2002 Ibanez SRX 500 - Pawn shop junk???

[BooDoggie]

I posted a thread yesterday about what I thought was a Ibanez SR500... This getting old and not remembering crap is really starting to get to me... I forget that I have a camera in my pocket... Duh...

Anyway, I went back to the pawn shop for another look and found that I was totally wrong about the model. They have it marked down to $250.00 with case. After a little research I really don't think it's worth half of that. I did talk to the owner of the pawn shop and told him it was in pretty rough shape, but we did not discuss price.

Here are some photos of the issues I saw. I would like to get a second opinion about it. I don't think I could possibly give them more than $150.00 even with a case. All of the hardware is kind of rough and tarnished. The bridge seems to be lifting at the back from string tension not to mention the amount of string buzz on the frets. The action is very low despite being adjusted all the way up. It just looks like one of those.. meh... I think I'll pass deals, but then again I'm not really looking for anything other than something to play around with at home, and I can do a complete overhaul and setup myself... I repaired my 54 Martin 0-18 acoustic and completely rebuilt my 62 Fender jazz so I think i can handle a Korean made bass.


The body and neck look pretty good as far as fit and finish, but it would take a lot of work to make it really playable... The strings on it appear fairly new possibly steel rounds with light gray winding silks, so I don't know what gauge or brand.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

That chrome is finished in smoke chrome and it tends to tarnish like that with age regardless of brand, Ive had a aerodyne fender do the same so it won’t really clean up. I got A pawn shop bass today and got them to go from $400 to $350 but they wouldn’t budge more, best of luck

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Those PFR pickups are some of the best Ibanez ever made IME.
I've always assumed you could put two-screw saddles on there to fix the leaning issue, but I've never put my money where my mouth is & kept one with this bridge.

 

[Jeff Elkins]

The pictures don’t really show the whole neck—it’s possible a little relief will get the strings up. Having said that, it could also be that it needs a new nut.

I agree with AST—the tarnish wouldn’t bug me at all.

Having said that, the frets look really worn from that side shot... not as easily repairable.

How does it play? How does it sound? I could look up your other thread...

 

[BooDoggie]

That chrome is finished in smoke chrome and it tends to tarnish like that with age regardless of brand

Yea, I had a 89 Fender that did the same thing. It was pretty bad after 10 years, but I bought it to work not to look at...

Those PFR pickups are some of the best Ibanez ever made IME.
I've always assumed you could put two-screw saddles on there to fix the leaning issue, but I've never put my money where my mouth is & kept one with this bridge.

I hooked it up to a little Peavey Max 110. I couldn't turn the volume up past 1 on the amp without getting really loud. I could always route the body out and glue in a solid maple plug then refinish it and install a new Hipshot 5 screw bridge.

The pictures don’t really show the whole neck—it’s possible a little relief will get the strings up. Having said that, it could also be that it needs a new nut.

There is already some relief in the neck. I didn't look too close at the nut.

How does it play? How does it sound?

I read where the neck is very similar to a Fender jazz which are the only basses I've ever played. It had too much string buzz especially on the D and G strings to really play it, but it felt comfortable and the frets didn't look too bad. Maybe a little crowning on the frets would be a good idea, but I really don't know if the truss rod is good or not. It got really loud really fast, and has a lot of tone adjustments.