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Ibanez TR-50 Basses Anyone?

shawshank72

shawshank72

Mar 22, 2009
5,493
8,311
Canada
#1
See these alot on evilbay really cheap and was thinking of having one shipped to my son in the states to beat around on till he comes up for break and let me play it a bit.
Are these garbage basses? Good? Heavy/Light?
Width of the nut?
Maple neck is what floats my interest.
Any opinions welcomed please.
 
#3
My main is a Tr-70 which was the upgrade model (Tr-50 had one p, the 70 has a P and a J and a rosewood fretboard instead of just maple). But technically i started with a tr-50. I had it for i think 3 months in 1996 when i started playing, the neck was warped and couldn't be saved so i was refunded by ibanez and i got the tr-70 instead. More choice of tone with the 70 of couse but seriously, this bass is a tank, i treated it like poopie and it only has two chips and i never had a problem with neck or electronics in 18 years. And personally i like its tone a lot (the recordings in my sig is this bass, of course this is home produced straight into garageband so it doesn't help make it sound as good as it can). It's probably like what between 75 and 100$ on ebay if even? You can't go wrong. I saw the tr-70 go for about 150 recently (it was a 300$ bass in 1996, id think the tr 50 was about maybe 220 i think? Cant remember for sure). I'd tell anyone looking for a good cheap bass to go for it. Though personally i'd feel limited with just the P of the 50.


As for weight, 8.4 pounds mine. I doubt one pickup less lowers the weight a lot. I have no idea what the nut width is, i never checked.

heres the 96 catalogue with the TR series. i was hoping theyd have nut width but no

27.jpg


if the 50 you are looking to buy is "spikier" looking, that would mean its the 95 model. I think they might not have made the 50 past 1997 but i could be wrong.
 
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#4
Actually if you like maple fretboard, you could look for a tr-80.... not sure if they're easy to find and theyre probably a bit more expensive, but they have a J. I don't know maybe it doesn't matter to you either way. I have to say though tortoise pickguard, eww.
 
#6
If you are a fan of the TR series, check out the Expressionist basses with the Power Tier pickups. Nordstrand has infiltrated the market with BIG SINGLE pickups, but Ibanez had a great version in the mid-1990's. I really enjoy the tone and natural compression of the Power Tier pickups and the what I would call "mid-body" feel (between the SoundGear and ATK lines). The TR 300/500/600 sounds like a Fender but plays like an Ibanez. The best of both worlds!
 
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#7
I purchased a maple TR bass neck from Ebay that I put on an Epiphone jazz body {2 jazz PUs) I had to router the Epiphone neck pocket a bit to lengthen it for the neck The neck is very good, Like all maple /maple it's solid, stable, truss rod setup responsive, not much resonance on the High C (G string). I shaved the string notches at the nut ever so slightly & the resulting action is very good. It's my daily player and I am very happy with it. .
 

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