• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Ibanez Portamento Club

#221
Just found this thread again. I can be part of the club!

Ibanez SRF700 with MJS Pickups

Ibanez SRF700 with MJS Pickups


I've had my 700 for a few months now. Decided to upgrade the pickups a couple of months ago. Rather than trying the Bartolini replacements for the MK-1's I decided (as a birthday present) to go completely custom! I had a pair of dual coil humbuckers with custom Goncalo Alves wood covers made by Smitty at MJS Custom pickups. They're great pickups and Smitty was great to work with, great attention to detail. The pickups have been wound to match the onboard preamp and I've added coil split switches for each pickup (which I don't use a lot as they just sound great as humbuckers). The pic has the bass strung with D'Addario tapes which feel great and sound pretty good, but I've just recently swapped them for GHS Pressurewounds and the bass is really singing now, has a lot more mwah! I found that the piezo sounded a bit better with the tapes but the humbuckers are really sweet with the Pressurewounds so I'm going to stick with them for a while. This is a great bass and I love how it feels, to the point that I've decided to focus on fretless for a while.

@Idle Plucker: I'm actually considering getting a GWB35 in the near future to compliment the 700 as I feel the need to have a 5-string and want to stick with fretless. Do you feel that they would compliment each other and be different enough to warrant having both? I really like the neck profile on the 700 and am thinking it might be best to stick with Ibanez (I also have a fretted MIK SR1200).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Frank Kreber, vmabus and Idle Plucker
#222
Stellvia said:
Just found this thread again. I can be part of the club!

Ibanez SRF700 with MJS Pickups

Ibanez SRF700 with MJS Pickups


I've had my 700 for a few months now. Decided to upgrade the pickups a couple of months ago. Rather than trying the Bartolini replacements for the MK-1's I decided (as a birthday present) to go completely custom! I had a pair of dual coil humbuckers with custom Goncalo Alves wood covers made by Smitty at MJS Custom pickups. They're great pickups and Smitty was great to work with, great attention to detail. The pickups have been wound to match the onboard preamp and I've added coil split switches for each pickup (which I don't use a lot as they just sound great as humbuckers). The pic has the bass strung with D'Addario tapes which feel great and sound pretty good, but I've just recently swapped them for GHS Pressurewounds and the bass is really singing now, has a lot more mwah! I found that the piezo sounded a bit better with the tapes but the humbuckers are really sweet with the Pressurewounds so I'm going to stick with them for a while. This is a great bass and I love how it feels, to the point that I've decided to focus on fretless for a while.

@Idle Plucker: I'm actually considering getting a GWB35 in the near future to compliment the 700 as I feel the need to have a 5-string and want to stick with fretless. Do you feel that they would compliment each other and be different enough to warrant having both? I really like the neck profile on the 700 and am thinking it might be best to stick with Ibanez (I also have a fretted MIK SR1200).
Click to expand...
Hi Stellvia. My Port is a 5-string. The GWB pickup is closer to the neck than the Portamento bridge pickup, and it's an Ibby not a Bart, so there's definitely a difference in sound. (YMMV with your custom pickups, of course.) There's also an envelope difference between the plain rosewood and "gloss" ebony fingerboards. I tend to use the GWB for situations where I would use a fretted bass (if I still played one), because it has a sharper attack and feels a bit more "middly", and the Portamento for work where an upright might be used; but for general purpose it could be either. The GWB is better for heavy sight reading at the upper end, because it's easier to do a quick position check. I've recently started playing the Port using just the bridge pickup with bass rolled high and treble slightly rolled off, which is a similar setup to the way I use the GWB, but there's still quite a difference between them. Hope this helps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Frank Kreber
#223
  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
Congrats!
 
#229
BobDeRosa said:
This post is a public service for Portamento players. You may know this already but I didn't because my Portamento is the first active bass I've owned. If your amp suddenly starts crackling as if it blew a speaker or developed some kind of short, it could be that your instrument's 9v battery is going dead. Also, to lengthen battery life, always detach your instrument cable when you're not playing. The 1/4" plug acts as an "on" switch for the battery and drains it before its time. Same goes for any portable amps you might use, so make sure they're not only turned off but unplugged if you're not going to be using them for a while.
Click to expand...

I just got my Porta-5 yesterday and was getting crackling, particularly on the neck pickup. It's my first active bass as well. Came here to look for suggestions and viola, a new Duracell totally fixed what ailed it. Thank you. I bought mine online from GC brand new, however when it arrived the box had been opened before and the battery was installed, and apparently run down. I thought about calling them to see what's up with that, however since all the clear plastic was still in place and I can't find a flaw or marks anywhere including the fretboard, I'm good.

I love this bass and its piezo goodness. It needed a quarter turn less tension on the truss rod, but other than that and a new battery, it's pretty great for me right out of the box. She's a keeper. I'd been thinking my first fretless would be a Fender American Jazz, but once I played my neighbor's Ibanez SR375F and fell in love with the neck shape and the fifth string/awesome thumbrest, it was all over for me. I'd like to join your club and need to know where I can order the hat and lapel pin.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ramana and vmabus
#230
  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
Congrats!
 
#231
Stellvia said:
I'm actually considering getting a GWB35 in the near future to compliment the 700 as I feel the need to have a 5-string and want to stick with fretless. Do you feel that they would compliment each other and be different enough to warrant having both?
Click to expand...
I sold my Willis because it doesn't do anything the Porty doesn't, and the Porty does more besides. IOW, I can get the Willis sound from the Porty, plus added versatility for other stuff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flabzilla
#232
Has anyone found a different preamp? I mean, yeah, it sounds great, but I can't help feeling there's more there, ya know? I always put 4-band Auderes in my other SRs; it's better to be able to turn the mids up instead of turning bass and treble down. Either that, or I'm thinking Nordstrand Dual-Blades, witch I believe are the same dimensions.
Any suggestions?
 
#234
It looks like this would work:
MPB2-918 Instruction.jpg

no prices on the Bartolini site, though.
Amazon has the buffer for $84; I imagine the NTMB+ F is $200 or so.
I'll have to think about it some more...
 
Last edited:
#236
Yeah, I wasn't sure. I think the main issue is knowing how much of the piezo operation is on the main preamp board and what's on the piezo board. It's got the 3 wires coming off it, which I'm assuming are battery, ground and signal, but not 100% sure.
 
#238
Yep, I've got that one saved :) While the wiring from the piezo board isn't labelled, the colour coding suggests battery, ground and signal, so the above Bartolini buffer looks like it would work as long as the piezo board is also connected to the battery.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vmabus

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back