I've owned well over a dozen Ibanez basses, and the tuners on all of them other than the Prestige were a weak link - the bridges on a couple of them were pretty crappy, and a couple had necks that wouldn't hold a setup... I will say that the sr905 and sr3005 were as good an instrument as any I've owned - extremely well made, and solid as a rock...
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Ibanez machine-heads, am I unlucky or doing something wrong?
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
- Start date
I'm not down on Ibanez basses. I did a TON of gigs with a mid-line BTB. But I think sometimes they concentrate a little too much on pretty finishes amd not enough on hardware.
I have sold a metric ton of them. The most problems I came across with my customers were with bridges and tuners. Some of them are just crap.
I have sold a metric ton of them. The most problems I came across with my customers were with bridges and tuners. Some of them are just crap.
The bridges bending & the machine-heads failing comes down to trying to get them made as cheaply as possible.
Either the alloy isn't hard enough or they're just not using enough metal, or possibly a combination of both.
In the case of the B200 where the saddles bent down it was just bad design coupled with thin, malleable parts (the hinges):
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The break angle was too great after the saddle & caused one side of the saddle to bend down towards the body.
One screw for adjusting seems like a great idea, but if I see those, I'm done looking at that instrument.
Either the alloy isn't hard enough or they're just not using enough metal, or possibly a combination of both.
In the case of the B200 where the saddles bent down it was just bad design coupled with thin, malleable parts (the hinges):
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The break angle was too great after the saddle & caused one side of the saddle to bend down towards the body.
One screw for adjusting seems like a great idea, but if I see those, I'm done looking at that instrument.
I recently purchased a like new SRX655 with the bridge you show above. (See my avatar) I love the bass and the tuners seem to be rock solid.
I have not had much issue with the one saddle height screw - I am not a huge fan of how you anchor the string. I wish they were built as string-through. I suppose I could add that myself, but it'd be nice if it was there.
I have not had much issue with the one saddle height screw - I am not a huge fan of how you anchor the string. I wish they were built as string-through. I suppose I could add that myself, but it'd be nice if it was there.
I've had two SRX, one had the more traditional Ibanez bridge with two height adjustment screws per saddle & it had machine-heads that were just fine.
The other SRX was a limited edition H.R. Giger with the B200 bridge that bent, not just one saddle, but EVERY saddle was bent in to the plate on one side. To top that off one of the machine-heads was binding up under tension, like they tend to do.
The local Ibanez dealer said I was out of luck since I didn't buy it new. I guess I should have contacted Ibanez directly & maybe I'd have gotten better results.
The other SRX was a limited edition H.R. Giger with the B200 bridge that bent, not just one saddle, but EVERY saddle was bent in to the plate on one side. To top that off one of the machine-heads was binding up under tension, like they tend to do.
The local Ibanez dealer said I was out of luck since I didn't buy it new. I guess I should have contacted Ibanez directly & maybe I'd have gotten better results.
I'm thinking of Brad's exclamation in RHPS, "Here it comes AGAIN!":
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This one failed SO badly that it knocked the dust cap off & now it's acting wonky as Hell.
Notice how the worm gear is sticking out past the chassis, while the others are flush.
I'll take it apart tomorrow & see if I can fix it, but ultimately I'd like to find some GOTOH Res-O-Lites for around $60. Could have sworn I saw them for that price months ago, but now a set is $100.
If you're curious about the Rocky Horror reference, look up "Rose Tint My World".
As of now my failure rate with Ibanez machine-heads on their Standard Soundgear line is 5 out of 6. Only one, the SR eXtreme, didn't fail.
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This one failed SO badly that it knocked the dust cap off & now it's acting wonky as Hell.
Notice how the worm gear is sticking out past the chassis, while the others are flush.
I'll take it apart tomorrow & see if I can fix it, but ultimately I'd like to find some GOTOH Res-O-Lites for around $60. Could have sworn I saw them for that price months ago, but now a set is $100.
If you're curious about the Rocky Horror reference, look up "Rose Tint My World".
As of now my failure rate with Ibanez machine-heads on their Standard Soundgear line is 5 out of 6. Only one, the SR eXtreme, didn't fail.
I'll count the ways:
SR300EB last Summer (started out messy at the first string-change & just got worse until I sold it in the Fall)
SR300E in the Fall - I could feel it starting to churn & the local luthier identified the neck as twisted, so returned it
SR600 - in the OP photo, bound up so badly it broke the o-ring
limited edition H.R. Giger SR eXtreme - this is the one that riled me up, I mean I was livid that they'd use their sub-standard parts on a limited edition
GSR100 - latest one & TBH I was expecting it (probably wouldn't have bought it if I'd known those Res-O-Lite machine-heads are now $100)
SR300EB last Summer (started out messy at the first string-change & just got worse until I sold it in the Fall)
SR300E in the Fall - I could feel it starting to churn & the local luthier identified the neck as twisted, so returned it
SR600 - in the OP photo, bound up so badly it broke the o-ring
limited edition H.R. Giger SR eXtreme - this is the one that riled me up, I mean I was livid that they'd use their sub-standard parts on a limited edition
GSR100 - latest one & TBH I was expecting it (probably wouldn't have bought it if I'd known those Res-O-Lite machine-heads are now $100)
They aren't that price everywhere. [This invalid link has been removed]
Now I just need to make up my mind between cosmo black or chrome, but first I'll wait for the cosmo black B100 bridge to arrive from Singapore.
I should have known the machine-heads would cost more now, everything seemed to jump in price at the beginning of 2019. The GSR100 was only $160 last year, but it's now $180.
Fender's Rumble Studio 40 went from $350 to $400.
I took off the machine-head this morning & surprisingly got it working properly again:
The only things holding the worm gear in place are the built-in collar on it & the paddle screw.
When tuning UP on the bass side the worm gear is being forced away from the screw thus this problem occurs on that side.
It has always happened to me on that side.
Still unsure what is holding the dust-cap in place, it pops right out with only a little force on any edge of it, but it's in there for now:
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I'll have to keep an eye on it when tuning, in case it falls out again, LOL!
I should have known the machine-heads would cost more now, everything seemed to jump in price at the beginning of 2019. The GSR100 was only $160 last year, but it's now $180.
Fender's Rumble Studio 40 went from $350 to $400.
I took off the machine-head this morning & surprisingly got it working properly again:
The only things holding the worm gear in place are the built-in collar on it & the paddle screw.
When tuning UP on the bass side the worm gear is being forced away from the screw thus this problem occurs on that side.
It has always happened to me on that side.
Still unsure what is holding the dust-cap in place, it pops right out with only a little force on any edge of it, but it's in there for now:
Invalid Link Removed
I'll have to keep an eye on it when tuning, in case it falls out again, LOL!
They don't make them like they used to, & I don't mean figuratively.
Pulled the machine-heads & bridge off an old SR eXtreme (SRX) over the weekend & they are working fine:
The alloy must be different, because even though the SRX machine-heads are the same in almost every way, they're 3 Grams lighter per unit.
Pulled the machine-heads & bridge off an old SR eXtreme (SRX) over the weekend & they are working fine:
The alloy must be different, because even though the SRX machine-heads are the same in almost every way, they're 3 Grams lighter per unit.
It's worth it to go with the real Gotoh tuners. Every "licensed" version, or copy I've had on a bass had problems. When I replace them with the real deal, no more problems.
I don't know. If it has full sized keys then I would think so. The gotoh's are no larger overall than the standard ibanez keys.
The capstan of the GOTOHs is larger than the Standard Ibanez ones.
buy with confidence & go ahead & spend the extra for the Res-O-Lites
GB350 is the model
note however, that some Mikros need to have the holes reamed a little, but you "could" do it with sandpaper in a pinch
Philadelphia Luthier Tools has the best price.
I feel like I explained this all in the Mikro thread...
You probably did, and I just missed it.
Aaaaannnnnnndddd, of course, the tuners cost more than I paid for the bass.
Then again, I got the bass for cheap.
Makes it easier to justify mod parts. No matter what, I'll always have less in it than if I bought it new and modded it.
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