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Ibanez Standard VS Premium range

BasseeJames

BasseeJames

Guest
Jan 25, 2015
40
20
28
North Devon, England
#1
I mainly play Ibanez SR bass's due to the comfort of the neck (i have small hands) I want to invest in a new 4 string. I have two Ibanez SR 5 strings, (sr305,sr905) and they are just so comfortable for me. However i am not overly keen on the Bart Mk 1 PUPS in them (in the sr905 anyway) therefore i am looking at the SR650 and SR750 (Nordstand PUPS). These are in the "standard" range. Now my question is, i have the budget to purchase the "premium" range products. I am interested in peoples personal experiences with both the "standard" and "premium" range. Do you think it is worth the extra £250+ pounds (UK) for the "premium" range products. Thank you, and hopefully there are some other people out there in which this thread will be useful for. Also, i respect everyone's opinion, but i have small hands, i have tried many other 4 strings, Fender Jazz's, Precisions, even a EBMM Sterling, and to me the necks still feel a little bulkly, so please try not suggest that i purchase these bass's, i like the SR range and want to stick with it.
 
#2
I would recommend going out to try playing one, but imo the premiums are so much better it's not even a fair comparison. I would wait as the the standard ranges are getting a new pickup for 2015 models and those might be just as awesome. Definitely get one with nordstrand pickups either way. I find the mk1's to be too dark and anemic sounding and the other pickups they use to be thin sounding.
 
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#3
ive had several sr's over the years going back to an 80's era made in japan sr800 and lately a 2014 sr500 and a 505qm and last month I got a premium sr1800e and it's the best sr I have ever played, the sound of the nordy big singles is awesome and the woods on the 1800 are beautiful.
to me the atlas4 wenge/bubinga/titanium neck on the premium basses feels way more solid than the lower sr's with the jitoba/bubinga necks and I love the sound and look of a wenge neck anyway.
im not shure what preamp is used in the premium basses but I like it a lot better than the one in the sr500 and the bypass switch is very useful because the bass has killer tones available with or without the eq on so you can have 2 options available at the flick of a switch.
the one gripe I have with Ibanez is the crappy finish they put on these beautiful basses their is no durability to them and under normal playing they get beat up very quickly and with an aressive player like myself the wear is instantly noticeable, I literaly would go home from practice with bits of wood and finish under my fingernails from my sr500 before I painted it.
if not for the finish I would put the build quality on par with my $2k spector euro
easily worth the extra money over a standard sr, I don't think id ever buy another standard after owning the 1800
 
#5
What does better even mean? Better constructed? Better fit and finish? I will say that most instruments can benefit from a proper setup, and I don't mean just a twist of the truss rod. I mean a proper one where the frets are perfectly leveled and dressed, intonation is professionally set, nut is optimized to your favorite strings, everything is oiled and lubricated. Premium instruments start closer to their ideal playability than assembly line instruments do, so they feel better at first glance when they're in the store.

But after the bass has passed through the hands of a good bass tech, though, they'll both feel perfect, so the only thing that matters is whether you like the tone, and when you're considering the difference between an SR750 and a SR1200, certain things are present that will make sure that the two basses in question could never sound the same because one is a P+J and the other is a J+J.

That's what I considered when I bought my SR655. Nothing beats a good split humbucker for me.
 
#7
toberoo said:
I would recommend going out to try playing one, but imo the premiums are so much better it's not even a fair comparison. I would wait as the the standard ranges are getting a new pickup for 2015 models and those might be just as awesome. Definitely get one with nordstrand pickups either way. I find the mk1's to be too dark and anemic sounding and the other pickups they use to be thin sounding.
Click to expand...
I have played both "Standard" range (as i own them ;) ) and " "premium" range bass's and to me from the SR500 onwards, they all feel great, in terms of the playability and the how the neck feels in my hands. I just was curios to see if people thought the added extras that come with the "premium" range are worth the extra money.
 
#8
honeyiscool said:
What does better even mean? Better constructed? Better fit and finish? I will say that most instruments can benefit from a proper setup, and I don't mean just a twist of the truss rod. I mean a proper one where the frets are perfectly leveled and dressed, intonation is professionally set, nut is optimized to your favorite strings, everything is oiled and lubricated. Premium instruments start closer to their ideal playability than assembly line instruments do, so they feel better at first glance when they're in the store.

But after the bass has passed through the hands of a good bass tech, though, they'll both feel perfect, so the only thing that matters is whether you like the tone, and when you're considering the difference between an SR750 and a SR1200, certain things are present that will make sure that the two basses in question could never sound the same because one is a P+J and the other is a J+J.

That's what I considered when I bought my SR655. Nothing beats a good split humbucker for me.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on the set up issue, any bass i acquire, i have professionally set up, and it makes a mediocre instrument feel like a premium instrument, and i am talking about the supposedly better quality hardware they use, the superior woods used for the bass, and also exactly what you said, how the instrument is put together. Obviously things are better quality then other things, i just want to find out if people think the "premium" range Ibanez products are worth the extra sum of money.
 
#9
honeyiscool said:
What does better even mean? Better constructed? Better fit and finish? I will say that most instruments can benefit from a proper setup, and I don't mean just a twist of the truss rod. I mean a proper one where the frets are perfectly leveled and dressed, intonation is professionally set, nut is optimized to your favorite strings, everything is oiled and lubricated. Premium instruments start closer to their ideal playability than assembly line instruments do, so they feel better at first glance when they're in the store.

But after the bass has passed through the hands of a good bass tech, though, they'll both feel perfect, so the only thing that matters is whether you like the tone, and when you're considering the difference between an SR750 and a SR1200, certain things are present that will make sure that the two basses in question could never sound the same because one is a P+J and the other is a J+J.

That's what I considered when I bought my SR655. Nothing beats a good split humbucker for me.
Click to expand...
That's the thing I've noticed about Ibanez basses - there's far less of a gap between the quality of their mid-priced basses to their premiums as you get with other brands.
That being said, there are a few things about the Premiums that do justify the added cost - the Titanium reinforced necks for added stability for example. The mono-rail bridge. As the category these basses are in imply, they have premium features that are simply not on the standard SR line. No amount of adjusting by a tech is ever going to give you these features.Now, whether the improvements are something you'd notice, use or is important to you, that's up to you and your wallet. I just got a SR700 and really impressed by the quality of the bass and what you get for your money- I don't really see the need for me to spend any more on a bass.
I have to add though that the SR650 and SR750 were not in my radar until your review- wasn't really aware of them until then. An Ibby P/J with Nordstrands- sign me up.
 

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