I have a thing with PJs. I don't know what it is, I just think they're cool. I've had my eye on a Markas Miller active/passive PJ for a while, just hadn't pulled the trigger. One day I walk into my local guitar shop and my eye is instantly caught by what can only be described as a space PJ. An Ibanez 650. I had never seen one before. They apparently only made them for four or five years before discontinuing them. I had no idea Ibanez had ever made an SR PJ. I've only ever seen the miKro and the Talman, neither of which are particularly interesting to me.
As best as I can tell, it's a 2015 which means It's an ash body with a five piece jatoba/bubinga neck, rosewood fingerboard and Abalone inlays. It doesn't say in the specs but I belive the body to be three piece. the seems are damn near impossible to see though. The neck is extremely thin in all dimensions. I have an SR250 as well which as, I thought, the thinnest neck I'd ever seen but this thing is actually even thinner, to the point that, even with my small hands, it can still seem TOO thin at times. But, it still plays well over all. it needs a small bit of care. The frets need to be polished and board needs to be conditioned but other than that it's in really excellent condition. only a few minor scratches on the body that you need to be in the right light to see.
It has Nordstand pickups that where custom designed for Ibanez (more info in this thread) and an Ibanez pre-amp with active/passive toggle. When in passive mode, the treble knob becomes a tone knob.
Even in passive mode, it's EXTREAMLY bright. it's the brightest passive P i've ever heard and when you put it into active mode, you can send the treble through the stratosphere. You can, of course, also cut the highs which I do most of the time. You can also easily send it into wub territory by cutting the highs and mids and cranking the bass. If you played around with it I think you can dial in most sounds you could want from it, especially going through something like a sansamp.
Another interesting note, after I got it home, I realized the strings where part of what drew me to it. I found out that they're an older set of Blue Steels when they still had silks. I didn't know they ever had silks but that powder blue looks great against the headstock. I've never used Blue Steels but I liked them immediately. They're more flexy than I'm used to and make bends feel great. And even though they're steel, they don't feel as gritty on my fingers as other steel rounds I've used. they've actually got a pleasing texture to them.
It had a bazar setup on it though. They had a massive radius like an upright where middle strings are a lot higher than the out two strings. I like my strings flat with low action so I set about adjusting it and it was hands down the easiest setup I've ever done. Everything moves so smoothly and is so accessible. I've never adjusted a neck where the movement was so obvious a visible with such minor adjustment.
My only complaints about the bass are nitpicky. It wats to lean into a very bright tone by it's nature but it can be tamed. I love the dark neck but it is stained, not roasted so the color of the neck is not indicative of the character of the wood. The bridge is nice, but it's slightly recessed into the body so if you ever wanted to replace it, it won't be as simple as just screwing another one down. The control cavity is also cluttered and complicated. Won't be straightforward to repair if anything goes wrong. The worst part of the bass is the battery compartment. The lead that connects the 9v battery is WAY to short and doesn't clip onto the battery very well. Ibanez really dropped the ball there but luckily it's not something you have to deal with often.
It's quite the interesting bass. It's my first experience with a higher end Ibanez. My first bass was an SR250 which was about $300-$350 new. I believe the 650 retailed for about $700 from what i've seen. not totally sure about that but it is undoubtedly of much higher quality than my 250. I think it'll fill the role of a PJ nicely. it has tones of tonal options and it feels great to play. I also just love the oddity that it is. It's that time Ibanez made a space PJ and I love that I found one out of nowhere. And if I decoded the serial number correctly, it looks like it was made within the first two months of the model's production.
I may have been screwed by the shop. I traded my T-40 plus $250 for it. Ultimately, I had gotten to a place where I just never played the T-40. It's a cool bass but mine seemed off. It was a little dead sounding, the neck was really fat, wouldn't stay still and you need a proprietary tool to adjust it that's impossible to find. Ultimately, I'd rather have a bass I play than one I don't, But still feel kind taken advantage of. He only gave me $300 for the T-40. was only going to give me $250 until I reminded him it has the original case. oh well, is what it is. I still came out of it with a much more playable instrument in the end.
As best as I can tell, it's a 2015 which means It's an ash body with a five piece jatoba/bubinga neck, rosewood fingerboard and Abalone inlays. It doesn't say in the specs but I belive the body to be three piece. the seems are damn near impossible to see though. The neck is extremely thin in all dimensions. I have an SR250 as well which as, I thought, the thinnest neck I'd ever seen but this thing is actually even thinner, to the point that, even with my small hands, it can still seem TOO thin at times. But, it still plays well over all. it needs a small bit of care. The frets need to be polished and board needs to be conditioned but other than that it's in really excellent condition. only a few minor scratches on the body that you need to be in the right light to see.
It has Nordstand pickups that where custom designed for Ibanez (more info in this thread) and an Ibanez pre-amp with active/passive toggle. When in passive mode, the treble knob becomes a tone knob.
Even in passive mode, it's EXTREAMLY bright. it's the brightest passive P i've ever heard and when you put it into active mode, you can send the treble through the stratosphere. You can, of course, also cut the highs which I do most of the time. You can also easily send it into wub territory by cutting the highs and mids and cranking the bass. If you played around with it I think you can dial in most sounds you could want from it, especially going through something like a sansamp.
Another interesting note, after I got it home, I realized the strings where part of what drew me to it. I found out that they're an older set of Blue Steels when they still had silks. I didn't know they ever had silks but that powder blue looks great against the headstock. I've never used Blue Steels but I liked them immediately. They're more flexy than I'm used to and make bends feel great. And even though they're steel, they don't feel as gritty on my fingers as other steel rounds I've used. they've actually got a pleasing texture to them.
It had a bazar setup on it though. They had a massive radius like an upright where middle strings are a lot higher than the out two strings. I like my strings flat with low action so I set about adjusting it and it was hands down the easiest setup I've ever done. Everything moves so smoothly and is so accessible. I've never adjusted a neck where the movement was so obvious a visible with such minor adjustment.
My only complaints about the bass are nitpicky. It wats to lean into a very bright tone by it's nature but it can be tamed. I love the dark neck but it is stained, not roasted so the color of the neck is not indicative of the character of the wood. The bridge is nice, but it's slightly recessed into the body so if you ever wanted to replace it, it won't be as simple as just screwing another one down. The control cavity is also cluttered and complicated. Won't be straightforward to repair if anything goes wrong. The worst part of the bass is the battery compartment. The lead that connects the 9v battery is WAY to short and doesn't clip onto the battery very well. Ibanez really dropped the ball there but luckily it's not something you have to deal with often.
It's quite the interesting bass. It's my first experience with a higher end Ibanez. My first bass was an SR250 which was about $300-$350 new. I believe the 650 retailed for about $700 from what i've seen. not totally sure about that but it is undoubtedly of much higher quality than my 250. I think it'll fill the role of a PJ nicely. it has tones of tonal options and it feels great to play. I also just love the oddity that it is. It's that time Ibanez made a space PJ and I love that I found one out of nowhere. And if I decoded the serial number correctly, it looks like it was made within the first two months of the model's production.
I may have been screwed by the shop. I traded my T-40 plus $250 for it. Ultimately, I had gotten to a place where I just never played the T-40. It's a cool bass but mine seemed off. It was a little dead sounding, the neck was really fat, wouldn't stay still and you need a proprietary tool to adjust it that's impossible to find. Ultimately, I'd rather have a bass I play than one I don't, But still feel kind taken advantage of. He only gave me $300 for the T-40. was only going to give me $250 until I reminded him it has the original case. oh well, is what it is. I still came out of it with a much more playable instrument in the end.
