Ibanez SR800 - My review and tone test

[alessandroarzil]

Hey what's up everyone?
I made a video review of an Ibanez SR800 produced in 1995 and I thought if sharing it with you all.
I'm neither sponsored, nor endorsed by any music company, I'm just a metalhead who likes making gear reviews.
00:00 Quick sound test
01:08 Soundgear background story
01:47 Cleaning and polishing
02:40 Technical specifications
03:10 Serial number identification
03:28 Signal chain and effects
04:37 Clean tone (bass only)
05:05 Clean tone (FX)
05:30 Dist tone (bass only)
05:50 Clean + Dist tone (bass only)
06:27 Bass bus tone (in the mix)
07:24 My conclusions

 

[wvbass]

Hey what's up everyone?
I made a video review of an Ibanez SR800 produced in 1995 and I thought if sharing it with you all.
I'm neither sponsored, nor endorsed by any music company, I'm just a metalhead who likes making gear reviews.
00:00 Quick sound test
01:08 Soundgear background story
01:47 Cleaning and polishing
02:40 Technical specifications
03:10 Serial number identification
03:28 Signal chain and effects
04:37 Clean tone (bass only)
05:05 Clean tone (FX)
05:30 Dist tone (bass only)
05:50 Clean + Dist tone (bass only)
06:27 Bass bus tone (in the mix)
07:24 My conclusions

Nice! I'm not sure I consider that a great review video, but it is an excellent video overall, IMO. I really like the way you show how a specific bass tone comes together in a recording and how it fits into the overall mix.

 

[alessandroarzil]

Nice! I'm not sure I consider that a great review video, but it is an excellent video overall, IMO. I really like the way you show how a specific bass tone comes together in a recording and how it fits into the overall mix.

Thanks a lot, man! I'm doing this in my spare time as a hobby. Which aspects of the review do you think I should improve and how?

 

[wvbass]

Thanks a lot, man! I'm doing this in my spare time as a hobby. Which aspects of the review do you think I should improve and how?

Well, I think you are fighting an uphill battle calling it a "review" with that particular bass. As you pointed out, it is an older instrument, and your review starts out strong when you visit the position the bass had in the Ibanez lineup at the time. Unfortunately, a review of an old Soundgear is a lot like reviewing one straw in a bale of hay; there have been many Soundgear models over the years, so reviewing a non-current model won't be relevant to many.

For me, a comprehensive review would have more discussion of the physical characteristics of the bass. You talked about the neck, but I missed it if you talked about the bass's weight and balance on a strap. I also think a good review would focus on the tonal options...show how the pickup balance and the active controls affect the tone. You could also show how it sounds with a pick verses fingers, and make sure you point out what kind of strings you are using. If you talked about that stuff, I missed it.

Keep in mind, this is all "armchair quarterback" stuff from me. Your review is infinitely better than any review I have done, because I haven't been ambitious enough to do one at all.

 

[Maxdusty]

Nice video, great job. One thing though, based on the serial # beginning with "S", I do believe it may have been put together at the Samick factory, but if so, that would make the bass "made" in Korea, not Japan. Hardware seem to consistent with what they would use on a MIJ SR800 though. If what I read in the attached is correct, one year of the SR800 (1985), the basses were made in Korea not Japan .
I haven't seen one of these, the ones I've owned were older, serial number started with "f" for Fujigen, made in Japan. Perhaps hypercarrots ( the expert on these older Ibanez basses can confirm)
SR800

 

[hypercarrots]

Nice video, great job. One thing though, based on the serial # beginning with "S", I do believe it may have been put together at the Samick factory, but if so, that would make the bass "made" in Korea, not Japan. Hardware seem to consistent with what they would use on a MIJ SR800 though. If what I read in the attached is correct, one year of the SR800 (1985), the basses were made in Korea not Japan .
I haven't seen one of these, the ones I've owned were older, serial number started with "f" for Fujigen, made in Japan. Perhaps hypercarrots ( the expert on these older Ibanez basses can confirm)
SR800

i can tell that one is korean by the inlays