Found a dealer who had an ibanez sr1205 in stock so went and tried that......bloody loved it. The neck was narrow and thin for a fiver only prob was that it costs a grand...
I just bought one for $899. Guitar Center was doing their $200 off $999 or more deal which puts it at about an 18%ish discount. Musician's Friend is currently running a 14% discount which would put it at $945
Might take a look at the sr705 as its nearly half the price.......anyone know much about these?
The neck dimensions across Ibanez's SR lineup are identical so they will play the same after a set up. My 4 string is an SR700 and aside from the 5th string on the 705, here's the differences:
Body wood:
705 Mahogany with maple top
1205 Mahogany with Ovangkol top
Neck wood:
705 Bubinga and Jatoba
1205 Wood Bubinga and Wenge
Pickups:
705 Bartolini Mk I
1205 Nordstrand Big Singles
Bridge:
The 705 has the saddles mounted on a mono block frame where as the 1205 has each individual saddle assembly interface directly with the body (I guess that theoretically this allows for better sustain... I'm not positive but I can say sustain is not a concern on either the 700 or the 1205... unless there's some quantifiable difference in sound quality I'd chalk it up to aesthetics (the 1205 bridge does look really nice) and gimmicks (in which case you need to decide if the aesthetics is worth the $$$)).
Body shapes - Both are identical in terms of the template used to cut the body however there are differences in how they have been contoured. The 705 will be a little more pointed and sleek on the edges compared to the 1205 which has a more blunt/rounded edge.
Subjective/personal preference stuff - Aesthetics, I like both but the finish on my 700 is really gorgeous. Sometimes I'll pick it up just to look at the finish.
The knobs on the 1205... ***??? This is definitely a head scratcher, very nice bass and they put these plastic crappy knobs on it. Those will probably be replaced at some point with some nice knobs.
Sound quality... with round wounds - The 1205 (IMO) sounds noticeably better than my 700 with better mid and low mid response (600 to 1000 Hz I'd guestimate). The 1205 sounds really nice using either the bridge or the neck pickup. I haven't decided on where I like it best but it seems like I'm settling on a balance that's smack dab in the middle of both. With the 700 I find the bridge pickup to be thoroughly repulsive (with round wounds). Weak bottom end, not much in the way of low mids, very honky and nasal sounding. With rounds I pretty much use only the neck pickup on the 700.
Unfortunately there are so many variables there that I can't say "this is what makes the difference". I would guess the pickups are playing the biggest role here but I'm not sure what effect the bridge and different woods are having (I suspect not as big of a difference as the pickups). With rounds on there it's enough of a difference that it makes me want to put some Nordstrand Big Singles on my 700 but I think I'm going to start with the preamp by changing it to a Bart NTMB but I'm not in a huge rush to do that (bigger financial priorities at the moment).
Now... with flat wound strings on the 700 (DA Chromes (45-100)) it sounds (again IMO) much better and the bridge pickup becomes quite useable. I haven't put flat on the 1205 yet and I'm not sure that I will (LOVE the flats on the 700, I just put them on 2 days ago and that bass will definitely always have flats on it). I'd like to have a bit of versatility in sound so one with flats, and one with rounds seem to be a logical choice but I'm liking the flats so much that I'm not sure I'll be able to resist.
FWIW the subjective (with the exception of mentioning specific frequency characteristics) evaluations are based upon playing through a Markbass F500 with a Club 121 cab (12" driver with a 1" compression horn driver).
One final note... on my 1205 if you run your thumb across the top of the neck you can feel some bumps. These bumps directly correlate to the grain so my theory is that when the neck was sanded the softer part of the grain wore away faster leaving higher points for the harder part (I think they usually have a soft pad under the sand paper so it can hug the contour but that would also possibly allow for what I'm describing to happen). They're not sharp bumps but they are definitely there. I haven't decided if I'm going to exchange it or not. It's not anything I notice when playing it, my only concern would be for resale value. I asked my bass instructor what he thought and he said "I'd just call it something that makes this instrument unique, I wouldn't be bothered over it".
So, there you have it. Hope that helps.
Cheers, Joe
). These types of questions ("what is the best blah blah") can often degenerate into religious wars (Mac vs. PC, Canon v. Nikon, RAW v. JPEG, Chevy v. Ford). Why should you care what I (or anyone else) thinks is the best? Ultimately you did do what I suggested, you went into a store, tried some basses, and found one that that's a possible winner! 
