Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The Ibanez Club (Part 5)
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club
- Status
Could be the Elixer strings that come on it? I dont like the tone of those Elixer strings very much. I slapped some Nickel R. Cocco's on my SR1200e and that was a huge difference in tone
Could be the Elixer strings that come on it? I dont like the tone of those Elixer strings very much. I slapped some Nickel R. Cocco's on my SR1200e and that was a huge difference in tone
I,m with ya on the elixirs. Glad to hear the nickels made a difference. I just got my 1205 in, I'm gonna have to follow your lead, I think!
One of the reasons I wanted to wait before saying much was so that I could change the strings. Also, because it was late in the evening yesterday I could only check it out through a few different pairs of headphones I had. Granted, I use headphones alot for silent practicing, but headphones are just too unforgiving often times to evaluate a new bass.
All that said, I put DR Hi-beams on it late last night and played with it some more. The strings defintely help. I used to like Elixirs on some instruments, but they don't work on the 1405 at all to me. The DR's are a bit too bright. I think a set of D'Addario nickels which I mostly use would be just right on this guy.
This bass looked dark tan/amber in the pictures before I bought it, but it seems a bit lighter in person. Definitely had an amber color which I like. I never cared for the marketing pictures on the 1405 that showed that super light maple top, not did I care for the darker tops on the 1200 series basses too much. This one is perfect and it looks beautiful. The bass weighs 8lbs 3oz. Perfect also. It's just over a pound lighter than my Lakland 55-02, and the difference is huge.
The body comfort isn't as nice as the Lakland however. The Lakland's carved rear top and upper arm rest make it rest much better against the body versus the rather "plankish" slab of the SR. Not a big deal, but noticeable.
However, the neck on the SR is killer...super killer. This is why I like SR's. I have fairly small hands, and the 19" string spacing on the Lakland is hard for me to manage many times, for both my right and left hands. For regular supportive playing, it's not issue, but if I want to chord or do string skipping, I get fatigued really quickly. The SR however almost plays itself. If I try to wrap my hand around the Lakland at the 12th fret, my thumb and middle finger can't touch. They're quarter inch apart. On the SR, those two fingers can overlap by about 1/8th of an inch. That might not sound like much, but it makes a huge difference.
I'm still playing with tonal options on the SR. The Nordies sound great, but they're unique. Very much like single coils, but also have a tendency to sound like soap bars as well. They definitely have an evenness of tone that J singles don't possess. More throaty and growly, with less upper-mid snarl. They sit in a fingerstyle mix better, but don't have the fullness of tone for slap that a jazz bass will have.
I think the SR is a keeper for now. Need to use it live a few times to see how it works, and see what the sound engineers think. I'm fortunate to play with some great musicians and engineers often, and they will give me honest opinions if I ask. More to come.
All that said, I put DR Hi-beams on it late last night and played with it some more. The strings defintely help. I used to like Elixirs on some instruments, but they don't work on the 1405 at all to me. The DR's are a bit too bright. I think a set of D'Addario nickels which I mostly use would be just right on this guy.
This bass looked dark tan/amber in the pictures before I bought it, but it seems a bit lighter in person. Definitely had an amber color which I like. I never cared for the marketing pictures on the 1405 that showed that super light maple top, not did I care for the darker tops on the 1200 series basses too much. This one is perfect and it looks beautiful. The bass weighs 8lbs 3oz. Perfect also. It's just over a pound lighter than my Lakland 55-02, and the difference is huge.
The body comfort isn't as nice as the Lakland however. The Lakland's carved rear top and upper arm rest make it rest much better against the body versus the rather "plankish" slab of the SR. Not a big deal, but noticeable.
However, the neck on the SR is killer...super killer. This is why I like SR's. I have fairly small hands, and the 19" string spacing on the Lakland is hard for me to manage many times, for both my right and left hands. For regular supportive playing, it's not issue, but if I want to chord or do string skipping, I get fatigued really quickly. The SR however almost plays itself. If I try to wrap my hand around the Lakland at the 12th fret, my thumb and middle finger can't touch. They're quarter inch apart. On the SR, those two fingers can overlap by about 1/8th of an inch. That might not sound like much, but it makes a huge difference.
I'm still playing with tonal options on the SR. The Nordies sound great, but they're unique. Very much like single coils, but also have a tendency to sound like soap bars as well. They definitely have an evenness of tone that J singles don't possess. More throaty and growly, with less upper-mid snarl. They sit in a fingerstyle mix better, but don't have the fullness of tone for slap that a jazz bass will have.
I think the SR is a keeper for now. Need to use it live a few times to see how it works, and see what the sound engineers think. I'm fortunate to play with some great musicians and engineers often, and they will give me honest opinions if I ask. More to come.
Interesting, I've always liked how the SR body shape sat on me. Never really felt "plankish" to me.
Yeah, it's not really, but compared to the Lakland that is just uber comfy in that regard, the SR feels rather bland by comparison, even though it's thinner, smaller and has rounded edges all the way around. On the Lakland, that slope on the front over the bridge really feels more comfy to the forearm than the does the straight top on the SR. And that curved cutout on the rear of the Lakland just lets it slightly hug your side and belly while it hangs there, distributing the bass across a larger surface area of your body than the SR, which seems to want to rock back and forth a bit since it's pretty much straight on the rear.
It's not really subtle. There's a big difference there in the body comfort, but it's not like the SR is bad an uncomfortable by any means. It's smaller size and weight helps make up for that.
Im at a crossroad with my srx390, so I am trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with it....I have actively been posting in regards to it, I love it aesthetically and for its playability..but I am finding myself not digging the uber lows and thin highs..any input on this at all?
I should also add the the action on the SR can go much lower than on the Lakland, which I don't know why because the Lakland's fretwork is impeccable. But for some reason, I'm running a good half MM lower across all strings on the SR, with a bit less neck relief also. I've not had an SR in quite a while, and I had forgotten just how fast these necks are.
Trying not to gush here, but this thing is just fun to play.
Trying not to gush here, but this thing is just fun to play.
Figured I'd ask here as well. I just put an older Sr bass from '92 on layaway at my local shop. It's an Sr950. Any dirt on these? Blows my Sr700 out of the water....and I adore my Sr700!
The Ibanez Ergodyne's were built that way. My EDB605, circa 99-01, sits perfectly between my right arm and my right hip. There's no sense of an edge or reaching around. The curves built into the front and back of the EDB let everything fit together noticeably better than on my BTB.
Yeah, I notice the lack of curvature on the SR especially when slapping or palm muting at the bridge. A lot of this is also just the fact that I've played nothing but Lakland basses for almost 3 years now, and all their models have ergonomic cut outs on them. The SR really doesn't have the body mass to support that kind of a cut out as it's so much thinner than the Lakland. I don't want folks to think I'm saying this bass is uncomfortable at all. It's not. I spent 3 hours with it strapped on last night and it was no problem at all. I think it's just a matter of me getting used to the difference again. I put it on this morning and didn't even notice it this time, so the assimilation has begun.
I like the SR body more for its looks than how it sits on my body lol. It's got those sexy curves.
I agree it looks good. I don't mind the rear cutout not being there so much. And for slap it's not a big deal not having the cutout on the front top corner. It is quite noticeably less comfortable for palm muting though, as the corner doesn't get out of the way to let you rest your palm on the strings nearly as well. It's still not an "issue" that affects playability though, and a cutout there on these laminated tops would throw the look off pretty significantly, so I wouldn't change that even if I could.
IngerAlb said:Upgrade the electronics
I was looking at keeping the pups, but switching out the pre amp. I have little knowledge on how to do this though, or which brands I should begin looking at
- Status
