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Why do I hate Ibanez SR basses so much?

#41
Wild_Cat said:
That's strange -- the 9-volt Mk1 preamp is supposed to be plenty loud, especially compared to a passive Jazz.



Again, the clip I posted was recorded with a stock, unmodified Korean SR506 (so, with the Bartolini Mk1 pickups and preamp you seem to dislike).


But yes, there are different series of pickups in those basses. Taking into account only the recent-ish models (last 5 years or so):

- Lower-end SRs (SR400 and below) don't use Bartolini anything at all. They used to have Ibanez-made pickups and electronics, and were switched this year to "CAP" pickups, which I know nothing about.

- Middle-range SRs (SR500 to SR750, basically all the nice Korean/Indonesian ones) come with Bartolini Mk1 pickups (P-style split pickups in soapbar casings). They used to have Bartolini electronics as well, but they were switched to an Ibanez preamp.

- BTBs have Bartolini Mk2 pickups (soapbar humbuckers) and electronics.

- Prestige SRs (SR4000 and above, MIJ) have custom-designed Bartolini pickups based on the Mk2 and Ibanez 3-volt electronics. Having one such bass myself, I can assure you those pickups rock.

- Premium SRs (new this year) have Nordstrand pickups (Big Singles, which I suppose are ridiculously nice) and Ibanez electronics.


And of course, let's not discount the SRX line, whose higher-end models have meh electronics (2-band EQ :( ) but nice-sounding and ridiculously hot pickups (Ibanez's own PFRs).
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I did some digging for info on my old bass. I found some old pics. It was a SR500 supposed to be a prestige. That make any sense? It was definatley japanese made. It was a mahogany body with a bolt neck. 5 pc neck also mahogany. The stringers look like purpleheart but I cant recall. Oval abalone looking inlays. One piece bridge. Says SDGR on the headstock. Pickups do say MK1 right on them. 3 band pre but I dont know if it was Bart or Ibanez.
 
#42
All my SRs had/have very hot output. So a weak signal sounds strange.

From my experience I'd say: yes, most of them sound good only with Elixir strings. I've tried various other brands and the sound was not bad, but not that great either. So there's a reason why these basses come equipped with Elixirs from factory ;)

Oh, and nu-metal? Come on ;) I've played a lot of stuff with my Ibbys and to me the tone is not a nu-metal type one - except for the K5 (but then again that's what it was designed to do).
 
#43
IngerAlb said:
From my experience I'd say: yes, most of them sound good only with Elixir strings. I've tried various other brands and the sound was not bad, but not that great either. So there's a reason why these basses come equipped with Elixirs from factory ;)
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That's not my experience. Both of my Ibanez basses (SR4005 and SRX725) only spread their wings after I replaced the stock Elixir strings with Rotosound 66 nickels (to be fair, the SR sounded quite good with Dunlops too). I really liked the touch of Elixirs, but the sound was just... I don't know, dead.

Different strokes, I figure. That, or the factory strings were really really dead when I got the basses. I'll have to try brand new Elixirs on one of them at some point, just to be sure.
 
#44
I love the feel and tone of a good Ibanez. I just can't stand the look. And it's not just my bias against anything non-Vintage looking. I happen to love Warwicks and Spectors.

I guess it boils down to its sharp features. I like a bass that looks "round". An Ibanez looks like it could attack me, and hurt me. :(
 
#45
I have three Ibanez basses, the soundgear was great value and had workable tone with a good amp setting.I never intended to get any other Ibanez basses, but got the jazz copy for $100 years back and stumbled onto the acoustic more recently.
All are great basses
Also i quite like the prestige series they have always felt great to play.:bassist:
 

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#46
Wild_Cat said:
That's not my experience. Both of my Ibanez basses (SR4005 and SRX725) only spread their wings after I replaced the stock Elixir strings with Rotosound 66 nickels (to be fair, the SR sounded quite good with Dunlops too). I really liked the touch of Elixirs, but the sound was just... I don't know, dead.
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Well I play with a pick, so that might be the reason: the sound is different from finger style, it has a certain zing and it complements the attack the pick adds to the tone.
 
#47
ledyard said:
there was no smoothness. it was muddy crap. There was nothing useable about it.
I'm not saying I want EMG's but if there are other series with better barts in it what are they?
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I have an SR500 and I am very pleased with it - really nice crisp and clean sound, excellent volume and tone control response - nothing like what you describe. But you may have a good point because I have noticed from other posts that different owners have experienced highly variable results from their IB's - it is certainly a puzzle. Initially I did have a bit of trouble getting the optimum pickup clearance height - have you tried reducing it on yours?
 
#49
I played Soundgears for a long time and loved them. The vari-mid was a really cool feature and helped sculpt the tone. Mine were/are SR-800's / 885 and were made in Japan. The quality level was very differnet from the Korean and later Indonesian basses out there at that time - and I couldn't stand to play those. The MIJ's had better finish, better fretwork, nicer fingerboards, and more detailed work on the nut. Just an overall higher quality instrument. I only quit using them for live because I got turned onto Thunderbirds which have a super slim neck like a Soundgear. Haven't played a new Soundgear in years, but anything made in Japan I wouldn't mind checking out.

basses004.jpg
 
#52
ledyard said:
Am I correct when I assume they are the ones I have seen at GC with cool ornate bridges and such? I remember seeing them a year or two ago but didnt know anything about them. They were in the same price range as LTD and Schecter but I have never heard anything good or bad about them so I have never paid any mind.
Theres nothing special I am 'looking for' really. I just wish for as nice as the SR basses feel strapped on and their nice slim and fast necks that they didnt sound like poo.
Again, what i'm after is something fast with a not too metal not too old school look to play in my apparently reforming metal band. Its not the kind of music that warrants a BC Rich warlock look, but a P bass is going to be out of place too. Something like a BTB, SR, Spector, Schecter, certain LTD or ESP. Ofcourse sound is important too. As much as I didnt care for them in my Schecter basses I toured with I would almost prefer the EMG HZ's to the stock Ibanez barts. At least the barts we are referring to.
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Yes these are the basses you are thinking of. But, GC quit selling them I think. The still do the fancy pants bridge basses one of which I own. They also have the Chaos series which they took this bridge and modified it and put it inside the bass. Just head over to trabenbass.com and take a look. The chaos series might be worth you looking at. Moyer from Disturbed played Traben and they recently took his exact model and slapped a bc rich logo on it. But the Chaos Core series is great looking and sounding!
 
#53
I never buy an instrument unless I have played/molested it to my liking. Before my purchase i was all "Ibanez are cheap knock-offs" and stuff like that. Man was I wrong! After about a week of driving around to the local GCs and pawn shops I came back to the 2010 SR506 6 stringer. So much sound versatility, that you can tweek RIGHT THERE where you are standing on stage without tripping over your guitarist's lake of pedalboards to get to your rig. And its so thin a light! (compared to other 6ers) I perferd the bolt on neck, caus I play metal/hard stuff mostly. Neck through is very very nice, for blues and jazz sustain. Bolt on gives you that attack and drop dead silence when needed. I am sad to hear your story of swamp bass(muddy sound) def electronics. Cant really blame that MIJ man that came into work extra hung over and didnt solder your bass right. If you buy brand new from a dealer (or GC) and have a problem, they are solid when it comes to returns/exchanges.

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#56
Oh, what a great topic is over here))))

Smth tells me, that Barts pickups and Ibanez SR basses have only one thing in common... it's the Bartolini name on the covers, inside there is anything else, definitely.

In my opinion, Ibanez SR series possess only one merit, that's the ergonomics, all the rest are left much to be desired.

Well, I don't want to offend the SR owners, however lets call a spade a spade (what a nice idiom :spit: ), SRs (MIJ) just don't sound well, that's it. Smb call them special, smb even say that this is an Ibanez character, but, obviously, if I can not put it in the simple mix in the next 30 min... into the oven!

P.S.: Ibanez SR1005 & Ibanez SR 3005
 
#60
Martin89 said:
Did you check to see if you can adjust the output on the preamp? My ATK is like that so you can match the volume with your basses better. Mayber previous owner/factory setup put it down to be similar to passive output when swapping basses.
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That's the case on Prestige SRs with the PWC-3 preamp. They have an active/passive switch, so the preamp is configured for (more or less) unity gain. That way, you can toggle it to your heart's content (or emergency-abort to passive when your batteries run out in the middle of a song :D ) and not have to adjust much on your amp.

Also, for completeness's sake (and because I can't resist an occasion of pimping my own music :p ), here's what my Prestige SR sounds run through a VT, aiming for an oldschool funk tone. Preamp's EQ is flat, and as far as I can remember the balancer is centered, maybe favoring the neck pickup just a little bit.

 

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