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Premium Ibanez (Ibáñez) SR1800E

Killed_by_Death

Killed_by_Death

Snaggletooth
Inactive
Jan 2, 2015
24,890
61,257
14 Megameters from Groong Tehp
#1
After 6 months of daily practice, I decided it was time to treat myself.
Rickenbacker 4004?
Sure, but the local RIC dealer doesn't have any.
There's one for sale on Reverb, but it's really from Sam Ash.
They're being dodgy IMHO, by not selling it outright from the store. They'll only do business & communicate through eBay or Reverb.
It's only 8-1/2 lbs., but w/o being able to try it out first, I'm out, knowing that a return to Reverb or eBay would not be as easy as just driving it to my local Sam Ash.

A MIJ Ibanez SR890 turned up at one of the GC's within my range, so I went & checked it out.
Expecting to be wowed by the vari-mid controls, but I wasn't.
The used SR370 there had my eye, light (8 lbs.), which is unusual for an all maple bass.
However, the pickups in it weren't wowing me like the Power Span pickups in the SR370E have.

The goal was to find something as light (or lighter) than my SRX at home, that also sounded better.

On the way back home, a Friday afternoon, I decided to stop at one last spot & I even told myself this would be the LAST time I looked at basses again until next year.

Well, there it was!
Somehow I'd just glanced right past it before, but mainly because it was on a high rack out of reach.

I told myself that this year I'd only buy things if they wowed me, and it did.

IMG_20171001_111321048.jpg
IMG_20171001_113449527.jpg

IMG_20170916_152745674.jpg


Nordstrand Big Single pickups
3-band with a mid-frequency switch
active/passive switch (passive works w/o a battery)
even balance between strings
no dead spots (I spent a while checking it out)
bubinga/wenge neck with titanium rods
lighter than my SRX

I love it!

So, if I'm not around much, guess what I'll be doing...

Almost forgot to mention:
This is my first new bass!
 
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#5
See headstock photo in my avatar. I had an SR1200. It was amazing. It was my holy grail of tone. I sold it due to physical illness when I thought I'd never play again. I miss it badly.

I am sure you will yours, just careful with all the preamp controls, and keep the users manual with you whenever playing. I found it difficult at times to dial in the sound I was really looking for, amid all the sounds available.

Also, I found that a good compressor really helped my bass. It gave it a little more spank and tightness to the sound that I felt I couldn't get out the preamp alone. I felt like my comp helped this bass our more than any other bass I played at the time.
 
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#7
Killed_by_Death said:
After 6 months of daily practice, I decided it was time to treat myself.
Rickenbacker 4004?
Sure, but the local RIC dealer doesn't have any.
There's one for sale on Reverb, but it's really from Sam Ash.
They're being dodgy IMHO, by not selling it outright from the store. They'll only do business & communicate through eBay or Reverb.
It's only 8-1/2 lbs., but w/o being able to try it out first, I'm out, knowing that a return to Reverb or eBay would not be as easy as just driving it to my local Sam Ash.

A MIJ Ibanez SR890 turned up at one of the GC's within my range, so I went & checked it out.
Expecting to be wowed by the vari-mid controls, but I wasn't.
The used SR370 there had my eye, light (8 lbs.), which is unusual for an all maple bass.
However, the pickups in it weren't wowing me like the Power Span pickups in the SR370E have.

The goal was to find something as light (or lighter) than my SRX at home, that also sounded better.

On the way back home, a Friday afternoon, I decided to stop at one last spot & I even told myself this would be the LAST time I looked at basses again until next year.

Well, there it was!
Somehow I'd just glanced right past it before, but mainly because it was on a high rack out of reach.

I told myself that this year I'd only buy things if they wowed me, and it did.

View attachment 2774837 View attachment 2774838
View attachment 2774840

Nordstrand Big Single pickups
3-band with a mid-frequency switch
active/passive switch (passive works w/o a battery)
even balance between strings
no dead spots (I spent a while checking it out)
bubinga/wenge neck with titanium rods
lighter than my SRX

I love it!

So, if I'm not around much, guess what I'll be doing...

Almost forgot to mention:
This is my first new bass!
Click to expand...
KBD...Worried that you died or something...
 
#9
Oh how i love those Ibanez basses, and that one has some particularly nice wood grain and color. They fit my body and hands perfectly, no neck dive and a fast action. I really like the control setup too. I’ve been considering selling a couple basses I rarely play to buy s Prestige Series, but haven’t worked up the gumption. Nice score!
 
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#12
Good for you. I picked up a new Ibanez SR1800E last June. I ordered it along with a Ibanez hard case from a small music store. It took about six months for it to arrive but it was worth the wait. I like it a lot. It’s easy to pick up and hard to put down. There are several SR Premium models that are similar to the 1800E with the only difference being the top layer of wood. I thought the 1800E was the best looking one with its double “stripes”.

Killed_by_Death said:
Somehow I'd just glanced right past it before, but mainly because it was on a high rack out of reach.
Click to expand...

Yeah, stores like to do that. Place the more expensive guitars high up on the wall and out of reach. Keep them out of reach of kids probably. They want to force you to ask a store employee to retrieve for you who has to climb up a ladder.
 
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#15
How does those Nordstrand singles compare to the Powerspan pickups? I love the sound of the Powerspans in my SR300E, and I've heard that they are supposed to be copies of the Nordstrands that Ibanez put their own name on. But the Nordstrands are singles, and The Powerspans are humbuckers, right? Does Nordstrand make humbuckers, too?
 
#17
Killed_by_Death said:
Nordstrand make dual coil pickups that look surprisingly like PowerSpans, but Carey himself said on here that they're not associated.

Here's Nordstrand's own demo of the Big Singles:



The PowerSpans reminded me of my old RIC 4004, but the Big Singles surpassed that sound, to me.
Click to expand...

maybe they (indo) bit off his design(s) hope not...
that is one issue to consider when farming out proprietary designs
 
#18
LinusKarlsson said:
How does those Nordstrand singles compare to the Powerspan pickups? I love the sound of the Powerspans in my SR300E,
Click to expand...

Recently I bought a SR300EB & am able to A/B them. The Big Singles just have more character & more top end. I've never experienced pickups as responsive as the Big Singles.

Still not impressed with the Power Tap switch :bored:
 
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#19
It's been two years now & every time I try another bass that I "think" can replace this one I am let down.
I took delivery on a nice bass today & it was just about everything I wanted on my wish-list of features, but it doesn't sound nearly as aggressive as the Big-Singles in this bass.

So, this is The One for me. Maybe I will get a better pre-amp, because that's the one thing I don't like about it.
I've been using it passively 97% of the time since I've owned it.

If there weren't so many holes to fill on the controls I'd make it fully passive & wired in series.

Here's the latest pic, with a handprint that won't leave & new hardware:
SR1800E

SR1800E

cosmo-black hardware
 
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