does ibanez have a bad rep?

[mellowgerman]

I personally love older ones from the 70's + 80's and I'm a fan of the 34" artcores. Would also love to get a BTB300 and rewire it passive with some Dimarzio Model J's.
If anything, I'd say that if you look at their company existence as a whole, they've had very diverse offerings.

[WCHIII]

I have a micro bass and love it. It fits my smaller
hands much better than my new Fender Jazz. Plays well, sounds
great, very dependable. I also
Have an older Alvarez from the early 90's
That looks a whole lot like an Ibanez. Are these
Two companies related by chance?

[Bassist Jay]

I started using Ibanez back in 1993. I didn't have to use their customer service until 2009 or 2010 but they were pretty good about taking care of the issue I had on a used bass and did not charge me. I had a good interaction with them.

[Tactician]

There's probably not one tool for the job of "bass".

In my alta ego World of guitar playing, I have 7 guitars that do different jobs. In basses I have the MIM jazz, an RD600, and the one that students use - but everyone raves about it because is sounds good (It's a no name Precision copy that cost £90).

The fact is, you have to start out with a definition of what you need for which music - then fit the best playing bass to that definition. Sure you'll get overlaps - but you'll end up with several basses and I'd be surprised if they were all from the same brand.

My basses are function over form- they do specific jobs and just happen to be what they are. I never set out to buy any - I would be looking for a particular sound and way of playing and the bass was chosen for that and then slightly modified later to match better. And none of my basses are stock, they have all had slight changes later on. My MIM has SD stacks, a heavier bridge, different string tree, the no-name has a pair of Dimarzios, the RD600 has a badass bridge and new string tree and as it was a launch model it came with Real brandedd SD - Ibanez didn't do thoes the next year.

You CAN convince yourself you need a specific brand or model - but without having a focus on the job, you'll be out seaching again after buying.

Most pros I know have a Precision type bass, a Jazz style bass with single coils, and something with humbuckers and modern style. Meets the expectations of studio professionals, audiences, and covers 95% of the requirements. The last 5%? - they borrow. If someone pays them to play a brand and gives them a bass - great - it contributes to the mortgage.

[Aznslappadabass]

As many others have stated before:
If you enjoy the sound that you're getting and like the feel of the bass you're playing then you're playing a good bass. Personally I started with an Ibanez starter pack and thought that was the coolest thing in the world. When I became more aware of what I wanted, I simply branched out. Ibanez basses are lightweight, and thin (not my personal preference nowadays but certainly a great trait for many people) and have a great sound. If that suits you and you enjoy playing there's no reason to doubt what you have.