Differences between Ibanez sr800 sr600 and sr500 made in japan

[THany]

uh...I see three basses you're trying to compare, not two.
The 1990's SR800 and SR600 are MIJ, the SR500 is made in Korea or Indonesia I believe. The SR500 has two humbuckers, the SR800 and SR600 are PJ basses so they're going to sound tonally different. Another difference is that the SR800 has active pickups with active preamp., The SR500 and SR600 are passive pickups with active preamp- so greater tonal range on the SR800.

There was a sr500 model made in Japan, in 1993:

 

[THany]

This describes the 690 I bought about a year ago and thought it might be of interest to you:
SR690 Great condition...excellent quality....Made in Japan at the Fujigen factory 1999 Ibanez SDGR SR690. Not all original....Ash body(see pics). 24 fret SR4 NECK. Accu-cast B20 bridge. Has all new EMG X PJ pickkups with Volume, Blend, stacked Bass and Treble, stacked Mid range and Midrange sweep 18volt. NEW Gotoh gb 707 tuning keys. Will include a Fender deluxe gig bag. Bass is well maintained and plays great!

I do have the original pickups(working DXP AND DXJ). I also have the original preamp(VARI-MID) but it is no longer working. I will include those.

I live in Israel

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

Not sure about the differences but I’ve got a 90s SR800. It’s the only full scale bass I have. Very fast neck, many tonal options. Good stuff.

 

[Fretless370]

Well, to be honest, I haven't even seen an SR600 in my neck of the woods (might be rare to find) but from what it looks like, the SR800 with the active pickups will give you more range, more control over your tone. They come with a 3 band EQ, the "newer" SR800 models with the stacked knobs have a mid-sweep as well. I've owned a couple of SR800 basses, they're terrific if you can find them inexpensively.

Just pulled up some info on the MIJ SR600 from 1999, from what I can see, 3 knobs - 1Vol, 1Balancer, M.Tone control. So it may not even be an active bass at all, I could be wrong but I don't see a battery cavity on the back.

Maybe get the SR500 if you want the humbuckers and a more recent model, get a SR800 if you want a higher quality but older bass with PJ pickups.

Batteries are usually in the control cavity on most of the older SR's...

 

[THany]

Not sure about the differences but I’ve got a 90s SR800. It’s the only full scale bass I have. Very fast neck, many tonal options. Good stuff.

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Yes. I have one too from 92. I was looking for somerhing similar but passive

 

[Zerpersande]

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