Lunatique

The WAV Radius's EMG pickup has VERY clear and clean tone, and doesn't sound like conventional basses. The piezo has an acoustic-like tone and very bright, but with lots of bottom end too. I wouldn't use it for conventional/traditional stuff. To me it's a more experimental instrument I'd use for unique applications.

I was under the impression that Big Single is technically a stacked dual coil, with the other coil under the first one. But I guess I was mixing up the Big Split with the Big Single. I have the Big Split on my EHB1505 and I like its tone too.

I've been eyeing the SR656, which also has the CND pickups. I have a SR650, which has those pickups too, and they do sound nice. But the single-coil hum is kind of annoying, and I've been thinking about swapping it out with a Big Single. But I'm going to sell off the SR650 once my EHB1000 gets here. My SR876 turned out to have a stripped truss rod, and I've been working with Reverb to get them to allow me to return it. Initially they said no because while setting it up, I had raised the nut slots (the previous owner had filed them so low that the strings almost touched the fretboard at zero fret), and that counts as "having made adjustment to the instrument and no longer in the condition it was shipped in," and I've been trying to make the case that the nut is inconsequential and I could just buy a new one for a few bucks. It's the truss rod that's the dealbreaker.

I feel a little guilty, because I can count on one hand how many songs I'd likely end up playing on the 6-string (a couple of Primus songs, a couple of prog metal songs, and maybe a couple of jazz/fusion songs). But vast majority of the songs I'd ever play are going to be on 4-string and the occasional 5-string (when I need the really low notes and don't want to detune the 4-string).

I took it out to the front porch to take the photos. But I have left packed basses out before, to be picked up by the postman in the morning to be shipped off. I have a security camera mounted on my door with a big warning sign, so I don't think anyone will try to steal it. But of course, someone could just wear a mask. I live in a decent neighborhood, so not too worried. And I always insure the bass when I buy shipping labels.

Oh, that's right, I forgot the SR line does have the Prestige and Premium lines. I always think of the BTB line when I think of higher-end Ibanez. I'm an Ibby fan mainly because of their tendency to design basses that are sleek, fast, and light weight, as well as have nice preamp/EQ flexibility. They're also usually easy on the eyes. I started out with various brands like Music Man, Fender, NS Design, Samick, Dingwall, etc., but now five of my six basses are Ibanez, and just one NS Design.

Sorry, I use a plugin that makes all web pages into dark theme, and that mucked up the colors. I just fixed it. The SDGR line is sort of their low to middle-range line, so I guess it's fine that it doesn't look too high-end with that logo.

Just received my first 6-stringer today--the Ibanez SR876 (got it used off of Reverb). I've been debating with myself whether I should add a 6-string to my herd. At first, it was a no, because none of the stuff I played really required a 6-string or even benefited from it. I always felt like if I wanted to do a lot of melodic soloing and fuller chord voicings, I might as well just play my guitar. But then I came across a song I wanted to learn how to play and it was written for 6-strings bass, and that changed my mind. The bass arrived with a few minor issues. First, it wasn't making any sound, and I had to open up the back to see what was wrong. Turned out the back cover was pressing against the innards and causing a short, and after moving the guts around a little, it was fine. The fret ends were also protruding out and quite sharp, so I filed them down. Then I raised the action on the B and C strings a bit because they rattled badly. I swapped out the lock pins with Dunlop straploks, and I'm using a wide neoprene strap (the most comfortable and ergonomic IMO). After doing all that, the bass was in tip-top shape. Played great, sounded great. No neck-dive. The Bartolini pups sounded fine, and the mid-frequency switch gives a good range tonal options. The strings that came with the bass are still fresh with that zing. Originally, I was going to get a SR506E, but I keep seeing used with with badly scuffed up finish, and read a warning from an owner about how easy it was to scuff up the paint job. And that brown paint job looked kinda cheap too. But it does have active/passive switch, and it's also about a pound lighter (based on the weight listed by one seller) than my SR876, which is 9.7 lbs. My preference is for 8 lbs. or less, but it's perhaps a bit unrealistic for 6-stringers. Maybe in the future I might replace this with a lighter headless 6-string (chambered Kiesel, perhaps), if I end up playing a lot of 6-string stuff. For now, I'm quite happy with it.

Good thing I didn't post my crappy playing in the bass cover video I made with my EHB1505. 🤣

My EHB1000 will arrive in early June, and if I'm not happy with the Barts at all and adding a bit of treble and high-mids with the onboard EQ won't make it satisfactory, I'll either replace the pickups, or exchange it for an EHB1500. But I already have an EHB1505 in the Dragon Eye Burst finish, and the EHB1500 only comes with that same finish, and I don't want the two of them to be the same finish. Luckily Guitar Center has extended their return/exchange period to 180 days, so by then my EHB1505 is still eligible for an exchange, which means I could exchange it for the Pacific Blue Burst version. (My EHB1505 is a bit on the heavier side compared to everyone else's anyway and I'd want to exchange it for a lighter one. All the posts I've seen from others said theirs are exactly or just a little over 7 lbs., while mine is almost 8 lbs.)

He's going to do another video where he puts fresh strings on both and do a more fair comparison. The strings on his 1005MS is about 2 months old at this point, while his 1505MS is brand new, so it wasn't a totally fair comparison.

This is why communities like head-fi.org are so valuable. Many of its members own large collections of notable headphones and do meticulous tests with them, measuring frequency response with expensive dedicated gear, do comparison tests, perform double-blind tests, EQ'ing headphones, buying/selling different models, etc. To compensate for individual physiological differences, EQ'ing headphones to achieve a neutral frequency response (using sine wave test tones, log sweeps, pink noise, familiar musical material etc.) is the best/only way. But of course, the corrected response will be tailored to the person's physiology, but that person will hear the most accurate frequency response and thus will be able to make critical mixing/mastering decisions from the position of neutrality. Once the finished mastering goes out to the general public, each person will have their own audio gear (which will generally be colored) and their own idiosyncratic physiology, and there's nothing you can do about it as the person who created the recording, so it's up to each of those people to strive for neutral accuracy in their own playback system. For those interested, I have written an in-depth tutorial on how to surgically EQ your headphones (or audio gear in general) to achieve a neutral and accurate frequency response for your own physiology: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-most-reliable-easiest-way-to-eq-headphones-properly-to-achieve-the-most-ideal-sound-for-non-professionals.796791/ For those using speakers, you can just get room/speaker correction products. I use IK Multimedia's ARC System 2 in my studio and it's one of the best products of its type on the market. For bass amps, since I only practice and record sitting in the same spot, I just use a graphic EQ (RANE ME30B) to correct the room mode at the position to get the most accurate frequency response. I can't stress how important this is if you care about hearing your bass's natural tone accurately without the coloration of the room mode (or if your amp has its own inherent coloration that you prefer not to hear). But again, this is only catering to you, in that exact spot. I only play for myself and do recordings at home, so I don't have to worry about gigging and whether the audience is getting the most neutral frequency response or if the live mix guy is doing a good job.

Fan-fret is definitely not the only way to get an articulate B-string. Listen to the Le Fay in this comparison video--it does just as well as the Dingwall, but it's "only" a 34-inch normal scale bass: I'm one of those people who owns a Dingwall (NG-2 5-string) but won't be keeping it (it's up for sale), because I just can't get as comfortable with fan-frets as I could on normal frets, and the lack of string choices really suck. None of the strings I'd want to use are available for the Dingwall. Yes, it sounds awesome and the craftsmanship is impesccable, and it's a beauty to look at (mine's the Ducati White Matte Peal), but ultimately ergonomics and logistics win out in the end. In comparison, I can play much more smoothly and comfortably on my EHB1505, and I can put any kind of strings on it. The B-string isn't as good but I can live with that.

I straightened the neck a little (there was a very slight bow), and that actually helped a lot. I think perhaps EQ and compression might do the rest.

I have now tried various tips I've gotten, including using compressor, using roundwound, lowering the action, but still no mwah. Could the fact the SRH500F being a semi-hollow body with piezo pickup be the reason? I don't know if I've ever heard of any examples in YT of this series of basses having any mwah.