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Ibanez SR5BBLTD: Poor Man's Fodera

#181
mark beem said:
Quite a contrast between the two sonically..

1405E - More mellow than the SR5, more "mids" focused, IMO this bass is better suited finger play.
SR5BB - Scooped, more aggressive sound, IMO leans more toward slap / pop, pick play
Click to expand...

It is an interesting set of data points as the only real difference is the body. Ash is my least favorite body wood, as I find that it typically is missing something in the mids for my taste (but I like very mid forward - hence me playing a Smith a lot these days).
 
#182
I'll get a full review up soon. In the meantime:
  • The instrument is beautiful and beautifully made!
  • The buckeye burl top looks wonderful. Lovely grain & feathering
  • The satin finish feels very nice
  • The neck is thin and fast
  • The string spacing is a little tighter than I prefer but is great for fast runs
  • The low B is tight and focused and not floppy in the least
So, the pressing question is; is the bass worth the money? IMO yes, but in the interest of full disclosure I didn't pay full price for mine. Early Black Friday promotions in addition to being a "repeat offender" at Sweetwater gave me a final price several hundred dollars below the going rate.

This bass will do what it's supposed to do and will look very good while doing it. No, it wont win going against a giant like Fodera. However, I would say it could hold its own with some of the other "customizable machined and assembled" bass companies out there.

Clearly what's absent in both the above examples is that with the Ibanez, you don't have that "personal touch" and the ability to interact and have an influence on the finished product. I'm not sure how one would go about putting a dollar value on that though. It's up to the buyer to weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision.

Is this particular bass worth it? The better question is; is it worth it to you?

For me, the answer is yes.
 
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#187
Ibanez Premium SR5BBLTD.jpg
Ibanez Premium SR5BBLTD_1.jpg
Ibanez Premium SR5BBLTD_2.jpg
SR5_1.jpg
SR5_2.jpg
SR5_3.jpg
SR5_5.jpg
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SR5_3.jpg
Well I finally caved in and bought one. I have owned sevral Premium and Prestige basses and loved all of them. I'm excited to get it in and try it out.
 
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#188
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#189
Its the best built bass I've owned and I've had 2 of the prestige basses. I don't know if its the wood or not but the tone set flat isn't as bassy and deep as other Ibanez Premium's I've had and that's a good thing. Very Crisp and clean sounding and with a little extra lows added in you get a very clean punchy tone. This is an amazing bass and I look forward to keeping this one in the fold for a long time.
 
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#190
Late to the party but better late than never .........

I heard quite a bit of chatter from players from the Atlanta area about the higher end Ibanez basses but only recently checked them out. Apparently they no longer make the SR5BBLTD but I've got to say the one that I just picked up rivals any high end bass that I've owned (in all area's).
It has such a nice phat finger tone and really gets burpy sounding when the bridge p/u is soloed. Here's a pic of mine .....

IMG_1574.JPG
 
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#191
mark beem said:
I'll get a full review up soon. In the meantime:
  • The instrument is beautiful and beautifully made!
  • The buckeye burl top looks wonderful. Lovely grain & feathering
  • The satin finish feels very nice
  • The neck is thin and fast
  • The string spacing is a little tighter than I prefer but is great for fast runs
  • The low B is tight and focused and not floppy in the least
So, the pressing question is; is the bass worth the money? IMO yes, but in the interest of full disclosure I didn't pay full price for mine. Early Black Friday promotions in addition to being a "repeat offender" at Sweetwater gave me a final price several hundred dollars below the going rate.

This bass will do what it's supposed to do and will look very good while doing it. No, it wont win going against a giant like Fodera. However, I would say it could hold its own with some of the other "customizable machined and assembled" bass companies out there.

Clearly what's absent in both the above examples is that with the Ibanez, you don't have that "personal touch" and the ability to interact and have an influence on the finished product. I'm not sure how one would go about putting a dollar value on that though. It's up to the buyer to weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision.

Is this particular bass worth it? The better question is; is it worth it to you?

For me, the answer is yes.
Click to expand...

Did you ever put up a review for this?
 
#192
The more time that I spend with this SR5BBLTD the more impressed I am! This bass has workmanship as good as I've seen. The low B is surprisingly even sounding (as compared to the other strings) and the bass setup great! So much fun to play. I'm digging the bridge p/u sound so much that I'm finding it hard to want to pan to the center!:)

I took a little time and read through this thread was both informed and entertained by some of the posts.:D

As for the "handmade in USA verses made in Indonesia" topic, I'll just say this:
When I was young I sure loved my mom and grandmothers homemade "made from scratch" chocolate chip cookies. But man, these days I sure enjoy those made in a factory "Chip Ahoy" chocolate chip cookies!:)
Good is good. The end result is far more important than how you got there.
 
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#195
I just picked up one of these basses in a trade, and I’ve never been a huge Ibanez fan UNTIL NOW. This thing is phenomenal! Seriously! I play mostly Warwicks when I do have the time to play, but this thing is a welcome addition to the family. I struggle with the thought that even though I got this bass in trade, I ultimately need to put money in my pocket. But I’m doing something I didn’t think I would do given the current stable of basses I have, which is sell off a Warwick and keep this. The b string in this thing is just so well pronounced and even with the other strings in output. I love it.
 
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#196
bostonasphalt2 said:
I just picked up one of these basses in a trade, and I’ve never been a huge Ibanez fan UNTIL NOW. This thing is phenomenal! Seriously! I play mostly Warwicks when I do have the time to play, but this thing is a welcome addition to the family. I struggle with the thought that even though I got this bass in trade, I ultimately need to put money in my pocket. But I’m doing something I didn’t think I would do given the current stable of basses I have, which is sell off a Warwick and keep this. The b string in this thing is just so well pronounced and even with the other strings in output. I love it.
Click to expand...

There is nothing like loving what you’ve got!:bassist:
 
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#197
JOME77 said:
Late to the party but better late than never .........

I heard quite a bit of chatter from players from the Atlanta area about the higher end Ibanez basses but only recently checked them out. Apparently they no longer make the SR5BBLTD but I've got to say the one that I just picked up rivals any high end bass that I've owned (in all area's).
It has such a nice phat finger tone and really gets burpy sounding when the bridge p/u is soloed. Here's a pic of mine .....

View attachment 769119
Click to expand...
i'll say His grace is enough...you got the best one I've ever seen!!
 
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