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Ibanez 25" Scale Acoustic Basses - PNB14E, AVNB1E, AVNB1FE

#81
OrvCraig said:
4 pages and only one person answered the original question. Is the AVN worth the extra money over the PNB?
Click to expand...

Considering the only time I’ve ever seen the AVN model in person was at NAMM, then that question is going to be a little hard to answer since the PNB is going to be what most people encounter. I feel the PNB is appropriately priced, sounds good, and does what I want it to do. I honestly do not care what wood it’s made of because it has held up well and the tone is better than the other mini basses I’ve had my hands on that were 2-3x the price. If the AVN at also double the price is appealing to you for what amounts to me as aesthetics, then by all means go for it.
 
#82
I've read/skimmed this entire thread, and like @OrvCraig said, there's not much that addresses the OP.

I own a PNB. It's been a lifesaver. It's WAY underpriced for what you get.

Now I'm thinking that getting a fretless one, and putting on the aforementioned LaBella flats that seem to fit it, would be a wonderful mock jazz upright sound.

I could simply purchase a 2nd PNB and pull the frets (not hard to do). Or, if it really is that much of an upgrade, I could simply get an already fretless AVN. I don't mind the fretlines, and I also don't miss them if they're not there, so that's not an issue.

Tonewoods? Sure. A big deal for a small instrument being asked to do an awful lot.

Pickup? Fishman Sonicore is pretty nice according to the interwebs, but I've never heard one. Is it that much better than the stock pickup in the PNB?

Hardware? 4 Gotoh tuners, 2 strap buttons. What needs to improve?

So, double the price for tonewoods and a better pickup. This is a toughie. Anybody play both side by side?
 
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#83
fretlessman71 said:
I've read/skimmed this entire thread, and like @OrvCraig said, there's not much that addresses the OP.

I own a PNB. It's been a lifesaver. It's WAY underpriced for what you get.

Now I'm thinking that getting a fretless one, and putting on the aforementioned LaBella flats that seem to fit it, would be a wonderful mock jazz upright sound.

I could simply purchase a 2nd PNB and pull the frets (not hard to do). Or, if it really is that much of an upgrade, I could simply get an already fretless AVN. I don't mind the fretlines, and I also don't miss them if they're not there, so that's not an issue.

Tonewoods? Sure. A big deal for a small instrument being asked to do an awful lot.

Pickup? Fishman Sonicore is pretty nice according to the interwebs, but I've never heard one. Is it that much better than the stock pickup in the PNB?

Hardware? 4 Gotoh tuners, 2 strap buttons. What needs to improve?

So, double the price for tonewoods and a better pickup. This is a toughie. Anybody play both side by side?
Click to expand...

I was looking for an acoustic fretless bass about 3 years ago and I had ordered the AVNB1F at a local store but I was afraid that I wouldn´t adapt to the shorter scale and body, specially with a fretless bass so I decided to change the order and went with the Guild B-240EF. The Guild sounded good but it needed a setup to make it sound proper and honestly I really didn't bond that well with the bass after some time playing with it. I eventually sold it and got an Ibanez SRH505F which I absolutely love.
Nevertheless, the guys at the store decided to order the AVNB1F anyway to have there at display and I managed to try it. And let me tell you that I imediatly regreted my decision of changing the order. The Ibanez sounded amazing. The scale was easy to adapt to and it sounded so good just unplugged with lots of muah (this one had a perfet setup). Plugged in it sounded even better, almost like an upright. The preamp was really good and allowed for great tone shaping. Much better than the Guild I got at the time. I know for a fact that every bass player that tried it at the store was blown away by how it sounded. And the price wasn't that high. If I had the chance to try it before, I would've gone out of the store with that Ibanez and I have to say that I almost sold the Guild to get that Ibanez but it didn't stay much longer at the store. And now Ibanez decided to pull that model out of their catalogue... :(:(:(
If you have the chance to get one of these, don't hesitate. They're really good for the price and just the right size after all. ;)
 
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#84
I found me a fretless Ibanez! Hooray! Now I need to order strings. So am I to understand that nobody makes a true flatwound steel core string for this scale? Are the LaBella CB40-BE just sort of a glorified nylon string? How does the tension truly compare between what's shipped on the bass and these LaBella strings?
 
#85
fretlessman71 said:
I found me a fretless Ibanez! Hooray! Now I need to order strings. So am I to understand that nobody makes a true flatwound steel core string for this scale? Are the LaBella CB40-BE just sort of a glorified nylon string? How does the tension truly compare between what's shipped on the bass and these LaBella strings?
Click to expand...

Yes, they are a glorified nylon string, but they are nice. Tension doesn't isn't far off from the D'Addario's that it comes with because I never needed to make a truss adjustment to compensate one way or the other. However, they feel a little more flexible and would probably feel nice on the fretless version.

As I'm sure you've read 1. They aren't made for this bass and LaBella has come on here to remind us of such. So if you break one they will not warranty it. 2. Get a lot of the string wrapped around the post, like as much as you can fit on it. I'm trying to remember if I even trimmed mine, but if you do it should be very little. 3. They will take probably a week or more to stretch out and become tuning stable.

I've had a set on my bass since June 2019 and I haven't had any problems other than some oxidation, but that's not a big deal.
 
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#87
fretlessman71 said:
I found me a fretless Ibanez! Hooray! Now I need to order strings. So am I to understand that nobody makes a true flatwound steel core string for this scale?
Click to expand...
Pyramid does, if you custom-order.
Then there are the La Bella/Gold Tone MBLS (aka MBSLS on eBay), which may or may not fit correctly on Ibanez basslet models. They're reportedly wound 28" long, ball-end to silk/start of taper. If you take a sharpie, mark the spot on the G string where it meets the tuning post, take out the string, straighten it and measure it from ball to sharpie mark, do you get 28" or more? If so, the La Bellas should fit on your Ibbo.
As was remarked up-thread, put steel strings on a nylon string guitar and intonation will be sharp unless you move back the bridge. (There's also the potential risk of structural problems due to an underbuilt top, but one thing at a time.) On the other hand, on a fretless you could just ignore the lines.
Are the LaBella CB40-BE just sort of a glorified nylon string?
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of anyone mischaracterising them as being anything other than what they are. Ever held a classical guitar? The CB40 are made like the wound strings of a classical guitar set: metal roundwounds (silverplated copper) on a nylon core. Only bigger, tuned lower.
 
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#89
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#93
For those of you who, like me, were or are reading this thread to find more information about the Ibanez parlor basses and strings, experience, etc., this is for you!

I originally purchased the PNB14e about a year ago. It came with the stock strings that come from Ibanez, which were as other users reported quite floppy and thin, and I wanted to try and find strings that had a more familiar and tighter tension. I read a recommendation from another user on here to try the LaBella Silverbacks that they make for the Gold Tone Microbass, given that it’s a similar scale length (23”-25”). Don’t make this mistake! Not only did those strings not fit the instrument due to them being made for a ukulele bass, but the tension was too tight and it completely broke the neck of the bass after I did manage to “rig” them on. I wound up putting a new set of the D’Addario Bronze strings made for the Taylor GS Mini Bass, which helped a lot. I got most of the use of the neck back, and they actually played and sounded really good to my surprise. Anyways, I traded this bass to a friend of mine because the neck was still warped and the 11th fret had a lot of dead notes. I went looking again for an acoustic short scale bass.

This time I bought a used AVNB1FE, fretless version. The seller on reverb sent it off with an old set of D’Addario Half Round Short Scale strings, which honestly sound really jazzy and very “uprighty” and really impressed me with their sound plugged in, although they are a bit quiet unplugged. I also experienced no issues with intonation or with string tension. The neck is still in great shape even though these strings have been on it for a while, so I take that as a good sign. I’m probably still going to replace them with the D’Addario strings because of acoustic volume but other than that I really like playing these half rounds as well.

Also in comparing the two price ranges, I do find the price to be worth it, for me, but it really depends on what you are looking for. If I could do it all again I would’ve just bought the AVNB1FE first. Unlike the PNB14E, it has a solid spruce top, a nicer fingerboard (it’s a blackened maple but feels and sounds great), bone nut, and a fishman pickup which sounds and responds noticeably better than the pickup in the PNB14e. I would pay the $300 more if these were still both available new.

TLDR: I owned both the Ibanez PNB14e and AVNB1FE, I recommend the D’Addario strings made for Taylor GS mini as a replacement, DO NOT use the Labella Silverbacks. For me the price difference between the two basses was worth it.
 
#95
I just ordered a used Ibanez PNB14E from Guitar Center. Couldn't pass it up: I needed a practice instrument that was portable. I'm fully aware that it won't hold up in an actual acoustic setting, but I think it will do just fine for quiet indoor practice. I did the headphone practice thing with my full scale EBG's for a year and I'm sick of it!

I'm curious to try tuning it in 5ths, say GDAE or even CGDA at cello pitch. I have no idea how the string tension would work for that, though. Suffice to say I'll have a lot of reading to catch up on if I wanted to try that...

-Cal.
 
#96
Cal03 said:
I just ordered a used Ibanez PNB14E from Guitar Center. Couldn't pass it up: I needed a practice instrument that was portable. I'm fully aware that it won't hold up in an actual acoustic setting, but I think it will do just fine for quiet indoor practice. I did the headphone practice thing with my full scale EBG's for a year and I'm sick of it!

I'm curious to try tuning it in 5ths, say GDAE or even CGDA at cello pitch. I have no idea how the string tension would work for that, though. Suffice to say I'll have a lot of reading to catch up on if I wanted to try that...

-Cal.
Click to expand...

It has a truss rod and I would think it would be able to compensate for the tension with an adjustment.

You're going to really enjoy it! Mine is hanging on the wall in my kid's play room so I always have it within arms reach for an impromptu jam for some quick entertainment. The small size makes it very easy to use while sitting on the couch. If you ever need to amplify it I highly recommend to use a soundhole mute made by these fine people in order to control feedback (and it very much will without it) - Lute Hole Products custom designs, odd shapes, sizes and modifications I have a plain "mute hole" made of walnut and it does a fantastic job.
 
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#97
Thanks for the recommendations, @fauxtoe. I'm a newcomer to ABG's, so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Good to hear that it comes with a truss rod. I quickly crunched some numbers with this string tension calculator to get a rough idea of what numbers I'm dealing with. According to the stock gauges listed on the Ibanez product page, the tension is really low, at only 14-17 lbs. per string. Of course, the calculator is using Kalium's data, so these numbers are probably not too accurate.
 
#98
Cal03 said:
I'm curious to try tuning it in 5ths, say GDAE or even CGDA at cello pitch. I have no idea how the string tension would work for that, though.
Click to expand...
For GDAE, I'd look for a 070 metal-wound, nylon-core G. Where to find it and the rest of the strings? Unfortunately, you need to cobble them together, hence and thence. Take the second-lowest (070) and the second-highest (037) from this set (Savarez 6CB640R)
Invalid Link Removed
then add a single D'Addario NYL052w
Invalid Link Removed
in between, and a NYL026w
Invalid Link Removed
on top.

For CGDA, just get this set (Magma Transpositor GCT-CELLO)
Magma Classical Guitar Strings TRANSPOSITOR LA-A CELLO - Silver Plated Copper (GCT-CELLO)
(and discard the highest two, of course);
or make a set of D'Addario singles, starting from the aforelinked 052w, plus a NYL036w
Invalid Link Removed
a 026w (also linked above) and a plain NYL040
Invalid Link Removed
as your high A.

String tensions for the latter tuning would be in the ballpark of the average per-string pull of the existing set - D'Addario EXPPBB190GS - that your Ibanez PNB14E comes with; with the GDAE set they would be higher but, I believe, the basslet would handle them (I've checked, from the Savarez website and the old D'Addario tension chart .pdf file).
 
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#99
@Cal03:
HaphAsSard said:
then add a single D'Addario NYL052w
Invalid Link Removed
in between, and a NYL026w
Invalid Link Removed
on top.
Click to expand...
On second thoughts (lil tension miscalculations), I'd like to amend my suggestion for the added singles, to .048 and .025 respectively.


To sum it up:

1) for GDAE
- 070* 048 037* 025
(asterisked strings are the 2nd fattest and 2nd thinnest from the Invalid Link Removed set; other two are D'Addario Invalid Link Removed and Invalid Link Removed singles)

2) for CGDA
- Magma GCT-Cello set minus the top two strings, or alternatively
- custom set of D'Addario singles (Invalid Link Removed - Invalid Link Removed - Invalid Link Removed - Invalid Link Removed)

Also, after reviewing them, all three suggestions are close to the original string complement, tension-wise.
 
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