What is the general consensus on the Ibanez SR505BM?

[Siamezedream]

i just picked one of these bases up. I really like the feel and sound of it, but just wondering on what anyone who owns or owned one thinks, as I am a guitar player looking to expand on my playing abilities. Is this a good choice for bass to get started?

 

[murphy]

Ibanez are very good basses

 

[IngerAlb]

Hands down the best bang for the buck from the entire SR line (and I do own most of them: 505 & 505M, 605, 705, you name it). And yes, it's a killer bass: perfectly balanced, light, very fast & comfy neck, awesome versatile modern tone. Congratz on your new bass!

PS: BM stands for for "brown mahogany" - it's just a color code. The model is simply called 505. I'm pointing this out becaude you'll see a lot of those letters added to the bass tag on websites that sell musical instruments (depending on the finish), but it's essentially the same model with a diffeent type of coat on (or finish). In fact from 50X model up you get the same bass, in just slightly different versions (ex: the 605 has an ash body as opposed to mahogany; the rest is identical).

 

[Freightshaker]

I own a 505. It would be my top recommendation to any guitar player looking for a bass.

 

[bassbenj]

Hands down the best bang for the buck from the entire SR line (and I do own most of them: 505 & 505M, 605, 705, you name it). And yes, it's a killer bass: perfectly balanced, light, very fast & comfy neck, awesome versatile modern tone. Congratz on your new bass!

PS: BM stands for for "brown mahogany" - it's just a color code. The model is simply called 505. I'm pointing this out becaude you'll see a lot of those letters added to the bass tag on websites that sell musical instruments (depending on the finish), but it's essentially the same model with a diffeent type of coat on (or finish). In fact from 50X model up you get the same bass, in just slightly different versions (ex: the 605 has an ash body as opposed to mahogany; the rest is identical).

Mahogany? No wonder I love my SR506 so much! Mahogany is my favorite body wood. And for the record I really hate the look of that "brown mahogany" finish. Mine is plain old black paint and it looks so much better!

 

[IngerAlb]

Heh, I know what you mean That poop brown went through a lot of versions, but pretty much all suck For ex my 505 looks a bit rather red than brown, while the finish tends to get shiney in the areas where the hand touches the body during playing, while my 505M has a light poop brown color and the finish is way thinner, almost see-thru (you can really see the wood grain underneath - which is not that cool considering the 2 wings don't perfectly match grain-wise; something unfortunately common on the SR line).

I'm actually considering getting one of the new 305 models just to have a SR in flat black finish

 

[JustForSport]

Mahogany? No wonder I love my SR506 so much! Mahogany is my favorite body wood. And for the record I really hate the look of that "brown mahogany" finish. Mine is plain old black paint and it looks so much better!

What year is your SR506? Mine is '96, and natural maple. The maple version (before the mahogany ones) were avail Natural, Translucent Teal, and Black.
I much prefer the maple to the mahogany.
AFAIK, the mahogany ones were not painted black.

 

[bassbenj]

View attachment 831776 View attachment 831775

What year is your SR506? Mine is '96, and natural maple. The maple version (before the mahogany ones) were avail Natural, Translucent Teal, and Black.
I much prefer the maple to the mahogany.
AFAIK, the mahogany ones were not painted black.

Don't know the year! Looked online at serial number sites and came up "unrecognized". In another forum, someone was asking about an SR506 with a serial number very similar to mine and the conclusion was nobody could figure that one out either! I suppose it might be maple, though is doesn't feel heavy like maple (I have a Ken Smith in maple), but it's hard to tell just by the feel of the wood. I really would have no problem if it were maple though.

 

[JustForSport]

Don't know the year! Looked online at serial number sites and came up "unrecognized". In another forum, someone was asking about an SR506 with a serial number very similar to mine and the conclusion was nobody could figure that one out either! I suppose it might be maple, though is doesn't feel heavy like maple (I have a Ken Smith in maple), but it's hard to tell just by the feel of the wood. I really would have no problem if it were maple though.

Try this link:
Ibanez Collectors World: HOW TO READ A IBANEZ SERIAL NUMBER
and:
Ibanez Rules DATE YOUR IBANEZ
or:
The Guitar Dater Project - Ibanez Serial Number Decoder

My SR506 is all maple, r/w fretboard and weighs 10#...not bad for a maple 6'r.
I also have a Hohner BBassVI thru-neck, all maple, similar, and it's 10.5#.

I wish I was able to find a maple SR505, with the ADX5 p/ups.
So I have an SR885 from parts, but it's way different than a maple bass,
and an SR800 which is also way different than a maple bass.

Catalog:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I don't know which year they switched to mahogany SR5**BM series.

Edit- Looks like 2006, the year after the K5 came out.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Mine is a circa 2006 505 mahogany stain. Light it is not! It's MIK and sounds/plays great. The MII models that came later seem significantly lighter,the only thing i like about those is the active/passive switch.