Ibanez Basses (school me)

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

The workmanship is fairly high. Regardless of price range. Their sub $200 basses out play Fender's that are 700 +

That being said, most models have very small, very flat necks. To me, it's uncomfortable.

The exceptions are the talman line, the ATK line (which you would have to buy used), and the BTB line.

 

[ardgedee]

Country of origin is not the same indicator of quality for Ibanez products as they are for Fender.

These days Indonesia and China makes Ibanez budget and high-quality lines alike. Their current Bass Workshop premium line is made in Indonesia. In the past they've had products made in South Korea. The Prestige line of guitars and basses are made in Japan (mostly, anyway -- there are plenty of counter-examples made in Korea), and custom guitars (one-offs or extremely limited runs) are made in Japan or Los Angeles.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

The workmanship is fairly high. Regardless of price range. Their sub $200 basses out play Fender's that are 700 +

That being said, most models have very small, very flat necks. To me, it's uncomfortable.

The exceptions are the talman line, the ATK line (which you would have to buy used), and the BTB line.

I would add the RGB line to your list of exceptions. I have one and they are night-and-day compared to the SRs.

If you have (or know someone who has) Ibanez RG guitars and Ibanez "S" type guitars (They're usually higher end, these days), just grab them both and you can feel a noticeable difference.

 

[themickster]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

I can tell you only about the SR600E and SR300E/EB. All are lovely to play. The workmanship is as good on the 300s as the 600, and I've known folk to score their 300 higher than their Fenders. The active EQ gives a wide range of tones. They are light, too.

 

[jimmydean]

Easy.......everything bass in their line is worth owning and playing on stage.......drop the mic !

 

[ardgedee]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

Getting back to your core question: You can do worse than start at Ibanez's product page. Ibanez does an OK job of keeping it current.

The Mezzo and Mikro are short-scale (Mezzo is 32", Mikro is 28.6"). The rest of the products are kinda self-explanatory. The Soundgears are what Ibanez is best known for these days and the line is huge, but a lot of people are turned off by the skinny, flat necks (and plenty of other people love 'em). iirc some of the higher-end Soundgears have bigger necks but are still skinnier than your typical Fender Jazz. BTB and EHB are their high-end, modern designs. I think all the BTBs are 35" scale. The Talmans are probably the closest to Fender-like in look and feel that Ibanez gets these days though (IMO) they're not especially Fender-like compared to what other companies make.

 

[Sean Parsons]

My first bass was/is an Ibanez. A few years ago I decided to give bass a try. As a life long guitarist I wasn’t sure how I would get on so decided to spend only about 500 euros. I decided on the TMB600. Chunkier neck profile than the SR line. Nordstrand licensed pickups, two band active, PJ format.

I feel I got a lot more bass than I expected. On several occasions I have tried Fender P and Fender J basses but didn’t really feel I would be getting any noticeable upgrade on what I have.

the mid price range TMB600 seems to have been discontinued but the budget ones and the prestige are still available.

 

[RGerhart]

Every Ibanez I've tried has been top-notch quality-wise, but as was mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes the electronics aren't the best. Of course, that's just my opinion on their sound.

I was never a big fan of the Soundgear line of Ibanez basses, until I played a Prestige model a few years back at GC. I think it was like a 4005 series or something. It blew me away!

If you like thin, fast necks, then Ibanez is know for that. If you don't, you can look at their BTB line, or the aforementioned ATK.

 

[Bass-ball]

I own the SR4600-OSL Prestige. It's my main bass. The Bartolini pickups on it are a little barky, but they have a ton of range. I sunk them down a little bit and that took care of it. However I play about 90% of the time in passive mode anyway. I love the MR5S monorail bridge - each string gets its "own" bridge, and you can even move the strings side to side for more or less string spacing. Craftsmanship on the Prestige is above my expectations. 5-piece wenge neck has two titanium truss rods in it, iirc. For a bolt-on neck, it's quite ergonomic. The abalone inlays are nice; the 12th fret inlay is actually an inlay within an inlay and quite stunning up close. Fretboard's rolled edges are great. The body is sleek and smooth, no hard or straight edges anywhere. Very lightweight. Much less neck-dive than I was expecting, but it's not perfectly balanced on your thigh or anything. As far as tone, I like the Ibanez neutral, "airy" tone generally (my main genre is smooth jazz). Mostly whatever I do gets tweaked in post anyway, but in passive mode, my SR4600 gives whoever is doing the mixing/mastering enough to go on without any drama. Similar to Yamaha in that regard.

 

[Koshchei]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

They're really good - I'd suggest a used Prestige or Premium.

 

[alex1fly]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

Massive company. They make the whole range of instruments. Playing in person is ideal... they have built hundreds of models of bass so you just never know what you're going to get. The SR series is a solid mid grade line, improvements made upon Fender's base schematic.

 

[Bulky Bass]

If you’ve played Fenders all your life and don’t want a drastic change, the RKB-900 is for you. Meant to compete with Fenders, it ultimately flopped because it wasn’t that active sound, skinny necked Ibanez people were used to. One of the best basses ever made IMO. You can still find some floating around. I love mine!

 

[HardNHeavy]

Had a cheap SR version that was given to me and it played nice. Had a thin neck, punchy tone lightweight. i only sold it cuz it was active and i had plenty of others basses and needed some quick cash...certainly good basses!

 

[W_R]

Regarding your Fender experience, maybe a neck size question to add context… P or J bass? Lots of very cool models of Ibanez basses available.

One data point, in agreement with other posts on Ibanez, cheaper models might be awesome in build and features but might be lacking in the pickups and electronics—I’d see that as an opportunity to experiment etc. E.g. Bart overseas Mark 1 vs Bart USA, huge upgrade on my SR 905.

 

[MidlifeBeginner]

I like the ergonomics of the SR line. The laminated necks are very stable. My suggestion if you are used to thicker necks is to buy a cheap used Ibanez to play for a while. Trying one out in a store is not enough time. You need to put in a few practice sessions to see how your hands feel afterwards. If you like the SR feel, you can shop for a bass higher up in the range with the pickups and electronics you want.

I converted my used SR300E to passive, because the preamp was noisy. Converting to passive did not require soldering, and bass is super quiet in single coil mode. Used SR300E in good shape are about $250.

Best fret job I ever saw on a bass in a guitar store was a bottom of the line Ibanez. The tech in Indonesia that worked on it must have been a bass player himself. Contrast that to the sharp fret ends I felt on a US Gibson SG bass.

 

[brianrost]

The #1 thing to know is that the model numbers indicate the tiers from low end to high end. Just like the tiers of Fenders, there are so many tiers it can be mind boggling.

The Mikro range is super short scale (28.6") and low end.

The Mezzo range is 32" scale, also low end.

The RGB range is aimed at metal, complete with pointy headstock. Current models are low end, but there are older higher end modles out there.

The EHB range is the fanned fret models.

The Talman range is "Fender inspired".

The old ATK range is "Stingray inspired".

SR is the main range, the high end models are pretty amazing in build and sound. Low end gives you the classic fast necks but with a low end sound. Current tiers are 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 then into four digits for the high end stuff. 100-300 are the "beginner" range. For years, the 800 range was the standard model but no longer made.

The BTB range seems to be an alternative to SR aimed at buyers who want boutique (Fodera, etc.) style at a lower price. The high end models are stunning. There are more 6 string options here than in any of the other ranges, but no 4s at all.

Workshop = custom shop

Prestige = MIJ

Premium = high end Indonesia

Only the real low-end models like SR100, Mikro, Mezzo are passive...maybe Talman as well?

The active electronics vary widely from the bass boost "Phat EQ" in the 200 and 300 series to sophisticated multiband EQ stuff. As you get into the high end you start seeing Bartolini designed pickups and preamps. Some of the early models in the SR1000 series back in the 80s came with EMG pickups and are worth looking for used.

 

[MidlifeBeginner]

Some models use Nordstrand pickups

 

[groovepump]

Ibanez are well-made basses.
My peeves with them are: (1) Active electronics, (2) tight string spacing.
Neither of these are real issues, but my PREFERENCE is passive bass with wide string spacing.
Just MY thing. I've owned two Ibanez over the years, sold both, but not because they didn't "cut it".
Anything in the SR family is good. I still GAS over an SRF705, but I'm trying to not add to my collection until I reduce the inventory. I have 6 basses now that just collect dust.

 

[landrybass]

I've played Fender type basses all my life, (over 50 years). But I'm looking for a change. Ibanez seems to have so many models and all price ranges. How is the workmanship? Are there any models that are more desirable? I'm looking for a 4 string. Where do I start?

The Adam Nitti 5 string is a great bass imo. I love the red and maple/blocks look with the JJ pickups and 24 frets

 

[SJan3]

Thanks, gang! Some good info here. I'm a bit concerned about comments such as skinny, flat necks. My Fenders and NASH have chunkier necks. I'm mostly concerned about fretboard radius as I don't care for flat boards. 9" to 10" is the sweet spot for me.
But, thanks for the feedback!