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Ibanez SR500

#21
You may want to double check that the neck bolts on the back of the bass are nice & tight in case any of them have loosened slightly during use by the previous owner. On the other hand, you could remove them entirely, remove the neck and double check for any woodshavings, etc., if you suspect there may be something in the neck pocket preventing a solid join with the body.

Congrats on the SR-500 - it is a great sounding & playing instrument! It should serve you well & work great for a wide range of music styles (and sound great doing it).
 
#24
Kgibson414 said:
Oh jeez, here goes another question!:

Well, now that I've played the bass for hours straight, I have a question about it that hopefully you guys can answer.

When I hold on to the top piece above the neck, as well as the neck itself and wiggle it gently, there is a distinct crackling noise. The neck doesn't move (as far as I know), it seems very tight.
I've read somewhere before that sometimes the neck pockets in bolt on's can have a rough finish which causes the neck itself to never really sit perfectly tight.
But like I said, it seems really sturdy and tight fitting.
I'm just worried about that developing into a problem later down the road.

Anyone experience this crackling before?
What did you do to fix it, if at all?
Click to expand...

Tuners rattling? Truss rod rattling?
 
#25
Kgibson414 said:
Oh jeez, here goes another question!:

Well, now that I've played the bass for hours straight, I have a question about it that hopefully you guys can answer.

When I hold on to the top piece above the neck, as well as the neck itself and wiggle it gently, there is a distinct crackling noise. The neck doesn't move (as far as I know), it seems very tight.
I've read somewhere before that sometimes the neck pockets in bolt on's can have a rough finish which causes the neck itself to never really sit perfectly tight.
But like I said, it seems really sturdy and tight fitting.
I'm just worried about that developing into a problem later down the road.

Anyone experience this crackling before?
What did you do to fix it, if at all?
Click to expand...

It's impossible to say anything for sure without knowing exactly where the crackling sound is coming from. Is it loud? Does it sound severe, or can you barely hear it?

If you can't locate the source of the crackling and you think it might be a potentially serious problem, I would take it to a local guitar repair tech and get his/her opinion. If they have any experience at all, they will probably have seen your crackling issue before, and could tell you right away if it is serious or not.

Since you bought it from Guitar Center, I'm sure you could take it to your nearest Guitar Center and have the guy there look at it. I'm pretty sure they won't repair it for free, but they can give you an idea of what it is, and what might be needed.


But if nothing seems loose, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
#26
BlueTalon said:
It's impossible to say anything for sure without knowing exactly where the crackling sound is coming from. Is it loud? Does it sound severe, or can you barely hear it?


But if nothing seems loose, I wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...

You can barely hear it.
Except when it's cold in my room, it's much louder.
But I've only listened for it twice (Don't want to keep doing it and cause a problem for myself.)

I actually did it just now to hear the difference, as my room is considerably hotter right now, and I could barely hear anything at all.

Nothing seems loose at all.
In fact, it's one of the most solid basses I've held; considering my friend beat the heck out of his.


Solarmist said:
What year is it? What is the letter, and first 2 numbers in the serial# on the back of the headstock?

& No - you won't miss the mid freq switch. A lot of people can't hear what it does anyway.
Click to expand...

CP05

Is it strange that it has 2 letters?
I don't know much about Ibanez serial numbers.
 
#28
Without seeing it, it's hard to say what's making that noise - could be the neck pocket, could be the trussrod, could be a crack that's in a hard to see place... Unless you can figure out what it is, I would have someone knowledgeable take a look at it before your 30 day return period is up... Since sr500s aren't hard to find, you can always grab another if there is an issue with this one... FWIW, I've owned 3 different sr505s, and they were all good basses - I currently own an sr905 that is definitely a keeper, and played an sr600 that blew me away...


- georgestrings
 
#30
Solarmist said:
No - you won't miss the mid freq switch. A lot of people can't hear what it does anyway.
Click to expand...

It's not that simple :) Mid switch aside (which does an audible change btw) the whole EQ sounds different. The older ones have a darker sound but with more body to it, while the new ones sound considerably brighter and cut better through the mix. Since the bass seems to be a 2005 model, it weights more than the newer models, and the neck is wenge/bubinga, as opposed to the current jatoba/bubinga (plus a slightly different profile). So overall not exactly the same thing...
 
#31
^ I think that's because the 05' had the older Bart MK1 EQ, and the newer ones (09' +) have the Bart EQB-III ....... like my 10' SR600. I do like the mid freq switch - you can hear how it changes the whole bass's tone if you turn the mid boost/cut up to about 3/4.
 

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