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Need some Ibanez hollow body help

BobDeRosa

BobDeRosa

Commercial User
May 16, 2012
2,445
4,403
Finger Lakes area of New York State
tritonejazz.com
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Owner, Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camps
#1
Hey Folks, I'm thinking about adding a used hollow or semi-hollow bass to the herd, just because many of the gigs I play generally call for a mellower sound.

Ibanez makes two that look interesting -- the SRH500, fretted or fretless, with only a piezo; and the SR30th anniversary 4, which has a much smaller body cavity but offers the advantage of both magnetic (Bartolini) and piezo pickups. (UPDATE: I was wrong about this. the SR30TH has only Bartolinis, no piezo. Thanks for the correction.)

I played the fretless SRH500F in a store and liked it a lot, but am a little concerned about limited tonal range with just the piezo. Haven't had a chance to play the 30th anniversary model (called SR30TH4, I think).

Anyone have experience with either or both? Thanks very much.
 
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#2
BobDeRosa said:
Hey Folks, I'm thinking about adding a used hollow or semi-hollow bass to the herd, just because many of the gigs I play generally call for a mellower sound.

Ibanez makes two that look interesting -- the SRH500, fretted or fretless, with only a piezo; and the SR30th anniversary 4, which has a much smaller body cavity but offers the advantage of both magnetic (Bartolini) and piezo pickups.

I played the fretless SRH500F in a store and liked it a lot, but am a little concerned about limited tonal range with just the piezo. Haven't had a chance to play the 30th anniversary model (called SR30TH4, I think).

Anyone have experience with either or both? Thanks very much.
Click to expand...
That bass is amazing. I feel the fretless version just sounds and feels far more acoustic/hollow than the fretted one does. To me at least. But, just an all around great instrument. If you can play them, do it. You'll love it. Everybody does.
 
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#3
JeezyMcNuggles said:
That bass is amazing. I feel the fretless version just sounds and feels far more acoustic/hollow than the fretted one does. To me at least. But, just an all around great instrument. If you can play them, do it. You'll love it. Everybody does.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much, Jewce. That SRH500 has certainly gotten good reviews and I know it's fun to play. So you don't find the piezo-only tonal range limiting at all?
 
#6
BobDeRosa said:
I'm assuming you can get a wider tonal range out of two different types of pickups -- like the 30th Anniversary bass offers -- than only a piezo. Probably a tough question if you haven't had the opportunity to compare the two.
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Yeah, I've only tried the standard. But I guess you would be correct, if they came out with one that had two types of pickups. But the reality of the matter is really that I would only use the sound I liked the most anyway. Like a P, or a neck J, or a neck soap bar, etc. I also dont care for active eq, so I always play either passive instruments, or actives straight flat.
 
#8
I just bought a used srh500 fretless...supposed to arrive Monday. Tried the fretted version locally and liked it but wanted to "take the plunge" go fretless. One other option you might consider is the Portamento - it has the Piezo and magnetic pick ups, 'though not hollowbody. There are 4 and 5 string versions. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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