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Why do I hate Ibanez SR basses so much?

ledyard

ledyard

Jan 31, 2010
1,655
46
Upstate NY
www.elephant-mountain.com
#1
I had a decent SR Prestige. Its been a while and I almost wanna say it was neck through but I doubt it and I dont remember. It had all the tools, mahogany body, neck (i forget the stringers) The neck is super slim and thin, very fast.
Had Bart pre and pups.....but OMG it sounded like GARBAGE!!!!! Was it because it had the crappy barts and crappy pre? I was playing through my powerhouse 1000 cab and played it through a Mesa D-180 and a SVT. It just sounded like it needed to be in a garage punk band. It was the worst.
I really wanted to like this bass because it would have fit perfectly in my metal band. That band disbanded and is now looking at getting going again. Being a ****** and selling my cirrus now I need something similar.
If the pups and pre are the problem then what series SR basses (most likely a 4 string but 5 and 6 arent ruled out) sound awsome? Or is it just a matter of having to put EMG's or Barts in one with a OBP 3 or something like that?
I saw a guy live about 7-8 years ago with a SR and it was amazing. Grindy and sooooooo punchy and ballsy and his rig wasnt the greatest. I looked at it afterwards and this was the creme de la creme. I remember him saying it cost him like $2k new. So obviously this wasnt your run of the mill SR.

I LOVE the higher series BTB neck through basses. But they arent easy to find and people usually want too much for them.
 
#6
BigOldHarry said:
Were those basses A) Made in Japan, B) made with slightly wider fingerboards and C) made with higher quality parts (Zinc bridges? Really??) I'd REALLY like them. As it stands, they seem pretty cool.
Click to expand...

It was a Japanese prestige model. I would only buy a MIJ Ibanez. I dont remember the parts.
I really wanted to like them. If I could get one that didnt sound like poo I would get one again. Even with an active pre amp it had crap for output volume too. (YES I changed the battery)
 
#7
Here's my Prestige sr3005 SOL:

sr3005SOLPrestige-2.jpg



It has Barts and a Bart 3 band Pre with a sweepable mid - but it's output level is fine, and it's not muddy at all... My 1st thought was that maybe there was something wrong with yours, and 2nd was that not all basses sound good with all strings...

Also, you might not want to hear this, but I've found the PH1000 and 1200 cabs to have somewhat of a muddy sound - this is coming from someone who owns both the PH610 and PH810, and has played nearly every Mesa cab ever made...

If you want to stop into Syracuse, you can check out my Prestige 5'er or sr905 sometime - PM me if you're interested, or come on out to a Grind or Decree gig some night...


- georgestrings
 
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#9
Your definition of garbage is subjective; maybe it was nothing wrong with the bass, it just wasn't the tone you were looking for. And the rest of your gear play a role in the final sound too - sometimes various pieces of gear don't sound that good when matched: my Wicks sound meh through my Kustom rig, while my Ibby and Cort sound great...it happens.

I owned several Ibbys and all sounded great to my ears. Then again, I've seen a lot of bad reviews and complaints about the very same basses coming from other folks, so...
 
#10
The only Ibanez basses I have ever found to be good are the Artist and Musician series. They used to be the ones that had a more classical guitar style headstock as opposed to the gumby style on the SR and other series.
The only thing I ever liked about the SR sereis was doing a wah wah with the mid sweep while I played. Never liekd the actual tone.
 
#13
I suspect a large part of your crappy tone was a bad setup -- SRs are active basses and as such require that you learn how to use the controls (especially in conjunction with your amp of choice). Once you do, they're incredibly versatile and awesome-sounding (as long as you like modern tones -- the only vintage sound the Barts in my SR4005 really nail is the Jaco-ish cut-treble bridge pickup mwah). But if you set everything to full, you'll sound bad (at the very least, set everything to flat).

Here's a pretty good example of what a Korean-made SR can do:

(no, it's not me -- Wild_Cat, pimping VGM arrangements since 2005 :p )

The bass in this song is a SR506 -- Korean-made, costs around $700, stock Bartolini Mk1 pickups and 3-band EQ. It's recorded straight into the audio interface (no amp, real or simulated) with some compression and equalization.
 
#14
You might want to try one of these out:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Nordy's instead of Barts. I can't vouch for the Pre but that's an easy and relatively simple fix. Price point looks to be reasonable as well (about $1200).

I owned a SR3006 Prestige and thought it sounded a little muddy or dark on the B string. I think a new preamp would have done wonders. Very nice bass.
 
#16
"I hate Ibanez SR basses "


If you hate them, buy something else. Fender seems to be a very popular brand. Personally I love my SRX690 but you wouldn't consider it because it was not made in Japan."I would only buy a MIJ Ibanez."
 
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#17
really depends on what you want to use it for. i've had about seven of them over the years, mostly SR400's, only one made in japan, an SR800. all older when they still had reverse p / j configurations vs. the soapbars in later models.

i did replace the pickups in all of them, passive nordstrand p pickups in most of them, but i have a nordstrand j pickup in the fretless sr400 i have, and an ntmb bart setup in the 800. never been a big fan of the stock electronics, but those necks are to die for.
 
#18
Wild_Cat said:
I suspect a large part of your crappy tone was a bad setup -- SRs are active basses and as such require that you learn how to use the controls (especially in conjunction with your amp of choice). Once you do, they're incredibly versatile and awesome-sounding (as long as you like modern tones -- the only vintage sound the Barts in my SR4005 really nail is the Jaco-ish cut-treble bridge pickup mwah). But if you set everything to full, you'll sound bad (at the very least, set everything to flat).

Here's a pretty good example of what a Korean-made SR can do:

(no, it's not me -- Wild_Cat, pimping VGM arrangements since 2005 :p )

The bass in this song is a SR506 -- Korean-made, costs around $700, stock Bartolini Mk1 pickups and 3-band EQ. It's recorded straight into the audio interface (no amp, real or simulated) with some compression and equalization.
Click to expand...


Man, that was a really nice clip - I enjoyed it quite a bit...


- georgestrings
 
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