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Caring for a Ibanez SR300F Bass ~

J

jaspie

Sep 5, 2010
2
0
#1
Hi all,

I am new to these forums ~ I am also considered a newbie at playing Bass ~

My interest in playing Bass guitar started after I had a chance of getting my hands on a friend's Yamaha RBX170 Bass ~ After that I went to my local music store and picked up the Ibanez SR300F ~ Yes....a fretless as a first bass.....everyone says I am brave for making such a decision ~

There's a slight problem though.....I've noticed some marks from the strings on the fingerboard ~ I'm not sure if it's because I'm being too rough to it or because it's a fretless....it is leaving marks from the strings digging into the board ~

What can I do to avoid this in the future ~

Thanks in advance for the help ~

Jaspie ~
 
#4
Bought one of those myself, know of some others units as well. Mine i brought in from the USA and being blunt the neck is very hard to maintain a stable action height. Also had to dress the Ebonol finger board to correct surface issues. The marks ( string contact ) will appear quickly though get no worse from my experience to date. Though it is not so easy to dress the synthetic surface, very fine wet and dry abrasive material as used in the auto trade is what i used to dress the Ebonol. The neck seems to have stabilised now, though i am not 100% convinced it will gig in the hot weather, and remain action height stable. Not a bad bass, been using Ibanez since 1975, maybe others will indicate the Indonesian Ibanez for quality, me... am sticking with Korean production Ibanez when i can find them. Assuming yours is new stock ( not nos ), it would be Indonesian. The tone control setup is good to my ears and style of playing...though the RBX200F i have has oodles of mwah unlike the SR300F which you need to work at to get any/easy semblence of mwah.

Hope you enjoy the fretless experience, it took me over 30 years to "wake up". Regards.
 
#5
Eight_Stringer said:
Bought one of those myself, know of some others units as well. Mine i brought in from the USA and being blunt the neck is very hard to maintain a stable action height. Also had to dress the Ebonol finger board to correct surface issues. The marks ( string contact ) will appear quickly though get no worse from my experience to date. Though it is not so easy to dress the synthetic surface, very fine wet and dry abrasive material as used in the auto trade is what i used to dress the Ebonol. The neck seems to have stabilised now, though i am not 100% convinced it will gig in the hot weather, and remain action height stable. Not a bad bass, been using Ibanez since 1975, maybe others will indicate the Indonesian Ibanez for quality, me... am sticking with Korean production Ibanez when i can find them. Assuming yours is new stock ( not nos ), it would be Indonesian. The tone control setup is good to my ears and style of playing...though the RBX200F i have has oodles of mwah unlike the SR300F which you need to work at to get any/easy semblence of mwah.

Hope you enjoy the fretless experience, it took me over 30 years to "wake up". Regards.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information ~

Yes my SR300F is new stock so I think it is Made in Indonesia ~

Do you think Yamaha is worth the buy??? I was close to getting a RBX374 but some of my friends who also play the Bass all objected so I went with Ibanez ~ I am very happy with my SR300F, just wondering if Yamaha is really that bad at making Bass guitars ~

Jaspie ~
 
#6
Advice is useful, however your playing the bass so yours is the final decision. Cannot comment on modern Yamaha, again for me the value is in certain origins of manufacture. You mentioned the RBX170, unsure which "generation" it was from. The Yamaha i search to purchase, have the inline tuners, made in Taiwan and at least 10+ years old now. As such some are in ordinary condition and some being tagged a learners Bass are used for only a short period then stored under a bed for 10 years...

Broadly speaking if you practice each day on a regular basis the actual bass quality will be less of an issue than the skills you develop. The SR300F is a good first up bass if it is has a stable neck, and many do of this model as i understand. Hope to gig mine and also the RBX200F, for many reasons the term "Beginners Bass" has no meaning in regard to low end basses in modernish times. FWIW have a Fender P bass nearly 40 years old and a 74 Rick 4001, the SR300F is a bass i would pickup to play as much as the revered older USA basses mentioned. Concentrate ( and enjoy is important ) on your playing and less of advice and "better" branded basses guidence, you have made a good start, keep going.

** Experiment with strings such as flats if your inclined, as a player there will be the moment of... my choice is, whatever sounds good to you. Regards.
 

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