Ibanez SR885?

[Explogo]

So I picked up a 1993 SR885 from a local second hand store for $200 AUD, the bass is pristine I think the last owner must have only ever played it in a padded room with gloves on.
The thing is I was 3 when this bass was built so I was wondering what you guys think of it and if there are any tips/tricks/upgrades that it would benefit from.

 

[cb56]

Yes, I had a 1992 model so I assume they are the same or similar. These were japanese made at the time. Pretty good stuff maybe even their top of the line model at the time.This one has two J style pickups one at a slant right?
When I bought mine I was playing in the house band at a local country music venue. I had been having some problem with the pickups being noisy and sounding weak, Even went back to the dealer and had the pickups replaced with original stock equipment but still had problems with the noise.

One saturday a country artist named Trisha Yearwood was there and her bass player had the exact same bass as mine down to the color but his sounded alot better. He and I got together and later and he showed me that he had put EMG pickups and preamp in his. so of course I ran right out and had the same done to my bass. Sounded great. Not too long after that I replaced the bridge with a heavier bridge made by Wilkerson. Seemed to add a bit of sustain. That bass was my number one bass for about 8 years until I knocked it off a stand once and cracked the headstock.

 

[cassanova]

From what I remember those old Sr885's didn't sound too bad and played very nice. I'm pretty sure they were basswood bodies back then, but could be wrong.

 

[Thundar]

I have 2 SR885's from 1993...they are great basses..I wouldnt change a thing

 

[Explogo]

Yeah, seems like a pretty nice bass and the price didn't seem to bad either. Mine does seem to have a little background noise when you mess with the preamp levels but otherwise it seems to be pretty damn good.
The colour on the other hand is a little 90's for my liking, I think its called laser blue and it's not the most subtle shade of blue in the world.
What's with the slanted neck pickup by the way? I'm assuming it has something to do with the B-string.

 

[cliff78]

Yes, I had a 1992 model so I assume they are the same or similar. These were japanese made at the time. Pretty good stuff maybe even their top of the line model at the time.This one has two J style pickups one at a slant right?
When I bought mine I was playing in the house band at a local country music venue. I had been having some problem with the pickups being noisy and sounding weak, Even went back to the dealer and had the pickups replaced with original stock equipment but still had problems with the noise.

One saturday a country artist named Trisha Yearwood was there and her bass player had the exact same bass as mine down to the color but his sounded alot better. He and I got together and later and he showed me that he had put EMG pickups and preamp in his. so of course I ran right out and had the same done to my bass. Sounded great. Not too long after that I replaced the bridge with a heavier bridge made by Wilkerson. Seemed to add a bit of sustain. That bass was my number one bass for about 8 years until I knocked it off a stand once and cracked the headstock.

Cut the highs. then the noise wil be gone

 

[humpy thumb]

Yeah, seems like a pretty nice bass and the price didn't seem to bad either. Mine does seem to have a little background noise when you mess with the preamp levels but otherwise it seems to be pretty damn good.
The colour on the other hand is a little 90's for my liking, I think its called laser blue and it's not the most subtle shade of blue in the world.
What's with the slanted neck pickup by the way? I'm assuming it has something to do with the B-string.

Congrats on an real bargain.
The neck pickup angles back towards the bridge?
If so,that gives your B string better definition & more growl.,making it sound tighter.
If it angles away from the bridge,it gives the B string a lower & deeper voice,coz it's pickup up the strings vibration from a point where it moves slightly more.
Now go the crap outta it mate.

 

[Thundar]

I love the Laser Blue...back in the day, I thought that was the coolest color...but it IS kind of a 90's thing...LOL....I think the slanted pickup gives the bass a little more "edgy" sound from the pickups when using both pickups, a little different flavor than standard J bass sound.
Oh mine are black and red, by the way...and man are they light!


Edit :Oh well he beat me to it...LOL

 

[Thundar]

Here you might find this pretty cool.

 

[Explogo]

That would have been handy when I was trying to work out what the damn thing was.
I walked into the store looking for nothing in particular and the bass was hanging up at the back of the store. Gave it a try and loved the way it felt especially the narrow neck which is brilliant on a 5-string. Spun the bass over to check the price and was greeted by a massive RESERVED sticker. I got home and decided to give the store a buzz and the guy said the reservation had expired and it was up for sale so I put it on hold and tried to work out what the hell I had reserved.
A day of solid googling later and I managed to find a picture of one on Harmony Central, picked up the bass that afternoon and have been pretty damn happy with it since.
Now I just need a halfway decent amp and i'll be able to play some gigs with my mates band.

 

[~ignited~wings~]

Weird, that add shows a different body shape on the 5 strings than the 6ers... significantly different.

 

[Thundar]

Actually, in the enlarged version of this ad that I have on my computer, you can see close up its not really different, just looks wider cause of those longer pickups and the Padauk wood body...and the pic of the sixer is slightly bigger.

 

[cb56]

Cut the highs. then the noise wil be gone

actually the noise was not a high end hiss. It was a crackling sound like bacon frying

 

[Explogo]

actually the noise was not a high end hiss. It was a crackling sound like bacon frying

Wow, I have some high end hiss but so far no bacon sounds. Let's hope it stays that way or I'll get hungry every time I go to play and never get any practice done.

 

[cb56]

I think it must have been that particular run of pickups or the preamp. When I turned the blend to neck only it went away. Yeah, the bacon sound was annoying on soft ballads. Anyway the EMGs fixed the problem and IMO sounded better not that the originals sounded bad.

 

[Bassalien70]

Bringing this thread back to life, recently on eBay a new old stock sr885 was listed. It is a 1993 model which makes it almost 30 years old. It sat hidden in a music shop store until recently. YES I bought it and it's in the post. The pictures show that the bass is brand new with plastic protective covering on truss road cover and control plate. Great find I think, I wanted one of these back in the day and I've always liked the vari mid eq on Ibanez basses. Great find I think

 

[Snert]

Nice find and a great bass. I hope you paid 93 prices, less depreciation for it.

 

[Bassalien70]

Nice find and a great bass. I hope you paid 93 prices, less depreciation for it.

I paid what I thought was a reasonable £250 GBP for it. Both seller as me as a buyer both happy.

 

[Snert]

I paid what I thought was a reasonable £250 GBP for it. Both seller as me as a buyer both happy.

I was being facetious in my earlier post, but that's a good price and better than most of the current SRs for the money.

 

[Bassalien70]

I was being facetious in my earlier post, but that's a good price and better than most of the current SRs for the money.

I thought it was a good price, I've seen sr800 basses go for a lot more on eBay for a lot more in the past and some are quite badly beat up. I'm the meantime I sit and wait for the knock on the door from.Mr parcelforce...or parcelFARCE as I like to call them.