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Opinions on Ibanez SR700's


Trashbat
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At the moment I have an SR300. It's a good bass for the money but it just feels a little cheap. I really like the neck and body shape so I've been thinking about upgrading to another Soundgear. The SR700 is about at the top of my price threshold.

Anyone have any stories or opinions to share? How do the 300, 500 and 700 compare? I've had a wee sniff around and I'm not really sure why the 700 costs much more than the 500 (same hardware). Is it just the finish?

Any thoughts are appreciated. :)

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They're exactly the same bass aside from the finish I think. The finish on the SR500s is really weak, so the 700 one will be more durable. They also look a bit better imo. Both are leaps ahead of the 300. Night and day level of difference. I had a fretless one and it was killer for the money but the electronics weren't that noteworthy IMO.

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I had a 2009 SR700 for a couple of years. It was a beautiful Amber finish, and was incredibly well put together - fit & finish, hardware etc all top class.

The neck and playability were perfect, and I was able to get a stunningly low action and perfect intonation all the way up (and down) the neck.

The newer ones have a mid-frequency shift switch, which mine didn't have.

If you like the SRs, and are looking for a step up, then either the SR500 or SR700 will do that for you. I don't know what the tonal differences are as I've not played the SR300 or SR500 - best you try before you buy, if at all possible. I've read that the SR500 is extremly close to the 700 at a lower price - you may find it suits you and will save you some dosh.

Why did I sell? Purely because I wanted to try something else - that's all.

Cheers

Geoff

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[quote name='Trashbat' timestamp='1438000537' post='2830659']
Thanks for the replies. Do you think £250 is a good price for an SR700? It seems a little cheap to me which makes me a little reticent about taking the plunge (it's online so I can't try it out)...
[/quote]

Soundgears have horrendous resale value for some reason, obviously this makes it pretty good for picking them up second hand! You can get a lot of bass for not much money. I bought my SR505 new for around £500, then sold it 3 years later (in still very good condition) and the most I could get was £150. It was insulting, but that's how it goes.

Edited by ForestPoetry
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[quote name='Trashbat' timestamp='1438000537' post='2830659']
Thanks for the replies. Do you think £250 is a good price for an SR700? It seems a little cheap to me which makes me a little reticent about taking the plunge (it's online so I can't try it out)...
[/quote]

I bought by SR705 for £250.... to use a well-worn Basschat phrase, you get a lot of bass for your money!

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The 500 and 700 share the same electronics and neck, the difference is the body. 500 is all mahogony (and just waxed, which is why I never bought one as I really dislike that finish), the 700 has a maple/mahogony body with a maple top and looks great.

I own a 300 but have tried the 500 and 700 on numerous occasions. I'd buy a 5 or 7 second hand but not new. The 5 and 7 are finished a little better but not enough for my liking to warrant me paying over twice the ticket price of a 300. Also regards the pups etc, the barts in the 5 and 7 sound fine, in some instances better than the stock Ibanez pups in the 300, however it's still not enough for me to buy a new one.

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I have an SR605 (same as the 500 but with a solid ash body instead of mahogany). To be honest I love it, it plays like butter and has a lovely clear tone. The only thing that winds me up about it is that because it has a 24 fret neck and feels quite small, when i go for the bass break in alright now I always get 2 frets higher than I want, but thats not much of an issue, I'ts just that I've been stuck in the stone age with more traditional designs until this point.

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Well, it arrived...

The neck is up bowed pretty badly and the truss rod is stuck. Now I know why it was so cheap! Gutted...

I'm now stuck in an Ebay situation waiting on a reply with a positive outcome. I'm not hopeful though as I've already had one reply suggesting that the bass is fine and I should try adjusting the truss rod again - like I can't turn an Allen key.

Ho hum.

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Sorry to hear that. Those bubinga/jatoba necks are pretty stable. It has to be a broken truss rod. Get a refund if you can, especially if it wasn't mentioned in the listing. If you can't, it's a fingerboard-off job to fix, not trivial.

I've had good luck with Ibbys. They're fantastic basses for the money. I love my SR1206, and I've got a GWB35 incoming this week. My holy grail is an early-90s SR1305 (the one with humbuckers, not J pickups), but they seem to be as rare as rocking horse s**t. :D

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Did you pay via Paypal? If so, it's well worth contacting them with a formal claim if you have no luck. I've had to do a claim via them before for a computer that was broken on arrival and while they are not the best to deal with I did get all my cash back.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, after a bit of humming and hawing I got £100 back. I just sold the bass as is on Gumtree. Lesson learned. I don't think I'll be buying a second hand bass online again...

Still, on a positive note, I made £30! I then promptly spent that on a pair of pedals for my bike as one snapped off that day!

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