I've not heard any hum from the Bartolini, nice and silent / smooth.
I seem to remember a D'Addario tag hanging from the bass. I swapped strings almost immediately so didn't test 'em out. Nice already been through the string thing.
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2019 Ibanez Affirma Reviews?
- Thread starter rashrader
- Start date
I've not heard any hum from the Bartolini, nice and silent / smooth.
I seem to remember a D'Addario tag hanging from the bass. I swapped strings almost immediately so didn't test 'em out. Nice already been through the string thing.
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Bass sounds and looks great. If I can get action super low it will be perfect!
Well the bridge is very adjustable (bc. The special piezo saddles), the neck is as "stiff as a board" so I think you'll have a lot of control over the action.
And it's a pleasure sharing info and sounds about this bass!
An update: I got my 4-string Affirma in Walnut a couple of days ago. Getting used to EQing it to my liking, etc. Nicely built, low action out of the store. I've yet to do a set-up on it due to lack of time.
Only small down-side for me is the 1/4" barrel-style output jack. I cannot use my Boss WL-50 wireless transmitter in this jack because it doesn't connect with the male plug of the transmitter. The bass body does not obstruct insertion in any way; it's an internal problem with the output jack. For now, I have to plug in with a cable, which works without any problems.
I'll be ordering a replacement barrel jack from Stew-Mac soon.
Only small down-side for me is the 1/4" barrel-style output jack. I cannot use my Boss WL-50 wireless transmitter in this jack because it doesn't connect with the male plug of the transmitter. The bass body does not obstruct insertion in any way; it's an internal problem with the output jack. For now, I have to plug in with a cable, which works without any problems.
I'll be ordering a replacement barrel jack from Stew-Mac soon.
Tried one extensively today (26-05-19) at Riff Salon in Plac Konstitucji in Warsaw (Poland).
It was a 4-strings model with the flamed maple top.
On the back of the bass, over the plastic control cavity cover there's a label stating "Premium - Made in Indonesia".
The bass was lightweight, probably 3.8kg.
The neck wasn't too curved, so the bass could be played fairly well (unfortunately I'm not @Dr. Cheese who can shoot videos at the shops
, I'm not equipped enough); the test was done with the bass signal directly fed into a Fender Rumble LT25 combo amplifier.It didn't take too much to understand what the controls do; we have volume of the magnetic pickup, piezolectric pickup volume, stacked bass and treble control knob (boost and cut), piezoelectric pickup tone.
The neck is similar in feeling to the neck of a jazz bass; the neck is set into the body of the instrument; the joint is substantially long, so one may talk about a half-through neck.
However, unfortunately, the way the guys at the Indonesian factory glued it to the body does not correspond to the nice picture shown on Ibanez's website; residues of glue, although sanded and smoothened before applying the final finishing coat, were clearly visible, spattering over the darker rear body wood (it should be maple, but it has been painted with a yellowed, transparent tint).
The channel, which should act as a support for the right hand thumb, can be an obstacle for properly playing the E-string at the beginning and, for me, it remained a problem until the end of the test; the slot itself, moreover, was quite roughly finished on the inside.
The ebony fretboard was ok and I didn't have problems playing it without any fret marker onto it.
I honestly had great expectations from the Bartolini magnetic pickup provided which is a Bartolini Candybar X44J, a split-coil, humbucking pickup of the Bartolini Original series of bass pickups.
However, Ibanez should have probably installed a Classic series pickup on the bass as this particular pickup seemed lacking the barky mids which are normally associated with single-coil neck pickups, normally found on jazz basses.
Ok, this is not a single-coil pickup but, considering also the gentle nature of the piezolectric pickup at the bridge, a Classic or series or a single-coil candybar pickup would have been a better choice for this instrument in my opinion.
The piezoelectric pickup has a woody and acoustic sound, especially when cutting some highs and not pushing the piezo tone control too much.
However, even in this case, i believe there are better piezoelectric pickups for 4-strings basses on the market.
The onboard preamp also didn't impress me a lot; in substance, the bass sounded dull and/or hollow in many of the settings which were tried; this may depend also on the strings which were installed on it, although they seemed to be fairly new.
Upright basses, if this is what the bass should sound like when played with certain settings, have much more dynamics than what can be extracted from an AFR.
This, in conjunction with the defects in the finish, which I noticed, make the tag price of 1500USD too much for a made in Indonesia instrument, in my opinion.
I believe that the selling price of this instrument should be more in the range as that of the G&L Tribute series of basses, although I do acknowledge that selected woods are employed alongside in the AFR manufacturing (there's no point in using them, however, making use of poorly skilled/trained workers) with a made in USA pickup.
If you like the sexy shape of the instrument and believe that you may generate the sound you like with it, then, my suggestion is to wait for a 2nd hand one
(be prepared to upgrade the electronics package sooner or later, although it won't be an easy task to install a different piezoelectric pickup .. changing the preamp and the magnetic pickup only may do the trick however)
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Agree with Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati. Especially the onboard preamp - bass sounded dull and/or hollow in many of the settings.
The paint work can be better for the price. Consistent with my Ibanez fan fret bass (also made in Indonesia), the workmanship and paintwork are below expectation. There are also "dead" frets that cannot be rectified on both my Ibanez. Sounds like buzzing but not buzzing; has to do with the inside of the neck. Workmanship problem again. In my opinion, the QA standard can be more robust.
Overall, am disappointed with this Affirma bass, with all the hype with its re-issue. Love the light weight, the headstock and its overall design though.
The paint work can be better for the price. Consistent with my Ibanez fan fret bass (also made in Indonesia), the workmanship and paintwork are below expectation. There are also "dead" frets that cannot be rectified on both my Ibanez. Sounds like buzzing but not buzzing; has to do with the inside of the neck. Workmanship problem again. In my opinion, the QA standard can be more robust.
Overall, am disappointed with this Affirma bass, with all the hype with its re-issue. Love the light weight, the headstock and its overall design though.
I've not played an Affirma, but I owned an played an EDA905, just like the one above, for a decade. It's the bass that I sold that I'm probably most nostalgic about, beating much more expensive instruments.
First, the body, very light, gives you comfortable positions nearly everywhere. It's the most ergonomic design that I've ever encountered. Whether you pick at the bridge, the pup, the neck, for tapping, thumping or slap... You're always resting at exactly the right distance and angle from the strings.
And that inverted bottom horn! You can rest the bass comfortably on your thigh however you want. I could play it slouched on my sofa or with my right leg poked high on a stool, or with the bass way inclined and to my back, however the thing would stay in place, even without holding it nor with noticeable strap strain. Likewise, playing standing up, the bass cradles around you and at just about any strap height.
Bravo Ibanez for the innovative design!
The neck widens from the head down. String spacing is tight at the head and widens down to the bridge. Great if you have big clumsy hands like me. I found my left-hand work to be noticeably less straining, as with chords or for blocking, etc. While getting a lot of margin for the right hand. Again a good design. And the board is just butter.
As for the sound, what I've liked about it is the pup/piezo combo. Well set up, they give you a super fun sound that combines fullness and precision with an added "aftertone" of creaky woodiness. As a whole, it gives a very rich blend of synthesizer-like bass drive and double-bass like richness.
The video below conveys all that pretty well.
My only gripe about the instrument is I didn't find it best suited for rock and post-punk, which is what I like to play most. It did all of that super well, but I wanted something more raw.
Another point to take into consideration is that though the piezo system is excellent at getting precision and at adding that super cool touch of creakiness, alone I found it useless. It has to be combined with the soap pup, and in moderation. Not a problem inasmuch, only that you don't get to pick different pup combinations for more sound variety as most basses offer.
Overall, I sold it for a reason and I wouldn't trade back what I got myself with the money. But it was sure a unique and very, very special instrument.
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I have had the AFR5 WAP since just after Christmas. My thoughts for what they are worth, is that it is an incredibly ergonomic design. It's really comfortable to play standing, or sitting for extended periods. This is down to the body shape and low weight, plus it is well balanced. The neck is quite wide but shallow. Despite having small hands, I find it pretty easy to play. Maybe not in the jazz bass league but still more than acceptable.
It is pretty well made. Frets are smooth and even straight out of the box, the action was pretty good and intonation close to spot on. I haven't noticed finish issues mentioned by others, although there maybe a bit of excess glue on one side of the neck join. The retaining nut on one pot was slightly loose allowing some movement which was easily fixed. Apart from that it was spot on.
Sound wise, it is quite bright, in common with other Ibanez basses I have owned. The Bartolini can be toned down a bit using the two band active tone control. I also use Barefaced vintage voiced cabs, which also take the edge off. Brighter cabs like Markbass might need more eq work at the amp but I guess it also depends what sound you are looking for. Another factor in the brightness might be the standard D'Addario round wound nickel strings. I prefer their flats and will change them when I feel like spending the £45 for a set.
The aero silk piezo pickups in the bridge make a reasonable acoustic tone and can get quite close to an upright sound with the tone rolled off. Not quite as close as my SRH 500 Aerium but that is essentially a semi and has tape wound strings. I primarily play acoustic guitar and my experience with even high-end Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, etc, is that piezo pickups don't sound genuinely acoustic without some help. Putting the Affirma piezo through a TC Electronic BodyRez pedal, or a Zoom AC3 really makes it sound much more like an upright. I am sure similar pedals from Baggs and Fishman would produce good results. I now have a BodyRez in my signal chain and it really makes a difference when I need an upright sound.
It is pretty well made. Frets are smooth and even straight out of the box, the action was pretty good and intonation close to spot on. I haven't noticed finish issues mentioned by others, although there maybe a bit of excess glue on one side of the neck join. The retaining nut on one pot was slightly loose allowing some movement which was easily fixed. Apart from that it was spot on.
Sound wise, it is quite bright, in common with other Ibanez basses I have owned. The Bartolini can be toned down a bit using the two band active tone control. I also use Barefaced vintage voiced cabs, which also take the edge off. Brighter cabs like Markbass might need more eq work at the amp but I guess it also depends what sound you are looking for. Another factor in the brightness might be the standard D'Addario round wound nickel strings. I prefer their flats and will change them when I feel like spending the £45 for a set.
The aero silk piezo pickups in the bridge make a reasonable acoustic tone and can get quite close to an upright sound with the tone rolled off. Not quite as close as my SRH 500 Aerium but that is essentially a semi and has tape wound strings. I primarily play acoustic guitar and my experience with even high-end Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, etc, is that piezo pickups don't sound genuinely acoustic without some help. Putting the Affirma piezo through a TC Electronic BodyRez pedal, or a Zoom AC3 really makes it sound much more like an upright. I am sure similar pedals from Baggs and Fishman would produce good results. I now have a BodyRez in my signal chain and it really makes a difference when I need an upright sound.
Didn't noticed this before, Ibanez has just added a new model of the Affirma Reissue with Poplar Burl top:
AFR5PBP-DTF
AFR5PBP-DTF
i have the 4 string maple can u tell me anything about adjusting the neck? i know nothing about double truss rods
I don't think the graphite rods are adjustable, they are just there for reinforcement. You adjust the central truss rod with an Allen key (hex wrench) accessed via the slot cut in the body at the heel end of the fretboard. There is an appropriate sized hex key in the multi-tool that came with the bass, if you don't have an individual key. An individual key is preferable to be honest, it's easier to use given the somewhat limited access and one with a ball end might be better still. I have to admit I haven't had to adjust mine yet. I had the bass setup by a luthier when I got it and I haven't had to touch it since: the benefit of the reinforcement rods perhaps. The luthier didn't report any difficulty with neck relief adjustment, so it should be relatively straightforward. Good luck! Pat
You don't have to do anything with the 2 graphite reinforcement rods. They were implanted inside to add stability to the neck.
Which generation is your Affirma from, the 2019 reissue or the early 90's?
The old ones had the truss rod access on the headstock whereas the reissue ones have truss rod access moved to where the fretboard ends and meets the body.
Looking at available online pics, I don't see if the Affirma has ever been given 2 truss rods, and especially that since yours is the 4 string model. They've given 2 truss rods inside their 5, 6, 7 string basses, but never I've seen Ibanez put 2 truss rods inside the neck of their 4 string basses.
IME, adjusting the truss rod on a bass with reinforcement rods inside the neck is just like adjusting the truss rod on any other bass. Using the matching Allen key, turn it clockwise if the neck is bowed or likewise turn it counter clockwise if the neck is back-bowed.
its the 2019 affirma with trus rod on body end. to know which way to turn i usually look down the neck from head stock i know left is lose and right is tight but with truss on body end do i look down the neck from the body end and clockwise to tighten like reversed from head stock?
I am looking at page 6 of the manual that came with mine (5 string version); under Neck Adjustment, sub-paragraph 2 it says "..... use a hex key wrench or socket wrench included with the guitar to turn the truss rod nut located at the headstock end of the neck or at the base of the neck in direction...." the instruction is identical whichever end you access the truss rod adjustment at: clockwise to tighten, anti-clockwise to loosen. It also has suggestions as to how you measure whether the neck is too concave or too convex.
You sound as though you are pretty used to doing this adjustment, so I don't want to insult you by teaching you to suck eggs but if you are worried, I would only make very small turns, max a quarter turn and see what happens. There is not much chance of doing lasting damage provided the Allen key is a good fit and you don't over-tighten it, which you won't if you do it in small increments.
The turnings are the same whether the truss rod access is at the headstock or at the body end: first face the truss rod access, then turn the truss rod clockwise, or as you said right, to tighten, and counter clockwise, or as you said left, to loosen.
Since yours is the newer Affirma, which truss rod access is at the body end, you face the truss rod access from the body-end up to the headstock, and then make the turnings.
thanks man that really helped. i got it just right now. easiest playing fretboard i ever played
thanks man i was just being over protective since its so expensive but i got it losend and it plays so good im in love with it. just wish i got the walnut body but the maple sounds great too
Tried one extensively today (26-05-19) at Riff Salon in Plac Konstitucji in Warsaw (Poland).
It was a 4-strings model with the flamed maple top.
On the back of the bass, over the plastic control cavity cover there's a label stating "Premium - Made in Indonesia".
The bass was lightweight, probably 3.8kg.
The neck wasn't too curved, so the bass could be played fairly well (unfortunately I'm not @Dr. Cheese who can shoot videos at the shops
It didn't take too much to understand what the controls do; we have volume of the magnetic pickup, piezolectric pickup volume, stacked bass and treble control knob (boost and cut), piezoelectric pickup tone.
The neck is similar in feeling to the neck of a jazz bass; the neck is set into the body of the instrument; the joint is substantially long, so one may talk about a half-through neck.
However, unfortunately, the way the guys at the Indonesian factory glued it to the body does not correspond to the nice picture shown on Ibanez's website; residues of glue, although sanded and smoothened before applying the final finishing coat, were clearly visible, spattering over the darker rear body wood (it should be maple, but it has been painted with a yellowed, transparent tint).
The channel, which should act as a support for the right hand thumb, can be an obstacle for properly playing the E-string at the beginning and, for me, it remained a problem until the end of the test; the slot itself, moreover, was quite roughly finished on the inside.
The ebony fretboard was ok and I didn't have problems playing it without any fret marker onto it.
I honestly had great expectations from the Bartolini magnetic pickup provided which is a Bartolini Candybar X44J, a split-coil, humbucking pickup of the Bartolini Original series of bass pickups.
However, Ibanez should have probably installed a Classic series pickup on the bass as this particular pickup seemed lacking the barky mids which are normally associated with single-coil neck pickups, normally found on jazz basses.
Ok, this is not a single-coil pickup but, considering also the gentle nature of the piezolectric pickup at the bridge, a Classic or series or a single-coil candybar pickup would have been a better choice for this instrument in my opinion.
The piezoelectric pickup has a woody and acoustic sound, especially when cutting some highs and not pushing the piezo tone control too much.
However, even in this case, i believe there are better piezoelectric pickups for 4-strings basses on the market.
The onboard preamp also didn't impress me a lot; in substance, the bass sounded dull and/or hollow in many of the settings which were tried; this may depend also on the strings which were installed on it, although they seemed to be fairly new.
Upright basses, if this is what the bass should sound like when played with certain settings, have much more dynamics than what can be extracted from an AFR.
This, in conjunction with the defects in the finish, which I noticed, make the tag price of 1500USD too much for a made in Indonesia instrument, in my opinion.
I believe that the selling price of this instrument should be more in the range as that of the G&L Tribute series of basses, although I do acknowledge that selected woods are employed alongside in the AFR manufacturing (there's no point in using them, however, making use of poorly skilled/trained workers) with a made in USA pickup.
If you like the sexy shape of the instrument and believe that you may generate the sound you like with it, then, my suggestion is to wait for a 2nd hand one
Thank you for your review, very well done! I really dig the unique look of this bass and have been checking out a few videos online. From what I've heard and read, if I do decide to pursue it I may have to add a few mods to suite my tonal pallet. Besides that it still looks like a good quality Ibby.
