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The Soundgear Club

#9,521
iTzPrime said:
I have the Ibanez SR 1200 VNF with the ovankol top and Nordstrand designed pickups. I have since changed Preamp to Aguilar.
To make things short, before I changed the preamp I tried a huge amount of strings and none were perfect. Since I changed the preamp everything from Flats to even the cheap Harley Benton Steel strings sounds fat.

Before changing the preamp I enjoyed the Ernie Balls Nickel strings.
Click to expand...

So was this string "issue" also apparent when bypassing the pre-amp with the toggle switch?

Btw. I also own a 1200VNF
 
#9,523
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My 1990 32 year old MIJ IBANEZ SR800. The body and neck is like new almost mint. The pickups had been removed don't know why , but like I said I got it because body, neck and hardware was mint and original. I put a set of Geezer Butler EMGs in and I use it in Church play it through a GK 115 MB. My personal amp i gig with is a Markbass Jeff Berlin 115 combo I got about the time Guitar Center started selling Markbass here in RoundRock Tx. It's been a great amp I've had know problems.
 
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#9,524
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500

Drove 4hrs round trip to grab it. Ran it thru my Rumble 15 and it sounded really nice. Good tone, decent kick when a string is popped like slap bass playing. Lot more lively sounding and easy to play than my T40. Def lot lighter, but still very solid inhand. much better balance than Squire P-bass I tried originally.

Got home and started into clean up and detailing. Found it is not original, has been gutted and converted to passive. No wires into the battery cavity (should have checked during pickup), no electronics in control cavity, 2 tone knobs only have ground to them, nothing else. Other tone knob has a drop cap on it. Some of soldering not look great and tone knob not seem to do much. Maybe wrong drop cap value?

Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

That said, it sounds REALLY nice as a passive, so plan to enjoy it for now.

PXL_20231203_044435854.jpg PXL_20231203_044453277.jpg PXL_20231203_004738670.jpgPXL_20231203_044141171.jpg
 
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#9,525
Lamrith said:
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500
...
Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

View attachment 5270423 View attachment 5270424 View attachment 5270425View attachment 5270439
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Nice catch. Yeah the pickups are very good for the price point on the SR500 line. Now regarding finding original electronics - I would not. The preamp is by far the worst part of the medium priced SR's (like by a factor of 10). If you like to stay used, try to get a Bartolini, Nordstrand, Aguilar or Darkglass electronic used. It will be a huge improvement over the original electronic.
 
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#9,526
iTzPrime said:
Nice catch. Yeah the pickups are very good for the price point on the SR500 line. Now regarding finding original electronics - I would not. The preamp is by far the worst part of the medium priced SR's (like by a factor of 10). If you like to stay used, try to get a Bartolini, Nordstrand, Aguilar or Darkglass electronic used. It will be a huge improvement over the original electronic.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I could be really bummed/PO'd that it is not all intact, Being so new and never having handled an active I did not even know what to check for. Lesson learned. BUT I got it for $50 (plus another $50 in fuel and 4hrs driving) so all in all I have a nice solid bass to play for very little $.

Thanks for input about stock Pre. I have been skimming a post here about Active pre's and I am seeing many of the same names, plus Audere. Tips on best place to find used ones sold listings I see are often real close to new price. :-p
 
#9,527
Lamrith said:
Yeah, I could be really bummed/PO'd that it is not all intact, Being so new and never having handled an active I did not even know what to check for. Lesson learned. BUT I got it for $50 (plus another $50 in fuel and 4hrs driving) so all in all I have a nice solid bass to play for very little $.

Thanks for input about stock Pre. I have been skimming a post here about Active pre's and I am seeing many of the same names, plus Audere. Tips on best place to find used ones sold listings I see are often real close to new price. :p
Click to expand...
I threw a Bartolini NTMB into my SR505 (and added a mids switch at the same time, which has now become standard on the newer stock models - mine is a 2003 I believe), and it was a complete game-changer in the best way possible. I say go Bartolini.
 
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#9,528
Lamrith said:
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500

Drove 4hrs round trip to grab it. Ran it thru my Rumble 15 and it sounded really nice. Good tone, decent kick when a string is popped like slap bass playing. Lot more lively sounding and easy to play than my T40. Def lot lighter, but still very solid inhand. much better balance than Squire P-bass I tried originally.

Got home and started into clean up and detailing. Found it is not original, has been gutted and converted to passive. No wires into the battery cavity (should have checked during pickup), no electronics in control cavity, 2 tone knobs only have ground to them, nothing else. Other tone knob has a drop cap on it. Some of soldering not look great and tone knob not seem to do much. Maybe wrong drop cap value?

Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

That said, it sounds REALLY nice as a passive, so plan to enjoy it for now
Click to expand...

The seller should have told you about the passive circuit, but you still got a great bass for $100.
I agree with the folks recommending Bartolini preamps.
The NTBT three band is an excellent preamp that suits SRs quite well!

If you decide to pop the money for new one, better bass gear can make a pre-wired drop-in unit for you.
All you will have to solder is the battery clip after routing the wires through to the battery box, and the wires to the output jack. Which reminds me, these barrel jacks are not super durable, so get a new one when you buy your preamp.
Congratulations on your new to you SR!
 
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#9,529
Hey all, I have a 1997 Ibanez Soundgear 1200 and I'm looking to upgrade the electronics and pickups.

My band is like an alternative, grunge, hard rock band but we get pretty jazzy and dynamic as well.

I was thinking about going EMG for pickups and preamp but was also considering Wilde + Audere preamp.

Anybody have experience with upgrade their Soundgear preamp and pickups that can share their experience?

I love the bass, but I really think the tone can improve. I've had the bass for a year now and have tried different strings / pickup height.


1997 Ibanez SR1200 Neck Through Made In Korea:
  • Body: Bird's eye maple top, Mahogany back
  • Neck: 5-piece wenge/maple neck through, 24-fret rosewood fretboard with oval MOP inlays.
  • Pickups: Ibanez AFR-P and IBZ-AFR-J.
  • Preamp: Vari-Mid 3 band active Eq controls

IMG_20230110_112553033.jpg
 
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#9,531
Lamrith said:
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500

Drove 4hrs round trip to grab it. Ran it thru my Rumble 15 and it sounded really nice. Good tone, decent kick when a string is popped like slap bass playing. Lot more lively sounding and easy to play than my T40. Def lot lighter, but still very solid inhand. much better balance than Squire P-bass I tried originally.

Got home and started into clean up and detailing. Found it is not original, has been gutted and converted to passive. No wires into the battery cavity (should have checked during pickup), no electronics in control cavity, 2 tone knobs only have ground to them, nothing else. Other tone knob has a drop cap on it. Some of soldering not look great and tone knob not seem to do much. Maybe wrong drop cap value?

Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

That said, it sounds REALLY nice as a passive, so plan to enjoy it for now.

View attachment 5270423 View attachment 5270424 View attachment 5270425View attachment 5270439
Click to expand...
Very nice bass. I recently traded a P bass neck for a 2006 SR500. Mine has the stock bart MK-1s, but it doesn't have the stock bart pre that came with it back in the day. The previous owner put in a Stock Ibanez pre like the ones in the SR500E and many other Ibanez basses. He also put the mid switch too. It sounds really good and is very snappy/bright sounding even with flats on the bass. You may want to look into one of those. For reference here is an example I found here on TB:
headlesscavity.JPG
 
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#9,532
Lamrith said:
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500

Drove 4hrs round trip to grab it. Ran it thru my Rumble 15 and it sounded really nice. Good tone, decent kick when a string is popped like slap bass playing. Lot more lively sounding and easy to play than my T40. Def lot lighter, but still very solid inhand. much better balance than Squire P-bass I tried originally.

Got home and started into clean up and detailing. Found it is not original, has been gutted and converted to passive. No wires into the battery cavity (should have checked during pickup), no electronics in control cavity, 2 tone knobs only have ground to them, nothing else. Other tone knob has a drop cap on it. Some of soldering not look great and tone knob not seem to do much. Maybe wrong drop cap value?

Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

That said, it sounds REALLY nice as a passive, so plan to enjoy it for now.

View attachment 5270423 View attachment 5270424 View attachment 5270425View attachment 5270439
Click to expand...
Hey i have a 505. I do like the preamp however id really love to have a bypass integrated. Personally if you have a preamp pedal I would probably recommend just leaving it alone. Maybe solder the connections better but a preamp isn't exactly going to make it sound better. Maybe you can find a preamp that has a bypass if you still really want the preamp as an option. You just don't want to take the passive circuit away completely. Especially since you like the tone you're getting. Pic below is mine. The switch is a mid shift. Cool feature but is prefer it to be a passive switch. With that said at least my preamp is ok and ive learned to adjust it so i get a tone I'm happy with.
 
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#9,533
bordinco90 said:
Very nice bass. I recently traded a P bass neck for a 2006 SR500. Mine has the stock bart MK-1s, but it doesn't have the stock bart pre that came with it back in the day. The previous owner put in a Stock Ibanez pre like the ones in the SR500E and many other Ibanez basses. He also put the mid switch too. It sounds really good and is very snappy/bright sounding even with flats on the bass. You may want to look into one of those. For reference here is an example I found here on TB:
View attachment 5272749
Click to expand...
Interesting Idea. I hadn't considered that since I am opening it up, a little soldering would make any Ibby pre fit!

Speaking of opening up. I took her apart tonight. #1 was to measure POT (physical and Ohms) #2 was to clean up wiring. I noticed the 1st tone pot had no detent like others, when I got it apart I could not read the engraving, but it came out to 403K on my multimeter. So probably 500K that seen better days. It was also a split knurled post with the stock solid post know cranked on it. Whoever pulled the pre just grabbed whatever pot they had laying around. Since it was doing nothing I unsoldered all 3 tone pots and pulled them completely, taped off ends of wires for now, and closed it up. Just running balance and Vol.

I ordered some new pots that should be here in a few days and new caps. I will then pull everything out and set it up with independent vol & tone for each pickup. Probably overkill and could get same result from vol/bal/tone, but experimenting is fun.
 
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#9,534
Lamrith said:
New bassist here, barely started to try and learn and already caught gear acquisition syndrome.

Stumbled on this in "local" FB marketplace. 2009 Ibanez SR500

Drove 4hrs round trip to grab it. Ran it thru my Rumble 15 and it sounded really nice. Good tone, decent kick when a string is popped like slap bass playing. Lot more lively sounding and easy to play than my T40. Def lot lighter, but still very solid inhand. much better balance than Squire P-bass I tried originally.

Got home and started into clean up and detailing. Found it is not original, has been gutted and converted to passive. No wires into the battery cavity (should have checked during pickup), no electronics in control cavity, 2 tone knobs only have ground to them, nothing else. Other tone knob has a drop cap on it. Some of soldering not look great and tone knob not seem to do much. Maybe wrong drop cap value?

Now have to see if I can find some original electronics for it.

That said, it sounds REALLY nice as a passive, so plan to enjoy it for now.

View attachment 5270423 View attachment 5270424 View attachment 5270425View attachment 5270439
Click to expand...
If you really like the sound of the pickups in passive, then throw one of these in there: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

or drill a hole for a mid frequency switch and install one of these: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

They're lower priced than other good preamps, you get passive tone when the EQ is set flat, they're fully prewired, easy to install, have stereo blend, and the pots are tiny for a clean install.

Don't bother hunting down a replacement OEM preamp - they're pretty crappy.
 
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#9,535
fourstringbliss said:
If you really like the sound of the pickups in passive, then throw one of these in there: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

or drill a hole for a mid frequency switch and install one of these: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

They're lower priced than other good preamps, you get passive tone when the EQ is set flat, they're fully prewired, easy to install, have stereo blend, and the pots are tiny for a clean install.

Don't bother hunting down a replacement OEM preamp - they're pretty crappy.
Click to expand...
I like the look of that preamp! Might have to get one!
 
#9,536
MycooLeeyun said:
Hey all, I have a 1997 Ibanez Soundgear 1200 and I'm looking to upgrade the electronics and pickups.

My band is like an alternative, grunge, hard rock band but we get pretty jazzy and dynamic as well.

I was thinking about going EMG for pickups and preamp but was also considering Wilde + Audere preamp.

Anybody have experience with upgrade their Soundgear preamp and pickups that can share their experience?

I love the bass, but I really think the tone can improve. I've had the bass for a year now and have tried different strings / pickup height.


1997 Ibanez SR1200 Neck Through Made In Korea:
  • Body: Bird's eye maple top, Mahogany back
  • Neck: 5-piece wenge/maple neck through, 24-fret rosewood fretboard with oval MOP inlays.
  • Pickups: Ibanez AFR-P and IBZ-AFR-J.
  • Preamp: Vari-Mid 3 band active Eq controls

View attachment 5272019
Click to expand...
Do you have an example of what bass tone you like? Pretty hard to give specific upgrade paths if we don't know the sound you hear in your head.
 
#9,537
fourstringbliss said:
If you really like the sound of the pickups in passive, then throw one of these in there: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

or drill a hole for a mid frequency switch and install one of these: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

They're lower priced than other good preamps, you get passive tone when the EQ is set flat, they're fully prewired, easy to install, have stereo blend, and the pots are tiny for a clean install.

Don't bother hunting down a replacement OEM preamp - they're pretty crappy.
Click to expand...
The Audere is on the short list. Most pre's that do passive have an actual off switch and then use one of the pots as a traditional tone knob, plus basic balance I believe. Can the Audere do that too?
 
#9,538
Lamrith said:
The Audere is on the short list. Most pre's that do passive have an actual off switch and then use one of the pots as a traditional tone knob, plus basic balance I believe. Can the Audere do that too?
Click to expand...
Audere controls don't work like that. I think rolling off the treble might get you close, though. Some advantages that Audere preamps have over other preamps are:
  • The pickups connect in stereo so you get an actual linear blend, so you can get a real 70/30 or 60/40 blend
  • No baked-in tone, and you get passive sound with EQ flat
  • Lower distortion floor than other preamps because pickups connect to the circuit after the EQ
I've found those advantages outweigh the lack of a tone control, but that might be very important to you. If so, I think the Bartolini NTMB might be what you're looking for.
 
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