OMG, so excited, NBD, Ibanez SRC6 Crossover...

[DHart]

I'm posting this here because I think there must be a lot of other guitar players (and bass players as well!) who would love to add this instrument to their sonic palette, if they knew about it!

As a guitarist (Strats and Lesters), when I found out about this instrument, I was pretty excited. But when I heard the tones it can produce, such as in the hands of Albert Houwaart, I was SOLD. The tones I'm talking about are on this video, at around the 1:30 sec. marker:

Ibanez SRC6 30" shortscale bass / baritone guitar demo - YouTube

I write and record in my home studio. My plan is to use my Squire Jaguar VM Short Scale bass to record basic bass tracks, use the Ibanez SRC6 for recording lower octave melodic lines and chords, and finally layering my guitars (Strats and Lesters) in the octaves above that. I love the unique sonic quality that this instrument puts out! 30" scale. 6 lbs. 14 oz.

This instrument is a TOTAL blast to play!

 

[Kitsapbass]

Looks awesome...Gotta be honest, Ibanez has been putting out some cool ideas for the last few years. Wouldn't mind owning one.

 

[jeffmensch]

Woah... that is awesome. Ibanez continues to innovate and come up with interesting instruments. As a guitar player who switched to bass, this would give me a bit of both worlds. Thanks for posting that, I'll have to check one out.

 

[selowitch]

I recently got one, too. Delightful and fun insrument to play. And IME you don't necessarily need to use a pick, at least not all the time.

 

[MEKer]

Had my eyes on one myself and plan to get one.. Looking forward to your full review.

 

[selowitch]

I love mine and I'm looking forward to trying it in a band situation. Partial chords high up on the neck sound especially good, as others have pointed out.

 

[selowitch]

Hey, has anybody found a hardshell case for one of these guitars? I'm not a fan of gig bags.

 

[selowitch]

The SRC6 creates an interesting contrast to the Fender/Squier Bass VI in that it uses regular bass tuning pegs instead of Strat-style ones and does not include a tremolo bar. It's also much lighter on average and I find that I love the tone and the electronics. Just a blast to play. I'm usually a Fender guy, but this particular instrument is substantially easier to play IMO/IME than the short-scale six-string basses offered by Fender/Squier.

 

[DHart]

I guess I should attach some sound samples. All but one of these were made playing with fingers, but the one titled SRC6 Chords was played with a pick.

Please keep in mind, I'm a guitarist trying to play bass, so I can record bass lines with my guitar tracks.

The low E, at .084 gauge, is a bit too floppy... I'd like to replace the A with .084 and the low E with .098. I think that change will get the tension up to a good point.

 

[Solarmist]

I already commented on it in the Ibanez club, but congrats anyway! I'd personally love to try one out myself.

DHart - there's also a Soundgear club > http://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-soundgear-club-part-4.1020843/page-43

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

Love Ibanez basses and guitars. That bass sure sounds AND looks great - congratulations.

 

[teleblues]

Digging mine so far, I think it will take a bit of experimentation to find out where it really fits in my music.

As a bass it's got a lot of fret clatter (clicking,not a poor setup buzz) when played pizzicato.
It picks up a good deal of noise from a nylon 1.0 pick (very sensitive pickups!)

Barre chords are expectedly dark, and fairly unusable below the 9th fret.
All in all, it's a very unique instrument, good for writers stuck in a rut. I'd have to classify this as a guitar more than a bass. I'm looking forward to playing around with some effects and maybe a felt or hard rubber pick.

More to follow!

 

[awilkie84]

My that IS gorgeous! What's the string tension like? Is it floppy, like a Bass VI?

 

[DHart]

For my uses, the instrument is best suited as filling the middle ground between a bass and a guitar and for bringing new tones and timbres to the mix.

It certainly can fulfill the bass role, if need be, when one adjusts to the close string spacing. I use my Jaguar VM Short Scale for most of my bass line recording - particularly those that I want played with fingers. The SRC6 is a little easier to play bass lines with when using the pick, rather than fingers, because of the close string spacing. Playing bass lines with the fingers takes a different touch than when playing a traditional bass with wide string spacing.

Guitar players would probably take to this instrument much more readily (and happily) than bass players would.

As others have said, it is inspiring as a compositional instrument and has done well in that role for me from the get go. As a writer, I really value the SRC6 for inspiring my compositions.

I like using it to add different timbres and tones in my recordings... playing chord partials in the middle and upper registers and melodic lines in the upper low and into the middle and upper middle registers.

Its also great for playing extended arpeggios!

awilkie84... as I mentioned above, the low E is a bit floppy and, like the Bass VI, I think will benefit from bumping up the gauge somewhat on the low E and A strings.

 

[chilliwilli]

It is strung with d'addario's bass vi set stock?

 

[DHart]

cw... I don't know what strings Ibanez uses on their stock instruments. Wish I did. Can anyone else answer the question?

 

[vmabus]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
says:

• String Gauge:.024/.034/.044/.056/.072/.084
• factory tuning E,B,G,D,A,E

Is this tuned an octave above regular bass?

 

[Jaco Taco]

Sounds cool! What's the price on this guy supposed to be?

 

[vmabus]

$699, but Guitar Center has a used one:
Invalid Link Removed
$499

 

[DHart]

vmabus... this guitar is tuned like a guitar, but an octave below a guitar's tuning.