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Replacing my bass...

L

lordworm327

Nov 2, 2010
7
0
Teesside North East England
www.myspace.com
#1
I have owned an Ibanez Soundgear SR300 now for about a year now and have been having problems for months now. After attempting to get it repaired over and over no one seems to be able to fix it indefinately. So I'm naturally sick of the sight of it ruining my practices and gigs.

Its a gorgeous looking and very nice sounding bass (especially for the price) and i like the lightweight and slender design. I don't know whether to sell it off and replace it with the same bass or get a different bass (as I've slightly lost some faith in Ibanez after dealing with their support)

Any recommendations?

I play in a metal band, there are some old recordings of us on this myspace:
Link Removed
 
#2
Do you have a back-up instrument? If so, take your time looking around to find the right one. I don't know if you have pawn shops in England, but there can be some good deals there. As far as brand, I could make several recommendations, but, customer service will be a tough sell with any company, unless you spend, like, 2,000 GBP(sorry, don't have that symbol readily available). If you have a show coming up, see if you can borrow one from a friend, until you find the one that speaks to you. Do you need active EQ, are you really partial to the shape of the soundgear line. If you find a good one, it will probably stay a good one. Point me in a direction as to your needs and I can try to help more.

Thumpin_P
 
#4
cheers for the reply, I have other basses but we have recently lowered our tuning to C standard and the backup is in E so it is no use at the moment. I have a friend in another local band who is willing to lend me his bass for now though.

I don't really want to buy for much more than the ibanez cost because i think it was a reasonable price and im not getting much in the way of income at the moment!

Unfortunately the second hand market isn't what I understand it to be over in the states! eBay is the best we've got unless you are just buying off someone locally cash in hand.

I own a guitar and have done for years (an ESP LTD F50, my first guitar) and has never had any problems so I was considering an ESP for reliability, and the ones ive tried sounded similar to the ibanez and a similar design.

I'll have to go down to a shop and try them all out i suppose, i have also heard good things about schecter.
 
#7
lordworm327 said:
You are right, it is very bass heavy. Which I don't mind too much (as a bassist after all) but our newer songs are more technical, so I suppose I could do with some more definition in the notes im playing.
Click to expand...

ESP was going to be one of my recommendations! For the most part, they are very treble-heavy. I tried a neck through a few years ago, and had to use the EQ to get the warmth I wanted. They are built very well, and seem to be used by a lot of metal players. If you can find one for the right price, I say jump on it! As far as the one guitar tuned to E, that sucks! You would have to change the nut to fit the B string (tuned to C) and that would be a chunk out of the bass fund. Schecter also makes good stuff, but I have heard in multiple places that the electronics can be weak, and when changed out, make the instrument. I don't think (from what I'm reading)that you want to spend any more time or money than you have to. If you find a second hand one with the electronics changed out, you might have a good bass on your hands. Good luck in your quest! This can be the fun part!

Also, what is the problem you cannot get fixed, there are several resources on this forum who can point you in the right direction!

Again, Good luck and keep the questions coming!

Thumpin_P
 
#9
Go find Kent Armstrong. You didn't say what couldn't be fixed, but I'm guessing its not hardware, but pickups and electronics. Kent is somewhere over there, and I bet he could fix you long term.

But then again, for the cost of fixing that bass you probably could just buy a different one.
 
#10
Thanks for all the replies guys!

I have alot of fret buzz at first and loads of dead notes with no sustain at all.. I restringed it with no results. I took it to get set up quite a few times, no luck. Then the shop guy said he fixed it cause the neck was not bowed enough so he adjusted the truss rod. Still nothing! So I figured the only thing left that could possilbly be causing it is the bridge is shagged... (broken ;)) so I'm on the hunt for a local guitar shop that can order me a replacement bridge (as ibanez have said to go find a local guitar shop and not bother them with it would you believe).

This has been a long on going problem and you can see my problem :P it goes from fine to inaudible in minutes (which is rather embarassing half way through a set).

I need to get my backup bass lowered to C urgently!

Also thanks for the shout out to ESP! I will have to give one a tryout sometime this week.
 
#11
Given that you need a new bass, and your current band situation with downtuning and playing metal, I recommend you consider a 5-string. You could leave it in standard BEADG tuning and cover all your present needs.

As far as brands go, much depends on your budget. I wouldn't recommend going back to Ibanez; it sounds like you have had a bad experience with both instrument and company, so best to take your business elsewhere. Depending on your budget, Schecter, ESP, Warwick, or maybe even a Sterling Ray35 could be right up your alley.

Hope that helps.
 
#12
lordworm327 said:
Thanks for all the replies guys!

I have alot of fret buzz at first and loads of dead notes with no sustain at all.. I restringed it with no results. I took it to get set up quite a few times, no luck. Then the shop guy said he fixed it cause the neck was not bowed enough so he adjusted the truss rod. Still nothing! So I figured the only thing left that could possilbly be causing it is the bridge is shagged... (broken ;)) so I'm on the hunt for a local guitar shop that can order me a replacement bridge (as ibanez have said to go find a local guitar shop and not bother them with it would you believe).

This has been a long on going problem and you can see my problem :P it goes from fine to inaudible in minutes (which is rather embarassing half way through a set).
Click to expand...

Huh. Never heard of a problem like this without finding something obviously broken. Does your bass go out of tune at all when this happens, like the tuners could be slipping, maybe?
 
#13
It sounds like the 'professional' (my emphasis, not yours) who adjusted the truss rod didn't really know what he was doing or didn't care to be helpful in solving your problem.

New strings will NOT adjust the neck or the bridge either.

You need real help and not some charlatan working on your gear.

This is one crying reason why every bass-player should know how to set up his own instrument - even if the set-up guy can do it well, it's to HIS standards, not yours.

I have the SR500, and although I don't slap (neither my basses nor my wife), I don't want those (what I call) 'modern' tones and the Lows and Mids are just fine - GREAT even - on my SR500.

I'd find a real expert to set up your bass - as fret buzz isn't really an inherent brand-design problem and can be fixed for a nominal fee if you cannot do it yourself.

Interestingly, the SR series is touted as one of the best shred-slap/pop-metal basses on the market - especially for speed-shred-EMO/Fusion stuff, of which I have no idea what that means.
 

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