SoundGear owners Sound Off!

I own the starter GSR 190 bass. And for a $200 bass, It plays damn good, Definitely better than A Squire, ANY Squire. The stock pups are ok, But ive routed out space, ANd now Ive got a set of Dimarzio Model J's In it and It sounds great. Ive also pu a badass II on it so, It sustains very well too.

Some people say Ibanez basses arent put together well, And well,That isnt true in my bass. I mean, Ive taken it apart and put if back together, Many a time(To shim the neck and what not). But for 2-1/2 years it never let me down.

The only downside ive seen with the cheaper SR bass is that they have really crappy stock strings and are setup really poor. I think the SR500 and up have elixirs or something as the stock strings. But wouldnt hesitate to buy the SR400. Its a great bang for the buck bass, ANd theres room for modification. I can tell you, The next mod for my Ibanez will be a HR 3.3 Bartolinin preamp. Good Luck.

A few months ago I purchased a new SR-506 and I love it. Mahogony body, 5 piece Bubinga/Wenge neck, Bartolini MK1 Pickups and 3 band EQ. It sounds excellent and it's easy to play! I'd buy it again.



Have Fun!

deathbloomslife said:

Now, I'm not a SDGR owner, yet. However, I recently borrowed a friends SR300DX, and was quite impressed, at the quality, tone, and feel of the bass. I was actually quite reminded of a Spector Legend series 4 string bass right away. Both have a very sculpted body, slim neck, and awesome precision/jazz pickups installed.

Click to expand...

My first bass was (actually still have that, but I don't think I've taken it out of the bag for more than an hour this year) the same, a SR300DX (LH). While I had it, I thought it was good, just the tone was a bit dull at the higher frets. After I got my Corvette, I realized how bad the tone sucks. It has an upper-mid projection, the highs are lost, and so are the deepest lows. Commonly called, mud. Not to be confused with the Jack or the Peter or Dennis, it's mud. Also, the p-ups are bad. Not to mention the electronics.
If I have no way to talk you off of it, at least change the electronics, IMO, that's the weakest spot in it.

Just my $0,02

I've got an SR400. It feels great and is built nice and solid, considering the amount of abuse I've put it through. Very stable neck, even though it's so thin.
The downside is the electronics, including pickups. The pickups are pretty dull and the preamp ain't helping none in that department. I liked the feel of mine so much that I sprung for a complete replacement of the innards for EMG's. The sound now matches the feel now and I am much happier it.

I've owned Ibanez since I started. Began with a new deceased GSR205 and now my main bass is an SR506. Bought it when they reintroduced it back in 2004 with the Bartolini's. Only thing I'd really change about it is the pickups.

I recently upgraded from my 305 DX. I liked the neck. The electronics, however, were an enigma to me. The plastic sheet that came with the new bass and told which knobs did what was mislabeled. I looked up the wiring diagram on line, and then the whole thing clicked. It's basically set up volume/volume/tone with the extra active "phat" bass. Once I figured that out I was able to get some good mid-range jazz bass bridge pickup tones out of it, or cop a decent p-bass like sound out of it when needed. I think the 400 series actually has a 3-band eq. on it, but I'm not sure.

IMO, the bass sound fine. With a small/poor amp any bass can cound crappy. The SRX sounds fine D.I.ed, or played through a 4x10 with plenty of watts behind it. I don't like the sound of it, though, out of any variety of 15" speaker; it can tend to get muddy.

The issues I had with the bass were that the neck was riddled with dead spots and the 7th fret kept popping up and causing buzzing. Also, the string spacing is narrow for double thumbing (16mm at bridge), although I could pull off most other slap type techniques (the narrow spacing actually improved my aim.. It makes a decent beginner bass IMO. I've just developed more expensive tastes.

Cheers,
-w.e.e.

I'm the reluctant owner of a '99 SR800. I say reluctant because I've been trying to sell it for months and there have been no takers. Too bad, since it's a really nice bass.... just not my style at all.

Over 10 years ago (oh dear lord... ) my first "good" bass was an old-school SR-800, and it lasted me through 4 of grimey clubs, demo recordings, and a defretting so that I could add "wannabe fretless player" to my resume. After that it was a jump to an SR-1206 and all sorts of prog shenanagans, and that was my main bass for 5 years and is still my "first call" for tapping, chording, and upper-range playing. A few months ago I picked up a RKB-900 for a steal to support my "pickstyle, quality passive Duncan Quarter Pounders, Hipshot tuners and BAII bridge" jones, and have been lovin' that ever since.

My thought on Ibanez? Absolutely great... when they want to be. Unfortunately, misfires like EDBs, bad marketing in the case of the RKBs, and not bringing back fan favorites like the ATKs don't help much.

My first and only bass is my SR400. I bought it used and got a pretty decent deal on it, and for a starter bass it's definately good.

I don't have any dead spots on the neck, but the action was high when I got it. Which was easily adjustable.

It has a great low end which I love.

The biggest drawback, as most people have said, is the electronics. I'd like to eventually upgrade my pups (probably bartolinis). (I need to save for a better gig worthy amp first).

And if/when I upgrad basses, I'm planning on keeping this one around.

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a good bass.

Ibanez certainly gives you a lot of bang for the buck, and if you have the patience to keep searching you can also find sweet deals on used basses made in the US and plenty of the better quality MIJ basses.

I've posted before about my SR800... I've seen plenty of them floating around used and people usually ask about $400. Last fall I picked up an SR810 on clearance at GC for about $250.

The SR810 might be a GC-only model, because it seems to be just a renamed SR400 with a different body wood and finish. Same neck, same preamp circuit board part number. I like ash, it played great, and the price was right so I snagged it.

Of course the stock pickups are crap, the preamp is noisy even with a humbucking J, and the overall build quality is nowhere near as good as the SR800. But it plays like buttah! Super low action without buzz. So I dropped in a set of Duncans and run it passive, problem solved. And the thing plays better than basses I've tried that cost 4 times what I put into it.

The SR800 is another story... that was no salvage operation. Quite the contrary, it's the only bass I've ever owned where I've never felt a need to modify it in any way. Never had a single problem with it. And it came in handy when we were supporting Necrophagia last month. Iscariah had an older model active Aria, which got lost by the airlines, and worked for 1 show after it was recovered. Then the electronics died. He wound up using my SR800 for the next 2 weeks... said he liked it a lot, and wished he could find them more easily in Europe.

I have an SR-390, and I quite like it. I got it for $200 used and it was in perfect condition. The only one I've seen on the internet was goin for 400, so I'm guessing I got a good deal.
I intend to put a set of EMGs in it when I get the money....
It plays well and sounds good, thats all I ask of a bass really...

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I have an EDB-605, and love it. It has never let me down.

Two weeks ago I bought an SR500BM, and I love IT. There is nothing I would change ... I just plain like Ibanez basses. I like the tone, the neck, and reliability.

I have an SR 1200.

Love the EQ setup for versatility: Bass - Treble and Mid all have Cut/Boost. PU Blend, and Mid Frequency is adjustable. AFR pickups are good but not nearly as strong as other active PUs like EMG or Warwick MECs. Hard to get good "growl" out of them. Good clarity and attack though.

Actual electronics quality (wiring/solder joints) were below average.

^Beautiful.....

Here's me and my baby. I love it to death, and will love it more when I eventually swap out the electronics for all EMG.


Tapping


At jazz band. Pardon the goofy luck, my friend was saying something stupid over to the side there.

I've an SR490 since January of '04 and I will never, ever part with it. The electronics have suited my needs all along the way - nevertheless, they will be coming out sometime in the near future, to be exchanged for an all-active EMG circuit. They've been distorting lately, and have always been a bit on the noisy side.

The neck is easily the most astounding feature of my bass. It's five peice wenge/walnut. I've yet to find a smoother or faster-playing neck - no Pedulla, Alembic, Spector, Warwick, Fender, Schecter, MusicMan, or Ibanez, for that matter, have come close. The only thing that could improve it would be an Ebony board.

Here's my baby:
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