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Newbie Bass Player asking Help! SR1000used vs Cort C4plus new

Gualdo

Gualdo

Jul 5, 2021
14
18
Hong Kong
#1
Hi Folks,

as i wrote in my welcome message i always played guitar and now i would like to pass to the dark side of the moon! :)

Living in Hong Kong the bad is that most shops has very low end or very high end gear. I am missing the intermediate layer. So trying the instrument before buying is hard. I passed the last weeks searching 2nd Hand sell announcements or retailers that can order gear upon previous payment.

My direction is:
- NO Rock/ Metal
- 4 strings
- Vintage Look
- Jazz style

My budget is maximum 4000hkd (500 USD) if it is a great deal. Half the price would be ideal.

So far i have the following options:

NEW:
-C4 Plus ZBMH (3500 HKD - 450 USD)
-Cort Bass Gb 34JJ (2480 HKD - 320 USD)

Used:
-2007 IBANEZ PRESTIGE SR1000 EWN (4000HKD - 500 USD) NO original hard case/Seems perfectly maintained/I can try before buy
- tons of SR300E/Fender Squire at 1000hkd/130USD

My heart would go for C4Plus or SR1000 Prestige. The price is identical but seems the SR1000 was elite guitar. The problem is that it is from 2007 and i think i don't have the knowledge to assess if `something is wrong in the electronics before buying). Both of them has the design i would love.

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For the amp i would go for something `home oriented` for practice. I was looking for Orange 25 or Fender rumble 15.

Thx a lot everybody for your help.

Keep on rocking in a free world!
Cheers from an Italian in Hong Kong ;)
 
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#3
Gualdo said:
Hi Folks,

as i wrote in my welcome message i always played guitar and now i would like to pass to the dark side of the moon! :)

Living in Hong Kong the bad is that most shops has very low end or very high end gear. I am missing the intermediate layer. So trying the instrument before buying is hard. I passed the last weeks searching 2nd Hand sell announcements or retailers that can order gear upon previous payment.

My direction is:
- NO Rock/ Metal
- 4 chords
- Vintage Look
- Jazz style

My budget is maximum 4000hkd (500 USD) if it is a great deal. Half the price would be ideal.

So far i have the following options:

NEW:
-C4 Plus ZBMH (3500 HKD - 450 USD)
-Cort Bass Gb 34JJ (2480 HKD - 320 USD)

Used:
-2007 IBANEZ PRESTIGE SR1000 EWN (4000HKD - 500 USD) NO original hard case/Seems perfectly maintained/I can try before buy
- tons of SR300E/Fender Squire at 1000hkd/130USD

My heart would go for C4Plus or SR1000 Prestige. The price is identical but seems the SR1000 was elite guitar. The problem is that it is from 2007 and i think i don't have the knowledge to assess if `something is wrong in the electronics before buying). Both of them has the design i would love.

For the amp i would go for something `home oriented` for practice. I was looking for Orange 25 or Fender rumble 15.

Thx a lot everybody for your help.

Keep on rocking in a free world!
Cheers from an Italian in Hong Kong ;)
Click to expand...


Is the Ibanez active? If not there is not much that could go wrong with it that a tech couldn't fix cheap.
 
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#4
Thx both! you are right that SR doenst look vintage but the 2007 SR1000 prestige model (i updated the photo above) enchant me.

Active pickup yes

2007 IBANEZ PRESTIGE SR1000 EWN

Mahogany body with a Walnut top

Neck-thru 5 piece maple neck (maple and Bubinga) with Rosewood fretboard

Bartolini active pickups

3-way switch , 1 Volume, 2 Tone knobs
 
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#6
The Corts are nice and the GB is closest to what your OP asked for. I've not played that model, but several others in the C/B/A ranges and liked them and they seemed excellent instruments.
In fact I nearly bought a new A6 when I was looking for a better 6 than I had, but lucked onto my SR at such a good price, I went with that instead.
 
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#7
Lowendchamp said:
Played Ibanez for years and wore down my fingerboard and still nothing wrong with the electronics! Considering that is a Prestige which means made in Japan (Mine was Indonesian) I would say that is an awesome price for an awesome bass! Welcome to the best instrument in the band!( besides drummers they get all the women)
Click to expand...

Thx a lot for your input. I will go to try the instrument in the Week End
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(even if i never played a buss i think my classic fingerpicking can help at least understanding the quality of the neck). Prestige line in those years 2005 -2007 was made in Korea but quality should be very high.

from the shop website seems in a very good shape. I will give you an input once tried. Meanwhile i took one day holiday next week to go an try also the Cort GB (unluckily C4plus is in no shop so i will go blindly in case i will go for that).
 
#8
Gualdo said:
even if i never played a buss i think my classic fingerpicking can help at least understanding the quality of the neck
Click to expand...
Yes, it will Ibanez SR necks are thinner and narrower than many other brands and are very comfortable, especially coming from a guitar background.

Gualdo said:
Prestige line in those years 2005 -2007 was made in Korea but quality should be very high.
Click to expand...
There is little to no difference in the construction and parts quality of the Ibanezes of various generations. Whether it was made in japan, Korea or Indonesia, it will be fine as the Prestige series instruments are all well made the the quality control high on them.
There is a current thread on Indonesian made instruments, and apart from the snobs, the general consensus is they're well made, and the fit and finish and quality control are all excellent. I currently have 7 Ibanez basses, 2 4 string and 5 6 string and except for the 83 Roadster which was made in Korea, they're all Indonesian made and excellent.

If you like the SR Prestige and it is in as good a condition as the photo looks, go for it, you'll have to spend a lot more to significantly better it.

I only mentioned the Cort in my previous post as that was closest to what you were asking, but the SR was the one I would have chosen for myself. Best of luck.
 
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#10
Gualdo said:
Thx! This sunday i will go trying it :) i will post my feeling afterwards. I really hope is as good as it seems
Click to expand...
Great, I'll look forward to reading about your impressions, and if you bring it home with you.
I hope whatever you end up buying you really like and it feels great in your hands.
 
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#11
SR1000 without question, that is a high level instrument while the others are entry/mid level. Though based on the pictures and description, it does not have the stock preamp. The stock preamp on them at that time was the Ibanez vari-mid III preamp which has volume, blend, stacked bass/treble and stacked mid boost/cut/sweep. This one has a 3 way switch, volume and two tone knobs which means something has been done to it’s electronics. I bet it still sounds and plays great, but I’d be upgrading the preamp to an Aguilar obp3 anyway to really make those US Bartolini pickups really shine. I did that to my SR1006 and it sounds like you could charge two grand for it now.
 
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#12
21DaHoagie12 said:
SR1000 without question, that is a high level instrument while the others are entry/mid level. Though based on the pictures and description, it does not have the stock preamp. The stock preamp on them at that time was the Ibanez vari-mid III preamp which has volume, blend, stacked bass/treble and stacked mid boost/cut/sweep. This one has a 3 way switch, volume and two tone knobs which means something has been done to it’s electronics. I bet it still sounds and plays great, but I’d be upgrading the preamp to an Aguilar obp3 anyway to really make those US Bartolini pickups really shine. I did that to my SR1006 and it sounds like you could charge two grand for it now.
Click to expand...

Thx a lot for this input! I was not aware about that. I will investigate once there!

UPDATE: Shop just now told me that even if it is not in the photo the Original HArd Case is included... only that one should be 100USD worth so the deal seems even better now even if i have to upgrade pre amp as u suggested.
 
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#14
Gualdo said:
Hi Folks,

as i wrote in my welcome message i always played guitar and now i would like to pass to the dark side of the moon! :)

Living in Hong Kong the bad is that most shops has very low end or very high end gear. I am missing the intermediate layer. So trying the instrument before buying is hard. I passed the last weeks searching 2nd Hand sell announcements or retailers that can order gear upon previous payment.

My direction is:
- NO Rock/ Metal
- 4 strings
- Vintage Look
- Jazz style

My budget is maximum 4000hkd (500 USD) if it is a great deal. Half the price would be ideal.

So far i have the following options:

NEW:
-C4 Plus ZBMH (3500 HKD - 450 USD)
-Cort Bass Gb 34JJ (2480 HKD - 320 USD)

Used:
-2007 IBANEZ PRESTIGE SR1000 EWN (4000HKD - 500 USD) NO original hard case/Seems perfectly maintained/I can try before buy
- tons of SR300E/Fender Squire at 1000hkd/130USD

My heart would go for C4Plus or SR1000 Prestige. The price is identical but seems the SR1000 was elite guitar. The problem is that it is from 2007 and i think i don't have the knowledge to assess if `something is wrong in the electronics before buying). Both of them has the design i would love.

View attachment 4326210

View attachment 4326207
For the amp i would go for something `home oriented` for practice. I was looking for Orange 25 or Fender rumble 15.

Thx a lot everybody for your help.

Keep on rocking in a free world!
Cheers from an Italian in Hong Kong ;)
Click to expand...
Well, neither one of those are jazz basses. They both have dual split coils in them. But, they do sound good. I had an Ibanez with those Bart pickups in it, and it was a great bass.

Pick the Ibanez. It will better better in every way. It's, a top of the line, Japanese made bass.

Then, save up another $200 US, and get a set of Nordstrand Big Singles for it.
 
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#16
I looked up this series of Ibanez and from what i could find, it seems to me that this particular Bass has been Modified.

From what i could find, these series originally had some active electronics in it, the one in your picture seems to have passive electronics. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but i think needs to be pointed out to make an informed decission.

Some thoughts what you might look for, if you check out that Bass.
Do all the Knobs and Switches work propperly? Meaning, do the get stuck or are they loose?
Do they change the Sound? (In this special case I would guess the Elecronics/ 3-way Switch works as the Pickup selector. Which means that the each Tone-Knob would only on the selected Pickup)
Ask if could have look into the Electronic/ Battery cavity (maybe bring a little Screwdriver yourself). Is there any corosion?

Otherwise i would say, if you like it buy it. Ibanez builds great basses and if the electronics no longer suit you at some point, you can always replace them.
 
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#17
Thx a lot everybody! Tmr I will go there to try it and will let u know. I will try to understand which electronic is in place.

About the amp. Since I am learning and I will play only at home. I found this orange crush 35rt second end at 60usd. What do you think? For sure in the future I will upgrade it but if I spend all the budget on the bass I have to save here
 
#18
The Orange seems to be a Guitar-Combo? If so, the EQ may not be ideal for bass and someone can point out that it won't sound as good as a dedicated bass amp. In my opinion it would be ok. Just don't play it too loud as not to damage the speaker (and to protect your neighbors' nerves ;)). All of the secrets of sound that are so intensely discussed here on TB can be explored by you later. First start playing and having fun, the rest will take care of itself.:bassist:
 
#19
Both the ibanez and the cort will have a different feel. I would say regardless of look, go with the one that seems to fit how you play. The neck on a bass has a characteristics. The scale length is part of it; 34" and 35" is common to a standard size bass. Less is shorter scale. More that 35" is uncommon. Another piece of the puzzle is fretboard radius. lower numbers are more rounded. Think of it like and arch or a rainbow but not that pronounced. Fender is a lot of the time 9.5" which leans to the more round side of things. As a fretboard radius approaches, double digits, like say 16" it's considered to be more flat. The last piece up for consideration is how wide the strings space. This has to do with the width of the nut, and the bridge. Ibanez is often times considered to be narrow in this regard.
Having said all this, manufactures put together their basses using a combination of these variables to make the best instrument they can. You can do the math by learning and considering these statistics and make an informed decision. The way I do it is to just play a bass and decide if I like it well enough to bring home. Look is important, but I've found that if I had a "desert island" choice of playing a bass I thought was not the prettiest, but played well, or playing a bass that looked awesome but felt horrible. I would rock the comfy bass every time.
 

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