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The Soundgear Club

#4,402
Evil Undead said:
I wanted to ask you guys something - mainly for people who play SR300, SR500 and SR600 (and the 5 string versions of course).

I mostly play sitting down these days - not in a band at the moment so just play at home.

I find that resting my arm on the body of my SR600 gets uncomfortable due to the way the body comes to a kind of point around the edges (what I mean is, it's much thinner around the edges than where the pickups are etc). If I rest my arm there, my fingers go numb, I assume due to squashing a nerve.

Only other way to play it sitting is to lift my elbow so that my wrist is straight and my arm doesn't rest on the bass, but that makes my upper arm and shoulder ache like mad.

I sit with the bass on my right knee (I'm right handed) - have tried the classical guitar position, but can't reach the first frets properly that way.

I find the contoured body of a P or J much more comfortable. But, my SR600 just sounds like nothing else!

Does anyone else find this? If so, how did you get around it, besides just standing up to play? I don't want to do that, not comfortable for me.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I have a 97 sr before they thinned the body out, no problem here
 
#4,403
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#4,404
JGbassman said:
Ok I have a question. I have a 505 with the stock barts in it. The bass sounds good, but im wondering if the American barts would add much of a difference? Im liking the sound of the bass but just curious if adding the others would make that big of a difference? Pros/cons gladly accepted. Thx
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dewbass4 said:
Since you don't hate your stock 505, I suggest you try different strings, they're a much less expensive upgrade and IME generally result in a more noticeable difference in tone than swapping to a different model of the same brand of pups. I changed the stock rounds for flats on my SR505 and it made a world of difference, I went from simply liking to absolutely loving the tone. YMMV
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kleinenenten said:
Ditto here. I went with Chromes, and they're never coming off my 505 or 506.
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JGbassman said:
Im solid on my strings, which are pro steals. I use them on all my basses except my fretless ones. I like the sound the barts have, im just wondering if the us barts will define the sound better than the stock ones. Im not trying to change the tone as much as just refine the already good tone im getting. If I was wanting to change I would go either with nordstrands or flip the pre amp out, which was my second option I was looking at. I was just wondering if anyone has made the switch to the American barts and if there was any real difference good or bad.
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I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I replaced the stock MK1s in my SR500 with MK4s. I also replaced the preamp with a NTMB 5.4 A/P at the same time. I was a bit disappointed in the difference in tone that the changing the electronics made, though the MK4s are clearly better made and have a pleasant matte texture to them. I do like having the active/passive switch on the pre-amp to give me tone options, and I should be able to play with a dead battery now if need be. I more recently changed to La Bella Deep Talkin' Roundwounds in 41-106---these are balanced-tension strings---and they made a big difference in the tone. I'm much happier with these strings than the stock Elixirs or the Rotosound 77s I had on before. I'll be hesitant to try any other strings now. (I'll also be putting the short-scale version of these strings on my SG soon.)
 
#4,406
Here is my new Ibanez SR4505 Prestige after all upgrades. Just dropped a custom Aguilar OPB-3 preamp and customd wood knobs with self charging dots from D-Cline Designs. Amazing bass.
Bass1.jpeg

Bass3.jpeg

Bass4.jpeg
 
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#4,408
hello soundgear club!

I just break my 3-position switch my Ibanez sr1000e 1989 with the power curve,
I have the choice between a switch 3 way ON ON ON position or
ON OFF ON I do not know what to choose in your opinion?

thank you!
PowerCurve1b.jpg
Invalid Link Removed
 
#4,411
Technotitclan said:
Just wanted to give a before and after for everyone. A while back I installed DiMarzio model J's in my SR500. They sound fantastic in this bass but obviously don't fill the soapbar cavity. So after reading a thread about a similar situation from someone with a BTB I bought some covers from MojoTone to go over top of the J's.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea! I may do something similar. My only concern would be pickup height. It seems like the soapbar cover would have to be pretty damn close to the strings to allow the jazz pickups to be their ideal height from the strings.

How has this worked for now that you've had a year or so to play with this setup?
 
#4,412
I guess I was probably supposed to post a photo of my Soundgear bass, wasn't I?

See below my modified SR500 with its new little sister. Current setup is as follows:
  • Bartolini MK4 pickups.
  • Bartolini NTMB 5.4 A/P preamp.
  • Hipshot Ultralite tuners, Y-key, black.
  • Ibanez B300 bridge, black. (Same as stock; just a different color.)
  • La Bella Deep Talkin' round-wound balanced-tension strings, 41-106.
  • Aluminum knobs, black.
  • Loxx strap locks, black.
Perhaps you SR-knowledgable folks can help me pin down this instrument's origins. I bought it at a discount because it is blemished. (Note the two small knots.) As such, the serial number is covered with a sticker with a new serial number. I haven't been able to figure out what model year it is or if the color is indeed Brown Burst Flat, as I suspect. For what it's worth, the original hardware was Cosmo Black. Any thoughts?

2015-08-25_Ibanez_SR500_S771PB%20-%201_zpsto6atoau.jpg
 
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#4,416
Jumped on a SR655 yesterday. Excited to see how it looks in person. I played one in store and loved the neck and the light weight (coming from a fender)...not sure about the brown burst though... anyone have a real life picture?
 

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