OPINION

[BurtMacklinFBI]

I can't really say without hearing and ideally playing both. I can say though that that Sire looks beautiful. The Ibanez is no slouch, but that Sire... *chef's kiss*

 

[Benj-jammin]

Probably can't go wrong with either, but I've always had an Ibby SR in my arsenal for years - lightning fast necks. Yeah, a bit narrow than most, but not an issue for me, and I have long fingers.

 

[BarfanyShart]

Sire because I've had this thing about wanting an active J for a little while. The Ibby, however, is the better bass for metal.

 

[Rob1957]

I have a Sire V3 5 string so I am biased
The sire is a heavy beast but I find most Ibanez necks to slim for me. I did have an 1985 Roadstar II 5 string that had a nice size neck but most of the 4 strings are too cramped
My opinion only

 

[salmon256]

For what I would buy is simply the Ibanez since I prefer them, and have tried many Ibanez model and liked it and enjoyed it much more. Also fits my playstyle, that's me though everyone is different.

 

[Diminishedfilth]

I don’t think you could go wrong with an Ibanez, but that Sire brings all my boys to the yard!

 

[39-Bassist]

Visually I would go Sire.
BUT you have to see which one feels best to you first. (If possible)
Pickups and hardware can be changed out but the feel of a bass can't of course.

 

[Bikeguy57]

Neither, but they both have the correct number of strings!

 

[Inara]

For me, the Ibanez. I don't like 20-fret basses, and I love Soundgear necks and ergonomics. And the Ibanez Powerspan pickups and Powertap preamp are surprisingly good imho ... I have them on my SR375EF fretless, and had assumed I'd want to upgrade them - I was wrong.

 

[Artman]

Fifteen or twenty years ago, I would have opted for the FSO over a Soundgear bass every time, but my tastes in equipment have changed since then. I am preferring lightweight equipment these days, and names and country of origin mean a lot less to me now than they used to.

 

[5StringBlues]

Sucker MC's call it SIRE.

 

[Solarmist]

Ibanez for me. Their only downfall is their cylindrical input jacks (Notorious for breaking) and stacked pots...
Given this bass has 5 preamp dials, you shouldn't have an issue with this bass.

Only thing I didn't like about my SR was the Strat type plug.

I've been playing Ibby SRs (and had a number of them) since the early 90s, and never had a problem with the angled input jack - I like it a lot better compared to jacks that stick straight out the front.

Another vote for Ibanez.

 

[El_Charro]

PRO'S/CON'S....WHICH ONE WOULD YOU ?View attachment 4345949

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Personally I’d go for Ibanez between the two even though I don’t tend to like their necks as much as some other brand’s instruments…

Ibanez has a really good reputation and good quality control…

I found one in GC one time a few years ago that I still kick myself for not buying (I think it was $400 or 500 bass and it felt A LOT higher end than that)…

I think other people on this site like Sire (I haven’t really heard any negatives on that brand), so you probably can’t go wrong with either…

Personally I prefer the look of the Ibanez, but that might just be my inner MetalHead talking…

Thanks! \m/

 

[joelns]

The Ibanez for me.