Similar feeling bass to SR Prestige?

[Iristone]

Tried an Ibanez SR Prestige the other day and, man, it's got to be the most comfortable bass ever. The action can be dialed in insanely low, allowing for effortless fretting and slapping/typewriting, with no fret buzz/clank whatsoever for fingerstyle. It also sounds quite good through an Aguilar amp.
Unfortunately price-wise it's a bit out of my reach. Technically I can buy it with 3-4 months of salary but still... (The Aguilar costs, too!) I also have a pair of Alembic pickups. I'd like to put them into a comfortable bass body (I thought of an Aria post-Matsumoku SB100 or a Warwick Streamer), but it's too big for the Ibanez route, and I'd be hesistant of re-routing such an expensive bass!
I wonder if there's a less costly bass with a similar feel and workmanship? The exact nut width and fretboard radius isn't as important as the profile and precision.

 

[konaaayukeeenee]

Sorry I can't be of any help but I'm curious - which model did you play?

 

[Iristone]

I forgot the exact model number, but it looks like a 4-string version of an SR6605. The electronics make it different from a Premium SR2600 - I've no idea how that model plays but it's much more affordable!

 

[ahbass2500]

In my experience, an Ibanez SR feels like an Ibanez SR. I would buy a cheaper one and mod electronics to your taste.

 

[ardgedee]

In my experience, an Ibanez SR feels like an Ibanez SR. I would buy a cheaper one and mod electronics to your taste.

This, basically. With a few exceptions most Soundgears have the same shapes, the variations are mainly about the wood and components. Try a lower-end SR (like a SR 400) and see if you find it as comfortable. If so, it can be a better modding platform than one of the premium lines.

The SR Gio model line is an even cheaper variation but the body and neck are different. You can check Ibanez's website to see what the current models are.

 

[Zooberwerx]

In my experience, an Ibanez SR feels like an Ibanez SR. I would buy a cheaper one and mod electronics to your taste.

I'm hard-pressed to justify the extra-expense (Prestige) if we're doing mods. I'd look for an older used 1305 / 1405 and go to town.

Riis

 

[ardgedee]

I should mention -- Soundgears frequently have the battery box on the back of the body between the pickups. If you're considering a particular model, do some measuring and planning to make sure your new pickups will fit.

 

[Iristone]

The lower-end SR's are quite affordable here. I'll see if the neck feels good, and if the action can be set THAT low.

 

[iTzPrime]

If you can't afford the Prestige, get the Soundgear Premium (around 1000). If you can't get that get a normal one

 

[iTzPrime]

The lower-end SR's are quite affordable here. I'll see if the neck feels good, and if the action can be set THAT low.

usually they can.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

All aboard the "buy and mod a less expensive SR" train!! I have 4 sr basses and have upgraded 3 of them and they sound fantastic.

Do you have any preference for neck thru or bolt on? can point you in a few directions if you'd like

 

[braud357]

I own a SR600E with the Nordstrand pickups. It pushes all of my buttons - light weight, fantastic action and playability, and sound. All for much less than the Prestige models

 

[Grapevine921]

Ibanez makes a great bass at a lot of different price points. They've also made the SR series for decades and there are a ton on the used market making used prices a better value over some other brands. The Indonesian models are great but also be on the lookout for Japanese models used. I'm sure there are plenty in the classifieds here and be sure to check out reverb and guitar center used too.

 

[Iristone]

All aboard the "buy and mod a less expensive SR" train!! I have 4 sr basses and have upgraded 3 of them and they sound fantastic.

Do you have any preference for neck thru or bolt on? can point you in a few directions if you'd like

By neck-through do you mean like BTB? That'd be extra kudos. I normally prefer neck-through, but the deep bolt-on of the Prestige is more than good enough.

 

[W_R]

I'm also with the idea of checking less expensive Ibanez SR's.

Some models were made neck-through… and Ibanez does recycle model numbers over time with sometimes very different features. So if shopping used and older, check the pictures closely, because they have quite a few wood stripe styles that can look like neckthrough.

The ergonomics of their bolt ons are pretty good though and you might possibly like their bolt on neck through shapes.

Side note, I'm not big on dark stain brown overall, but the Prestige ones do look good. Mid range SR's are good to where I can't really see getting to the top price point though.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

By neck-through do you mean like BTB? That'd be extra kudos. I normally prefer neck-through, but the deep bolt-on of the Prestige is more than good enough.

Yeah like the BTBs. If you are looking at some used SRs and want neck through, look at some late 90s sr1200s (emg pj pickups), mid 2000's sr900s (Bart mk1s) or sr1000s (US barts), or from the last decade the sr1400 premium was made with a neck thru option (Nordys).

You can find sr900s online for around $500-600, and the sr1000s go for around 1k, the sr1400nt rarely pop up so can't really ballpark that one for ya. But the the 900 you should probably expect to spend $300 or so for picks and preamp upgrades (which it does need). The US barts in the sr1000 sound great but the vari-mid preamp should be swapped for Aguilar or something similar (IMO) for $100-150. Basically you could have two really killer neck-thru basses for around a grand depending on the options you choose, which is significantly less than buying anything from their prestige or premium lineups nowadays.

 

[ardgedee]

By neck-through do you mean like BTB? That'd be extra kudos. I normally prefer neck-through, but the deep bolt-on of the Prestige is more than good enough.

There are neck-through SRs. I think the only one Ibanez currently makes is the SRF700 Portamento but there are a variety of discontinued models on the used market. To be honest, unless you know you're going to be spending plenty of time in the second octave, a bolt-on is probably just as good, potentially even better in terms of string sustain.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Second that for the bolt-on being highly playable. I have no problem accessing the 24th fret on my SR1350B even though I have relatively small hands. I don't have to go over the top, like I do on my Jazz bass (which only has 22 frets).

 

[Iristone]

Silly me - the key to nice and low action is good fretwork, and a bit tighter truss rod than what I dared to go for. I'm able to get that feel on my Thunderbird now.
My preference towards neck-through mainly comes from my experience with Thunderbird and Rickenbacker. Neither is 24-fret, but I like their tone and resonance. It seems to me that bolt-on is more focussed while neck-through has a more vocal midrange. My gripe with the SR Prestige is that its acoustic string tone isn't the best.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Silly me - the key to nice and low action is good fretwork, and a bit tighter truss rod than what I dared to go for. I'm able to get that feel on my Thunderbird now.
My preference towards neck-through mainly comes from my experience with Thunderbird and Rickenbacker. Neither is 24-fret, but I like their tone and resonance. It seems to me that bolt-on is more focussed while neck-through has a more vocal midrange. My gripe with the SR Prestige is that its acoustic string tone isn't the best.

I agree with you. String tone on the SR Premium isn't as good as on my Fender Jazz, unless you are playing in the middle of the neck. It gets very thin-sounding near the nut and above the 15th fret. Middle of the neck it's pretty good. Overall, I prefer the sound of the Fender, or the Sire P5, but the playability of the SR neck is superior, and the action is faster, at least for my small hands.