Indonesian made Ibanez basses.

[stingray69]

You can search all of TB and I don't think your gonna find a single instance of any Ibanez SR Premium or Prestige (and for the most part even Standard SR series) owners stating they are disappointed by the build quality. Whether people care for the thinner necks, or this or that electronics package is a matter of personal tastes, but not build quality.

If you're looking for build quality along the lines of US Fender, I'd recommend anything in the Premium & Prestige models. Build quality in these series matches or easily exceeds any US Fender build that I've owned by a good measure and rivals some boutique instruments I've owned - and the fretwork on these have always been impeccable IME.

The new 2019 Premium & Prestige models are getting into some very beautiful exotic woods they haven't used before - I'm sure Cites regulations has something to do with this on some level. The newer finishes are stunning as well - I wouldn't hesitate at all, and worrying about the quality should be a non-issue.

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[Drop1]

I have a lot of recent experience with Ibanez. I've owned 2 in the last week and played dozens alond with lots of other brands.

Ibanez really seems to be focusing the money on the sound more than frills. Because of this you can get an awesome sounding bass that others costing twice as much cant contend with.
They skip the frills and fancy eye candy hardware and put out a quality sound.

The second thing is playability. They have building basses down to a science. Their necks can be run extremely straight with a VERY low action and still not have fret buzz. This is something I noticed on every single one I played. Even the bottom tier shares this feature and it's fantastic. I bought an sr200 for $100 because it played and sounded better than anything in the building under $1000.

Whatever Ibanez is doing ,they are doing it well. I returned that bass wanting something a little higher end and 4 bass later in 5 days I've been nothing but disappointed. Should have kept that little sr200.

 

[Usidore T Blue]

i've had a number of indonesian-made ibanez basses, and haven't had any problems with them. in fact, last year i got one of their bottom of the line GSR100EX basses in mahogany oil finish and liked it so much i bought one in black to mod. no problems with either of my mikros, and my SRH500 - a semi-hollow body bass - is wonderful. i used to have an SR500, as well, and except for its legendary fragile finish, it was super. i never replaced any hardware on any of them except for mods and never needed any repairs.



i've never had one fail yet. i use extra light strings on some of them, but i use standard lights on one of my mikros and the chromes it came with are still on my SRH500. and they're still delightful

Off-topic, but do you find the SRH500 hard to play at 35" scale?

 

[tubedude]

My SRFF806 from Indonesia is perfect. I replaced the pickups with Nordstrand Big Doubles and play passive.

 

[Sandman64]

Very good!

 

[pcake]

Off-topic, but do you find the SRH500 hard to play at 35" scale?

i was pretty sure it had a 34" scale, so i grabbed my tape measure and yup - 34". sweetwater concurs.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SRH500DEF--ibanez-srh500-dragon-eye-burst-flat

btw, after hurting my rotator cuff years ago and only playing short scales, i'm recently able to start playing some - but not all - 34" scale basses for a limited period of time. this one is pretty comfortable for me.

 

[Wfrance3]

I had an Indonesian Schecter for a while. It was top notch. I (actually) don’t know the origin of my Schecter I have now, it’s a nice elite neck thru 5-er. It’s nice too. Might be Indonesian as well...

 

[bassrique]

Not just Indonesian instruments. I have a couple of Korean made Schecter basses that are extremely well made. The attention to detail is just amazing for instruments in that price range.

That's good looking. Model?

 

[jmlee]

I have an Indonesian-made SR700 into which I put some US-made Bartolinis and an Audere preamp. It's now an absolutely spectacular-sounding bass. Build quality is excellent and it's quite beautiful.

 

[Usidore T Blue]

i was pretty sure it had a 34" scale, so i grabbed my tape measure and yup - 34". sweetwater concurs.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SRH500DEF--ibanez-srh500-dragon-eye-burst-flat

btw, after hurting my rotator cuff years ago and only playing short scales, i'm recently able to start playing some - but not all - 34" scale basses for a limited period of time. this one is pretty comfortable for me.

Thank you. Guitar Center has it at 35" and it is good to hear otherwise. Nice to hear that you're able to stretch a bit!

 

[RBrownBass]

Get a Premium if you don't want to replace the machine-heads after they fail.

My Indonesian Ibanez BTB745 has the same generic Gotoh-style mini tuners that come on thousands of basses. If they fail, I'll chalk it up to user error.

 

[pcake]

Thank you. Guitar Center has it at 35" and it is good to hear otherwise. Nice to hear that you're able to stretch a bit!

they surely do.

here's the word direct from ibanez - 34".
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[Killed_by_Death]

If they fail, I'll chalk it up to user error.

Yeah, that's it. I was using the machine-heads incorrectly, which is why they fail on me & apparently only me.

On older Standard Ibanez they were fine, like the 2008 SRX I had, or maybe I just got lucky with that one.
I'm not sure what year the H.R. Giger SRX was released, but those were faulty.

An even older BTB300 I had was fine.

 

[pcake]

I've owned a few (at least three) where the machine-heads slip.
The worm gear in there isn't held in place properly & it slides over in the chassis. When this happens it binds up really tight & will barely turn.
This happened even on a limited edition H.R. Giger SRX.

Maybe using smaller diameter strings helps, because the more tension on the machine-head, the more likely this is to happen.

i don't use smaller diameter strings on all of them, but i do on most.

i suspect your machine heads had problems simply due to the luck of the draw.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I'm not the only one who has had the problem. >> see link <<
Their machine-heads are chintzy, until you get to the Premium level.

 

[pcake]

I'm not the only one who has had the problem. >> see link <<
Their machine-heads are chintzy, until you get to the Premium level.

oh, i totally agree. just for some reason, mine have continued to hold.

 

[RBrownBass]

Yeah, that's it. I was using the machine-heads incorrectly, which is why they fail on me & apparently only me.

I didn't blame you. I said I'd blame myself if anything happened to mine.

On older Standard Ibanez they were fine, like the 2008 SRX I had, or maybe I just got lucky with that one.
I'm not sure what year the H.R. Giger SRX was released, but those were faulty.

An even older BTB300 I had was fine.

I've bought a couple dozen basses, SX, Samicks, Ibanezes, Deans, Schecters, with those mini-tuners, and I have a bunch of them in a box somewhere. The only one that's ever failed on me broke because I was unobservant- tightening a G while checking the D for pitch. If they've got that Gotoh look, my assumption is that they're all the same, with the disc in the rear branded/stamped for whoever made the bass. I admit that I could be wrong, but so far, they've all held pitch without any issues.

FWIW, I buy "better" tuners all the time for my builds, but that's for aesthetics. Example: I bought licensed Hipshots for my SX sixer because I think Fender styles should have clovers. I now have $275 in that bass.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

IME you've just been lucky, or maybe you're using smaller diameter strings, because I've had them fail for no good reason just tightening a 0.08" A string to pitch.
See my link above, the thread I started. I'm not the only one.

or maybe you've got an old batch before they started going wonky

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I didn't blame you.

For a second I thought that's what you meant, LOL!
Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person who has has so much trouble with Standard Ibanez machine-heads, but then I go review my thread where I complained about them & realize I'm not alone.

Another thing I can complain about with Ibanez SR Standard basses is their flimsy necks.
I'm not saying they ALL are, but it seems like the majority are.

Again, this is solved in the Premium & Prestige where they have Titanium reinforcement bars.
Another way around this is to buy a BTB with the thicker, stiffer necks, but they tend to be heavier.

 

[RBrownBass]

IME you've just been lucky, or maybe you're using smaller diameter strings, because I've had them fail for no good reason just tightening a 0.08" A string to pitch.
See my link above, the thread I started. I'm not the only one.

or maybe you've got an old batch before they started going wonky

Well, I hope mine hold. If not, I've got plenty of replacements lying around.

But you suggested going Premium to avoid tuner breakage. In any case, I paid about $750 shipped for my Indo BTB745. I'd replace the tuners with Schallers or something before I'd spend $1200 on an Ibanez. $1200 is about half a used Alembic on a good day, so I'd just keep saving.

For a second I thought that's what you meant, LOL!
Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person who has has so much trouble with Standard Ibanez machine-heads, but then I go review my thread where I complained about them & realize I'm not alone.

Another thing I can complain about with Ibanez SR Standard basses is their flimsy necks.
I'm not saying they ALL are, but it seems like the majority are.

Again, this is solved in the Premium & Prestige where they have Titanium reinforcement bars.
Another way around this is to buy a BTB with the thicker, stiffer necks, but they tend to be heavier.

My 745 claims graphite reinforcement. The neck is very thin, but I've experienced no movement.