NEW FROM NAMM. IBANEZ 7 STRING BASS

[Sound Chaser]

I beg to differ - Ain't nothing Timothy C. Meyer can't do when he puts his mind to it!

/fix'd

It's Chris, right? Holy crap, you sold your Kubicki? So did I, am definitely regretting it.

Yeah, if I put forth a tremendous amount of effort I could probably swing it, but I want a Stick first! And a bunch of pedals. And wireless. And...

 

[ALiP BoB]

I wonder who the target market is. Does anyone think it'll be more accepted by the goth/hardcore metal musicians?

Good question. Metal musicians? Maybe. As in low tuning-metal?

 

[Sound Chaser]

Since when is goth anything vaguely close to hardcore or metal?

 

[curbowman]

"If I had to put D'Addario strings on my bass, I'll quit music and become a drummer." -Gary Willis

Do you know why did Gary Willis said that? I buy D'Addario because it's what I can find around here, but I prefer Dean Markleys.

 

[Jeff Martinez]

Since when is goth anything vaguely close to hardcore or metal?

Since quite a few years ago. I've played in a few goth/metal bands in the last 10 years.

Also, I'm guessing that you've never heard of Type O Negative.

 

[Sound Chaser]

Since when are they metal? Hard rock maybe.

 

[El-Bob]

Since when are they metal? Hard rock maybe.

a bit off topic, don't you think?

 

[spade2you]

Looks like a very odd beast. Hard to imagine a mass produced 30" scale bass having a great low B. I'm pretty open minded about string spacing, but 11mm seems a bit cramped. I know it's not impossible since there are many fingerstyle acoustic players out there that don't complain about acoustic guitar spacing.

 

[Tired_Thumb]

a bit off topic, don't you think?

+1, actually, http://www.metal-archives.com is a much better place to debate what is metal and what isn't. That said though, I think this instrument would sound great in a Type-O style band, or even better yet, as someone mentioned earlier, an extreme sludge / doom band.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

Wrong, you've not been here long but I'll tell you that the mods- JT especially - make a point of not tolerating abuse and insults towards instruments on the grounds of their configuration. JT has long carried the torch for ERB's here and the policy extends to other such niche instruments, this included.

By not knocking what you know nothing about, the forum keeps an open mind.

Wrong? I guess we've seen different things in the threads. I've not been here long? And who decides what long is? You? How about letting me state my opinion without you knocking me?

 

[Ryan L.]

If there is, it's rarely enforced, if ever.

Yes, there is, and it is enforced, when it's reported or caught.

 

[embellisher]

ok, one big question for me: we all know that low B's feel very loose and sound worse the smaller the scale gets. but, this can be compensated a little by using higher string gauges.
now, how can it be that this bass' B string is even functioning when the string is only a '120 and the scale 30.5 (if i remember correctly)?

to me that sounds completely opposite to what i know works and it should feel like spaghetti.

any ideas?

thanks

While a longer scale does equal a tighter B, all other things being equal, a lot of high end builders can do short scale and still have an excellent low B. I played an Alembic Series I sixer one time that had a 30.5" scale, and it had an excellent low B.

Of course, we are talking about a custom hand built instrument that lists for close to $10K vs. a mass produced instrument that lists for $2K. So I wouldn't expect this Ibanez to be the equal of that Alembic. But who knows, it could have a decent low B.

Because of the string spacing, one of these would never be my main player. But if it listed for around $1K, I could see myself being interested in it as a concept instrument. I could have some fun playing it like a guitar, tapping, and even some fingerstyle. Can't see ever being able to doublethumb on it though. Of course, Regi Wooten could! But then, Regi isn't much closer to being a mere mortal than Victor.

 

[Nidhoggr]

Speaking as a resident metal-worker, I'd unquestionably be glad to use that for bass in a tech-death context. It's really not that pleasant engaging in sweeping and such with only 5 strings and one of them a low B. And I'd use it with a GT7. It's still a bass. Then again, I've always liked narrower spacing unless I'm playing classical. And I use rest-strokes on bass.
I wouldn't play slap with this, it'd be impossible, but I hate slap anyway. Just a personal preference, I'll leave y'all to it, it's just string percussion to me and percussion is better at percussion than strings can be.
But I'd love this. Aside from the 30" and the B, I'm really worried about that. I'm a little dissatisfied with my 35"/135/A on my SR, I'd like to try something heavier or a slightly longer scale. This would really open me up to actually wanting to play tech death on bass (at the moment, it really only appeals on guitar), and makes the bass an equal instrument in that kind of context rather than someone trying to compete with fewer strings. Oh, and I have a mental problem with even numbers of strings, so I don't like 6ers

 

[lowb5str]

(I'm NOT a professional gigging bassist. I am an amateur, but with >30 yrs of guitar experience.) I've been heading down a metal-sludge path with some composing, and considering the possibility of using a baritone guitar to fill in the range between my SR505 and goldtop. I also have small hands, for a guy, so that neck is probably OK.

If I can get a playtest on one of these hybrids, and if the tone is decently organic enough, this may actually solve a problem for me. The 30" scale is baritone-land, as well as EB-0-ish. But that factory tuning will necessitate some research in the grimoire.

Though that Roscoe '7 did have Bartolini's....

 

[Christian Waiau]

How many UBER LEET METAL bassists will buy this?

oh man.... i just keep thinking... "damn i can do sweeps so much easier with that..."

 

[The Eristic]

To those going on and on about the price, how many of Ibanez' current MIJ instruments list for less than a grand? Many of them, all way more "normal" than the SR7 (save the RG2228), are well over. I mean, stick this thing on Ibanez' PPF, and it HAS to be pricey to be worth building.

 

[theblackshade]

IME it is possible to have a good "short" scale low B.

I think that string gauge and construction can help with that, more than bass construction, but how short is short?

I have played 32" scale basses with killer low Bs and I think it is perfectly possible to have a 30.5" with a decent feel to it even in a mass manufacturing scenario.

I know Id' love to have an SR XXX7 with a standard 34" or 32" scale, lightweight (around 10 lb) and decent tone. This hybrid is a good start.

The string spacing is to narrow I think, 15 mm would give slappers some room to breath while keeping the neck slightly wider than a regular (16.5 mm) 6 string neck

I have recently put a Warwick custom 7 on the backburner because weight (in my case more than 10 lb) + shoulder injury = a big no no

I am on the hunt for a really lightweight 7 stringer so I will be watching Ibanez closely from now on

 

[MisterMagician]

Finally, a normal Guitar with a proper string-spacing and beefy tone.

You can't find a hydrive cab anywhere

You don't need a "hybrid" cab, normal guitars sound better though Bass amps imho.

 

[Baryonyx]

Wrong? I guess we've seen different things in the threads. I've not been here long? And who decides what long is? You? How about letting me state my opinion without you knocking me?

I don't have any problem with you stating your opinion, as long as you're not breaking the rules and bashing ERBs by doing so!

/fix'd

It's Chris, right? Holy crap, you sold your Kubicki? So did I, am definitely regretting it.

Yeah, if I put forth a tremendous amount of effort I could probably swing it, but I want a Stick first! And a bunch of pedals. And wireless. And...

Yeah, it's Chris! The Kubicki is long gone, I do miss it though! I love that bass, but I'm more of a Status Graphite man these days, had one and sold it, have one now and planning another!

 

[The Lurker]

well, it's a prototype..... so of course it's not going to be perfect.

That said..... there's a few changes that I'd hope they make before it hits the store shelves. The headstock definitely looks out-of-sorts to me....