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 Soundgear Club
- Thread starter THE DANiMAL
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club
I found this somewhere in the last few days (sorry didn't note where). It's apparently a stripped and oiled (or clearcoated) SR500. What do people think? I'm wondering what my SR206 would look like refinished like this with the headstock taken back to the plain maple. No one would know what it was, except for the general shape. There's a chance the body might be a whole bunch of random offcuts, but I can't seem to see the joins.
I'm thinking so, and with no number on the headstock, I could tell people it's anything, a rare only 15 built MIJ from 2014 that no one has ever heard of.I'd say go for it!
Worst that could happen is you have re-paint it
Japanese soundgear of that era don't have that kind of neck joint but i follow your meaning.
Yeah, I was only joking. But few apart from a small number even here would know.
Funny thing is, the only soundgear that ever had the model on the front of the headstock was the first few SR1000 from 1987-88. And few from the japanese era had the model sticker remain on the back over the years. That is why used sr800 can sometimes be found for the price of an sr300.
Get an idea of how the body is built by looking in the neck socket, since the wood should be bare there. A two-piece body will have a seam right at the joint, and if it's made out of many pieces you could see more seams. Most old Ibanez product catalogs also include the wood used for body and neck in their product specs. That can help set expectations before you start stripping the finish.
Meant to say Gio, not model.
I've found a few for sale in local classifieds and had to ask for a photo of the headstock rear, and even when it states what it is, I've still picked some up cheap because people don't bother to do even the most basic search. I missed an early NT SR 6er a few years back when one did though; took down the ad and relisted it with a much higher price.
I'll do that at the time, but it plays perfectly ATM so I'm reluctant to touch anything. It's my couch noodler bass.
It's an older version of the current SR206 but with a 3 band EQ, and made of Nyatoh like the SR500 I used the pic of, so I'm hoping it's the same. If not, it'll give me a chance to practice my spraying technique which I haven't used since the last car I modified in the late 90s.
That SR500 looks great! I can't tell if it's oiled - it looks pretty shiny, but I can see spots in the shine spots where you can see the coating isn't level, like they took the finish off and didn't use a pore filler.
That's what it looks like to me too. Still can't remember where I found it as I did a lot of rambling searching over a wet boring weekend.
I've liked every SR500 I've played, but that finish (and the electronics) have kept me from buying one. This person took care of the first part and it looks like they did a good job of it, and it'd be hard to tell from a distance where the body joints are.
If you enjoy Bart MK1 stuff then it'll be a good bass for you.
Last edited:
My idea was for my SR206 which is great but has the same finish. As it owes me little and has not much secondhand value, I don't mind using it as a modding platform and routing it for P4 or EMG45 pickups and my own pre as soon as RS get some of the opamps back in stock. If I find it looks like a chopping block underneath, I'll paint it.
I think I understand. You have a 206 which has the same thin brown lacquer and you were using this SR500 as a possible example of what it would look like?
Spot on, old chap. I love UK phrases.
I'm a Yank, so I suppose I'd have to say, "Right on, Dude! 'Merica!"
Last edited:
Well......
It's done......
Not entirely sure, yet, how I feel about the new knobs. Was trying to keep in the same kind of vibe as the originals - which I would have re-used, but I knew they wouldn't fit the EMG pots - except in chrome, to maybe sorta match the pickups....
I do plan to switch the remaining hardware to chrome, at some point.
.....as for the sound?
Yes. Exactly what I was looking for
Everything I loved about how it sounded before, turned up to 10.
Maybe 10.5.
And that's leaving the bass & treble flat - boosted gets that extra .5, for the 11
I think it's the first time ever, on any bass, that I've not felt a need to turn the bass control up at least a little.
It also boosted overall output - it will now need the pad/low gain/active input on my amps (as an active bass really should).
Before, I used the standard input, and it was still quieter than even my passive basses.
And, the third thing I was looking to change (the others being keep the tone/increase output and have better more reliable wiring) was the noise. The factory pickups and/or electronics were quite noisy, especially with *any* boost on the treble.
Now, its dead silent, except with vol, bass, & treble all at max, I can hear just a bit of hiss.
So, overall, totally loving the EMG upgrade so far - jury's still out on the knobs, though.
It's done......
Not entirely sure, yet, how I feel about the new knobs. Was trying to keep in the same kind of vibe as the originals - which I would have re-used, but I knew they wouldn't fit the EMG pots - except in chrome, to maybe sorta match the pickups....
I do plan to switch the remaining hardware to chrome, at some point.
.....as for the sound?
Yes. Exactly what I was looking for
Everything I loved about how it sounded before, turned up to 10.
Maybe 10.5.
And that's leaving the bass & treble flat - boosted gets that extra .5, for the 11
I think it's the first time ever, on any bass, that I've not felt a need to turn the bass control up at least a little.
It also boosted overall output - it will now need the pad/low gain/active input on my amps (as an active bass really should).
Before, I used the standard input, and it was still quieter than even my passive basses.
And, the third thing I was looking to change (the others being keep the tone/increase output and have better more reliable wiring) was the noise. The factory pickups and/or electronics were quite noisy, especially with *any* boost on the treble.
Now, its dead silent, except with vol, bass, & treble all at max, I can hear just a bit of hiss.
So, overall, totally loving the EMG upgrade so far - jury's still out on the knobs, though.
