Mine was great when I got it in the fall, but needed a truss rod tweak as we got into winter. I've still got the stock strings on it, they work fine for me. I'll probably get a pro setup whenever I decide to try different strings.
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I'm a-retentive about guitars that aren't set up right. I just got through "finally" figuring out why I didn't like to play my SRFF805. I needed to shim the neck to get the action right. Then I switched out the stock strings for LaBella S.S. flat wounds, leveled and polished the frets, and this is a whole new bass now. Very enjoyable.
All that to say that I've never felt compelled to put the Portamento on the bench. I bought it used back in early 2017 and it was strung with a high-c instead of a low-b and I've kept it that way. Seems like it was crafted very well from the beginning. Every once in a while I have to slightly adjust the truss rod.
All that to say that I've never felt compelled to put the Portamento on the bench. I bought it used back in early 2017 and it was strung with a high-c instead of a low-b and I've kept it that way. Seems like it was crafted very well from the beginning. Every once in a while I have to slightly adjust the truss rod.
You're getting an upright tone and you still have the Piezo disconnected? Or did you reconnect it with the new preamp?
ok, I've decided to upgrade all of the electronics and pickups and make this as "perfect" of a fretless as I can. I'm going to put in Nord BigRigs and wire them so that I can bring each of them on-line in parallel or series mode.
On to the preamp, I'm pondering whether I go to the 2-way Nord with push/pull pots (in order to switch between parallel and series) and find a nice buffering preamp for the piezo, or go with a 3-way and delete the piezo. Or some combination of the above. I don't want to drill any more holes unless it's absolutely necessary. Seems like I should be able to keep the stock 6 pots and get everything accomplished with stackable pots.
Can I feed the Piezo in to the pre before the treble/mid/bass? If so, I wouldn't need a Piezo tone control. (And I admit I might not understand how the Piezo interfaces to the rest of the pre.) Stew said if I kept the Piezo (he doesn't like the stock setup at all) that I'd need to be very careful/picky about finding a good buffer for the Piezo.
Thoughts?
On to the preamp, I'm pondering whether I go to the 2-way Nord with push/pull pots (in order to switch between parallel and series) and find a nice buffering preamp for the piezo, or go with a 3-way and delete the piezo. Or some combination of the above. I don't want to drill any more holes unless it's absolutely necessary. Seems like I should be able to keep the stock 6 pots and get everything accomplished with stackable pots.
Can I feed the Piezo in to the pre before the treble/mid/bass? If so, I wouldn't need a Piezo tone control. (And I admit I might not understand how the Piezo interfaces to the rest of the pre.) Stew said if I kept the Piezo (he doesn't like the stock setup at all) that I'd need to be very careful/picky about finding a good buffer for the Piezo.
Thoughts?
I starting to think the pure buffer stage takes input from at least one magnetic and one piezo and allows you to move from 100% of one to 100% of the other with blend happening in between. What I'm unsure of is if you need to feed all magnetics and piezos through the buffer. The buffer wiring diagrams I've found seem to be all-in-one types that also have balance and tone options, so it doesn't look like it would be possible or wise to add yet another preamp behind them. For instance, this John East buffer: (See wiring diagram tab) John East MPM-01 - Best Bass Gear
I ordered a Nordstrom BigRig pickup with 16.5mm spacing that I'm going to try with the stock preamp in the neck and the bridge position and see how it goes. I then might add another BigRig to the bridge or I might go with a BigSplit in the bridge. After that, I'll make a determination if a new preamp is necessary.
If I'm in magnetic mode, I lean more towards a Stingray kind of sound. Kind of opposite of the Jaco sound, I guess. If I'm in piezo mode, I want a more upright/double-bass sound. I don't really care if they sound good together because I'm not likely to mix them together. Jekyll and Hyde.
I ordered a Nordstrom BigRig pickup with 16.5mm spacing that I'm going to try with the stock preamp in the neck and the bridge position and see how it goes. I then might add another BigRig to the bridge or I might go with a BigSplit in the bridge. After that, I'll make a determination if a new preamp is necessary.
If I'm in magnetic mode, I lean more towards a Stingray kind of sound. Kind of opposite of the Jaco sound, I guess. If I'm in piezo mode, I want a more upright/double-bass sound. I don't really care if they sound good together because I'm not likely to mix them together. Jekyll and Hyde.
I finally finished the "upgrade" of my SRF700. I replaced the preamp with an Underhill Bass pre, that is filter based (think Wal, Alembic) and pulled the piezo and bridge PU is now a Nordstrand Zen Blade. I kept the Bart in the neck position, but may swap it out with another Zen Blade. Each PU has an adjustable filter and an adjustable Q, with a blend and master volume. Man does this thing sing! The Zen Blade is an amazing fretless PU, and it pairs really well with the Underhill. Fat and punchy with plenty of Mwah when I want it. I am very pleased!
Awesome @Johno Dunn ! I've got a Nordstrand BigRig on order (special order with 16.5mm string spacing) that I plan to put in the neck. I'm going to test it in the bridge as well, but I was also considering the BigSplit and ZenBlade in the bridge. You might tip me towards the Blade. I'm looking at Delano or John East for the buffer and Nordstrand or Audere for the preamp. But first things first... pickups... live with it for awhile... THEN preamp if necessary. (Which I'm sure will still be an upgrade...)
Why put the money in the Portamento? Because I've never played a fretless that felt as good as the Portamento. And it weighs exactly the same as my Strat, which is 7lbs 9.5oz.
Why put the money in the Portamento? Because I've never played a fretless that felt as good as the Portamento. And it weighs exactly the same as my Strat, which is 7lbs 9.5oz.
Yes! Very easy to play and looks great. I was just missing something in the tone. I found it!
I'm curious as to what strings you guys have on yours, other than flatwounds, and what kinda sound you're going for and what you play?
I currently have Chromes on my SRF705 and a foam mute. I mostly use the bass for jazz and hip-hop and try to get as close to an upright tone as I can (which is pretty far away from it, but you know what I mean).
The thing is that I really want a fretless Fender P bass (4 string). I don't know if I'd prefer its tone, but I feel like I would like it more for jazz and walking basslines (it being a 4 string is part of that). I would also want some real thumpy flats on the P (probably GHS P Flats).
I feel like this would make my SRF705 somewhat obsolete though. I would change the strings (maybe back to TIs?) and remove the mute (which I'd have on my P) but still not sure how to get more use out of the Portamento afterwards… I could epoxy the board and use rounds, but I feel like there'd be better fretlesses (fretli?
) for that purpose.
And to mention it, I don't really know why I want the P. The SRF705 does everything I want it to and it's a beautiful and great feeling instrument… I just want a fretless P (preferably white) with an ashtray bridge cover, foam mute, and thumpy flats
edit to add: I should also mention that I seemingly play in a noisy environment and the Portamento hums a decent amount when I use the magnetic pickups and treble (depending on where I face). This is fine for how I currently use the bass and its settings, but it would be different scenario if I started using the bridge pickup more, etc. This further makes me question what I'd use it for if I did get a P
I currently have Chromes on my SRF705 and a foam mute. I mostly use the bass for jazz and hip-hop and try to get as close to an upright tone as I can (which is pretty far away from it, but you know what I mean).
The thing is that I really want a fretless Fender P bass (4 string). I don't know if I'd prefer its tone, but I feel like I would like it more for jazz and walking basslines (it being a 4 string is part of that). I would also want some real thumpy flats on the P (probably GHS P Flats).
I feel like this would make my SRF705 somewhat obsolete though. I would change the strings (maybe back to TIs?) and remove the mute (which I'd have on my P) but still not sure how to get more use out of the Portamento afterwards… I could epoxy the board and use rounds, but I feel like there'd be better fretlesses (fretli?
) for that purpose.And to mention it, I don't really know why I want the P. The SRF705 does everything I want it to and it's a beautiful and great feeling instrument… I just want a fretless P (preferably white) with an ashtray bridge cover, foam mute, and thumpy flats
edit to add: I should also mention that I seemingly play in a noisy environment and the Portamento hums a decent amount when I use the magnetic pickups and treble (depending on where I face). This is fine for how I currently use the bass and its settings, but it would be different scenario if I started using the bridge pickup more, etc. This further makes me question what I'd use it for if I did get a P
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I use La Bella Black Tapes on 700. I absolutely love the tone I get from these. As for the buzz, have you had it in an environment that doesn't buzz? It could be a loose wire in the cavity. Check that or have it checked.I'm curious as to what strings you guys have on yours, other than flatwounds, and what kinda sound you're going for and what you play?
I currently have Chromes on my SRF705 and a foam mute. I mostly use the bass for jazz and hip-hop and try to get as close to an upright tone as I can (which is pretty far away from it, but you know what I mean).
The thing is that I really want a fretless Fender P bass (4 string). I don't know if I'd prefer its tone, but I feel like I would like it more for jazz and walking basslines (it being a 4 string is part of that). I would also want some real thumpy flats on the P (probably GHS P Flats).
I feel like this would make my SRF705 somewhat obsolete though. I would change the strings (maybe back to TIs?) and remove the mute (which I'd have on my P) but still not sure how to get more use out of the Portamento afterwards… I could epoxy the board and use rounds, but I feel like there'd be better fretlesses (fretli?
And to mention it, I don't really know why I want the P. The SRF705 does everything I want it to and it's a beautiful and great feeling instrument… I just want a fretless P (preferably white) with an ashtray bridge cover, foam mute, and thumpy flats
edit to add: I should also mention that I seemingly play in a noisy environment and the Portamento hums a decent amount when I use the magnetic pickups and treble (depending on where I face). This is fine for how I currently use the bass and its settings, but it would be different scenario if I started using the bridge pickup more, etc. This further makes me question what I'd use it for if I did get a P
I have an Ibanez Portamento SRF-706. I had a knob fall off at church. Didn't notice until the next day. I went to the church and searched around and found it had rolled under the riser. When I went to put it back on, I found that the set screw was gone. I have looked around locally and can't find a replacement. I found out what the threads are at Lowes using their thread finder. It is an M4x.07 thread. They only have imperial set screws though. I have found some online that have the correct threads, but are way too long. Any idea where I can get a set screw replacement?
I have an extra knob from my 700 I can send you. Is it the larger or smaller knobs? What's your address?
where can you get Ibanez parts from?
I need a small knob (been looking for quite some time) the guy I got the bass from dropped it, & lost the knob. I also need a new nut. The nut is set up so perfect, I'd just assume buy a new prefab'd one, already cut & slotted. I don't think I could ever do such a good setup myself.
I tried contacting Ibanez direct, but never got a reply...
I've searched all over for those small knobs, I haven't seen anything remotely close.
I need a small knob (been looking for quite some time) the guy I got the bass from dropped it, & lost the knob. I also need a new nut. The nut is set up so perfect, I'd just assume buy a new prefab'd one, already cut & slotted. I don't think I could ever do such a good setup myself.
I tried contacting Ibanez direct, but never got a reply...
I've searched all over for those small knobs, I haven't seen anything remotely close.
Thanks so much. I found and ordered a knob already.
If it is Ibanez, go to HoshinoGakki's service site (Ibanez' parent company) and find the model. Links to the different Portameno models... 2017-2018, Feb through Sept 2019, Dec 2019 or later.
Then go to Drums Etc. I know it seems counterintuitive to go to a drum site for bass parts, but they have a bunch of Ibanez parts. Here are their knobs: Knobs
