very well for 20 years. But at a fraction of the price, the Ibanez compares well. I'm looking at the the new EHB short scales as a higher end Ibanez alternative to the TMB35.

[@boogie404]

Its a lovely bass, and great review. Just ordered 4string butter color and cant wait to groove on it!

[@WorshipBlender]

Good choice! And thank you for your compliment.

[@jesserobinson20]

It's really cool seeing that Carvin 600. That was my first amp when I was a young man and it's hitting all the nostalgia buttons for me. I still have and use the cab with different speakers in it.

[@WorshipBlender]

Love the Carvin 600 - massive features for an amp under $1,000 when I got it in the late 90's. I don't think there's another combo amp that has ever matched it feature wise. Sounds great too.

[@jesserobinson20]

@@WorshipBlender without the amp in the cab, I use that slot as a shelf for extra cables, picks, etc. It's very convenient.

[@SimonWojcik1]

Great Review. Thanks for putting it all together for everyone.

[@WorshipBlender]

Thanks - checked out a few of your videos - nice tone on the Yamaha BB. Been interested in those lately.

[@SimonWojcik1]

@@WorshipBlender Thanks for watching. I love the Yamaha. Great value. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about it.

[@LorenzoG333]

Thorough review... thank you much. Your excellent communication skills are demonstrated clearly in the vid. Another bass player here that digs the color (I guess it's a matter of beauty in the eyes of the beholder???) Wanted to mention that SX also has a very decent SS 5-stringer (also about $250). I have one which I've heavily modded... because the pups, electronics, bridges, and tuners are typically very cheap on non-mainstream guitars / basses... but the craftsmanship on the rest of the instrument is excellent. Cheers!

[@WorshipBlender]

Thanks! The color is warming up on me (a little) - I'm finding out more people like the color than dislike it.

[@GianmarioScotti]

Ibanez is not stupid when they choose the colour of the TMB35 - that turquoise is splendid. Too bad you don't like it.

[@WorshipBlender]

The person that bought mine agrees! ;-)

[@GianmarioScotti]

@@WorshipBlender you sold it in spite of your bandmates liking it so mkuch? It would be very interesting if you made a (short?) follow-up video explaining why you sold it.

[@davemillican402]

Very thorough review - thanks!

[@bossabarista8909]

Cool demo-song, very chilled and melodical! Just ordered this sensodynamicmintgreen bon bon.

[@dismentei]

Great review, man!

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you!

[@spikesvideos]

Thank you thank you!!!! people dont tend to not mention neck dive, thanks!!

[@jonmatthews4254]

Seafoam Green, it's a classic!

[@hwlrmnkymosier8424]

Great review! I really appreciate your thoroughness.

[@WorshipBlender]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Blakelysworld358]

Kalium makes really great nickel round strings that are heavier and will make up for the lack of tension. They are actually labelled guitar strings on the website. I have the .160 for a b on my Ibanez Mikro 5 and it sounds great.

[@WorshipBlender]

Great tip - thanks!

[@PeaceMusic53]

Nice review. I'm actually looking at the 4 string model and came across your video. Both models are probably of equal build quality. My big concern was if there were any sharp edges to the frets. Your video was the only one that addressed this concern. Thanks.

[@WorshipBlender]

Glad I could help!

[@thumbpickfingers]

Moving the rear strap button to the curved part of the body, towards the neck can remedy neck dive.

[@WorshipBlender]

I've been considering that, it's a good suggestion.

[@thumbpickfingers]

There's a reason why it's there on the short-ish upper horn equipped Spectors. It's even possible that putting the front strap button on the front end of the heel works, considering it's a short scale. It didn't make a difference on my long scale bass, but it did work on all my electric guitars.

[@ChristopherStoppiello]

Shocked that you listed the color as a negative!? Thanks for the thorough review. I'm considering the 4 string version. I wonder if the neckdive is as bad with the smaller neck. I just sold a thunderbird so I'm not looking for another neckdive-frought bass. xD

[@WorshipBlender]

I would assume the neck dive would not be as bad, but that's just an assumption...

[@MrEbilpirate]

I have the 4 string version - it still neck dives but its not at a "struggle" level.

[@pascaldesnoeck8671]

i ordered 4 string maybe next time a 5 string great review

[@WorshipBlender]

Thanks for the feedback. How is the 4 string version working out for you?

[@Bcwilderness]

more tonal detail dial turning could be a sonic win as you explain

[@WorshipBlender]

Great suggestion!

[@bigbri7519]

I had one but i took it back because the nut wasnt cut right and the tuners wouldn't stay tight. It did work surprisingly well as a sc 5. i wish you would have let us hear that b string.

[@soothingsoundscapes3344]

Key take away at 6:09: if you keep your full-sized bass in a hard case you can get a short-scale bass to take with you any place.

[@anorak211]

Great review, but I would prefer a darker colour

[@jotxue]

Gracias hermano. Me ha servido mucho su vídeo. Yo también tocó en una iglesia. Saludos desde España.

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you! Greetings to you as well my friend.

[@Isaiah-ft5nx]

This is me thinking out loud, because I've seen B strings on 30" scale sound thunderous. Wouldn't a poor B string just be a tension issue? All things considered, it's just a string being suspended between 2 points. The further the points the higher the tension therefore you would use a lighter string, and vice versa if the points are closer. Or do you think the neck/body does a poor job resisting the vibrations of the B string? I'm considering this exact bass, but I don't really want to deal with a poor B string. However, after owning a 6, I really enjoyed the high C, so I may just default to EADGC if I hated it.. Thanks for the review, it's a great review and demo!

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you for the input! Good questions. Yes, strings and their thickness plays into the equation. But there is a point of diminishing returns on scale. I think it is important to approach the situation with the right expectations. It is a low cost instrument at 30 inch scale. It won't sound good compared to the B string on an expensive Dingwall 37 inch multiscale B string - obviously a wrong expectation. But compared to other low cost short scale basses (or even standard scale low cost basses), it exceeded my expectation. That makes it a good buy, in my opinion.

[@johanc2330]

I have the same bass.:-) Mine doesn't have a neck dive hanging on a strap so that's ok. Very fine basses and fun to play due to the shorter scale. Out of the box it needed some setup and i strung it EADGC. My other basses which are longscales are collecting dust at the moment :-)

[@WorshipBlender]

What strap are you using to avoid neck dive? Great idea to string it EADGC.

[@johanc2330]

@@WorshipBlender hi. I meant that my bass doesn't have a neck dive When i use a strap. It's balanced very well with any strap. Sitting down and playing without a strap it has some neck dive. So i always play with a strap, sitting or standing ( sorry English is not my main language)

[@jazzman1954]

@@johanc2330 Your English is fine, and I am English!

[@rhysm4831]

Great review, the toothpaste had me laughing.

[@pablo_costas]

Hey ! I got into your video and I really liked it. I am a guitar player who wants a easy-to-play bass for recording some music. How do you see this base for covering also heavy and hard rock tunes ? would you recomend more the GSRM25 for that ? Aestheically this one looks more bitching. Best regards !

[@WorshipBlender]

The GSRM25 (aka MiKro 5 string), is a good little bass - well, at least assuming so based on my experience with the 4 string version, which impressed me. However, the GSRM25 doesn't have a PJ pickup config, it's a dual JJ. I'm no expert in heavy rock bass, but I'd lean towards having a P pickup in the configuration - since a lot of the hard rockers use P basses.

[@pablo_costas]

@@WorshipBlender I ended up buying it before you answered, it was at good price at a local dealer next day delivery....! I like it a lot! I never played a bass before so I didn't know what to expect but so far I am satisfied. Good bye to midi vst bass lines. It is true what you pointed out in the video, weight compensation is not its strenght, super heave headstock, but the colour and design are kickass. Thanks for the review/recommendation !

[@McMaciek5]

Hi! Very informative video! I really like the look of this base, and I believe the sound (which is more important, of course) is fine for the price as well. I have a question. I have a 4-string (Ibanez GSR200 bought about 6-7 years ago, my first and only bass), I wanted a 5-string for a long time. As I just play for myself, no gigs or recording (yet), just playing with friends for now, I would be fine with baseline (no pun intended, entry or medium quality) bass, maybe something slightly better than the GSR. Is there any better option than the model you are presenting? I don't really care for the short scale, it could be slightly more expensive. I just really love the looks of TMB, but I don't want to sacrifice quality or sound for great looks.

[@WorshipBlender]

Thanks for your feedback. There is so many options out there, it's really a matter of preference. Me personally, for the cheapest full size 5 stringer I'd go with a Squier Jazz or Yamaha BB235. Great instruments at the price.

[@adnanbakshi7520]

Hey!! Love this review, very helpful. I also have this bass and was wondering which pack of strings you purchased for a standard replacement (BEADG 30” scale). It would help me a bunch!

[@WorshipBlender]

Actually, I'm still on the stock strings that came on the bass. At some point I'll need to figure out what to replace them with myself.

[@marth.]

hey! I'm going to buy this bass and I was also wondering about the string pack. what did you find? thanks a lot

[@rasmillion]

Deburring that nut would take seconds Wonder how they missed that Why would you need special strings ? Thanks for the great review Exactly what I’m looking for, gonna pick one up and save for the EHB next Did it not come with the standard Ibanez gig bag?

[@WorshipBlender]

Nope, didn't come with gig bag, just a cardboard box. Any tips on deburring the nut?

[@rasmillion]

@@WorshipBlender carefully use a jewellers file to take the sharp edges off,

[@zibbezabba2491]

The appeal of the colour is because It's vintage looking.

[@biggoosetravels5806]

hey! thanks for this awesome video, i have one question. I want to get a higher quality 5 string short scale, but i cant drop 2k. I was thinking about getting this one and upgrading the pickups. Do you think that would make a big enough difference to make it compete with more expensive instruments? I currently play a warwick corvette 34"

[@WorshipBlender]

I am planning a follow up video to this to address my thoughts on the bass after almost a year. In short, the stock bass is awesome - my worship team said it sounds better than my other basses, including my MusicMan Stringrays. I'm shocked by that, as I wouldn't say it's that good, but the stock bass rocks. My only complaint of the bass is the neck dive. As a result I just acquired the Ibanez EHB1005SMS 5 string shorty and it is amazing. No more dive, but it is a different sound I'm still adjusting to, but it sounds great in my opinion. So, TMB35 if on a tighter budget and upgrade the pickups only if you really want to, or go with the EHB1005SMS, which honestly is a game changer bass - and well under 2k.

[@biggoosetravels5806]

@@WorshipBlender thanks very much! I look forward to the one year video! consider me subscribed :)

[@alanstjohns]

I'm waiting till Ibanez bring this bass out in another colour, as I really dislike this colour. Anyone when or if that will happen? (Walnut would be nice)

[@fabianflorez9686]

Hello friend, I am from Colombia and I would like to know in the United States where I can buy a bass like that Thank you so much

[@thesocialartsclub9095]

I would string it E to C

[@WorshipBlender]

That would be fun to try.

[@ck-ck]

Colour? My toothpaste is white.. :-) Furthemore : Good review! Thank you! Currently considering the Mezzo version : Ibanez Standard SRMD205-SPN , same colour, longer scale ..

[@WorshipBlender]

LOL - looks like my toothpaste is the wrong color. When it comes to Ibanez's colors, I love the metallic tangerine Mezzo color - that's a color I would buy.

[@ck-ck]

@@WorshipBlender interresting, but sadly the only colour for the mezzo 5 string seems to be “ toothpaste” green ..

[@vipermax9316]

Can u please make a vedio cover and tutorial on the river of god by Andy park.

[@pkupferschmidt]

Yeah, the only reason I am reluctant to get it is that I might just save up to get a higher-end bass. We shall see.

[@f.e.ek.o.e.]

I‘m looking for strings... where can i buy some 5 string shortscale?

[@WorshipBlender]

I've yet to buy new strings myself, but 5 string short-scales are not as common so I dread having to search.

[@richardbudesa3253]

Can’t hear the bass over the drum machine

[@WorshipBlender]

Sorry about that. If listening on a phone speaker, try a different speaker.

[@stringsnare]

my understanding is that its not standard guitar style tuning out of the factory. could it handle a tuning of something like B E A D G?

[@WorshipBlender]

B E A D G is how it comes from the factory - standard 5 string bass. You are good to go.

[@stringsnare]

@@WorshipBlender that was a noob comment on my part I read the tuning on their site backwards hahahaha. I bought it just an hour ago, hopefully goes well!

[@stringsnare]

Thanks for speedy reply

[@jazzman1954]

If the upper horn is aligned with the 12th fret it shouldn't neck dive WITH a strap. If you want to protect your back ALWAYS use a strap and sit up and straight.....I also don't like the colour. Natural would be better.

[@TheBassfresh]

can u play the open B ?

[@WorshipBlender]

I may have to do a follow up video at some point that singles out the sound of the strings and knob settings. In this video I tried to use the "B" string in context of how I would use it in a song, which is the demo song at the beginning. My use of the B string is more to allow me more positions on the bass without losing lower notes. The B string is decent enough for use all the way to the low B, which is impressive for the small size of the bass and it's low cost. It will lose out in an A/B test to a higher end full size bass, but that wouldn't be a fair comparison. The key takeaway in this case is that it's definitely useable.

[@cheranguista]

Loooog review

[@fsmaia]

I wonder why use heavy machine heads. Losing balance in the name of a nostalgic aesthetic without meaning.

[@WorshipBlender]

I keep thinking about upgrading the tuners to something like the Hipshot Ultralights. If the neck dive issue could be minimized it would perfect.

[@la196]

@@WorshipBlender Hi, I'm loving my Sterling by Musicman short scale bass, great electronics, great sustain:) Sadly better sustain than my Lakland DJ4 or my Geddy. It's my first short scale bass, so perhaps that's typical of a SS. The shorter scale is fun! So fun I'm considering a 5 string SS. FYI---If you go to Sweetwater reviews for your Talman, a guy there added a strap knob further up and it solved the neck dive issue. He uploaded a pic with the review. If you still have yours, and you don't mind the esthetics, it might make your Talman more useful. This Ibanez is tempting. Seems decent for the money even if it needed to be modified it a little. But all these instruments are mass produced and sometimes you get lucky and get a good one;) Yours sounds great in this video. I've always loved the look of seafoam green instruments:) Very cool looking/sounding bass.

[@simaojoseph]

Basses with closed tone knob sound like any other closed tone bass.

[@justinflores2618]

hello, how much for this bass? im in the philippines.

[@kurdtx27]

its available in audiophile

[@seanpop2886]

Yeah, on my cellphone, all I hear is doodling over an annoying drum machine with epilepsy.

[@jazzman1954]

Great review but could have been 20+ minutes shorter!

[@Isaiah-ft5nx]

Funny how the average person likes the things bass players don't like, such as the toothpaste green. lol

[@justinflores2618]

im playing bass on our church

[@alnewick]

It’s Colin Robinson!

[@WorshipBlender]

Why do people keep saying that? I don't even know how that is.

[@alnewick]

Mate can I ask you a favour to please make an effort to script your videos out really planned what you’re going to say so we don’t have to sit and wait for you to think about everything you’re saying as you say it’s because it’s taking forever for you to make every single tiny little point and because of that I won’t be subscribing which is a real shame because obviously you do know some of your stuff! This video could be half the length it is without losing a single piece of information. Honestly, you’ll be doing yourself a favour

[@WorshipBlender]

Thank you for your feedback. My videos are outlined, but not scripted. I agree they could be shorter and I tend to over explain at times, but my target audience is potential buyers. When I'm buying a product and researching online I want lots of info and I want a lot of opinions from the reviewer. My approach is to make a video that would be helpful to me if I was buying the product.

[@stinky_nut_blast]

What about the Ibanez SRMD205-SPN medium scale bass ? Another competitor in the 5 string/not long scale niche. In 2023 it comes for 400 buckaziods and the Talman TMB35 MGR for 279. The Ibanez GSRM25-BK for 279, too, but I was told it has no active pickups.

[@WorshipBlender]

Ibanez has the Mikro and Mezzo which I think are the models you are referring to. Both are awesome little guitars for the buckazoids.