NBD: Traben John Moyer Standard 5

[b1gm3]

I know it's not the one with the flashy burled maple top, or the Aguilar preamp, but this was an absolute STEAL at £290 GBP.

Body: Paulownia (which I thoroughly recommend)
Neck: Bolt on Slab Maple
Fretboard: Rosewood
Pickups: Rockfield MM-style humbuckers
Preamp: Factory 3 band
Scale Length: 35"



Just received it, and I believe the shop very kindly fitted it with d'addarios. It's a genuine joy to play, and sustains foreverrrrrrrrr, due to Traben's clever lickle bridge. Rockfield humbuckers are pretty good, and have a ton more output than the soapbars in my Epi T-bird (well duh).



Sorry for crap photos, camera phone. When the honeymoon is over I'll give a more balanced critique, but for the meanwhile I'ma lock myself away and BASS.

[JPhoenix19]

if/when I get another bass, that model will be on the top of my list of candidates- depending on whether I make the jump a 6-string or not. Those are so sexy!

[guitarister7321]

Very nice! I love the shape.

[Ironbird]

Yeah I dig the body shape too. Congrats!

[thedarkoceans]

damn,i'm the onòy who dislikes the body shape.but it should sound like a beast.

[b1gm3]

Beginning to notice a couple of issues, albeit noting serious.

Initial set up left A LOT of fret buzz on pretty much any string around 5th-6th fret. Gonna re-string with 45-135 and see if this'll help at all. It's particularly noticeable when playing fingerstyle, which is irritating indeed. Also, can sound a litle muddy or buzzy, though i believe that's more to do with my shitty amp. A new bass amp is my next purchase i believe...

Also responds very poorly to dropping E to D or B to A. Severe reduction in string tension. Hoping thicker strings will help make this less noticeable.

[DaveCarter]

You say that it's not the model with the burl top and Aguilar, but if you open up the cavity you may get a nice surprise! I bought the same bass last year, also for about £289. I was annoyed to find out that it wasnt really a 35" scale, (more like 34.2" to saddle, 17.0" to 12th fret), but rather pleased to find out that my model was equipped with coil-tapped pickups and the Aguilar preamp from the more expensive model. Apparently its something to do with the changeover from Traben to BC Rich, who are now producing this bass in various different models including a plain black version with the Aguilar. Either way, open up the back cover and see if you got lucky too!

Also for strings, if you decide to go up to a 145 make sure you get a tapered one or it won't fit either side of the bridge properly, I found that out the hard way

[b1gm3]

Thanks for the heads up, that could be something of a life saver. No such luck with the preamp I'm afraid.