Ibanez Talman TC 630

When I looked up Craigslist ads on Sunday morning, I thought there was little chance this Talman was still available.  The ad was asking for $400 or trade for a small tube amp.  I had accumulated a few small tube amps and I think this Talman was worth at least the Marshall Class 5 that I traded the Takamine for.

I took the chance and sent the seller a few pics of the Marshall and by 830 pm, I was driving up the 15 freeway with this Ibanez Talman TC 630.  Not exactly sure what color Ibanez called this but it is a very  creamy white with a complementary red pearloid pickguard.  The pickguard was all scratched up at the neck pickup position which definitely adds to the guitar's character.

There was a slight fret buzz that all but went away as soon as I changed the strings to a hybrid Ernie Ball set (46,36,26,16,11,9).  I also added a 4th spring to the tremolo which stiffened it a little bit more.  The pickup heights were also adjusted to an optimum set -- trial and error mostly, based on what I thought was the proper gain.  The 5-position switch is similar to a strat in terms of pickup combination.

These lipstick pickups were my biggest surprise.  I have never had a guitar with these before and I have to say, the neck pickup has that perfect warmth/twang balance.  Playability is 9 (on a scale of 10) and my only complaint is the guitar's weight at 9.4 lbs.  Other than that, I am content not having the Marshall amp (which I really liked) and instead having my second Talman.