Ibanez Basses (school me)

[Smith357]

I have found on their lower end gear their necks often have minor flaws in grain and structure that have led to cracking and warping over time. I make sure to inspect the wood grain for run out and other imperfections. I have never had issues with their higher end 5 piece laminated necks.

 

[Wesley R]

I had an Ibanez Artist in about 1976. It was one of the two best playing basses I ever owned.

Currently I have an Ibanez Sr500something or nother. Salted poplar top. Plays great, sounds good, wife bought it for me.

Which ever one you get, toss some tape wounds on it.

 

[wintremute]

Lots of good advice in here. After reading the thread, I don't think I saw anyone mention the Gio line.

The Gio line are solid instruments, and rather inexpensive. I have one that I restrung BEAD (and switched the pickups to Geezers), and it has held up well. The necks of the Gio are slightly thicker than the SR line.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I can’t speak for them, I have never owned one but the ones I have played have been well made. One thing though, please don’t calll your ibanez bass a “ibby”

 

[BarfanyShart]

In 20 years all basses will look like Ibanez EHB's - you may as well get on board now.

 

[beaglesandbass]

The Premium line is great. My SR2605 may be the best put together and feeling bass I’ve ever played.

 

[B-Mac]

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?

There’s SR, Artcore, Talman, BTB, Ergodyne, Mikro, EHB, ATK, Roadstar (Roadster), Musician and other past series of models.

Made in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and China.

Mostly made by Cor-Tek and Samick and Hishino Gakki.

You can see a lot of similarities with Cort bass models to Ibanez SR models.

I own 2 SR’s, 1 Mikro and 5 Artcore’s.

Just love my Ibby’s. Always seem to be priced right IMHO.

For me, I’d stay away from SR models with model numbers lower than 690, no offense to anyone, just my $0.02 worth.

[edit] I forgot to say:
many SR models are active, so you might not care for them if you’re not into active electronics on a bass.

 

[Sharko]

Not to blow up anyone’s spot, but there’s a superb Roadstar II on shopgoodwill.com right now

 

[W_R]

…also the Ibanez Grooveline G104. I would like to have had a chance to check one out before they went extinct.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Superb basses all around, but the numbering series corresponds roughly to level of fit and finish, materials, electronics, etc. For instance a 500 series bass is probably going to be a little bit "nicer" than a 300 series, but I won't even pretend to know the subtle differences between the myriad models they make. Anything 500 series and up is a Pro level instrument. Every Ibanez I've picked up has been uniformly well made, well balanced, and versatile electronics. The Premier series id the equal of any boutique IMHO. The only caveat I can think of is the SR500 in "Brown Mahogany" finish, which universally starts wearing off at anyplace your fingers rub on, just a relly crappy, fragile finish on an otherwise excellent bass. it's so common I've long been plotting to buy a used one cheap, strip off the crap finish, and re-do it with Tru-Oil. As others have said, they rend towards slender necks, which I love, but it's not going to feel like a P-Bass.

 

[arbiterusa]

How is the workmanship?

A lot better than Fender's, at any price point you pick.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Ibanez always have someone fun, cool and functional on offer. I gig their 26” scale palor sized acoustic and love it.

 

[pingvuiini]

I have a lefty Mikro made in Indonesia and I am totally astounded by the quality for its price point. I can only imagine the higher level basses must be excellent as well. Right now the Mikro is my ‘long scale’ bass due to finger pain issues. I want to try the headless and Premium basses but I am afraid the 34” scale will cause finger pain.

 

[Bassplayer1586]

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

It's my favorite bass out of the 10 that I own. 8 ibanez and 2 fender, and this thing just dominates them all!

 

[flannel cat]

If i ever come across an Ibanez musician for sale that is a model i will jump on in a heartbeat..I really like the one Dan Hawkins plays on his u tube channel..looks sweet sounds sweet,, its cool all around.

 

[2strings2frets]

I have an SR650E which I like very much, really more so than my P or J. I had a Mikro which had a really impressive build quality as well as good fit and finish. I played an Ibanez 5 string, not sure SG or SR 100 which was a house instrument at a gig I went to, that was ok too even being at the very bottom of their product line. Like someone else suggested, for a low price try a 300, take it home for an extended test ride. You can always trade up or just sell it if it’s not to your liking. Enjoy the day!

 

[BigBear77]

I think all the premiums have Nordstrand pups. Can’t go wrong with those

 

[Dust2Dust]

I want whatever Ibanez THIS guy is playing

 

[misterCRUSH]

I have two fretless Ibanez basses. They are both amazing. Playability is off the charts, and the quality and tone is top notch. They look pretty awesome too. You can't go wrong with Ibanez.

 

[micguy]

A lot of Ibanez basses have very skinny necks. For those that like that, they are great. For me (huge hands, skinny necks slow me down because everything is crammed together), not so much. The Talmans are a bit closer to my liking, though not quite there. Anyway, just know before you buy that that is one thing Ibanez is known for.