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Ibanez SR Series. Educate Me.

T

The WideBody

May 18, 2008
136
0
#1
i played my buddies SR1400. probably the nicest bass i've ever played on. considering the price - it probably should be. of the lesser expensive sr basses, where does the feel of that 1400 begin or end. if someone could give me the secret decoder ring behind the numbers as well, that would be appreciated.

thanks in advance for your input.

az
 
#3
I have owned 6 Ibanez Soundgears. Out of all of the ones I have owned and played, I would take an SR 500-700 series over the higher end stuff any day. I hate the bridges on the higher end SR's and the quality is the same across the board. Maybe the only slight difference in the higher end stuff is better electronics but in all honesty, I can't tell a big difference between a mid level Soundgear and a high end one but if a person must, swap out the pick ups for after market ones. The 2 higher end Soundgears I had, gave me more issues than my mid grade ones did too. In fact, I still own my 94' and 95' SR 500's. and to this day they still have never given me a single issue.
 
#7
I always see a lot of people speak highly of the SR505, and rightly so, it was my first 5 string and is a great bass. That being said, I prefer my SR755. The body woods attribute to a slightly brighter sound the helps with the overall "dark" sound that so many people complain about.
 
#8
I just became the owner of an SR300M, and on the same day played an SR250, and on a previous occasion had the fortune to play an SR500 and an SR1200.

Based on this I would say the feel starts at the 300, especially in the neck. The 500 played a little better bt was a notch above in terms of sound and build. The 1200 was immaculately put together and my poor fingers could not do justice to the electronics so in my hands it sounded close to the 500, but YMMV. The 250 now has the same electronics as the 300 but felt a lot different than any of the others I played. Similar in the neck but the body and overall mojo was not the same.
 
#9
I have never played anything ending with ***EZ (Alva***, Fernand**, IBAN**). I am sure I will not do it anytime in my life. But, I would, also, like to know why people play these things. What is all about excitement playing it.
 
#13
Tvrtko said:
I have never played anything ending with ***EZ (Alva***, Fernand**, IBAN**). I am sure I will not do it anytime in my life. But, I would, also, like to know why people play these things. What is all about excitement playing it.
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If an SR suits you ergonomically everything else will fall short in comparison. If it doesn't you'll probably hate it. I have yet to play a bass that plays better. Some friends of mine would beg to differ. For 1000.00 I don't think there is a better bass out there than an SR 12 or 1400, as long as it fits you.
 
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#14
FourBanger said:
Based on this I would say the feel starts at the 300, especially in the neck. The 500 played a little better bt was a notch above in terms of sound and build. The 1200 was immaculately put together and my poor fingers could not do justice to the electronics so in my hands it sounded close to the 500, but YMMV. The 250 now has the same electronics as the 300 but felt a lot different than any of the others I played. Similar in the neck but the body and overall mojo was not the same.
Click to expand...

i will start my search at the 300. i see some of these are p/j styled. some are soap bar. the 1400 i played looked like double jazzes. any info on the electronics will also be appreciated.

thanks.

az
 
#15
Warmuth said:
If an SR suits you ergonomically everything else will fall short in comparison. If it doesn't you'll probably hate it. I have yet to play a bass that plays better. Some friends of mine would beg to differ. For 1000.00 I don't think there is a better bass out there than an SR 12 or 1400, as long as it fits you.
Click to expand...

I am coming out from the time of Fenders, Music Mans, Rickenbackers and Gibsons. All other things were crap. I had once at the beginning some Aria (jazz bass copy) that I hated so much that I decided whatever comes from Asia, I am not going to touch it. It turns out Yamahas were not so bad. And when TUNE came out, that was revolution in bass making.
I cannot justify paying more than $500 for single musical item. So, most of the stuff now has just memorabilia significance for me. I still don't understand excitements about numerous modern brands that would supposedly do anything more or better than mentioned brands.
I might justify going after some of the "popular" brands if the price is under my level. Otherwise, it does not make sense to me even to try...
 
#17
I recently stumbled across an older SR3000 for $350. Mahogany body, Wenge/Bubinga neck.
After years of regarding SR's as low-grade, pencil-necked beginner basses, this beauty has become my favorite instrument. Great tones, easy to play, comfortable; what more do you want?
 
#18
SR500 and above are the main dividing line, with Bartolini pickups and better woods.
The Premium and Prestige have even better USA-made Barts or Nordstrands.

The new SR800 is calling to me, but I can't afford one right now.

The SR300s I played recently--especially with maple fingerboards--were damn fine instruments and I couldn't tell any difference from my SR500 unplugged besides a brighter and snappier response.
ALL SR models feel pretty much the same, with slim necks and light weight, so pick your price range and enjoy.
 
#19
SR305 will have about as good a neck as any other Ibanez.
If you're going to use your own electronics, no need to look at anything more expensive.

I like the pearl white with dark fretboard, however, so I hunted down some old out-of-production SR535s. If I didn't care about the logo on the headstock I would have just got any cheap Ibby with a dark fingerboard and painted it.

I was never a fan of the Bartolinis that come stock on the mid-grade Ibanezes. Some people like them. They're OK, but for the same money I can get a low-grade Ibby and put in my favorite guts.
 
#20
SR.. Essentially three completely different classes of instrument at three price ranges, each sounding very different.. there is a noticeable jump in feel & tonal quality at the SR500 (Bart mk1) and again at the SR1200 models (Nordstrand), and the intermediate models all offer something extra for the incremental dollars. If you like the tone of the Bart Mk1's then would suggest the SR600/700 out of the Bart line, depending on your finish preferences

There is a lot of anecdotal commentary about Ibanez electronics, and for sure the preamp in my late SRA500 was noisy and lackluster, but the preamp on the SR1200 is first class.

Across the Ibanez SR line you certainly get that little bit extra as you go up each model.. so just pick where you can afford, or go used into the next model range up.. They are not all equal or all sound the same..they are at different prices for a reason and comparing the SR1200 to the SR500 or the SR500 to the SR300 makes that obvious.


The WideBody said:
i will start my search at the 300. i see some of these are p/j styled. some are soap bar. the 1400 i played looked like double jazzes. any info on the electronics will also be appreciated.

thanks.

az
Click to expand...
 

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