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Why do people bash ibanez basses?

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#21
Brianrost Wrote:
Once you've had the chance to play a bass that's a lot better than your SR-400 (and probably more $$$) you'll see why people might pooh-pooh it.
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Amen, Brother!

I own an SR400 Fretless that I bought back in '94 (paid a little over $400). At the time, I thought it favored quite well against the other basses in the same price range (not that I had run into tons of fretless basses under $500 back then). Up to that point, the only other basses I had been playing were Fenders (which I never really cared for), and Rickenbacker. The first time it "HIT" me was when I had the chance to play a Spector NS4. It wasn't even a US model, it was a Czech. It made every other bass I ever owned feel "cheap" in comparison. Go to a good store with knowledgeable staff (preferably not GC) that sells some higher end stuff and play everything you can get you hands on. This way you'll have have something of a "standard" to compare against.

Peace,

- Frank
 
#22
Ibanez makes good instruments, I just don't like them. I think they look ugly for the most part (particularly the Ergodynes and Soundgears). I've tried a bunch in stores and never liked the feel, I've plugged them in and I never liked the sounds they made. I think that a given the price point there is always a better* instrument made by someone else than Ibanez offers. * by "better", I mean better for my tastes.

Like I said, they do make good stuff, it's just not my cup of tea.

A lot of people call Ibanez instruments "Ibeenhad".
 
#23
Oh, by the way...

I think I can safely say most of us here on talkbass don't give a rat's a$$ about "who" plays "what" in band X. We give our opinions based on our experiences. Your experiences may prove otherwise. That's a good thing. Otherwise, we might not have so many choices to begin with.

Peace,

- Frank.
 
#25
Personally, I like 'em. Even the "lowly" sr400. They just feel really good. Of course the ones I tried didn't have as good a sound as some others but the 400 was also 2/3 the price. Actually I think I was trying a something higher than a 400 when I was seriously looking to buy, do they make a 600? I tried a BTB 5 string and that was really nice, good sound, good feel. I ended up with a MIA Jazz though. Nothing in the store could match the sound. Of all the Jazzes I tried this one also felt the best. You would think all Jazzes (all deluxe MIAs anyway) would feel the same but most I've tried seemed slow and cumbersome. A friend of mine plays an SR-400, he has no complaints and I wouldn't either for the price. But what the he|| do I know anyway. I'm just a pretend bassist anyway.
 
#26
I can't recall saying much of anything about Ibanez basses. That's pretty much how most of them have struck me... not really worth saying anything about. Embellishers comments about stability, etc. were right on the mark. Since they don't sound like I want them to sound and play like I want them to play... I pass.

I do love the sound Percy Jones gets with his custom fretless... did they ever make that available?
 
#28
Originally posted by Brad Johnson
I can't recall saying much of anything about Ibanez basses. That's pretty much how most of them have struck me... not really worth saying anything about.
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That's me also; however, since you asked, I have been at this for around 30yrs and I remember a time when Ibanez was synonymous with "cheap imitation". Although, some were good imitations. That stigma, and having never played one that I liked, is why you don't see me owning or recommending them.
 
#31
I was TRULY AND COMPLETELY surprised to find out many fellas here HATE Fender P-basses!! We've all seen the many posts.

Uh, those things have a killer bottom like very few other basses.

So I say forget the bashing and just TRY STUFF! Each company has its hits and misses anyway.

PS: First, there is nothing wrong with my Mexican-made bass. Second...my first bass was an Ibanez Gio as part of a starter pack and it was OK...Food for thoght...
 
#35
I honestly respect any bass that encourages people to start playing. Ibanez, though I personally don't like them, are readily available to the public.
They give starting players a 'hipper' looking bass, i guess you would say, as opposed to the fenders.
They also give you active electronics for more affordable prices.

What I really hate about them is the marketing schemes of the company itself. About a year or so ago they really started pushing a fieldy looking bass onto kids as a "Sound like Korn" stunt. The add showed fieldy playing one of them and had a caption like "All I've ever played were Ibanez, nothing else will do".
The bass in the add was about as far from Fieldy's actual model as my a$$ is from my elbow!
Fieldy's bass is high end custom and the pawned "Feildy bass" was low end craftsmanship.
I had never seen such a disgusting attempt to rip off impressionable players.

And then i heard the phrase "I-BEN-HAD" coined. Hahaha!

But when it comes down to it, they are a largely distributed name and when you start playing they are one of the first names you hear of. My girlfriend has been playing for about 3 years, she has a Fender Jazz and she wants an Ibanez. She had no idea who Zon or Spector was until she saw my basses.
My first bass was an Epiphone, i thought it was good sounding until I figured out what good sounding really was. It was also a rip for what I paid for it.
I think you get what you pay for and sometimes (too often) less than what you paid for.
I think Brianrost nailed it on the head. Nice, good and OK basses. I don't think they suck and I don't think they kick a$$ either.
 
#36
Originally posted by Ad Nauseam
*snip* The bass in the add was about as far from Fieldy's actual model as my a$$ is from my elbow!
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I used to date a girl that was so lithe that she could, in fact, touch her elbow to her ass. Lots o' fun, she was...

Regarding Ibanez - the ones I've demoed were OK, just not for me. I second the complaints about the tight string spacing.

I've noticed it's usually the people with the least varied experiences that do most of the bashing. Trying to validate their own gear choices, maybe?

Is it true that the strap they put in the "jump pack" (or whatever they call the all-in-one-box beginner kit) is designed to hang the bass down around your ankles in the current style? Just wondering... ;)
 
#39
I don't like the ibanez soundgear series because they have below average, noisy electronics, the necks are too thin and tend to need truss rod adjustments often, the string spacing is too close, the fretjobs tend to be subpar and they feel really non-substantial when playing them. The BTB series corrected many of these problems ;)
 
#40
The neck on my SR885 has needed less adjustment in the 8 years I've owned it than my other basses. Hard to believe i know because of the thin neck but true. The electronics on the other hand had to go I replaced the pups and pre amp with emg's and it sounds and plays great. I did own a SR405 and have to say there was a serious drop in quality and the neck did not feel similar to my SR885 at all. So it had to go. I would reccomend an SR 800 series or higher.
 
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