Ibanez Portamento Club

[aproud1]

Congrats. Great basses for sure.

Controls are,
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I agree about the strings. Didn't care for them but didn't think much about it because I don't care for Chromes. I have Labella white nylon tapes on mine and they work wonderfully.

 

[johnp352]

thanks..but when you got the manual..outside of the model on the front, it doesn't mention this bass, or the bridge etc..

the bridge pu on this is really deep...is there an internal adjustment range for eq? SCREWDRIVER TIME..

 

[4StringsEnough]

[QUOTE="aproud1, post: 16325641]I have Labella white nylon tapes on mine and they work wonderfully.[/QUOTE]Do they work with the piezo? I was under the impression that you couldn't use tapewounds with piezos? Am I wrong?

 

[aproud1]

I guess there was particular tapewound that didnt work with a particular type of piezo. No such issue on the portamento. The Labellas feel and sound perfect on mine.

 

[vmabus]

Do they work with the piezo? I was under the impression that you couldn't use tapewounds with piezos? Am I wrong?

I have tapes on all my basses; piezo and magnetic.

 

[dkelley]

What ARE tapewounds wound over? Roundwounds under there? They are certainly unique strings.

I use rounds on all my fretless basses but I do prefer tapes to any other design of flats.

 

[aproud1]

I belive it's a standard roundwound core. Labella makes them over stainless and copper.

 

[vmabus]

Only GHS uses flatwounds for tapewounds.

 

[aproud1]

I played one of these a few days ago at Alto Music. Took me awhile to sort out that the three upper knobs are all volume knobs for the 3 pickups. It had a great feel but not too much mwah. Maybe with different strings...Link Removed

Could have been the setup too. Mine is the most mwahsome bass I've had but you can temper it with the various pickups.

 

[Idle Plucker]

Hi.
Here's a pic of my Portamento posing coyly on the floor. Any chance of a number, please?
Definitely my favourite bass, although I find the GWB35 slightly easier to play for some applications because of the fret markers, and it's also capable of producing some tones that the Portamento can't. Having said that, the Portamento does lots that the GWB can't, so it gets the most use. Also, very positive reaction from the bands I play with, so even more reason to use it.

 

[vmabus]

1. vmabus #0
2. tellheryousawme #1
3. Jazzbrew #2
4. PaulNYC #18
5. aproud1 #4
6. Idle Plucker #5

Congrats!

 

[AudioDwebe]

Have any of you had a chance to compare this to any of the Gary Willis basses? If so, can you please post your thoughts?

Thanks

 

[PaulNYC]

Have any of you had a chance to compare this to any of the Gary Willis basses? If so, can you please post your thoughts?

Thanks

I tried a gwb 5 string, last year. I really liked it because it was so easy to play.

I am not at all disappointed with the portamento. I think set up makes a huge difference, and I follow Gary Willis' setup instructions to great satisfaction. I actually prefer that the portamento has a neck pickup because I don't favor the bridge pickup.

 

[Idle Plucker]

Yes AudioDwebe, I have a GWB35 (one of the recent issues with ebony fingerboard, a replacement for an earlier ebonol one) and the SRF705.
The GWB is easier to play if you want to look at the fingerboard a lot, with the fret lines at the low or high ends of the fingerboard making it more straightforward to see the correct intonation point without allowing for the parallax difficulties of just having the side markers on the SRF. I'm using D'Addario chromes on both basses, and find the basic sound of the GWB more lower-middly than the SRF, although I think part of that is PUP/PUP position. The SRF is more nasal, with a higher middle that's particularly noticeable on the piezo. There's obviously a lot more tonal variation available with the 3 PUPs, I haven't had enough free time with the bass to explore these completely, and have just settled on a few "stock" sounds that suit the kind of work I do (mostly big band with some smaller band and trio/quartet stuff). The people I work with tend to prefer the SRF for most applications, but I find the GWB more punchy, and use that as required.
The SRF is the lighter bass, but both are nicely balanced, although they hang differently. The GWB took some time to play in, but it's singing nicely now. The SRF played brilliantly from day one, and I think still sings better than the GWB.
They work better with different right hand positions, and I love the versatility of the SRF with the possibility of using the high end of the fingerboard as a ramp, then sliding more toward the bridge and playing without a ramp. Lots to explore on this bass, and I'm still scratching the surface after 5 months.
Battery life is much better on the GWB, as you'd expect.

 

[vmabus]

But, if you look at your fingers, how do you read the music?

 

[Idle Plucker]

I try to read ahead and take swift glances for big jumps without getting lost!
Thank heavens for peripheral vision.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate your take on the basses. The Portamento looks to be quite a bargain in the fretless world. I love the way it looks, the piezo, and the extended fretboard.

Might have to try one of these at some point.

Cheers

 

[Daz JP]

Yes, very light from my recollection, as well as such a lovely tone from the piezo pickup. It'd take me years to get fretless down, but I like the challenge - and playing this neck certainly stoked the interest.

 

[iualum]

I'm sure I'd love a 6er version
In it's vacancy, the 5er can possibly be a truly remarkable option btw

Cheers,
Wallace

Yep, I'd snatch a 6-string in a heartbeat. It's a tremendous looking model.

 

[Idle Plucker]

A fellow bass-player seemed a bit taken aback when he realised that the extra fingerboard at the top end of my Portamento gave it the same range as his (fretted) 6-string.
I didn't gloat.

Well, not much.

Honest.