The Soundgear club, part 2

[PDGood]

I really think that is one of their best looking designs ever.

[Standalone]

Originally Posted by verycoolname

I've been looking into getting a new bass (because why not, right?) and I've heard mostly positive things about the Soundgear series. As a player with smaller hands I'm drawn to the neck and the looks are great, but I was wondering if it's worth it to buy one. I play everything from bluegrass to rock, and while my Fender Kingman and Jazz cover these tomes I was looking for something more dynamic (which I heard the Soundgears are).

I played one breifly at GC, and it was love at first sight, but I'd like to get the longterm pros (and possibly cons) of these basses before pulling the plug. All comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

My hands are huge. I still dig it. Play what feels and sounds good to you.

[Standalone]

Originally Posted by PDGood

I really think that is one of their best looking designs ever.

Definitely.

The ovangkol top, whatever it does for the tone and the looks aside, feels so nice under my right hand as I play.

And I see they manufacture a sixer, too....

[IngerAlb]

Originally Posted by verycoolname

I've been looking into getting a new bass (because why not, right?) and I've heard mostly positive things about the Soundgear series. As a player with smaller hands I'm drawn to the neck and the looks are great, but I was wondering if it's worth it to buy one. I play everything from bluegrass to rock, and while my Fender Kingman and Jazz cover these tomes I was looking for something more dynamic (which I heard the Soundgears are).

I played one breifly at GC, and it was love at first sight, but I'd like to get the longterm pros (and possibly cons) of these basses before pulling the plug. All comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

The only drawback is the resale rate (terrible for the seller); and possibly some snobby comments like "it's not a Fender"... other than that Soundgears are second to none when it comes to ergonomic & playability. And I personally love the tone as well - modern & articulate.

[45acp]

Originally Posted by verycoolname

I've been looking into getting a new bass (because why not, right?) and I've heard mostly positive things about the Soundgear series. As a player with smaller hands I'm drawn to the neck and the looks are great, but I was wondering if it's worth it to buy one. I play everything from bluegrass to rock, and while my Fender Kingman and Jazz cover these tomes I was looking for something more dynamic (which I heard the Soundgears are).

I played one breifly at GC, and it was love at first sight, but I'd like to get the longterm pros (and possibly cons) of these basses before pulling the plug. All comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

As mentioned, low resale is the ONLY downside... along with possible "other musician name-brand snobbery" which you shouldnt care about.

The thing is these are just about the most versatile basses ever made IMHO. You can get just about any sound you can imagine out of one- many times without touching anything that's not on the bass itself.

Example- i play in a bar band that does alot of variety. Our 2nd set starts with RHCP higher ground, next is U2 with or without you, followed by sublime santeria. Between these 3 songs i dont touch anything on my rig... i just make a little tweak on the bass. EQ, pickup blend, etc. etc. Soundgears are one of the best basses ive ever played for getting a wide range of tones. My old 1200 has AFR pups and i can get that metallic warwicky kind of growl... tweak two knobs and BAM it sounds just like a Jazz.

Im not a fan of the 300-400 series only because of the Ibanez pickups. But ive owned/played them all from 500 and up and you cant go wrong with any of them.

[Standalone]

Originally Posted by IngerAlb

The only drawback is the resale rate (terrible for the seller); and possibly some snobby comments like "it's not a Fender"... other than that Soundgears are second to none when it comes to ergonomic & playability. And I personally love the tone as well - modern & articulate.

I just traded an American Deluxe Fender P for the 1200e pictured above!

These soundgears are fine basses and well crafted musical tools.

[verycoolname]

Thanks to everyone who replied, definitely considering a Soundgear more seriously now! I could care less about the resale value; if it fits my needs I'll have no desire to sell it, and if I get tired of it I'll probably give it to a friend/family member. As for "brand snobbery," who really cares? I own two Fenders and enjoy playing them, but I won't have a heart attack if I don't buy a third one. People need to get of their high horses; why wouldn't I want to buy something more dynamic for less money?

Thanks again, hopefully I'll be part of this club soon!

[PDGood]

Originally Posted by IngerAlb

The only drawback is the resale rate (terrible for the seller); and possibly some snobby comments like "it's not a Fender"... other than that Soundgears are second to none when it comes to ergonomic & playability. And I personally love the tone as well - modern & articulate.

+1

[IngerAlb]

Originally Posted by Standalone

I just traded an American Deluxe Fender P for the 1200e pictured above!

Good choice I would have done the same thing

[dDaddybass]

I had my first sr (sr885le) for 20 years. I may never part with my SR756. I may convert it to a fretless after I get another (SR5006E)
down the road.

[aproud1]

Originally Posted by IngerAlb

The only drawback is the resale rate (terrible for the seller); and possibly some snobby comments like "it's not a Fender"... other than that Soundgears are second to none when it comes to ergonomic & playability. And I personally love the tone as well - modern & articulate.

While I agree, the used market value on the better Ibanez stuff has been going up the past probably two years. At least it seems like it to me. Great news for current owners but bad news for people looking for insane but easy deals. Stuff is still relatively cheap but can't find that awesome early MIJ stuff for $150 anymore.

I guess I'm back in with my SRX700, haven't been home enough to even unbox it yet.... stupid work...

[Standalone]

Yeah, I got my '81 in London for 200 GBP. Musicians and Roadsters from that era now get $6-900. They don't lose value like Carvins (which I love and play an LB76P), as they are a relatively good value new. The $1500 Fender Deluxes are going for between 700-1000 used. $1000 SR1200e's are going for $700 used. That's a pretty good showing for Ibanez on the used market.

[EnviroMetal]

me playing my 1996 Ibanez SR1200 at a recent show

[IngerAlb]

Originally Posted by aproud1

While I agree, the used market value on the better Ibanez stuff has been going up the past probably two years. At least it seems like it to me.

Depends on what you mean by "better Ibanez stuff", but whatever price ppl might ask for a bass and what that bass sells for are two different things.

Some take the manufacturer's suggested price as a guidance, or the price of the major online sellers, but in reality a used bass will never come close to the price of a new instrument, and also even the retailers have discount promotions and stuff, so there are enough opportunities to score.

[aproud1]

Originally Posted by IngerAlb

Depends on what you mean by "better Ibanez stuff", but whatever price ppl might ask for a bass and what that bass sells for are two different things.

Some take the manufacturer's suggested price as a guidance, or the price of the major online sellers, but in reality a used bass will never come close to the price of a new instrument, and also even the retailers have discount promotions and stuff, so there are enough opportunities to score.

Good point. Thats pretty subjective I guess.

To me it's any of the solidly built, decent electronics or not, and maybe not super hardware. Basically anything that is a good platform for modification if needed.

I think it almost seemed too easy to get an insane deal for quite a while. You can still find very good deals. I think I was just spoiled.

[PDGood]

In the modern era you could argue that "better Ibanez stuff" = 500 series and above since that's where the Barts begin. Or you could make a case for the 700 series and above since that's where the wood gets fancier. Or you could argue 1200 and above since that's where the Premiums begin.

Lately, I just refer to the better Ibanez stuff as whatever I can't afford - which is a lot of them.

[IngerAlb]

There's a lot of "urban folklore" circulating between musicians. I often hear remarks coming from "experts" saying that Ibby stuff is not pro lvl, that only the beginners play on them, that are horrible, etc. At some point I got caught in all that nonsense myself and switched to Warwicks. It took me a few years and a very deep hole in my pocket to understand how stupid that was Now I don't really care what others have to say about my gear and play & use whatever I like and feels right

Now back on topic: I've played most of modern Ibby models and I can tell you this: it's true that the higher the model number, the better, BUT each model offers a lot for its price. A SR (Gio) 200 doesn't sound like a 500, but for the price, you get a lot of bass. Same goes for SR 300 - not quite on par with the 500 and up models, but one hell of a workhorse, with a very decent tone. The 400 models have also a tone of their own. The one I've had a few years back had such a cool aggressive tone with a metallic bite to it This is the thing that I like about the Ibby basses: even if you have a modest budget, you get a decent instrument. While every increment is well worth.

But all this is going south these days...I really can't understand what's the point of fine tuning your product line to such a degree and then dumping everything the next year...they acted so bipolar during the last few years...

[Standalone]

Two basses traded for SR1200's in one week!!!



Mid/Late '90's.

Previous owner replaced the electronics with passives from an SR800.

There must have been a ground issue in the jack-- it was draining batteries. Bass came with the complete original pups.

But this one sounds like a beast! The 800 sure had hot pickups! I think I'll keep it as is.

After 15 years of being an Ibanez player with no SR's -- Now I've got two 1200's!

Stoked.

[EnviroMetal]

Originally Posted by Standalone

Two basses traded for SR1200's in one week!!!



Mid/Late '90's.

Previous owner replaced the electronics with passives from an SR800.

There must have been a ground issue in the jack-- it was draining batteries. Bass came with the complete original pups.

But this one sounds like a beast! The 800 sure had hot pickups! I think I'll keep it as is.

After 15 years of being an Ibanez player with no SR's -- Now I've got two 1200's!

Stoked.

looks very much like mine
just a couple posts above

i like those a lot. I am thinkin about puttin new pickups on it.
I have rotosound 77 flatwounds on there right now and i love them

[SR Addict]

Just picked it up yesterday from Long and McQuade...

Pure beauty. SR1206e