Array Limited 4 Review

The Traben Limited provides the great tone and appearance of exotic woods on a working man's (or woman's) bass.

Features:	9
Sound:	10
Action:	9
Reliability:	9
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.4
Users rating:	9.5
Comments:	21

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: UG Team, on september 12, 2007

Features: Exotic woods are normally reserved only for high-end hand made basses. The Traben Limited provides the great tone and appearance of exotic woods on a working man's (or woman's) bass. The current Traben Limiteds feature spalted maple or zebrawood. You get all of the great features of Traben Basses (including the Bigger Bridge, Bigger Tone benefit) along with the upgrade of exotic woods. // 9

Sound: I play almost exclusively classic metal when playing bass (Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath) and this bass is perfect for that. I played it through an SWR Workman amp and it had a great bassy and full sound, perfect for playing stuff like Black Sabbath. If you turn the treble up on the bass too high rather than volume it tends to sound harsh (this held true with multiple amps not just the SWR). I did try the bass through various styles (pick, finger, slap, hybrid) and it sounded great with all of them, slap bass was notably easy to perform on this bass as well. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was set-up quite well on this bass, straight out of the factory it had low action with no largely noticeable fret buzz. The neck pickup was a bit loose but not to the point where a shop visit would be needed to fix it. The EQ knobs were a bit scratchy if you adjusted them with the amp on but it could easily be fixed with a can of compressed air. The top, neck, nut, and fret wire weren’t damaged or messed up in any way so no major flaws could be found on this bass. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This bass is definitely gig-worthy. I most likely wouldn’t gig it without a backup bass but that’s more due to my paranoia than a lack of trust in this bass. I’m quite sure it could withstand gigging for multiple shows. The strap buttons were very solid and held on to the strap ends quite well. I can’t say for sure on the finish since I only played it in-store but it definitely seemed that it would hold up for a decent amount of time without becoming scratched up and worn looking. // 9

Impression: As I mentioned before, I play metal mainly and this bass is a great match. It goes well with my Ampeg BA112, and though I don't actually own this bass, it's definitely on my list instruments I'd like to own. While I was at the store I also played an Ernie Ball Stingray and a Schecter Studio 5 string. For the price you'd pay, I'd probably go with the Traben, it's in the affordable price range and it's got incredible tone and quality. Definitely worth buying. // 10

Comments

[myfaceisagocart]

I don't know about how it plays, but it sure is pleasing to the eye...

[ryantherocker]

looks cool!

[Thud]

These things are pretty awsome. My friend is about to pick one up for his birthday. It going to be a big improvement considering the bass he has right now.

[Rickenbastard]

I'd love a traben bass, when i was looking into upgrading from my yamaha bb604 i even emailed them about UK availability but unfortunatly they don't deal with the UK =(

[\m/Torin\m/]

yeah sweet looking, not sure if it plays good but it's a nice piece of art, my fav is still the thunder bird though

[STFU_Nao]

I have a 5-string, blood red Traben Array Premium.

It's beautiful and the sound is incredibly deep.

It's hard to play though.

[skippy_moogoose]

yeah sweet looking, not sure if it plays good but it's a nice piece of art, my fav is still the thunder bird though

no no no!! the Thunderbird is horrid, well the reverse is, it dips and just looks like a big horrid block of wood,the non-reverse tho,is hot like a good chicken wing,(anyone who knows not what I talk of check out the teen spirit video,its wat Kris is playing) but these days the closest looking beast would be the jaguar bass I guess.the Traben bass also looks the bees knees, o and that's just my opinion on the thunderbird, no offense intended chaps!

[guylee]

STFU_Nao wrote:

I have a 5-string, blood red Traben Array Premium.

It's beautiful and the sound is incredibly deep.

It's hard to play though.

I have the exact same thing. it's definately the sweetest bass i own. you're right it is kinda hard to play though.

[k00kie M0nster]

Looks sweet

[Metalcredge]

I've got the 5 string blood red phoenix, and it is just the sweetest bass. The neck is just amazing, and the tone blows me away.

[daddrivesaneon]

i just bought a Traben a week ago its is the nicest bass i own i have a fender p bass and a ibanez gsr 205 and it is the nicest looking and playing out of the bunch i highly recomed buying one

[Dnalrafcmb3]

wow, best looking bass I've seen. I play guitar mostly, but I have a great love for the bass too. I mean how could you not love the bass. It's a freakin TANK of a guitar.

[Hart_Attack]

my friend has this, he wrote "slut" so when his girlfriend gives him shit about things he can go and **** around with his slut.

[ace5ja]

I own a Traben Phoenix Custom 5 string and a 4 string Array...I love them both! Great tone, playability, etc. They are both pretty heavy, but that's about the only draw back I can find.

[_3Lm0_]

Thats a pretty sexy bass.

[Vyser]

i like it...were can i get me one of those!!

[theWallofYAWN]

i just ordered an array limited 5-string with spalted maple top. should be in tomorrow. i cant ****ing wait.

[Thud]

my friend has this, he wrote "slut" so when his girlfriend gives him shit about things he can go and **** around with his slut.

What? are you talking about miss. Either that was stated completely right, and your friend is a douche. Or you were just talking to be talking. Eitherway i got a laugh.

[VALISICUS]

\m/Torin\m/ wrote:

yeah sweet looking, not sure if it plays good but it's a nice piece of art, my fav is still the thunder bird though

This Traben will blow the thunderbird out of the water.
Mike the Evil from Psychostick plays one, and i soon will. these are awesome basses!

[TortillaChip520]

i have this one in the spalted maple, it is so sweet! the tone is great, you can hardly notice any scratches on the finish, and compared to my old bass, pop and slap is easier on this one, due to the thinner neck.

[RAGman22ReborN]

my lead vocalist/bassist/pianist has the 5 string version and this baby owns especially with bass slapping and semi-infinite sustain