Ibanez SR500 worth it for $300 shipped?

[fatima]

hey guys! this is my first real post, was hoping for some guidance for buying a new bass. i love reading these forums for information, it's such a treasure trove!

i'm looking at this bass, is it worth it for $300 shipped? it has some finish damage on the front but looks good otherwise, and i'm pretty sure it would be an upgrade from all my other gear (my main is a mikro, a cheap no-name clone that i started on a year ago, and a cordoba mini) but i wanted to make sure that it would be a solid purchase or if i should keep searching. i play mostly indie rock and some funk, i'd probably throw some flats on it.

any input would be greatly appreciated! if i posted in the wrong place, please let me know

 

[Kaa]

If everything works, it's a solid choice that can carry you for a good long time.

 

[MrB64]

Those are good bass guitars.

 

[Eddie Jones]

hey guys! this is my first real post, was hoping for some guidance for buying a new bass. i love reading these forums for information, it's such a treasure trove!

i'm looking at this bass, is it worth it for $300 shipped? it has some finish damage on the front but looks good otherwise, and i'm pretty sure it would be an upgrade from all my other gear (my main is a mikro, a cheap no-name clone that i started on a year ago, and a cordoba mini) but i wanted to make sure that it would be a solid purchase or if i should keep searching. i play mostly indie rock and some funk, i'd probably throw some flats on it. View attachment 5065399 View attachment 5065401 View attachment 5065402

any input would be greatly appreciated! if i posted in the wrong place, please let me know

I have a literally brand new one with less than an hours playing time on it in Blue Matte Veil. I don't think it cost me that much when I got it at Sweetwater last year. I don't play it at all. It just sits in the rack.

 

[fatima]

I have a literally brand new one with less than an hours playing time on it in Blue Matte Veil. I don't think it cost me that much when I got it at Sweetwater last year. I don't play it at all. It just sits in the rack.

hmm, i can only find the sr300s in any of the veil colors! what are you reasons for not playing it, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Eddie Jones]

hmm, i can only find the sr300s in any of the veil colors! what are you reasons for not playing it, if you don't mind my asking?

I have a StingRay Special and a 54P that feel better. The Ibanez neck is just too thin and I have large hands. It also sounds really sterile.

 

[Not_Shane]

I have a StingRay Special and a 54P that feel better. The Ibanez neck is just too thin and I have large hands. It also sounds really sterile.

you can't compare a $300 Ibanez to your literally thousands of dollars in stingray and P basses....
Does your lambo also drive better than your corolla?

also no idea what you're talking about on price. the new SR500s are 699 - you must have bought a lower end model.

this Ibanez is a great model. thin fast neck, many people I know have had them for YEARS.

great on board EQ helps you get a lot of tone out of it.

They also weigh like, nothing

 

[Relayer71]

I have a literally brand new one with less than an hours playing time on it in Blue Matte Veil. I don't think it cost me that much when I got it at Sweetwater last year. I don't play it at all. It just sits in the rack.

The SR500s are $699. They were $500 some years ago, so $300 is a good price. You probably got an SR370 or SR300.

And OP, that finish damage is on most of these that I've seen. Ibanez use a really thin finish on this color for some reason, so it will eventually wear off where you rest your thumb.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

There's generally 3 iterations of the SR500 style bass pictured here (brown mahoghany with Bartolini-designed soapbars)

** SR500 with the MK1s and 3-band preamp - I owned this one, incredibly solid bass with good tonal options. VERY sensitive to string differences, fwiw. If you're not digging it, try some different strings before chucking the bass

**SR500(bm?) with MK1s, 3-band preamp + mid shift switch - This is the middle iteration and the one you're looking at purchasing. Basically same as the predecessor, but with a mid-shift switch that changed what frequency the mid knob was adjusting.

**SR500(e?) with BH2s and 3-band preamp + mid shift and passive switches - Newest one, this has different pickups than the previous two along with adding a passive/active switch to the EQ on the previous one. Don't have any seat time with this one


For $300 shipped that's a pretty solid deal, if you aren't the type to freak over finish damage. First thing I'd do is a fretboard cleaning and fresh strings. These do lean a bit on the bright side, so I'd suggest warmer sounding strings than typical. Flats would probably be a good fit, the bass should have plenty of definition. They feel amazing though, really miss my old one that I sold for a Warwick Rockbass

 

[fatima]

There's generally 3 iterations of the SR500 style bass pictured here (brown mahoghany with Bartolini-designed soapbars)

** SR500 with the MK1s and 3-band preamp - I owned this one, incredibly solid bass with good tonal options. VERY sensitive to string differences, fwiw. If you're not digging it, try some different strings before chucking the bass

**SR500(bm?) with MK1s, 3-band preamp + mid shift switch - This is the middle iteration and the one you're looking at purchasing. Basically same as the predecessor, but with a mid-shift switch that changed what frequency the mid knob was adjusting.

**SR500(e?) with BH2s and 3-band preamp + mid shift and passive switches - Newest one, this has different pickups than the previous two along with adding a passive/active switch to the EQ on the previous one. Don't have any seat time with this one


For $300 shipped that's a pretty solid deal, if you aren't the type to freak over finish damage. First thing I'd do is a fretboard cleaning and fresh strings. These do lean a bit on the bright side, so I'd suggest warmer sounding strings than typical. Flats would probably be a good fit, the bass should have plenty of definition. They feel amazing though, really miss my old one that I sold for a Warwick Rockbass

oh my goodness, thank you so much for the model info, you have saved me so much time.

i put flats on my mikro, and playing my other basses without them feels so foreign to me!

big update!!!! the site i was buying from just marked it down to 60% off, so i just bought it for $145 shipped!!!!!! i am so excited!!!!!!!! thank you all for the input, i'll post pics once I've gotten it in hand!

 

[Not_Shane]

oh my goodness, thank you so much for the model info, you have saved me so much time.

i put flats on my mikro, and playing my other basses without them feels so foreign to me!

big update!!!! the site i was buying from just marked it down to 60% off, so i just bought it for $145 shipped!!!!!! i am so excited!!!!!!!! thank you all for the input, i'll post pics once I've gotten it in hand!

one hell of a deal.
congrats!
let us know how you like it.

 

[fatima]

one hell of a deal.
congrats!
let us know how you like it.

i definitely will!

any flats recommendations? i have d'addario chromes on my mikro, should i check something else out?

 

[fatima]

The SR500s are $699. They were $500 some years ago, so $300 is a good price. You probably got an SR370 or SR300.

And OP, that finish damage is on most of these that I've seen. Ibanez use a really thin finish on this color for some reason, so it will eventually wear off where you rest your thumb.

that's where my research led me too, re: that color only being offered in the SR300. i appreciate your input on the price! most used SR500s i saw were still around $300 before shipping.

worst case scenario, i saw a few users here completely redo the finish on their sr500, and i love a project!

 

[Isaac_James]

oh my goodness, thank you so much for the model info, you have saved me so much time.

i put flats on my mikro, and playing my other basses without them feels so foreign to me!

big update!!!! the site i was buying from just marked it down to 60% off, so i just bought it for $145 shipped!!!!!! i am so excited!!!!!!!! thank you all for the input, i'll post pics once I've gotten it in hand!

Sweet. I would have recommended it for the full asking price, but a discount like that is a steal assuming no major structural issues.

One thing about Ibanez SR basses that's divisive is the very thin neck. Some people love it, some can't stand it. I've got one myself that I'm upgrading to fully passive with better pickups and a series/parallel switch, it feels great in my hands and is very light. As someone else noted these naturally lean towards being bright but if you put in some flatwounds that will tame it very nicely.

Enjoy!

 

[Eddie Jones]

you can't compare a $300 Ibanez to your literally thousands of dollars in stingray and P basses....
Does your lambo also drive better than your corolla?

also no idea what you're talking about on price. the new SR500s are 699 - you must have bought a lower end model.

this Ibanez is a great model. thin fast neck, many people I know have had them for YEARS.

great on board EQ helps you get a lot of tone out of it.

They also weigh like, nothing

To respond to your statement. I initially read that she was looking at an SR300. My mistake. I would give this one away if someone local to me wanted it. And, at the time, I did not yet have my StingRay or any of the others. The Ibanez was the 2nd bass I bought after a Vintage VJ74 (which I love). I liked big necks and went back to the Vintage more often than not. My mistake on the nomenclature of what OP originally posted that she bought. Now, unwad ones panties and get back to thumping.

 

[fatima]

Sweet. I would have recommended it for the full asking price, but a discount like that is a steal assuming no major structural issues.

One thing about Ibanez SR basses that's divisive is the very thin neck. Some people love it, some can't stand it. I've got one myself that I'm upgrading to fully passive with better pickups and a series/parallel switch, it feels great in my hands and is very light. As someone else noted these naturally lean towards being bright but if you put in some flatwounds that will tame it very nicely.

Enjoy!

i have large hands too, but i think i'll like the thinner neck. regardless, i'm excited to try it out.

do you have any flats recommendations? i've only used d'addario chromes.

edit: if i ever get around to upgrading it, i'll reach back out to see what you've done to yours!

 

[Isaac_James]

i have large hands too, but i think i'll like the thinner neck. regardless, i'm excited to try it out.

do you have any flats recommendations? i've only used d'addario chromes.

edit: if i ever get around to upgrading it, i'll reach back out to see what you've done to yours!

I've tried chromes a couple times and they're not quite my cup of tea. I use LaBella 760FL strings on my P bass, they're much more 'vintage' sounding than the Chromes, which are bright for flats. But you may like that quality in a set of flats! It just wasn't what I wanted.

I'm also keen on GHS Pressurewounds, they're mellower than roundwounds (and smoother feeling which I like) but definitely more treble and midrange than flatwounds. I would describe them as being growly to snarly, depending on how hard I dig in.

 

[mapleglo]

For what it's worth, I have a couple of Micro's and they are also great basses for the money. And also weight next to nothing. When I was gigging, I always brought my Mikro as a backup, when my Rickenbacker got too heavy after a few hours.

Congrats on the great deal!

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Yeah it's a bargain.
Only problems I've encountered with Ibanez are the barrel jacks but they're easily fixed and cost sod all.
The scraping between the pickups is standard for this model.

 

[beaglesandbass]

hey guys! this is my first real post, was hoping for some guidance for buying a new bass. i love reading these forums for information, it's such a treasure trove!

i'm looking at this bass, is it worth it for $300 shipped? it has some finish damage on the front but looks good otherwise, and i'm pretty sure it would be an upgrade from all my other gear (my main is a mikro, a cheap no-name clone that i started on a year ago, and a cordoba mini) but i wanted to make sure that it would be a solid purchase or if i should keep searching. i play mostly indie rock and some funk, i'd probably throw some flats on it. View attachment 5065399 View attachment 5065401 View attachment 5065402

any input would be greatly appreciated! if i posted in the wrong place, please let me know

Here’s a question, how do your other basses *play*? If you can set them up to your liking, the necks have no sharp fret edges and it’s overall comfortable to play, I would recommend against replacing a low end bass with another low end bass.

The quality of parts won’t be much of an improvement, if any. If either of your current basses play well, I think you’d be better off investing in better electronics, especially tuners, and a bridge.