Ibanez Portamento Club

[BobBass56]

Can anyone send me a pic of their stock preamp?
I'm having an issue with my SRF700 where the volume control for the neck pickup is either full on or full off with little change in between and the tone control acts more like a volume control than a tone control. The controls for the bridge pickup seem a bit whack as well. I've already replaced the preamp with another and there was no change. Could it be it's not wired correct or a bad pot? The piezo circuit is fine and operates as it should.

 

[Lebowitz]

@BobBass56 I ended up having to send my 706 back to Ibanez when I first got mine. The pickups were kinda doing the same thing as what you're describing. Unfortunately I'm not sure what they fixed, but I got it back in a week and a half working perfectly. My bass was still under warranty so didn't cost anything. Their number is (215) 638-8670. Even if yours is out of warranty they might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[cbdriver]

I bought my SRF705 back when they first came out. I changed out the pickups to Bartolini MK5s a while ago and finally got around to updating the preamp.

I added a John East MPM-02 and an EMG VMC. Now I have master volume, neck/bridge pickup blend, magnetic/piezo blend, magnetic tone control (push/pull for humbucker/single coil), piezo tone control, and EMG stacked mid control.

I always liked the sound of the piezo pickups in this bass, but did not like the character and hiss of the preamp or the lack of a master volume. I am now very happy with this instrument!

I would assume the stacked mid controls make a big impact enhancing the "mawh" fretless bloom when wanted.

 

[cbdriver]

Thinking about fretless. Can you get the neck with lines?

like AIDIL'S reply..... The side lines @ the top edge of the fingerboard do a great job of giving the player a visual representation for where the frets would be located. Plus, you have the look of a clean unlined fretless!

 

[cbdriver]

As of yesterday, I'm in the club.
View attachment 3805737
View attachment 3805736

I love the panga panga wood fingerboard. Has all the look of wenge but without the raw feeling (unless that only because it's very well sanded and finished).

I haven't played a 6 string in years, and fretless in even longer, so I was expecting a challenge but it's surprisingly easy to get around on and stay in tune. The biggest adjustment so far is getting used to flats.

Mine was dirt cheap, which caused a few reservations about buying it, but it's a fantastic instrument. I'm guessing it was a factory second, which would explain the low price, but the only "flaws" I've found are 2 off-center side dots on the fingerboard, and the output jack area was left unsanded and unfinshed.

Where has this bass been for the last 20 years? I am loving it!

I gave my fingerboard an even higher polish using 4000 grit sandpaper (high gloss effect) Enjoy getting to know your new bass!!!

 

[cbdriver]

My SRF705 has been carrying a pair of Bartolini MK5CBCs in the place of the MK1 pickups in the last 3 years or so. Honestly, they aren't better sounding for the bass. These dual coil USA Barts are too thick/boomy sounding for fretless bass applications.

View attachment 3875136

Good thing I asked the tech guy who did the MK5 installation to add coil switching using a push-pull potentio in the place of the neck vol potentio, so the MK5 pair could be run on their outer single coils when the neck vol knob is pulled. IMO, for fretless applications, the single coil mode sound fits better (than their dual coil mode). Although... the sound is actually close to the original MK1s with a drawback of less apparent mid range that the MK1s had. And... there's another drawback of introducing single coil noise when the pair volume knobs aren't equal turned. So on this bass, the USA MK5s aren't necessarily superior to the MK1 pair.

My Experience has always been when you blend middle position (eliminating hum), you loose a noticeable amount of mids. Fretless bass tone thrives on mid freq IMHO!

 

[McThumpenstein]

I think the side-lined fingerboard is the best. I don't like dots on my fretted basses either, just on the side. That's all i ever see, and I like that expanse of bare wood.

 

[Aidil]

My Experience has always been when you blend middle position (eliminating hum), you loose a noticeable amount of mids. Fretless bass tone thrives on mid freq IMHO!

Indeed, mid frequencies are important on fretless tone. Thank God none of the factory installed Barts nor the US Bart I had on my SRF705 were single coil pickups, thus they aren't that susceptible to mid freq scooping when blended in the middle.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Indeed, mid frequencies are important on fretless tone. Thank God none of the factory installed Barts nor the US Bart I had on my SRF705 were single coil pickups, thus they aren't that susceptible to mid freq scooping when blended in the middle.

I put an Underhill pre in my 700, which has an active blend. Makes all the difference! No frequency drop out at all.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Indeed, mid frequencies are important on fretless tone. Thank God none of the factory installed Barts nor the US Bart I had on my SRF705 were single coil pickups, thus they aren't that susceptible to mid freq scooping when blended in the middle.

I put an Underhill pre in my 700, which has an active blend. Makes all the difference! No frequency drop out at all.

 

[Michael Jewels]

I never had any issues with my SRF700, so, I guess I was just lucky.

Are these basses still in production?

If they are, how is the quality control?

Mike

 

[Johno Dunn]

I never had any issues with my SRF700, so, I guess I was just lucky.

Are these basses still in production?

If they are, how is the quality control?

Mike

Mine is an older one I bought used, so can't comment. I love the bass, but I have always wanted to try a Filter based preamp, and I'm glad I did. I lost the piezos, but the filters more than make up for it! I also put in a Nordstrand Z Blade in the Bridge position. Now this amazing feeling bass, also gives me a multitude of different tone options.

 

[Hunter34]

I love the Audere Classic preamp that controls the piezo on mine. I roll off a little of the treble, roll up the mids and bass and it's a wonderful tone. I also have the 3-way mid-freq selector on the Audere, which gives me even more flexibility.

 

[FretlessTodd]

I remember being concerned I'd have issues playing a non-lined bass before getting my 706. I played a Gary Willis as my main bass before getting the 706.
I felt it was super easy to get used to, partly because I used to look at the face of the neck much more. By adjusting to only look at the upper edge of the neck, I've found no issues at all, with the exception of occasionally losing track of a string when playing. I, personally, think that issue is probably more because it's a 6 string

 

[Shanannigan]

I'll take a number.

Got my hands on an SRF706 a few weeks ago after a year of some intense GAS. Happily, it feels and sounds just as good as I had hoped. It is the most natural-feeling bass that I've played, almost like it's just part of my body at times. It's very refreshing after feeling like I was fighting with my BTB for a long time.

I've been working on a ramp that covers the pickups. It's radiused the same as the fingerboard. Still tweaking it, and trying to get it as thin as possible to maintain pickup height. But it feels amazing to have one consistent plucking area. Having the same curvature as the fingerboard makes my right and left hand feel more connected across the instrument.

 

[tellheryousawme]

I'll take a number.

Welcome Shanannigan! #87 is just for you.

Ibanez Portamento Club​

1. vmabus #0
2. tellheryousawme #1
3. Jazzbrew #2
4. PaulNYC #18
5. aproud1 #4
6. Idle Plucker #5
7. Awesome Sauce #7
8. ransombass #8
9. Gee Phil #9
10. Ibby #10
11. Marcel66 #66
12. hiredlenz #12
13. Grand Moff Tim #13
14. brossmac #14
15. steelbed45 #15
16. audionut36 #16
17. MethodsofDance #17
18. Kico #19
19. Stellvia #20
20. Bassconbeatz #21
21. Dum Bass #22
22. bherman #23
23. Flabzilla #24
24. gary m #25
25. slap2much #26
26. cchorney #27
27. Aidil #28
28. BassJuju #29
29. Jezza #30
30. thirtyhz #31
31. Christoph #32
32. Coriolis #33
33. Guittarman10 #34
34. Dana R Gregory #35
35. web824 #36
36. mike4bass #37
37. kirkdickinson #6
38. newb #38
39. raphaeld #39
40. Hunter34 #40
41. sinewavemattic #41
42. Michael Jewels #42
43. xshawk #43
44. Adam Blaknovski #11
45. B-Mac #45
46. animus.terry005 #46
47. Spblat #47
48. BritFunk #48
49. Todd McIntosh #49
50. JCKA #50
51. rbbrnck #51
52. EnVico379 #52
53. GlueKill #53
54. rickster4003 #54
55. Supadope #55
56. Guitarman59 #59
57. JC Vallejo #57
58. Ghook #3
59. Spherical Cube #44
60. HangryBassMan #60
61. McThumpenstein #61
62. Papazita #62
63. P A U L #63
64. Hansi91 #91
65. Face_east #64
66. cbdriver #65
67. Bill Clifton #67
68. Lebowitz #68
69. comatosedragon #69
70. xKingfisher #70
71. W3DW #71
72. Jbjam #72
73. Johno Dunn #73
74. syncword #74
75. CraigL #75
76. Esteban Garcia #76
77. david_aa #77
78. etnoo #78
79. standalone #79
80. Ryan L. #80
81. Ephford #81
82. MikeInProcess #82
83. J-Loe #83
84. FretlessTodd #84
85. BassChap #58
86. Phr014 #85 & #86
87. Shanannigan #87

 

[Johno Dunn]

I'll take a number.

Got my hands on an SRF706 a few weeks ago after a year of some intense GAS. Happily, it feels and sounds just as good as I had hoped. It is the most natural-feeling bass that I've played, almost like it's just part of my body at times. It's very refreshing after feeling like I was fighting with my BTB for a long time.

I've been working on a ramp that covers the pickups. It's radiused the same as the fingerboard. Still tweaking it, and trying to get it as thin as possible to maintain pickup height. But it feels amazing to have one consistent plucking area. Having the same curvature as the fingerboard makes my right and left hand feel more connected across the instrument.

View attachment 5014641

When you get the ramp perfected, I would be interested in purchasing one for my 700!

 

[kirkdickinson]

When you get the ramp perfected, I would be interested in purchasing one for my 700!

Ditto. I have an SRF-706 and love the ramp on my GWB-35. Would like to have one for my Portamento also. Maybe I should give it a shot making one myself...

 

[kirkdickinson]

I'll take a number.

Got my hands on an SRF706 a few weeks ago after a year of some intense GAS. Happily, it feels and sounds just as good as I had hoped. It is the most natural-feeling bass that I've played, almost like it's just part of my body at times. It's very refreshing after feeling like I was fighting with my BTB for a long time.

I've been working on a ramp that covers the pickups. It's radiused the same as the fingerboard. Still tweaking it, and trying to get it as thin as possible to maintain pickup height. But it feels amazing to have one consistent plucking area. Having the same curvature as the fingerboard makes my right and left hand feel more connected across the instrument.

View attachment 5014641

Nice. Is yours one of the early SRF-706 with the rosewood fingerboards? It looks like it might be. Mine is Rosewood, but there are only a few of those from the first batch. The following batches all switched to Panga Panga.

Mine was one of the first in customer hands in the US. Here are the Sweetwater photos of mine:
Ibanez Portamento Club

My SN is: SRF706 1P-01 I 170101112

From the S/N decoder that I found, Mine was made in Indonesia on January 2017. It was the 1112th one made. I don't know if that is 1112 of SRF706 or the 1112th of all Ibanez guitars made in that factory. Probably they tool up and make them in batches so no way to know where mine sits in the order without seeing other sn from the same year.

Not sure how this made it in because the CITES rule banning import of Rosewood kicked in on January 2, 2017. I was led to believe that the bass was built in 2016 and they were able to get an exemption because of that, but the s/n decoder says differently. Maybe the parts were already sourced and the neck assemblies were built in 2016 and that is why they were able to get them in. I know it was a long time from order to receipt because my Sweetwater rep said it was tied up in customs.

 

[Shanannigan]

Nice. Is yours one of the early SRF-706 with the rosewood fingerboards? It looks like it might be. Mine is Rosewood, but there are only a few of those from the first batch. The following batches all switched to Panga Panga.

Mine was one of the first in customer hands in the US. Here are the Sweetwater photos of mine:
Ibanez Portamento Club

My SN is: SRF706 1P-01 I 170101112

From the S/N decoder that I found, Mine was made in Indonesia on January 2017. It was the 1112th one made. I don't know if that is 1112 of SRF706 or the 1112th of all Ibanez guitars made in that factory. Probably they tool up and make them in batches so no way to know where mine sits in the order without seeing other sn from the same year.

Not sure how this made it in because the CITES rule banning import of Rosewood kicked in on January 2, 2017. I was led to believe that the bass was built in 2016 and they were able to get an exemption because of that, but the s/n decoder says differently. Maybe the parts were already sourced and the neck assemblies were built in 2016 and that is why they were able to get them in. I know it was a long time from order to receipt because my Sweetwater rep said it was tied up in customs.

I've actually been wondering about the fingerboard wood. I'm pretty sure it's a newer bass, the serial is IP-05 I 220704616, which I believe means that it's a 2022.

The fingerboard doesn't look like rosewood to me, but it also seems a lot darker than the Panga Panga boards that I've seen other pictures of. I've never seen another example of Panga Panga in person though.

Here's a close up of the grain. I think it probably is Panga Panga, just a very dark grain.

As for the ramp, I'm nowhere near experienced or professional enough to make them for others, let alone charge for it lol. But I can explain my process so far.

I ordered some rosewood fingerboard blanks, cut them roughly to the width of the pickups and glued two pieces together. From there I've just been sanding it to the radius of the fingerboard with a radius block, aiming to get it as thin as possible to maintain a reasonable pickup height. I've stained it because the rosewood was a bit too bright compared to the fingerboard.

To attach it, I made 4 screw holes that align with the pickup screws. I'm running the pickup screws through the ramp and into the pickups, so I can adjust the whole thing together.

The last step that I'll do is take a standard ramp-sized piece of wood to go between the pickups, and glue it to the bottom of the radiused piece so that there's no gap underneath between the pickups.