Tune TWB5T 5 String Bass from Korea-Affordable exotic or cheap knockoff? - LowEndLobster Review

[@LowEndLobster]

Hey all! The 💩 at the beginning was not on purpose, but I'm not going to reupload because I'm human and make mistakes and that's ok! Enjoy the poop!

[@LowEndLobster]

💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

[@thr3ddy]

@@LowEndLobster since you do so many reviews of affordable basses, have you considered doing a top-n list of basses you'd buy if you were a beginner/intermediate/advanced player? Loving the channel!

[@LowEndLobster]

@@thr3ddy Thanks for the comment and suggestion. I've never thought of that, but that's a really great idea! I think I will do that.

[@revlewisrees9880]

I don’t know how I missed this video. This is one sweet sounding bass. I love the design too, modern but not too wacky.

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Rev! I reaaaaaally want to try a MIJ Tune (the "real" ones), but the MIK ones aren't bad

[@RumblinMan]

Beautiful sounding bass, excellent review!

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks my friend!

[@PushSueAside]

Very nice, you have defiantly got me thinking about looking into tune. But at that price range, I'd have a hard tim not putting a little out and grabbing another Ric. Absolutely beautiful bass. Sounds very nice. Thank you for sharing

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Tommy! Used, you can find these for 800-1100 usually, but even then it wouldn't be my first choice but far from my last. These are nice instruments that need to be brought into the modern era.

[@PushSueAside]

LowEndLobster i agree, and it's awesome that you are showing things I've never seen. My wish list gets bigger every time you press record.

[@LowEndLobster]

@@PushSueAside You think I should put a "wallet warning" before my videos ;P?

[@PushSueAside]

LowEndLobster probably a real good idea. Good stuff 🦞

[@jongillham2750]

Mr Lobster, I'm beginning to think you've been checking out my bass collection, first with an Ibanez Roadster and now with these Tunes. I have 2 Tunes a 1994 Japanese TBC-4 25 fret based on their Maniac range but with beautiful boutique style woods, I've owned it from new and I've never thought of getting rid of it, its very petite, warm and punchy, 2 band eq with a PJ arrangement. Sometimes I leave it alone for a while then go back to it and remember within 5 minutes how marvelous it is. It's pretty dated now and I'm sure the Soundgears could run rings around it but its fairly unique at least here in the uk and after 27 years of ownership there is a degree of sentimental ownership to it. My second tune is a Korean TWB-4 with a flame maple top, similar to the TWB5T but bolt on 24 fret neck, I bought this new 8-9 years ago as the TBC, although cared for, was feeling fragile and I felt given the pleasure of tune 1, tune 2 must be worthy of the investment. Now, the TWB-4 has become my most gigged bass, it looks great and plays great although set up feels though it needs to be very finely adjusted. I've been battling a sort of love / hate relationship with it for quite a while. I find I have to roll the high's off quite a long way otherwise there's quite a nasally bright tone to it no matter what I do. Thoughts swing to replacing the preamp perhaps or even converting to passive, or saying goodbye....next! ..then the next gig or rehearsal I love it. The other thing with the 4 string model TWB is the pickup widths, they are actually the width you'd typically find on a 6 string bass and the fore / aft measurement does not appear to fit any of the other brands I've looked at, so its a bit of surgery for some enormous pickups on a 4 string if you wanted to replace. The TWB has an internal notch filter for the mids, does not appear to do much in my experience. I have heard that the Korean Tune actually supplies the pickups and electronics to Japanese Tune, I do not know if this is true! For some slaptastic tuning with an 8 string trem equipped Tune Japan bass check out Casiopea! Plenty of facial expressions for you to emulate there....I look forward to your video :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4rKiHxjhdKZmac

[@dm4728]

I've just seen one of the bolt on neck version you describe, for sale at Anderson's... Could it be yours?

[@christophervolpini9325]

I definitely agree with the Warwick Thumb comparison

[@LowEndLobster]

Right? I never thought I'd come across another bass that sounded so... thumby...

[@rodshop5897]

Hey Lobster, I still rock my '89 TUNE Bass Maniac, a made in Japan model. It's a 4 string P/J set-up, but I had to swap-out the original pickups and pre-amp when the pre stopped working a few years ago. I like the current tone, but its just not as dynamic as the original. For a bit of history, the TUNE original company was hit hard by the Kobe earthquake back in 1995, and their factory was pretty much destroyed. That's why they ended up going bankrupt and that led to the whole 2 company thing. In the early days, the company was very fresh and was at the forefront of bass designs and electronics. I'm sure that if the original company had maintained, they'd be putting out cutting edge basses right now. Sadly, the Korean arm seems to be happy resting on the old designs.

[@LowEndLobster]

Hey RodShop. Thank you so much for a great comment. I'd love to see yours, it sounds awesome. Those PJ ones were killer. Thanks for the info on the Tune factory, I didn't know that they were impacted by the earthquake. Yeah, the korean shop seems to be releasing these to cash in on the investment without actually caring to innovate. There's a market for these, sure, but it's sad that there's no forward movement there. I'm tempted to reach out to the Japanese company as their website is still up. Thanks again my friend!

[@TheBeardofDOOM]

That thing sounds great. I cant get past the lower horn though. It is like they wanted to do a deep cut-away like the ibanez SR but the saw blade broke and they just said "hmm 🤔 looks ok. Sand and finish it". Nonetheless, that thing has a spectacular sound that would rip some mean clank on my dUg pedal.

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks my man! I sold it to my buddy who has a heavier taste in music than myself, I'm excited to see what she sounds like in his hands!

[@TheBeardofDOOM]

@@LowEndLobster it will rip man. Crank the treble, add some distortion and attack those strings like they took the last twinkie without asking.

[@dm4728]

Long time viewer here and I never saw this one before, but have seen one second hand and after googling your video was one of the first links

[@LowEndLobster]

Hehe this is a VERY old video

[@dm4728]

@@LowEndLobster I know right, I've been following you since before this video even! The Tune bass I saw has a bolt on neck, so not quite the same model as yours here, still it has a lovely burl top

[@aadelamotte6724]

I would love to see some short scale basses if you can do that

[@LowEndLobster]

Ask and you shall receive! I have a couple on my rack that are long overdue for some videos. Perhaps I'll shoot a quick one over the next couple of days.

[@rasmillion]

Seconded I really want to see an impartial review of the tmb35 5 string shortie

[@chrismorris3897]

One I hadn't seen! Awesome bass!

[@garlandlabat4922]

Hi Mr. Lobster, I'm a few months late catching this review, but definitely glad I caught it. While there is not a vast tonal difference between the bridge and neck pickups, they really hit my sweet spot. I thought it was an awesome tone. But I think your price/value ratio is correct. And how long is that neck!! Could I even reach the first fret!

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Garland!

[@jongillham2750]

Standard 34" neck on these, but it appears longer as the top horn reaches only to the 14th fret opposed to 12th fret on Fenders, it was a bit of a shock when I got mine! It felt a little off balanced to start with but a good wide strap sorted it all out - but still feels a loooooong way to the low F on the 4 string!

[@chrisjennings5680]

Have you ever done a review of a Tune Maniac (Korean) 5 string? If so, what did you think of them?

[@pablopicazocastillo]

Wowww this Bass almost sounds like a Ken Smith bass. It's great sounding Bass. Where can I buy one of these? How much does a 5 string go for?

[@kevmac1230]

I became interested in Tune after learning Greg Lake played them back when.

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Kev! We're going to be looking at a MIJ example of a sister bass to the Tune very soon! Just snagged it from a local viewer today - it's very interesting!

[@jongillham2750]

@@LowEndLobster Have you reviewed it yet?

[@Cobra-c8j]

I have a TWX5 I believe. It was Korean made. I loved it. But I need to check out the Japanese mades.

[@LowEndLobster]

MIJ ones are other worldly

[@Cobra-c8j]

@@LowEndLobster I bet they are. But those Koreans were awesome none the less.

[@ribaluigi]

Thank you for the videos. Is the pickup position similar to the G&L L2000?

[@LowEndLobster]

Hi Luigi! You are very welcome! The L2000 is a bit more on the traditional fender side, but the neck pickup is more centralized than a fender. The tune's pickup position is even more concentrated towards the bridge and uses thinner pickups.

[@ribaluigi]

@@LowEndLobster I see. Thanks for the reply!

[@ChipsA17]

That bass is gorgeous. Do they make a 4 string of it

[@LowEndLobster]

They do! Both bolt-on and neck thru. I'd personally try and snag one of the MIJ ones if I had the chance. I actually have a 4 here right now with a busted preamp that I've slowly been swapping haha

[@ChipsA17]

@@LowEndLobster sweet!

[@robertshipko1292]

Great reviews waiting to p/u the ehb1506ms - how bout Yamaha pattitucci 6 Vs MM bongo 6 thanks

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Robert! I may be looking at a yamaha in the near future, never owned one actually.

[@cyrildescoursiere9060]

Hi man, and thank you for the review ! Wich 5 strings bass do you advice me on the 300-500$ range ?

[@LowEndLobster]

Hey Cyril! Thanks for watching. There's a lot of great 5 stringers out there right now in that price range. My personal favorite if you can swing it is the Ibanez Talman TMB505 which lists for 550 but can be had under 500. The tone on that thing is INSANE. Check out my video on it and see for yourself :). If you like it, message me on instagram or facebook and I can tell you where you can get a solid deal.

[@cyrildescoursiere9060]

@@LowEndLobster yes i saw your review, but i thinks its ugly ! Thanks for your answer !

[@LowEndLobster]

@@cyrildescoursiere9060 No problem. You can also check out the Squier VJ series, though I personally haven't tried one yet. The Sterling series is pretty nice as well. I have a SUB 4 string that I really enjoy and will be doing a video series on soon :). Enjoy!

[@hetul784]

MAN I don't know why I REALLY like how that sounds, it's very modern sounding but it SCREAMS character in every possible way, the tone, the look everything seems really really character and really fucking cool to me! I don't think I'll pay more than $800 for this tho, but eh it's pretty fucking cool nonetheless!

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks dude!

[@SaturnVoyager11]

I always wondered if my TUNE TWX51-PSV from the 90´s bass was broken or something because I never liked how it sounds. But now I see probably all of them sound the same. Immediately you started playing I was like uggg man, That´s the tone of my nightmares XD

[@jreid641]

Who sells these in the US? I could be wrong, but I think the Japanese factory was effected by an earthquake there many years ago too. I used to have a Tune woodbass. Wish I still had it.

[@LowEndLobster]

This one is a Korean model that was purchased used. The Japanese manufacturer is still kickin from what I've heard

[@novamusicshow-grupoversati8336]

It's so much diference than Japan or korean?

[@DavidSanchez-zr5ig]

Do they have better pickups for this bass I have one. Had it for 15 years. Wanna upgrade it. Thanks

[@LowEndLobster]

I believe the pickup size is standard. They look like Bartolini MK shaped, though I don't have this bass anymore to measure. Be careful as the preamp is one big PCB that contains all the pots.

[@novamusicgdl]

What year si your bass and what's kind of strings are You playing

[@LowEndLobster]

I forget the year of this model, I don't have it anymore. The strings I'm using are MJC Ironworks Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-125. However I will be switching string brands soon due to supply issues (industry wide)

[@grantbrown8047]

THE LOBSTER IS COOKING !

[@bmac1205]

'Maybe get my claws on one'.... I see what you did there! 😁

[@ชาติชายชล]

Good​ sound

[@Пирамида-щ7й]

Do a six string bass review :D

[@LowEndLobster]

I do have one sixer... Heheh

[@pogoism1]

This video has a more serious vibe to it

[@LowEndLobster]

It's cause of the new space ;P

[@pogoism1]

@@LowEndLobster might be... but I was actually referring to your voice :))

[@LowEndLobster]

ah gotcha :)

[@seanjamessweeney3983]

LOBSTAAAAHHHH!!!!!

[@LowEndLobster]

SWEEENEY!

[@dungeonmonkey2495]

I've got a twb which are fkn great

[@myopicshah]

Huge low!

[@neoland666]

Why should they innovate/ change things on this bass? The Fender Precisions or Jazz basses haven't changed in decades.

[@simonwhitlock9189]

And it shows.

[@BuckPucker]

Crustation Nation!

[@LowEndLobster]

YEAH!

[@kirtfulcher6288]

LOBSTAH LAIR!!!!!! Make it so!

[@LowEndLobster]

The tour vlog is coming! The lair will be revealed!

[@kirtfulcher6288]

@@LowEndLobster Just not the location!

[@LowEndLobster]

Buy one of my basses on reverb and the location will be revealed ;P

[@degeest5571]

Very distinct tone, nasally and punchy. I like it but I don’t think it would be my #1

[@LowEndLobster]

Exactly! Thanks for the comment!

[@ramshaar2597]

She is a real good looking bass stay away from bob spongev😉superior day lobster

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Ram!

[@derickthomas380]

Low end lobster 'that bass better than the 99 percent of the Carvin custom built basses not bad..great sounding bass .

[@FlamesAt1000ft]

The Tune Basses are good Basses and are made well, but some upgrades WILL make’em better!! Put some Seymour Duncans or EMGs in and WALA✨🎸❗️🤘🏾Instant Funk Machine!!..that ROCKS as well!! I live in Japan and have played many back in their heyday so, trust it when I suggest you test drive one out on a Big Rig Bi-Amp set up..(4-10 + 1-15 Speaker Cab!) You will shake the (((🌎⚡️)))‼️Cleanly & Tone Clear‼️👍🏾🤨

[@johansequera3889]

Wonderful video friend... it's hard to get a video from this brand so thanks a lot .. I'm about to buy a used one for 500 us.. hope it's a good deal. Thanks again lobster 🦞