Another "I'm too picky" thread

[KingRazor]

So, not all of you know me, but I'm extremely picky about basses (and everything else...)

I have an Ibanez SR405QM bass. I love the playability on it. The finish is pretty nice looking. The shapes of the neck and body are perfect.

But, the tone is just not that great. It's got active EQ, which I've never liked. It's made of basswood, which is definitely not my first choice for body wood (but that's getting REALLY nit-picky as I've never heard any difference in tone between two body woods on the same style of basses) and while the finish is nice, it's definitely not my first choice of finish, either.

What I really want is a passive Ibanez bass. Or at least one with only two or three knobs, so I can pull out the preamp and wire it up passive without having any left over holes.

But it seems like the only models I can find [that I like] have more than three and have active preamps (which don't tend to sound great, either).

It seems like getting a passive Ibanez in a color I like with a configuration I want is nigh impossible.

Am I being too picky? Probably.

I've thought about buying an SR505, which has a natural (oil?) finish; removing the preamp, plugging up the extra holes with wood plugs and then covering it in a solid color finish.

I don't know if that's really the best idea though. It's a lot effort over some really nit-picky things.

For instance, I once saw a beautiful blue SR885 bass on Ebay that was near perfect. The only things I'd nit pick about are: too many knobs (four), a poly finished neck (fixable, possibly) and a basswood body (not really a big deal).

I really like that the SR505 has a neck that doesn't need a finish, it feels really nice to play on. But, I don't really mind a finished neck. Especially Ibanez because they appear to use very thin coats of poly.

Ok, I'm done. Here's the TL;DR version: I'm picky.

 

[burl0029]

You could install passive pups, use three knobs and put a toggle switch in the fourth position that switches between series and parallel (or phase, or whatever else you can think of). You could also do VOL and TONE for each pup. I've used a few passive basses with that setup and I liked it.

 

[colcifer]

My advice, rewire it VVTT or VVT with a varitone.

 

[KingRazor]

Yeah, I guess 4 knobs isn't really a big deal. But five or more and I'm like

 

[mdogs]

The problem is you don't know what your problem is... pickups or preamp? I would think your better option is to go get yourself a nice preamp, tear out the stock one and replace it. I doubt that you are going to be happy with the stock pickup sound in passive mode.

 

[unclejane]

The problem is you don't know what your problem is...

Well I wouldn't necessarily say that - being picky can serve you well as a way of finding out what you personally need/want in a bass.

OTOH, if it prevents you from actually playing anything or drains your bank account in a really harmful way, then yeah you've probably gone a bit overboard.

But at some point, once you've addressed the really major problems, you kind of have to stop and leave the little things alone. Otherwise, you'll never do any actual playing .

I.e. I can nit pick even my Carvins for not having radiused pickup faces, or the bridge on my 4 holer for the saddles sliding back and forth a little when I top-load the strings, and etc. But do those really affect playability and tone? Turns out they don't, especially at my skill and musicianship level . But if it had poor balance, an uncomfortable neck profile, etc., yeah then I'd want to step up the urgency of those particular problems.

So I say be picky, but know when to stop

LS

 

[Nobody]

You could get a pre withe a bypass and a passive tone and have the best of both worlds. With it in passive you could then see if you needed to also upgrade the pups.

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2B-4c ( 2 pickup - 4 Knob)

- Volume (pull passive)
- Blend
- Passive Tone
- Treble/Bass Stack

 

[Kipaste]

First thing that comes to mind is that BTB's and SR's are very differend feeling instruments. So if you're ok with such big differences in feel, why not try some other makers? Why limit yourself to ibanez?

And I agree with mdogs. The licence barts don't do wonders in passive. Sure the pre ain't good either, but it's not really hurting that much. Maybe real barts or something from nordstrand..

 

[dukeorock]

How picky can you be if you like Ibanez basses?

 

[christw]

How picky can you be if you like Ibanez basses?

Depends if you're like me. I look at each instrument for it's own capabilities and own several cheapies and several medium to high end basses. I most regularly play a bass I paid $40 for. It's small, is easy to mod, sounds good, and looks good. Most of all, it's convenient. Squier Bronco for the win!

Anyways, I've wanted an Ibanez SRVIISC and SR5006E for a minute now. I just like what they do. Then again, I like A LOT. Proving your point, eh?

 

[mdogs]

Well I wouldn't necessarily say that - being picky can serve you well as a way of finding out what you personally need/want in a bass.

OTOH, if it prevents you from actually playing anything or drains your bank account in a really harmful way, then yeah you've probably gone a bit overboard.

But at some point, once you've addressed the really major problems, you kind of have to stop and leave the little things alone. Otherwise, you'll never do any actual playing .

I.e. I can nit pick even my Carvins for not having radiused pickup faces, or the bridge on my 4 holer for the saddles sliding back and forth a little when I top-load the strings, and etc. But do those really affect playability and tone? Turns out they don't, especially at my skill and musicianship level . But if it had poor balance, an uncomfortable neck profile, etc., yeah then I'd want to step up the urgency of those particular problems.

So I say be picky, but know when to stop

LS

Well, you took my comment out of context. Picky is fine, but he does NOT know the source of the sound that he is unhappy with. So, I will repeat my comment, you need to know what you are unhappy with before you can set about changing it!!

 

[KingRazor]

I would be replacing both the preamp AND the pickups. I've wanted some SGD pickups for a long time and I know those sound great passive.

There's actually someone working on a preamp for me that has no onboard EQ, just an internal trim pot. I get the benefits of low impedence output without having any onboard EQ. (refer to this thread http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/why-i-dont-like-onboard-eq-757588/ for why I don't like onboard EQ)

Why Ibanez? Because no other company makes basses the same way they do. Soundgear basses are the most comfortable basses to play that I've ever tried. The necks are perfect. The bodies are comfortable. Plus, they are also very aesthetically pleasing. I like lots of curves on my bass.

The two things I don't like about Ibanez are their tone and their electronics. Also, often, their choice in color. For some reason they keep making basses with natural finishes. Or various shades of red and brown. They need to make more blue basses.

 

[spiritbass]

I'm with you re: on-board EQ. I don't dislike it, I just don't use it. I also took a similar approach to address my preference. I put Redeemer Circuit buffers in two of my previously passive instruments, a dual-Dark Star JB-2 and my only blue bass, an Indigoburst AB-1:
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I like being able to lower my volume at times and the buffer allows me to retain full tone and body when I do.

 

[KingRazor]

Oh man I'd kill for a Dingwall but they're way out of my price range.

I just rewired my Ibanez with the pickup leads going straight to the jack. Now none of the knobs do anything, when I plug it in, it's full on all the time. No battery needed. I'm not going to keep it this way but I think it's an improvement.

I'm looking to sell my current Ibanez and use the money toward one that I want more. I'll either get an SR505 and mod it a little or just find a blue one. I really want a blue bass.