Ibanez Portamento Club

[Stephen]

Consider Labella White Nylons. I use the black nylons on my other basses both fretted and fretless.
The chromes and TI flats are great in their own way. They just don't convey the same dynamic tonality.
I use the Labella White Nylons on my Portamento

 

[Michael Jewels]

I have Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my Porttamento.

They have more sustain, but less thump than most other flatwounds.
They sound good with either magnetic pickup, but they sound fantastic when used with the piezos alone.

With the extra sustain they have, and the way the piezos hear them, they make this bass sound about as close as it can get to sounding like an upright.
Play over the 18th fret or so and experiment with your EQ.

Mike

 

[Matthew_84]

Consider Labella White Nylons. I use the black nylons on my other basses both fretted and fretless.
The chromes and TI flats are great in their own way. They just don't convey the same dynamic tonality.
I use the Labella White Nylons on my Portamento

On a first look, they don't make them for a 6 string (or make a high C which is really what I'm after), but I'll keep looking.

Do they make the same plastic "clack" sound on the fingerboard that the black tapewounds make?

 

[Matthew_84]

I have Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my Porttamento.

They have more sustain, but less thump than most other flatwounds.
They sound good with either magnetic pickup, but they sound fantastic when used with the piezos alone.

With the extra sustain they have, and the way the piezos hear them, they make this bass sound about as close as it can get to sounding like an upright.
Play over the 18th fret or so and experiment with your EQ.

Mike

Nice! Those sound like what I'm looking for (more sustain, less thump), but I don't think they make a High C string. Sorry guys, I should have clarified that - that's part of the reason why I asked about TIs.

 

[Stephen]

Do they make the same plastic "clack" sound on the fingerboard that the black tapewounds make?

They do not seem to make as much clack on the Ibanez

 

[Stephen]

I have Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my Porttamento.

They have more sustain, but less thump than most other flatwounds.
They sound good with either magnetic pickup, but they sound fantastic when used with the piezos alone.

With the extra sustain they have, and the way the piezos hear them, they make this bass sound about as close as it can get to sounding like an upright.
Play over the 18th fret or so and experiment with your EQ.

Mike

Ok LOL now I am going to have to try a set.

Do you use the .045, .065, .085, .105 or the .045, .065, .080, .100 ?

 

[xKingfisher]

I'm really curious to try tapewounds but am also very attached to the TI flats that are already on there.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Jibreel, I use the .45 - 100 set.
I like a .100 E string.

.95 are a little floppy to me, and .105s are a lttle stiff.

I have these strings on my Portamento, and my Ernie Ball Stingray, and they sound so good on both basses.
On the Portamento, they sound fantastic when used with the piezos, and they calm some of the "Zing" on my Stingray.

I recommend them highly.

Mike

 

[Matthew_84]

I'm really curious to try tapewounds but am also very attached to the TI flats that are already on there.

How do the TI flats sound on it? I've never tried them

 

[kirkdickinson]

@kirkdickinson (or anyone else for that matter), how do you like the TI Jazz Flats on this thing? I know how much you like the action, but how do they sound? I'd looking for a flat that sings a bit more than my Chromes do

I like these better than the LaBella Gold whites. It has been so long since I had the stock strings that I really can't compare. The TI's seems to feel more alive under my fingers if that makes sense. The soundguy likes them better that the LaBella Gold Whites too. He says it sits much better in the mix. Soundguy is also a bass player if that makes a difference.

(Our church finally hired a pro sound guy to come in and mix on sundays. What a difference that makes to the mix over volunteers.)

 

[Matthew_84]

I like these better than the LaBella Gold whites. It has been so long since I had the stock strings that I really can't compare. The TI's seems to feel more alive under my fingers if that makes sense. The soundguy likes them better that the LaBella Gold Whites too. He says it sits much better in the mix. Soundguy is also a bass player if that makes a difference.

(Our church finally hired a pro sound guy to come in and mix on sundays. What a difference that makes to the mix over volunteers.)

Cool, thanks!

 

[kirkdickinson]

Cool, thanks!

By the way, if you have a six string, the LaBella Gold White C is not very strong compared to the TI. It lacks sustain and there doesn't seem to be enough mass to really get a clear note on the higher pitches. They might have worked better if I was running a higher string height.

 

[kirkdickinson]

Took my SRF706 with TIJF's on it to an open mic jamb night Thursday evening. I am not very comfortable in that situation, so waited until the very end of the night after most people left. The owner of the club, Scott is a multi-instrumentalist that used to take bass lessons from a while back. Scott grabbed a guitar, someone else on drums, and a harmonica guy. We did Jesus Just left Chicago and then just jammed on a 12 bar blues for a while. The drummer and guitarist switched and we played some more.

Scott was digging on my bass and asked if he could play it. Sure! He doesn't play fretless normally. He immediately starts complaining that he is playing too flat. Yeah, that is something that happens a lot transferring from frets to fretless. After a couple minutes has this big grin on his face. I show him how he can roll off the magnetics and use the Piezo to get a more upright sound. He didn't want to stop.

After he finished he asked me how much I paid for it and was very surprised. He was thinking it was in the $3000 price range.

I don't know if I got an especially good one, but I continue to be amazed at the quality of this bass.

 

[comatosedragon]

I don't know what is wrong with me.

I just ordered a SRF705 (should have rosewood board, and not the newer Panga Panga) which will be here tomorrow (Thursday).

I have been lusting over a fretless 5 for a while, did some (not enough) research, and with how few fretless models are available, decided to buy this one because the most overwhelming positive reviews I read from multiple sites all talk about "easy playable neck"; and the fact that I owned an SR series Ibanez in the past and know the quality.

Now the "Why did I buy this" has started to creep up on me, for many reasons.

1) I don't play 5 strings! I have a 5 string MTD, but have been focusing on 4's lately.
2) I never even touched a fretless bass before. (I somehow convinced myself that this bass will be an extension of myself, and somehow let me express myself musically in a way that my other 5 basses can not.)
3) I just bought a second Reverend bass two weeks ago, and a second 2x10 Ampeg cab two days ago...
4) Not counting this Portamento, I own 5 basses. I am not in a band (was only very briefly once a few years ago, but that wasn't really a band), have never "played out", or in fact played for anybody (other than wife). I don't even really have musician friends.
5) It was an impulse buy ("If I have this, I will play better!"); and I did not do a proper amount of research first. For instance, just by reading the first few pages of this thread, I learned that string spacing at the bridge is 16.5, not 19 like I assumed just by looking at the picture. Every bass I presently own (including the 5 string) has been carefully selected to all have identical spacing (19mm) so as to not confuse my still learning fingers.
6) I am not a good player. In fact, given the amount of time invested (I am going to be kind and use the date I joined TalkBass as the date I "got serious about being a bass player"); it is almost incomprehensible for someone to be as bad as me. Surely something should have "stuck" by now, or my muscle memory should be a lot more advanced than it is. I feel like I have barely been doing this 6 days, let alone 6 years (it's actually been longer, but hey I'm being nice!)

Anyway, I am really excited (?) about this arriving on Thursday, and will post pics when it arrives. I'm not a fan of Chromes, but I will use what strings are installed stock until I decide between TI flats(which I have yet to try), LaBellas or possibly even Black Beauties.

I also really like the idea Matthew_84 had about tuning this to D standard. (I haven't read the whole thread yet to see if that worked out).

 

[comatosedragon]

Well, not quite finished reading the entire thread yet (page 47), I just wanted to add a few things while I am thinking about them, and ask one question.

Even though the Reverb store where I purchased this bass from has the selling listed as "Brand New"; and is listed as having a Rosewood board, just based on the reading here; that seems that rosewood was changed to Panga Panga with the 1p03 batch that started production in 2017. So unless this bass has been sitting around new in a box for the past 3-4 years... It seems more likely this is a newer run, and the Rosewood board is a typo. Kind of a bummer, I will know for sure in about 30 hours I guess.

It seems that many people (in this thread) have (eventually) had electronic problems with this bass. Also kind of a bummer, but there is a ton of great advice in the first half of this thread about how to solve small problems, and I am very grateful for that.

My question:
This board has lines and dots on the edge. Are these marked in the position of a "fretted bass"? Meaning, the dot is between the two frets, and the line is where I should be fretting; correct? (If that is correct, what is the point of dots? Just for familiarity?)

 

[Aidil]

Well, not quite finished reading the entire thread yet (page 47), I just wanted to add a few things while I am thinking about them, and ask one question.

Even though the Reverb store where I purchased this bass from has the selling listed as "Brand New"; and is listed as having a Rosewood board, just based on the reading here; that seems that rosewood was changed to Panga Panga with the 1p03 batch that started production in 2017. So unless this bass has been sitting around new in a box for the past 3-4 years... It seems more likely this is a newer run, and the Rosewood board is a typo. Kind of a bummer, I will know for sure in about 30 hours I guess.

My Portamento is the rosewood version, and my Aerium, which I've been playing more lately, has a panga-panga board. I don't see or hear any cons of my SRH505F having the panga-panga board compared to my SRF705.

My question:
This board has lines and dots on the edge. Are these marked in the position of a "fretted bass"? Meaning, the dot is between the two frets, and the line is where I should be fretting; correct? (If that is correct, what is the point of dots? Just for familiarity?)

Portamentos' sidelines and dots translate to the frets and dots on a fretted bass.

The point of dots is obviously for quick fret number positioning, just as on a fretted bass. We can quickly determine where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th positions, and so on... including the notes in between just by glimpsing at the dots. If the neck had only sidelines with no dots, most would probably need to count the lines to get to where the octave and other positions are.

 

[Supadope]

I don't know what is wrong with me.

I just ordered a SRF705 (should have rosewood board, and not the newer Panga Panga) which will be here tomorrow (Thursday).

I have been lusting over a fretless 5 for a while, did some (not enough) research, and with how few fretless models are available, decided to buy this one because the most overwhelming positive reviews I read from multiple sites all talk about "easy playable neck"; and the fact that I owned an SR series Ibanez in the past and know the quality.

Now the "Why did I buy this" has started to creep up on me, for many reasons.

1) I don't play 5 strings! I have a 5 string MTD, but have been focusing on 4's lately.
2) I never even touched a fretless bass before. (I somehow convinced myself that this bass will be an extension of myself, and somehow let me express myself musically in a way that my other 5 basses can not.)
3) I just bought a second Reverend bass two weeks ago, and a second 2x10 Ampeg cab two days ago...
4) Not counting this Portamento, I own 5 basses. I am not in a band (was only very briefly once a few years ago, but that wasn't really a band), have never "played out", or in fact played for anybody (other than wife). I don't even really have musician friends.
5) It was an impulse buy ("If I have this, I will play better!"); and I did not do a proper amount of research first. For instance, just by reading the first few pages of this thread, I learned that string spacing at the bridge is 16.5, not 19 like I assumed just by looking at the picture. Every bass I presently own (including the 5 string) has been carefully selected to all have identical spacing (19mm) so as to not confuse my still learning fingers.
6) I am not a good player. In fact, given the amount of time invested (I am going to be kind and use the date I joined TalkBass as the date I "got serious about being a bass player"); it is almost incomprehensible for someone to be as bad as me. Surely something should have "stuck" by now, or my muscle memory should be a lot more advanced than it is. I feel like I have barely been doing this 6 days, let alone 6 years (it's actually been longer, but hey I'm being nice!)

Anyway, I am really excited (?) about this arriving on Thursday, and will post pics when it arrives. I'm not a fan of Chromes, but I will use what strings are installed stock until I decide between TI flats(which I have yet to try), LaBellas or possibly even Black Beauties.

I also really like the idea Matthew_84 had about tuning this to D standard. (I haven't read the whole thread yet to see if that worked out).

You'll probably really like it. My 705 is just buttery. The 16.5 spacing is tight sometimes, but it's a pleasure to play. Hope it works out for you.

 

[comatosedragon]

Well, she arrived yesterday, just as I was dozing off (I work 3rd shift). I have always had bad luck with FedEx compared to UPS, and the store sent this one FedEx, with a signature required. I tried my best to stay awake on the sofa (my normal sleep schedule is 1:30pm-9:30pm), but ended up dozing off. Around 230pm I am awakened by a loud truck, so I throw on shoes and open the door to see the truck driving away, my bass box stood up (vertically!) in the middle of my driveway. Well great, at least I didn't have to sign for my 1000 dollar purchase....

So I brought it inside, unboxed it and put it in a case, under the sofa.

Got home this morning, roaring and ready to try her out, went to wash my hands ... and the water is frozen.

I don't care (too much); I'm playing her a little bit anyway. I will be back later in the day today to post pics and get my number!

A couple of quick thoughts:

You'll probably really like it. My 705 is just buttery. The 16.5 spacing is tight sometimes, but it's a pleasure to play. Hope it works out for you.

So far, that is a very accurate description. Buttery! I'm liking it very much so far! I honestly thought the tight(er) 16.5 spacing at the bridge would bother me more; it really doesn't (yet)!

After reading this whole thread, I will probably keep the stock chromes on her, at least for the time being. I'm going to put strap locks on this, and noodle around some more. It's not as intimidating (playing fretless) as I first thought it would be; but then again I have never played in front of anyone. My next post in this thread will have pics. The figuring on the Panga Panga is actually kind of nice, but for being a brand new bass still sealed in the box, I find it odd how marked up the fingerboard is.

The point of dots is obviously for quick fret number positioning, just as on a fretted bass. We can quickly determine where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th positions, and so on... including the notes in between just by glimpsing at the dots. If the neck had only sidelines with no dots, most would probably need to count the lines to get to where the octave and other positions are.

Yeah, sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain, and I say/and or ask silly things without thinking them through. Unfortunately, my fingers are faster than both!

 

[comatosedragon]

All right, here are the pictures I promised; only a week late. Sorry about that, I have been having a blast playing this thing.

The Panga Panga fingerboard is actually quite striking, and does look rather like wenge, like many have said. I will say I far prefer the feel of raw wenge though. Whatever they 'stabilized' the Panga with seems to have made it slick and slippery; but maybe that's a desired feel for a fretless? I think you can see up at the top of that picture about the fingerboard being slightly marked up, which honestly isn't a huge deal to me, I just find it odd since this bass came factory sealed in the box.

[As a slight derailment of my own post -- even though I have purchased 3 brand new basses (2 Reverends and this) in the past short while, this is the only bass I have ever received in a factory labeled box. I also purchased 2 new ampeg cabs recently. I did not receive 1 sticker for any of my purchases. >$4000 of gear, and no stickers to advertise your brand? What's wrong with the world?? Is Peavey the only company who gives out stickers anymore??!!]

Electronics. Okay, anyone who has read this entire thread knows that these basses can be prone to electronics problems. I believe mine has some issues as well, although I can not be 100% certain. Magnetic pickups -- seem to work mostly like I expect them. The neck pickup is nice, and for my own uses; I have been soloing this exclusively. If I add some of the bridge pickup into the mix by turning up its volume control, once I pass around the 75% level, it turns the level of the other pickup down, lowering the overall volume of the bass. I hope I explained that well. The Piezo pickup does not seem to work at all -- No sound at all if I have only that pickup on, and no change to the tone I hear if I try to add some into the pickup blend. I didn't buy this bass to sound like an upright, so it's not a huge deal to me, but when you spend $1000 you do expect things to work (and it is very possibly my ignorance on how these systems work, and perhaps nothing is wrong.) Now, one important thing to note -- I have been playing through an Ampeg 4x10, but because of where I live, I have not been able to raise to volume past 0.5 (zero point five!); so it is entirely possible that the Piezo pickups are very subtle, and I just haven't had an opportunity to sample it at "proper" volume levels yet.

The Neck. This neck is divine. I thought Reverend made the most comfortable necks (they don't offer a fretless, AFAIK); but this thing is just an amazing tool; leagues beyond anything else I have tried. The millisecond I placed this in my left hand, I knew it was something special. It's hard to describe in words how godlike this neck is, so I will stop trying.

I thought hard about an alternate tuning like D standard, but I think I will keep this BEADG, and I will keep the stock chromes on it; at least long enough for them to "wear in". The "B" string sounds a little muddy to me, it might be because of the 34" scale or my low amp settings, but I rarely use anything lower than the 8th fret of the B string (yet); so lot a huge deal for me either. And other string selections may eventually give me a better sounding B.

EXTREMELY happy with this bass, even with the perceived defect. Getting used to a 5 again is actually harder than getting used a fretless. The 16.5 string spacing has me stumbling a bit, but if that's what it takes to create such perfect neck dimensions -- I'm all in.

I'll take a number, please

 

[P A U L]

you have a good battery in it right?

I like the warmth that the piezo adds. makes for a big fat sound.