• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Just got a 1993 Ibanez SR2000 OL, please help with any information?

jayochs

jayochs

Apr 22, 2018
44
98
#1
Hey guys, so I just got a really cool 1993 Ibanez SR2000 OL Prestige and I really like it! It's got EMG active P/J pickups, and i love the tone. However, I cannot for the life of me find any information online about this bass whatsoever. From what I've seen, it was only made for a couple years. I've never owned an Ibanez before, so I looked and saw that the Prestige models were some of the best quality Ibanez gear out there..is this true? Either way, I ended up getting the bass for $699. Feels great, neck is straight (and it's a neck thru body) and it's got just a plain old wood finish. There's no gloss on it at all. In fact, I'm needing to know the best way to take care of this wood. Since it's almost 30 years old, i'm sure it's drying out. On the neck, there's two lines of a different wood running through it, and you can actually feel the wood lines in the neck...which may mean it's dried out? Not sure, but I'd like to maintain and keep it in the best shape it can be in! Anyway, I thought I saw online someone had some sort of catalog from Ibanez talking about these basses but I can't find it whatsoever. Hopefully someone here is knowledgeable about Ibanez and can help me with any information! OH AND..wheres the serial number on this thing!??! i can't find it! Thanks!!


edit - some pics!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JamesNC, Relayer71, The Rage and 7 others
#5
yeah! I have that f-oil or f-one whatever it's called... i could use some on there. but that fretboard is really cool. think I saw bubinga somewhere. it has cool like almost purple hues to it.
 
#6
Looks like that was the top of the SR line that year. Glad you dig It!

1993usa_15.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: jayochs
#7
that's the article! thanks!
so mine has emg's but has the same active EQ system... wonder if that was stock or aftermarket?

also that mid range thing is so weird. not sure I like that, bc it gets sooo confusing. I just keep it to middle which essentially turns off the weird midrange selection knob..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reedt2000
#8
jayochs said:
that's the article! thanks!
so mine has emg's but has the same active EQ system... wonder if that was stock or aftermarket?

also that mid range thing is so weird. not sure I like that, bc it gets sooo confusing. I just keep it to middle which essentially turns off the weird midrange selection knob..
Click to expand...
That's the page for SR 4 strings from the 93 Ibanez catalog. I'm not an expert but I doubt the EMGs are original. The mid range just has a sweep (Not sure what frequencies it spans). It controls where in the mid range the mid boost/cut knob affects. Setting it in the middle just puts the boost/cut in the middle of it's range. Here is the response curves for the vari-mid III, not sure how it compares to yours.

vari-mid1a-jpg.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Relayer71, bholder and jayochs
#9
that's definitely it!! thanks so much. yeah, when I have the top knob in the middle (it's notched) the bottom knob does nothing. bottom knob since it's a sweep doesn't have a middle notch or anything. I also had to fidget with those stacked knobs to get them to turn smoothly while not having a bottom knob move the top knob and vice versa lol it was a pain!

hmm so emg's may not be original huh? they sound great. very spectory sound
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thundar and Reedt2000
#10
1992 had a rosewood board instead of wenge like yours. 1994 had custom made on the 24th fret inlay.
the emgs are not original. truss rod cover is not original to this model. these models are not actually prestiges but it doesn’t mean it isn’t well made.
the serial number is on a sticker on the back of the headstock unless it was removed.
Invalid Link Removed
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jayochs and Reedt2000
#11
whoa ok so wait, it's not a prestige? I read online that the sr2000 had a prestige model. does that mean this is a fake truss cover? also, there is no sticker of any kind on the back. guitar center said they shipped a serial off to vintage to check the value etc so they found one somewhere. I haven't opened the control cavity yet but maybe in there? I've seen wenge before but never heard of it. Thad a type of wood, so it's not bubinga? thanks, you guys are all a wealth of information!
 
#12
jayochs said:
whoa ok so wait, it's not a prestige? I read online that the sr2000 had a prestige model. does that mean this is a fake truss cover? also, there is no sticker of any kind on the back. guitar center said they shipped a serial off to vintage to check the value etc so they found one somewhere. I haven't opened the control cavity yet but maybe in there? I've seen wenge before but never heard of it. Thad a type of wood, so it's not bubinga? thanks, you guys are all a wealth of information!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure there was no such thing as "prestige" in 1993. As the catalog shows this was the top of the line model that year so don't let that bother you. Wenge is what Warwick has been using for fingerboards forever so it's not a downgrade either. I'm pretty sure this bass is ID'd correctly and many people consider the EMG pickups an upgrade.
 
#13
very cool!! weird he put a prestige cover on it though lol. I really love that fretboard. the wood is so nice on it. overall, a very cool bass but i need to keep up on the wood. being able to feel the strips of the two different woods on the neck, is that bad? does that mean the wood has dried out and may crack?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reedt2000
#15
jayochs said:
being able to feel the strips of the two different woods on the neck, is that bad? does that mean the wood has dried out and may crack?
Click to expand...
That's a tough question to answer with any certainty. It is probably not a big deal. The two woods have moved (swelled from moisture? Lack thereof?) at slightly different rates. It has held for going on 30 years so it will probably continue to do so. If you can't visually see cracking I wouldn't worry about it.
 
#16
nope, no visual cracking. and it's really only if you run your hand across it. just playing it, ya don't feel it. I'll have to take a pic of the back when I'm home, the two stripes look real cool. goes from headstock to the bottom of the body.

so, I guess I should open up the control cavity and search to see if there's a serial number then huh? if i do find one, is there any kind of Ibanez serial lookup to confirm?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reedt2000
#17
That's fine. Different kind of woods in the laminate react to external factors differently over years, slightly noticeable difference and perceived touch when going over the neck with your thumb is normal. Great sounding bass, those EMGs sound awesome with the pick in your video, indeed very Spector-like.
Fingerboard does look like it could use a bit of lemon oil but don't overdo it, I'd use it as sparsely as if it was a routine maintenance.

Talkbass is really trying its hardest lately to make me crave a P(J).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gilmourisgod
#18
I think you should do it! I have a 2001 schecter model t, which was the import rob deleo signature model, and it came with Duncan designed pickups. in 2005 I swapped out for active emg's (Duncan's were passive) and I swear I never really liked the tone. the emg's sound worse to me, and aren't nearly as growly as it used to be.. so i didn't have a great opinion for emg's. but then whenever I listened to Mike starr's tone from Alice in Chains, he played spectors which I'm pretty sure had active emg's and I loved that tone so much.. and this bass is very reminiscent of it! I think the reverse p pickups make it sound different... the left one on the spector is on top and on the Ibanez it's on bottom.
and truthfully, I've been listening to a lot of megadeth lately, and i love how Dave ellefson plays with a pick. he's very good at it and I suck at pick bc i was always like "pick sucks, finger is so much better!" but I was a dumb kid lol and now I realize it's just another skill to master!
 
#19
Another thing I noticed is it seems the 94 had a separate cavity for the battery,which was smart. Mine is inside the control cavity.

cool, just found this from another thread:
4-jpg.2030219
 
Last edited:
#20
I have a SR1200 from the same era it is a neck thru in a dark brown/black see thru color. I bought off of Rev for $275 and it had the active Ibanez pickups and the same pre-amp as yours. I replaced the stock pickups with EMGs on the Ibanez pre-amp so it would be the same setup as yours. I found it sounded very spector like with a nice mid punch. The problem I had is with is as soon as I started trying to dial in a sound with the stock pre-amp it just went to sh&t. So I replaced the Ibanez pre-amp with the EMG BQC system and it opened up the sound immensely. Also the EMG were not stock they were in the 1992 SR1500s and SR1000s according to the 1992 and 1993 brochures here.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back