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Ibanez SR505 Question

brianerwin

brianerwin

Oct 21, 2012
120
0
#1
I am getting this bass very soon and I am so excited about this!!! Yeah!!!

There are 5 knobs and a switch on it and I do know what they are for but I am not sure what they do exactly.
There is a volume knob and a balance knob* on the top stack so to speak and then the 3 knobs across the bottom are bass boost/cut, mid boost/cut and treble boost/cut.
Now As I would expect, the bass, mid, and treble simply put give the player the ability to sort of EQ their own sound going out, so I understand that. Then there is a switch called mid frequency switch*

The * are main questions.
First, I assume that the Balance knob is to balance the 2 pick ups, where some guitars use a switch to do this , I beleive that the knob would give you a much better control over this.
Second, Mid Frequency Switch. What is this for?
Again I assume that it either allows the EQ sound out or cuts out or down the mid frequency to give a boomy bass sound.
I am not sure on these. Can someone please enlighten me on these?
 
#2
The balance does what you assume, there's a notch in the centre for both pickups, and then rolled off to the right is the bridge pickup solo, and the neck is all the way to the left.

As for the contour switch, it's described as a mid scoop, but I seem to find it does the opposite of the mid EQ knob. that is, when I have mids boosted it seems to cut them, but when I cut the mids with the EQ it seems to cut them. Maybe it's more of a bypass for the mid EQ? At least that's how it seems to work for me.
 
#3
The mid switch changes the frequency that the mid knob adjusts. In other words, your mid knob might be focused at the 250hz range, but when you flip the switch, it focuses on the 800 hz range. It doesn't cut when you boost, or boost when you cut etc, but it does change where the boosts and cuts would be centered, and that changes the sound. It just gives you options as to where you prefer your mids.

I can't guarantee that my frequency ranges are correct, but those are two common ones.

Also, congratulations on your soon-to-be new bass. I have a 2004 (pre-switch) SR505 and I love it! I'm sure you will too! They're great basses.
 
#4
Turnin' it up you set mids at 250hz (so more ballsy and fatter lowend); turnin' it down you set mids at 800hz (this way pushin' your midrange)

Just that
The quantity of your mids is controlled by their dedicating knob while the switch slightly determine mids voicing.

Hope this helps

Cheers,
Wallace
 
#8
Here is the frequency response chart from the Ibanez website:

EQBIIISSR.jpg


Ibanez can't seem to get the legend at the bottom correct, the red curves are the bass knob response, the green are the mid knob, and the blue are the treble knob. If you are not familiar with this type of graph there are two curves for each band, one shows the knob in the full cut position, the other in the full boost position. In between knob positions will give a result somewhere between the two curves for that knob and the detent position will give you 0 dB. There are actually four curves for the mid knob, two for each setting of that mystery switch. The frequency axis is a log scale on this graph and there are no intermediate lines show so it is a bit tricky to read the frequency axis with any great accuracy. I'd say that the low frequency position on the mid switch is around 250 Hz but the high frequency is probably more like 600 or 700 Hz.

Ken
 
#9
So interesting question.... If I set my mids at 0 or middle of the road, then the mids switch should (in theory) actually have no effect right?

Another question.. Does that switch also effect the entire EQ of the bass? (bass, mid and treble?)
 
#10
khutch said:
Here is the frequency response chart from the Ibanez website:

EQBIIISSR.jpg


Ibanez can't seem to get the legend at the bottom correct, the red curves are the bass knob response, the green are the mid knob, and the blue are the treble knob. If you are not familiar with this type of graph there are two curves for each band, one shows the knob in the full cut position, the other in the full boost position. In between knob positions will give a result somewhere between the two curves for that knob and the detent position will give you 0 dB. There are actually four curves for the mid knob, two for each setting of that mystery switch. The frequency axis is a log scale on this graph and there are no intermediate lines show so it is a bit tricky to read the frequency axis with any great accuracy. I'd say that the low frequency position on the mid switch is around 250 Hz but the high frequency is probably more like 600 or 700 Hz.

Ken
Click to expand...

I agree and I tend to consider it more 600hz than declared 800
yet I had to thoughtfully reply so opted for declared figure

Anyway it's obvious that electronics was conceived on sleek mahogany bodies because instead of a, let's say, "1khz" upper indicator that'd be a midenhancer, declared 800hz, veritable 600hz and surely 250hz just display reknown mahogany tonewood frequencies. So, it's not that the switch doesn't work, it's more that it simply replicates body characteristics without tweakin'em (SR600 is an exception: SR4500E Prestige's ash again, but USA Bartolini on Prestige models allow full mid frequency control via rotary knob)

Cheers,
Wallace
 
#12
If your mid knob is at the center position, your mids will just be the natural mids that you are playing, i.e. No boosts no cuts. If you go lower than the center position, mids get cut.

The switch might improve perceived bass & treble since you're used to having mids in your signal. It will not however, affect the actual bass and treble itself. Certain notes that use mids and bass/treble might sound off since you've always had mids before.
 
#13
brianerwin said:
So interesting question.... If I set my mids at 0 or middle of the road, then the mids switch should (in theory) actually have no effect right?

Another question.. Does that switch also effect the entire EQ of the bass? (bass, mid and treble?)
Click to expand...

If the mid pot is in the detent position then the switch should not affect anything. It only sets the frequency at which the mid pot boosts and cuts so when you are at 0 dB there will be no change.

The curves for the mid boost and cut do have considerable overlap with those for the bass and treble. So when you have a non-zero setting on the mid knob the switch position does affect bass and treble frequencies somewhat. But that is normal for a three band EQ and your ear will tell you which settings you like.

I had one of these for a while and it is a nice bass. The pickups are good, the EQ works well, and that switch gives you some extra tonal options. Sadly I ended up not liking the string spacing so I sold it but otherwise the performance and construction of the bass are excellent.

Ken
 
#15
Well we went and did it!! Last night I got my new Ibanez SR505 Bass.
I sat down when I got home and played around with it. Including the controls.
Everything that was discussed in this thread is right. All the knobs have a center indent
except the main volume knob and the switch has no effect on anything while the EQ knobs are in their center positions. I also got an Acoustic B10 amp with it and a hard case.
Man I am so excited to have gotten this.!!
 
#20
brianerwin said:
I think I saw an Ibanez club here. How would I be a member, besides the obvious... ?
Click to expand...

Just post a picture of your new sweetheart!! They will give you a number. They gave me one but I forgot it :( LOL congratulations! I've had an Ibanez SR605 for months now as my main bass and this thread not only inspired me to mess around with the knobs again, but also enlightened me on many things :) thanks for posting!
 

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