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NBD: pre-owned Ibanez SRX700 (MIK)

Killed_by_Death

Killed_by_Death

Snaggletooth
Inactive
Jan 2, 2015
24,890
61,257
14 Megameters from Groong Tehp
#1
SRX700.jpg
SRX700_back.jpg


It was almost as anti-climatic as I expected...

I'm not sure if the strings are old & dead or just the crappiest new strings I've ever heard.
No one had ever adjusted the truss rod, the TRC still had the plastic on it & there was about 1/4" of neck relief :eek:

Compared it directly to my SRX2EX2 & immediately started thinking about swapping the guts of them, because the SRX700 was weak sounding. Switched the E string of my Cobalt Flats over to the SRX700 & it sounds fine, so tomorrow I will finish moving the Cobalt flats over to the SRX700.

Unfortunately I won't get a real A/B comparison unless I go out and buy two identical sets of strings tomorrow & throw on both of them :bored:

There are water spots on the chrome at the bridge & the knobs. I'll try rubbing them with vinegar tomorrow, just a little damp paper towel.

Right now I think the SRX700 will sound just like my SRX2EX2 once I change the strings over, after all it's the same preamp & very similar pickups. (look the same, but the model number on my SRX2 pickups ends in 60 & the ones on the SRX7 end in 80)

I was crossing my mind over whether to keep it or take it back to GC ASAP, but someone in the house is partial to orange & said the SRX2 is the least attractive instrument I've ever owned :laugh:

I was hoping this one would be good enough to replace by BTB300 & just have one bass, but...
the BTB has such a high output & a real grind that the SRX700 doesn't have :sour:
It could be partly due to the strings, but I think it's mostly the Mahogany body of the BTB and a better preamp.

The SRX700 is Ash, but my near tone deaf ears cannot hear a great difference between that & the basswood of my SRX2 :bored:
Tomorrow, before I change the strings all the way over, I will do a comparison vis-à-vis sustain.

SRX700 = 8.6 lbs.
according to my bathroom scales, but I will get a more accurate reading with some kitchen scales tomorrow

<edit in> this just goes to show you guys & gals, bathroom scales are no good at this
they were off my half a pound
weight = 4,117 grams (9.09 lbs)</end edit>

The controls are volume, blend/balance, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost
I'd prefer Volume/Volume/Treble/Bass, but I doubt I can do that with this preamp, since the treble pot is mounted right to the PCB :banghead:

DOH!
epiphany time, I could put in the same preamp from the BTB, assuming I could find one & then put the knobs where I want, or get an aftermarket preamp that will do even more.... hmmm

the string I took off it (E string) has a gold ball-end, but I haven't been able to see the ball-ends of the other 3 strings yet

add: A friend on FB thought it was a flamed maple top & on second look, yeah it does look like that... the grain really pops!

add:
I just returned it earlier today (29-Jun), not because there's anything wrong with it, but because it's just not as good as my BTB.
 
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#4
I thought it was ebony as well, but the specs online all say rosewood. Here is a close-up:

IMG_20170628_103448521-TB.jpg


I found out only last night that the pickups have AlNiCo magnets & the ones in my cheaper SRX2 are ceramic.
If I'd known that beforehand, I probably wouldn't have ordered this bass. I was already concerned about losing mids with the Ash vs. Basswood, but AlNiCo magnets are known for having a weaker magnetic field, meaning they don't work that well on overwound pickups :bored:

sustain is marginally better, I gain 3 seconds of sustain on the SRX700 vs. the SRX2 & the BTB is on par with the SRX700, which surprised me
I figured the BTB would have superior sustain, due to the higher output preamp :greedy:
Oh, in case I hadn't mentioned, my BTB300 has the same pickups as the SRX2, ceramic PFR - Passive Full Range
apparently later on, when they changed to AlNiCo, the name of the pickup was changed to SFR - Sonic Full Range

Hmm, just checking the serial number now & it was made at the Cort factory in 2002, which would precede both my other basses. I was sure the AlNiCo thing was a later iteration, not a former :bored:
 
#5
That's rosewood. Some of the dark chocolate stuff. I have an SRT800dx with a board like that. And my Carvin Icon 5 also has a darker board.

You never know with pickups. What sounds good in one bass, may not, in another. Sounds like your basses all have a variations on those pickups.
 
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#8
Killed_by_Death said:
View attachment 1164553 View attachment 1164556

It was almost as anti-climatic as I expected...

I'm not sure if the strings are old & dead or just the crappiest new strings I've ever heard.
No one had ever adjusted the truss rod, the TRC still had the plastic on it & there was about 1/4" of neck relief :eek:

Compared it directly to my SRX2EX2 & immediately started thinking about swapping the guts of them, because the SRX700 was weak sounding. Switched the E string of my Cobalt Flats over to the SRX700 & it sounds fine, so tomorrow I will finish moving the Cobalt flats over to the SRX700.

Unfortunately I won't get a real A/B comparison unless I go out and buy two identical sets of strings tomorrow & throw on both of them :bored:

There are water spots on the chrome at the bridge & the knobs. I'll try rubbing them with vinegar tomorrow, just a little damp paper towel.

Right now I think the SRX700 will sound just like my SRX2EX2 once I change the strings over, after all it's the same preamp & very similar pickups. (look the same, but the model number on my SRX2 pickups ends in 60 & the ones on the SRX7 end in 80)

I was crossing my mind over whether to keep it or take it back to GC ASAP, but someone in the house is partial to orange & said the SRX2 is the least attractive instrument I've ever owned :laugh:

I was hoping this one would be good enough to replace by BTB300 & just have one bass, but...
the BTB has such a high output & a real grind that the SRX700 doesn't have :sour:
It could be partly due to the strings, but I think it's mostly the Mahogany body of the BTB and a better preamp.

The SRX700 is Ash, but my near tone deaf ears cannot hear a great difference between that & the basswood of my SRX2 :bored:
Tomorrow, before I change the strings all the way over, I will do a comparison vis-à-vis sustain.

SRX700 = 8.6 lbs.
according to my bathroom scales, but I will get a more accurate reading with some kitchen scales tomorrow

The controls are volume, blend/balance, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost
I'd prefer Volume/Volume/Treble/Bass, but I doubt I can do that with this preamp, since the treble pot is mounted right to the PCB :banghead:

DOH!
epiphany time, I could put in the same preamp from the BTB, assuming I could find one & then put the knobs where I want, or get an aftermarket preamp that will do even more.... hmmm

the string I took off it (E string) has a gold ball-end, but I haven't been able to see the ball-ends of the other 3 strings yet

add: A friend on FB thought it was a flamed maple top & on second look, yeah it does look like that... the grain really pops!
Click to expand...

That's a very nice bass!
 
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#9
Well, my mind is blown right now!
I put the crap E string on my SRX2 & it sounds just fine on there. Those ceramic magnet pickups just seem to like the string. Color me confused!

Weight = 4,117 grams

also, the sustain is leaning towards more on the SRX2 now :bored:
Time to take all the strings off & see if someone can identify them.

add: switched to some D'Addario nickel wound rounds on the SRX700 & it has the same problem, weak in comparison to the SRX2
I'm in two minds at the moment, one wants to throw it in the automobile & return it to GC ASAP, the other wants to do a Frankenstein between all three of my basses
black-pole ceramic (from SRX2) into the BTB
silver-pole ceramic (from BTB) into the SRX700
AlNiCo from SRX700 into the SRX2

I really don't want pickups that are that sensitive to a string change :(
 
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#11
DOH!, told myself I was going to change the battery first thing in the morning, & forgot!
I just went through all my 9v batteries & lined them up, least voltage to highest voltage & put one in that measured 9.8v. The one I took out measured 7.2v :bored:

Re-thinking again, because it sounds really good. At least now I have similar rounds on both the SRX700 & SRX2 for comparison purposes, just not the exact same model/brand of strings...

add: Oh dear, I'm about to sacrifice output volume for vanity (prettier & neck-through)
although, the neck-through is a nicer design, with functionality

When I bought the white SRX2, I told myself I didn't care about looks.
Opinions vary on AlNiCo vs. Ceramic, in that some think AlNiCo is more musical sounding...

This happened to me once before when upgrading from a cheaper instrument a pricier one, almost a duplicate situation in that the cheapo had higher output pickups & the pricier one was neck-through. In that case the pricier model had more clarity & more sustain, but it's kind of a draw between these two in the clarity & sustain department.

I might go out & buy two sets of identical strings yet, just to put this comparison to bed.
 
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