Strat knobs are push-on that fit on split-shaft pots.
Soundgear knobs fit onto solid-shaft pots & use a set-screw.
Soundgear knobs fit onto solid-shaft pots & use a set-screw.
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The Soundgear Club
- Thread starter THE DANiMAL
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Thanks @Killed_by_Death. I've looked but can't find the diameter of the shafts. I'm hoping the Ibanez website will at least identify the size so I can go from there.
I bought a different knob for mine which is only - few years old - it was a 6mm shaft.
Sounds nice!
Sounds nice!
Ibanez pot shafts are: 6mm diameter x 10mm long (above threads)
I just measured mine to be sure, and that matches any info I've been able to find online.
split-shaft pots are what Strats use, on the right:
solid-shaft (on the left) is what Soundgear have, I'm 99% positive that a Strat knob won't fit onto a solid-shaft,
& if it does there's no set-screw to keep it in place
solid-shaft (on the left) is what Soundgear have, I'm 99% positive that a Strat knob won't fit onto a solid-shaft,
& if it does there's no set-screw to keep it in place
Split shafts are almost the same size, but just shy at 5.95 mm. That's not including the splines though, so they end up being quite a bit smaller and thus will not fit on a solid shaft at all...normally. I actually have Strat knobs on my SR500 now, but it took some modification.
6 mm = approx. 0.236", so I used a 15/64" (0.234") drill bit to cut the splines out of the knob by hand - no power tools. Then, I was able to press the knobs onto the solid shafts. They're tight enough to hold securely in use - I haven't had one fail on me yet. It's not ideal, but I really wanted speed knobs with markings, and couldn't find any for solid shafts. I bought some cheapo speed knobs off Wish just to try it out, and so far, so good.
NOTE: Be careful when pressing the knobs on! I broke a pot the first time because I hadn't drilled the knob out clean enough. When I pressed the knob on, it took too much force and broke the plastic disc on the other end of the shaft inside of the pot. Fortunately, I had a spare I could swap in on hand.
That said, the better solution would be to just change the pots out for split shafts. I just didn't want to do that much work right now when I'm hoping to gut and upgrade all my electronics sometime in the future. Someday, lol.
6 mm = approx. 0.236", so I used a 15/64" (0.234") drill bit to cut the splines out of the knob by hand - no power tools. Then, I was able to press the knobs onto the solid shafts. They're tight enough to hold securely in use - I haven't had one fail on me yet. It's not ideal, but I really wanted speed knobs with markings, and couldn't find any for solid shafts. I bought some cheapo speed knobs off Wish just to try it out, and so far, so good.
NOTE: Be careful when pressing the knobs on! I broke a pot the first time because I hadn't drilled the knob out clean enough. When I pressed the knob on, it took too much force and broke the plastic disc on the other end of the shaft inside of the pot. Fortunately, I had a spare I could swap in on hand.
That said, the better solution would be to just change the pots out for split shafts. I just didn't want to do that much work right now when I'm hoping to gut and upgrade all my electronics sometime in the future. Someday, lol.
when i see a left handed ibanez i think of @alaskaleftybass
this one's on reverb
this one's on reverb
Thanks, @hypercarrots ! Do you mind posting the link for me? That lefty looks awesome!
EDIT: Found the bass. Thanks!
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Here is one of my Ibanez collection. It's an economy GSR100L P style bass. I got it from eBay for an excellent deal, however it was in horrible condition when I got it. I took a long time cleaning it up and now it has a wonderful feeling neck and is strung with Ernie Ball XLights.
Since I've been working at home remotely, I've had a little time on my hands and I looked up my wish list of stuff I'd like to put on the bass and ordered them from eBay:
Since I've been working at home remotely, I've had a little time on my hands and I looked up my wish list of stuff I'd like to put on the bass and ordered them from eBay:
Thanks, @Killed_by_Death and the other kind TB'ers sharing information. Because of everyone's instructions I found the volume and tone controls I wanted.
Well, I'm still a beginning player with little money to play with, so here's my humble beginning:
I started with an older First Act bass my friend's church gave to me. I'm a new player, but not new to music, so it didn't take more than a few plays to know I wanted something better. The First Act isn't junk by any means, but it just wasn't super comfortable, and had very weak sound.
A couple months later I scored a good deal on a 2004 Ibanez SR500BM that I picked up used for $300 with a hard case. It shows a little wear on the finish, but it's just cosmetic. I plan to refinish it when I have the spare time.
About 6 months in I decided I really wanted a 5 string. I'm in a small worship band, and we have a few songs where I just really dislike having to go to the higher octave for a few notes. I was really enjoying the SR500, so I knew wanted to get a 505. (Okay, I really want a Prestige 5005, but that's WAY out of my budget.) Unfortunately, I lost my job around that time, and work is hard to find - especially for an IT specialist living in a very rural area, so buying anything seemed like a far off dream. Scrolling through FB one day, I came across a great looking deal just about an hour drive from me that I really wanted but still couldn't afford. I had a decent job prospect I was hoping for, so I talked to the seller to get some information. Then the job fell through, so I gave up on it. God is good though! Right after church just 2 weeks before the COVID crisis started here in the Michigan, the seller contacted me to let me know it was still available if I was interested. I was in the middle of replying to let him know that I still didn't have the cash to spare right now when my wife came home from visiting a generous friend that just spontaneously sent home some cash for me as a gift! I changed what I was typing right away, and headed out on my way! The seller was even more generous when I got there. We chatted for a bit, and he really gave me a heck of a good deal. I got this practically new 2012 SR505QM, a tags-still-on-it-brand-new gig bag, and a Crate BX-100 amp - all for $250! He bought the guitar brand new expecting to use it more, but then switched to lead guitar. He said he used it to record in his home studio 2 or 3 times, but it's never been out of the studio, let alone gigged. It just hung on his wall for years. It looks it too - flawless! He forgot he had bought the gig bag with it, and just happened to come across it out in his garage, so he threw it in too. When I told him my next big purchase would be an amp, he pulled the Crate out of a corner and gave it to me for free! He said it stopped working a few years ago, so he stored it in a corner and ended up replacing it, but maybe I could fix it. When I got it home, I found the terminals on the speaker had rattled loose and were shorting on the frame, and there were a couple cracked solder joints in the amp. About an hour of work and cleaning, and it works perfectly now. I'll definitely need to upgrade the driver sometime as it distorts on the low notes, but it's 100% better than the nothing I had before.
The only bad thing about the deal is that I've had the 505 for a few weeks now and haven't got to play it for more than 5 minutes yet. After fixing the amp, I got the bass out and tuned it up. I played for about 5 minutes, then went to spend some time with the kids. About an hour later I came back downstairs and found a string had popped (noticed it as I was taking the pic below). Long story short, I found it's one of the ones with the bad batch of B305 bridges that bend until the strings pop out. I called Ibanez and they were real nice about it and promised to send me a replacement. Unfortunately, that was on the Friday before the COVID crisis started, and they didn't get it shipped out before they got shut down. So, my poor new bass is just sitting there looking pretty waiting for this virus mess to clear up! Argh!
Okay sorry, long story overall. I'm a talker...and I'm pretty stoked about the great deal. I still hope to have that Prestige someday, but I'm very satisfied for now. I do love the way these SR's play, I'm very happy with the sound, and not afraid to modify electronics if I decide I want to tweak the sound later. Anyway, here's the couple pics I have for now.
Left: 2004 Ibanez SR500BM
Right: 2012 Ibanez SR505QM, Crate BX-100, Road Runner Avenue gig bag
I started with an older First Act bass my friend's church gave to me. I'm a new player, but not new to music, so it didn't take more than a few plays to know I wanted something better. The First Act isn't junk by any means, but it just wasn't super comfortable, and had very weak sound.
A couple months later I scored a good deal on a 2004 Ibanez SR500BM that I picked up used for $300 with a hard case. It shows a little wear on the finish, but it's just cosmetic. I plan to refinish it when I have the spare time.
About 6 months in I decided I really wanted a 5 string. I'm in a small worship band, and we have a few songs where I just really dislike having to go to the higher octave for a few notes. I was really enjoying the SR500, so I knew wanted to get a 505. (Okay, I really want a Prestige 5005, but that's WAY out of my budget.) Unfortunately, I lost my job around that time, and work is hard to find - especially for an IT specialist living in a very rural area, so buying anything seemed like a far off dream. Scrolling through FB one day, I came across a great looking deal just about an hour drive from me that I really wanted but still couldn't afford. I had a decent job prospect I was hoping for, so I talked to the seller to get some information. Then the job fell through, so I gave up on it. God is good though! Right after church just 2 weeks before the COVID crisis started here in the Michigan, the seller contacted me to let me know it was still available if I was interested. I was in the middle of replying to let him know that I still didn't have the cash to spare right now when my wife came home from visiting a generous friend that just spontaneously sent home some cash for me as a gift! I changed what I was typing right away, and headed out on my way! The seller was even more generous when I got there. We chatted for a bit, and he really gave me a heck of a good deal. I got this practically new 2012 SR505QM, a tags-still-on-it-brand-new gig bag, and a Crate BX-100 amp - all for $250! He bought the guitar brand new expecting to use it more, but then switched to lead guitar. He said he used it to record in his home studio 2 or 3 times, but it's never been out of the studio, let alone gigged. It just hung on his wall for years. It looks it too - flawless! He forgot he had bought the gig bag with it, and just happened to come across it out in his garage, so he threw it in too. When I told him my next big purchase would be an amp, he pulled the Crate out of a corner and gave it to me for free! He said it stopped working a few years ago, so he stored it in a corner and ended up replacing it, but maybe I could fix it. When I got it home, I found the terminals on the speaker had rattled loose and were shorting on the frame, and there were a couple cracked solder joints in the amp. About an hour of work and cleaning, and it works perfectly now. I'll definitely need to upgrade the driver sometime as it distorts on the low notes, but it's 100% better than the nothing I had before.
The only bad thing about the deal is that I've had the 505 for a few weeks now and haven't got to play it for more than 5 minutes yet. After fixing the amp, I got the bass out and tuned it up. I played for about 5 minutes, then went to spend some time with the kids. About an hour later I came back downstairs and found a string had popped (noticed it as I was taking the pic below). Long story short, I found it's one of the ones with the bad batch of B305 bridges that bend until the strings pop out. I called Ibanez and they were real nice about it and promised to send me a replacement. Unfortunately, that was on the Friday before the COVID crisis started, and they didn't get it shipped out before they got shut down. So, my poor new bass is just sitting there looking pretty waiting for this virus mess to clear up! Argh!
Okay sorry, long story overall. I'm a talker...and I'm pretty stoked about the great deal. I still hope to have that Prestige someday, but I'm very satisfied for now. I do love the way these SR's play, I'm very happy with the sound, and not afraid to modify electronics if I decide I want to tweak the sound later. Anyway, here's the couple pics I have for now.
Left: 2004 Ibanez SR500BM
Right: 2012 Ibanez SR505QM, Crate BX-100, Road Runner Avenue gig bag
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Why don't you try out the Crate with your old bass? It's not like you've lost anything....
I was looking at these glacier white SR's on reverb yesterday. I would be even more strongly tempted if they had a matching headstock.
That's a bummer! You seem very capable, having taken apart and fixed the amp (much more capable than me!) Couldn't you use a washer or something to put the string through to help hold it in the saddle? Of course the hardware stores are probably not open but maybe you have something lying around the house?
I actually was already contemplating a temporary fix. I've got a 3D model of the bridge that I made in SketchUp. I'm thinking about 3D printing a bridge with a slight cutout at the bottom for a piece of metal "L" plate to hold the actual string tension. I'm sure I've got some spare metal out in the garage I could use. It won't sound great as the plastic will kill the resonance, but it would at least let me get some practice in with my first 5-string during all this down time.
Black is the new plastic model. Large silver is the original style. Small silver is the metal reinforcing plate that slides inside the black plastic (you can just see it through the sting holes).
So the first attempt didn't turn out perfect, but close enough I think I can get it on the second try. I forgot to add the rounded corners on the back end, so it doesn't fit down into the recess in the guitar. The front fits nicely though, and the screw holes lined up perfectly, so that's an easy fix. I also forgot to have the 3D printer add supports on the underside where the cutout for the metal plate is, so it got pretty sloppy. That's an easy fix though since I've got to reprint it anyway. I'm kind of excited to see how this turns out and ultimately how it sounds. It looked really nice next to the black plastic pickups when I test fit it.
Won't the ball-ends pull right through the plastic?
I've seen a solution where someone put a nail through the ball-end, so it wouldn't slip through the original bridge.
I've seen a solution where someone put a nail through the ball-end, so it wouldn't slip through the original bridge.
