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Ibanez Basses and Fender Basses

#81
I think if you are 35 or 40 years old, the fender and gibson sounds are in your blood, as we grew up on those tones! In all fairness, i have never owned an ibby but have played several in shops and i thought they were well made. I also thought they played and sounded good! I started out 32 years ago with an $89. montoya p bass copy. Over the decades i played a rick 4001, a beautiful fender jazz usa, a pedulla xj interceptor, fernandez,westwood, epiphone,etc,etc,etc. After 2 decades i recently returned to the fender sound in my purchase of a vintage modifed squier jaguar! My primary bass these days is my thunderbird but when i plug in my jag, i dig that passive fender tone and realize i have missed it!!!!!
 
#82
IngerAlb said:
There is no MIJ gear anymore - except for the Prestige line. EVERYTHING ELSE is MII or MIK. Now I don't know exactly how many Prestiges they sell each year, but I suspect it's a very small percentage compared to their regular lines (including the Premiums). You expect them to rebrand most of their products? Funny :eyebrow:

PS: the folks that diss their instruments just because they're MIK or MII probably tend to listen with their eyes, instead of their ears. Their non MIJ basses are very well built instruments and there's no reason to consider them inferior in any way.
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well we ARE speaking hypothetically... as NONE of us have any input to what hoshino does with Ibanez. I (if i were god of ibanez) would have split it BEFORE (around 1993) the proliferation of all the MII and MIK. called those a diff brand (kai by ibanez) for example. and continued to build MORE guitars in Japan.
I own 6 Ibby basses currently 3 MIJ SR1000 built btwn 1987-1989, a 1989 MIJ SR885, a korean iceman, and an indo SRX2EX1. I've had others including a GRS190 so i'm very familiar with their range of build quality. all i gotta say is while the SRX is very good and i use it alot, I REALLY LOVE THE MIJ 1000 series, theres no comparison. even my fender jazz in MIJ and awesome!
 
#85
I have an Ibanez BTB450 QM. I loved that bass, played it for years as my main bass. I really hated fenders. Didn`t understand what was so great about them, until I found a MIA jazz in a pawn shop. I pulled that baby down, and haven`t put it down since. I now have a Black Label P-bass as well, which gets far more play time than my BTB. If you`re sounding generic on a Fender, it really isn`t the bass. I can get any tone I want out of my jazz bass. I have never found myself lacking.
 
#86
mr.black said:
I own 6 Ibby basses currently 3 MIJ SR1000 built btwn 1987-1989, a 1989 MIJ SR885, a korean iceman, and an indo SRX2EX1. I've had others including a GRS190 so i'm very familiar with their range of build quality. all i gotta say is while the SRX is very good and i use it alot, I REALLY LOVE THE MIJ 1000 series, theres no comparison. even my fender jazz in MIJ and awesome!
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That SRX is a cheap model - so I can see why is not quite on par with your MIJ basses. But go and play a Premium SR (MIK) and see if that is still nowhere near a MIJ bass ;)

Ibanez has really upped their QC during these past years so their MII/MIK stuff is top notch.


Btw, I've never had any problem getting whatever kind of tone I needed from my Ibbys - so I too can say that "if you're sounding generic on an Ibby it really isn't the bass" ;)
 
#87
I'm gonna go ahead and just dive into this thread, after reading it for a while...

I just want to remember you some stuff:

Ibanez
+Lightweight
+Nice Features
+/- Active (most if not all are active)
+great necks
+great quality

Fender
+/- Some are heavy some are light
+/- Nice features but only in the $700+ rank
+ Great passive tone specially P basses
+ Great necks
+/- Great quality on some specific models, while other retain the same problems

If I could choose I would buy two basses, an SR#### and a Roadworn P (with obvious flats)

My first bass ever was an ibanez, my second one too, they are awesome, I bought a P bass, nice but i had to sell it , I've loved them both, but I must say....as an engineer... that (corportaively speaking) Ibanez>Fender , (economically) Fender>Ibanez , and (factory wise) Ibanez> Fender (I would dare say Fender factories go like this : Japan>American>Mexican ) while Ibanez has an overall better QC

but still to each it's own, I 'm buying a P bass, just because :smug: maybe my next next bass will be an SR :hide:
 
#88
Honestly guys, if you're sounding generic on basically any bass (okay, maybe if its that $50 dollar department store bass) it isn't the bass. That statement isn't exclusive to Fender or Ibanez!

I just can't get over the Soundgear neck - no other bass has ever felt as comfortable on my hands. I do wish there was an SR with jazz pickups and an active EQ like they offered on the early SR665s.
 
#91
Love my Ibanez BTB1005! You can find 'em on Ebay for about $400-500 and they play/sound outstanding! Fenders play real nice and I'm sure eventually I'll pick one up. They are two different beasts to be honest, it's all about cost, feel & sound (through YOUR amp setup, not the store's).
 
#92
Thrill-House said:
Its surprising that their MII basses are usually of very good quality.
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CNC machines and the rest of the tools are the same no matter where you set up the factory. Now if you train your workers and set a high and strict QC, you will get the same results as if the instruments were made in USA or Japan or whatever. I don't think ppl living in certain countries are more inclined to good & detailed work by birth, so it's all down to how much time & effort a company invests in managing their bussiness and maintaining a close eye on the production process. ;)
 
#93
I love my SR405QM , picked it over an american jazz v 5 string finder just felt better, but I dont like jazz basses anyway , If they would of had the 5 string P bass I may have gotten it idk.
But I do know that I have a few thousand dollars to spend on a bass coming up and theres no doubt im buying another Ibanez , prob. the SR5005E OL , and maybey a used BTB 4 string.

For me it wasnt the name on the neck (or head) but the neck itself , and the string spacing is just "right' for me. The BTB is more of a "standard spacing but , I know there good basses and I can deal with it no prob.
And Ive been playing everthing from blues,jazz, and metal lately and an Iby just feels and sounds better to me then the fenders ive played .I know you can play all those styles with the fender, but an Ibanez is just more my taste.
All though one of these days I may get a solid P bass and have no prob. enjoying playing either brand of bass.
 
#94
I find it amusing that so many people base their entire opinion of Ibanez on the SR line. Ibanez makes a fairly wide variety of basses, and in the past has made just about anything imaginable, including some great Fender copies.

I don't currently own either a Fender or an Ibby, but I'd gladly own and gig either and find this whole debate silly.
 
#95
Like most players I dig the sound of Fenders (I own two, one of them is a fretless) but I prefer the vintage Ibanez basses...I own an '81 Musician MC-924 and a '79 Roadster RS-924. I also owned an ATK-300 and I liked it a lot and regret selling that one off. I've never tried a BTB and people seem to really like them. I have toodled with a few of the mid-priced modern Ibanez basses but not really interested in owning one. The Fenders come out often, though, and I wouldn't part with them.
 
#97
Ibanez basses not as popular as Fender? What basses are as popular as Fender? I'd say, not many. But Ibanez is still one of the largest manufacturers of basses & guitars. I thought I read somewhere once that factoring in WORLDWIDE sales, Ibanez actually sold more basses than Fender.

They're both good manufacturers who offer instruments in a pretty wide price range with decent to great quality. I do agree that you get more for your buck with Ibanez though. Still, they're very different instruments/flavors and there's room for both.
 
#98
I don't care about what the "standards" are.
I don't care how long a model has been in production.
I don't care where a bass is made.
I don't care whether or not I'm a "sheep."
I don't care what the headstock says.

I care that a bass sounds the way I want MY bass to sound.
I care how a bass feels in my hands.

What brand is for me?
 
#99
MethodsofDance said:
Soundgears are amazing but why do they have such TERRIBLE resale value? My SR505 cost £500 new and the most the guy at a 2nd hand music shop would give me was £150, it was ludicrous
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Used prices on Ibanez intruments aren't any worse than most import brands. You're being offered £150 because when you sell to a shop, the shop has to make money on the sale. And since used prices are 40-50% of new prices, the shop is giving you a completely fair (and predictable) offer.
 

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