Ibanez SR500

[Myke]

Hey All

I was thinking of buying a Ibanez Sr500 and was just wondering if it's worth it?

Any response is much appreciated

Cheers!

Edit: Also just had a thought! What do people think about the Yamaha TRB4?

Edited November 27, 2012 by Myke

[Muzz]

Lovely basses, the ergonomics are great (very slim fast neck, light well-shaped body) good range of tones from the Barts and active EQ, I like them a lot, but I'm off active basses, I think for good.

If you're playing a Thunderbird at the moment (as in your pic) they're pretty much the opposite in every way!

As always, worth trying before you buy, especially if you're buying new.

[Myke]

Yeah, i do play a Thunderbird at the moment and i love it. I just find that it lacks certain tones. I really like to slap and it was really not built for that but then again you can get a really lush reggae tone out of it.

I also like the idea of active basses with the onboard EQ, so much more advanced than my 2 pickup volumes and a master tone control.

But I think i will try one out

[Kongo]

An Ibanez SR of any kind will get you well on your way in the world of "fast neck" basses. They don't feel too flat either, which is good. I hate it when Ibanez make pancake necks.
Pickups and electronics won't let you down, nor will the build.
Certainly a lot more ergonomic than a Thunderbird. :-P

[Myke]

Thank you

The Thunderbird was a 'oooh my favourite bassist plays them, I must get one' childish buy. But it has served me well and now i'm looking to upgrade.

It sounds to me that I can't go wrong with the Ibanez

[LawrenceH]

I had one, it felt great but I didn't think it was very good for slap, it had an inherently dark tone.

[Myke]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1353948819' post='1880118']
I had one, it felt great but I didn't think it was very good for slap, it had an inherently dark tone.
[/quote]

Oh? That's strange because does it not have a switch that cuts the Mids to make a more slap kinda tone?

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1353948986' post='1880124']
Oh? That's strange because does it not have a switch that cuts the Mids to make a more slap kinda tone?
[/quote]

A more recent revision than mine, might help for a certain type of slap sound but I found that however I EQ'ed it both at bass and amp, I was always fighting against the inherent sound (I wanted an up-front growly sound for funk) unless the strings were brand new.
For a good slap sound I wanted more (upper) mids, not less. Having tried a lot of Soundgear basses in shops with various different pickups, plus trying Nordstrands in mine in place of the Bartonlinis, I've found a dark, thick character pretty inherent to all of them even those with maple fingerboard. You might have a really different idea of what sound you're after especially coming from a Thunderbird, but I'd really recommend going and trying out a couple of Soundgear basses in a shop, directly up against a decent jazz/stingray to see if it works for you. Definitely the easiest bass to play I've ever had, so if you like the sound it's a great choice.

[Myke]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1353953704' post='1880223']
A more recent revision than mine, might help for a certain type of slap sound but I found that however I EQ'ed it both at bass and amp, I was always fighting against the inherent sound (I wanted an up-front growly sound for funk) unless the strings were brand new.
For a good slap sound I wanted more (upper) mids, not less. Having tried a lot of Soundgear basses in shops with various different pickups, plus trying Nordstrands in mine in place of the Bartonlinis, I've found a dark, thick character pretty inherent to all of them even those with maple fingerboard. You might have a really different idea of what sound you're after especially coming from a Thunderbird, but I'd really recommend going and trying out a couple of Soundgear basses in a shop, directly up against a decent jazz/stingray to see if it works for you. Definitely the easiest bass to play I've ever had, so if you like the sound it's a great choice.
[/quote]

That's fair enough, I'm definitely going to try one out, I did recently try out a Stringray and it was lush but i can't afford it unfortunately and i'd heard that the Ibanez basses are good.

Thank you for the feedback it's helping me get a clearer picture on the bass

[6v6]

I've got an SR500, had it about 2 years, would definitely recommend it, great bass for the money.

Main plus points:
- Really good playability, much better than anything else I tried in the shop in the same price range
- Wide range of tones, pickups and active preamp work well, although tbh I tend to stick to one sound (neck pickup, pretty dark and p-bass tone, but there is a much more mid-focussed sound available on the bridge PU and/or with eq tweaks on the 3-band EQ)

Main minus point (for me) is it looks really modern - if you like modern curvy basses then cool, but I wish the low-end Fenders I tried in the same price range had played this well, as I prefer the vintage/classic looks of those kind of basses. Hard to argue with the playability and tone of the Ibanez for the money tho IMO.

[Myke]

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1353972179' post='1880487']
I've got an SR500, had it about 2 years, would definitely recommend it, great bass for the money.

Main plus points:
- Really good playability, much better than anything else I tried in the shop in the same price range
- Wide range of tones, pickups and active preamp work well, although tbh I tend to stick to one sound (neck pickup, pretty dark and p-bass tone, but there is a much more mid-focussed sound available on the bridge PU and/or with eq tweaks on the 3-band EQ)

Main minus point (for me) is it looks really modern - if you like modern curvy basses then cool, but I wish the low-end Fenders I tried in the same price range had played this well, as I prefer the vintage/classic looks of those kind of basses. Hard to argue with the playability and tone of the Ibanez for the money tho IMO.
[/quote]

This bass is starting to sound better and better!

I quite like the look of it, which isn't surprising since I own a thunderbird

But what do you think about the slap tones? As Lawrence has said his sounded pretty dark how about you?

Cheers for the feedback!

[Kongo]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1353933500' post='1879816']
Thank you

The Thunderbird was a 'oooh my favourite bassist plays them, I must get one' childish buy. But it has served me well and now i'm looking to upgrade.

It sounds to me that I can't go wrong with the Ibanez
[/quote]

You aren't the 1st, and most certainly will not be the last to do that. :-P But now you have experience in knowing that what your favourite bassist plays doesn't always work for you, it will save you in the long run down the road. Half of GAS is often caused by your favourite bassists and new ones that come along the way. :-P

Can I put my 2p in here though? The mid cut switch? Not missing much. Common misconception that cutting the mids makes a more cutting sound. That it does sound a little more pleasing the ear and give that KoRn like "Click boom" tone, in a band setting you'll be lost in the mix and as the human ear picks up on those frequencies the most, you'll notice a drop in volume as well.
Ibanez still sell a lot of basses based off of Fieldy's love of cutting mids.
Of course, this is completely IMHO, it may work for some people.

Final note, when you buy the bass, consider changing the strings to the ones most pleasing to yourself ASAP.
You'll be surprised how strings can change the tone and feel of the bass. You may hate it, then change the strings and love it.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Kongo

[Myke]

[quote name='Kongo' timestamp='1353976932' post='1880532']
You aren't the 1st, and most certainly will not be the last to do that. :-P But now you have experience in knowing that what your favourite bassist plays doesn't always work for you, it will save you in the long run down the road. Half of GAS is often caused by your favourite bassists and new ones that come along the way. :-P

Can I put my 2p in here though? The mid cut switch? Not missing much. Common misconception that cutting the mids makes a more cutting sound. That it does sound a little more pleasing the ear and give that KoRn like "Click boom" tone, in a band setting you'll be lost in the mix and as the human ear picks up on those frequencies the most, you'll notice a drop in volume as well.
Ibanez still sell a lot of basses based off of Fieldy's love of cutting mids.
Of course, this is completely IMHO, it may work for some people.

Final note, when you buy the bass, consider changing the strings to the ones most pleasing to yourself ASAP.
You'll be surprised how strings can change the tone and feel of the bass. You may hate it, then change the strings and love it.
[/quote]

Please do

I did not know that, i always thought cutting the mids was how you got the 'slap' tone. And with the whole Fieldy slap thing, in my opinion it's a bit Meh.. not a fan really.

Changing the strings is something that I will do as i like light strings and the ones that come with it will be the standard gauge.

Quick question on strings, I've been using rotosound strings but was going to try out some D'addarios, are they better do you know? I understand it's personnal preference but opinions are always valid

Cheers

[Kongo]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1353977694' post='1880541']
Please do

I did not know that, i always thought cutting the mids was how you got the 'slap' tone. And with the whole Fieldy slap thing, in my opinion it's a bit Meh.. not a fan really.

Changing the strings is something that I will do as i like light strings and the ones that come with it will be the standard gauge.

Quick question on strings, I've been using rotosound strings but was going to try out some D'addarios, are they better do you know? I understand it's personnal preference but opinions are always valid

Cheers
[/quote]

Other than fretless I HATE Rotosound, always seem half dead but that's to my ears and fingers. Plus, for the 35" scale world they ain't too kind as in, few seem to fit. SR's are 34" scale so will be fine.
I use D'addario Pro Steel strings, have done for 7 years now. Have dabbled in other strings since but always come back very quickly. They are quite textures, some find rough to the touch to begin with, but a few hours in your fingers will develop further callouses.

Cutting mids seems to create a clean tone, and some mids aren't needed as much, like the shoebox sounding ones near the 800hz mark, but I'd still not fully cut them.
Actually, mid scooping back when seems to come from the Stingray, and people didn't cut mids at all, the boosted the bass and treble instead, as they came with 2 band EQ.
It will clean the tone up a bit but you'll loose power as well. You can get a decent tone without scooping too many mids.

That being said, there's thousands of ways to EQ a bass. End of the day one factor that is almost always overlooked is your hands.
The way you attack, the flesh on your fingers, the angle of attack...All adds to the overall tone. :-)

[Myke]

[quote name='Kongo' timestamp='1353979250' post='1880545']
Other than fretless I HATE Rotosound, always seem half dead but that's to my ears and fingers. Plus, for the 35" scale world they ain't too kind as in, few seem to fit. SR's are 34" scale so will be fine.
I use D'addario Pro Steel strings, have done for 7 years now. Have dabbled in other strings since but always come back very quickly. They are quite textures, some find rough to the touch to begin with, but a few hours in your fingers will develop further callouses.

Cutting mids seems to create a clean tone, and some mids aren't needed as much, like the shoebox sounding ones near the 800hz mark, but I'd still not fully cut them.
Actually, mid scooping back when seems to come from the Stingray, and people didn't cut mids at all, the boosted the bass and treble instead, as they came with 2 band EQ.
It will clean the tone up a bit but you'll loose power as well. You can get a decent tone without scooping too many mids.

That being said, there's thousands of ways to EQ a bass. End of the day one factor that is almost always overlooked is your hands.
The way you attack, the flesh on your fingers, the angle of attack...All adds to the overall tone. :-)
[/quote]


I only use rotosounds because they were what were in the my local music shop when they set up my bass last year and when i restrung it with the set that they accidently left in my bass bag that I didn't hand back.. Naughty me!

I really need to look into the whole EQ thing, I lack knowledge in that area. I did recently play a Ernie Ball Stringray with a 3 Band EQ and it was so nice. it was the reason I started to look into getting an active bass.

Cheers for all you help!

[Kongo]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1353979789' post='1880546']
I only use rotosounds because they were what were in the my local music shop when they set up my bass last year and when i restrung it with the set that they accidently left in my bass bag that I didn't hand back.. Naughty me!

I really need to look into the whole EQ thing, I lack knowledge in that area. I did recently play a Ernie Ball Stringray with a 3 Band EQ and it was so nice. it was the reason I started to look into getting an active bass.

Cheers for all you help!
[/quote]

Just have a play around. Better to do them amp end I find and then you can fine tune mid song with the active EQ on you're bass but a good thing is to just dial in something that sounds good.
You'll hear things like "a bass should sound good flat" but I don't go by that. best to start with a bass that sounds good from the off, but don't fear tweaking the EQ.
Also, it's easier to remove what is there than add what isn't, if you know what I mean.

As for strings: [url]www.stringsdirect.co.uk[/url]
All I've every used for years. 2nd bass was a 6-string, shops didn't stock strings. This place was in a magazine, used em since. Rapid next day delivery. :-)

Edited November 27, 2012 by Kongo

[Myke]

[quote name='Kongo' timestamp='1353981000' post='1880551']
Just have a play around. Better to do them amp end I find and then you can fine tune mid song with the active EQ on you're bass but a good thing is to just dial in something that sounds good.
You'll hear things like "a bass should sound good flat" but I don't go by that. best to start with a bass that sounds good from the off, but don't fear tweaking the EQ.
Also, it's easier to remove what is there than add what isn't, if you know what I mean.

As for strings: www.stringsdirect.co.uk
All I've every used for years. 2nd bass was a 6-string, shops didn't stock strings. This place was in a magazine, used em since. Rapid next day delivery. :-)
[/quote]

Ah I guess it's different for everyone then. My bass teacher sets his EQ flat on the amp so that he can get the tone he wants from his bass and then knows it will sound the same of each amp that he plays. But tbh he does a custom made Shuker bass, so it's going to sound good anyway.

Ah i will do thanks for the link

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1353790686' post='1878571']
I also like the idea of active basses with the onboard EQ, so much more advanced than my 2 pickup volumes and a master tone control.

But I think i will try one out
[/quote]

More [s]advanced[/s] complicated? Yes.
Necessarily better? Well, no, as YMMV..

The SR500 is a comfortable, ergonomically sound instrument that plays really well. In isolation, they tend to sound more impressive (That's most mid-price Ibanez, not just the SR500) than they do in the mix.
I bought an SRX700 on the strength of its playability and tone.
It was great in the shop, but had this irritating tonal quality right across the range. It would just "HONK" (and not in the good, nasal Jazz bass way) and lacked any top end sparkle or bottom weight that an active eq might tame or enhance. You just got variations with less or more upper or lower honk depending on how you set the EQ.

That said, I had a (Luthite) Ergodyne EDB600 that was really stupidly good for the £80 I paid for it. Its spec was closer to the SR500, so it may be better.
Mind you, Dave Pegg was sounding quite irritating playing his SR505 with Fairport Convention on TV a couple of months back.
I was not alone in not liking it, either.

I guess the best thing (as always) is to try before you buy!

[Myke]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1354032888' post='1881164']
More [s]advanced[/s] complicated? Yes.
Necessarily better? Well, no, as YMMV..

The SR500 is a comfortable, ergonomically sound instrument that plays really well. In isolation, they tend to sound more impressive (That's most mid-price Ibanez, not just the SR500) than they do in the mix.
I bought an SRX700 on the strength of its playability and tone.
It was great in the shop, but had this irritating tonal quality right across the range. It would just "HONK" (and not in the good, nasal Jazz bass way) and lacked any top end sparkle or bottom weight that an active eq might tame or enhance. You just got variations with less or more upper or lower honk depending on how you set the EQ.

That said, I had a (Luthite) Ergodyne EDB600 that was really stupidly good for the £80 I paid for it. Its spec was closer to the SR500, so it may be better.
Mind you, Dave Pegg was sounding quite irritating playing his SR505 with Fairport Convention on TV a couple of months back.
I was not alone in not liking it, either.

I guess the best thing (as always) is to try before you buy!
[/quote]

Okay, that's interesting.. I had a look at that EDB600 seems a good bass but what is the difference with it being Luthite?

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1354033846' post='1881200']
Okay, that's interesting.. I had a look at that EDB600 seems a good bass but what is the difference with it being Luthite?
[/quote]

The OLD Ergodynes (EDA, EDB and EDC) were made from plastic. In this case, a plastic named Luthite, which is not dissimilar from the resin used to manufacture (tenpin) bowling balls.
The newer ones are wood. I guess Ibanez bought themselves a decent CNC router! I haven't tried the wooden ones, but the Luthite one I had was suitably "clean" sounding. Alas, Luthite is quite brittle, and when mine fell off the sofa, it broke rather terminally.
The Luthite ones can still be had secondhand, but they tend to chip and flake rather than "ding" like wooden ones!

[Myke]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1354034526' post='1881215']
The OLD Ergodynes (EDA, EDB and EDC) were made from plastic. In this case, a plastic named Luthite, which is not dissimilar from the resin used to manufacture (tenpin) bowling balls.
The newer ones are wood. I guess Ibanez bought themselves a decent CNC router! I haven't tried the wooden ones, but the Luthite one I had was suitably "clean" sounding. Alas, Luthite is quite brittle, and when mine fell off the sofa, it broke rather terminally.
The Luthite ones can still be had secondhand, but they tend to chip and flake rather than "ding" like wooden ones!
[/quote]

Oh, that seems a bit strange to me but then again it may have been a cheaper alternative?

I may steer away from them unless someone has information on the newer ones?

Thanks for your help

[Lfalex v1.1]

Ibanez said at the time that they couldn't mass produce those shapes in wood, and that Luthite was a "cheaper" solution.
I can see how that might be true of the EDA, but less so the EDB and EDC.

With regard to buying a bass (and I [i]may[/i] have bought a few in my time!), the best advice I think I could give is;

Decide what your real priorities are. If it comes to the crunch, what's most important to YOU: Colour? Aesthetics? Ergonomics? Weight? Tone? Playablility?
Set a budget, but allow a bit of flexibility. If you find a "killer" bass, it may be worth having an extra £50 in your pocket.
Try everything you can get your hands on. Only that way can you decide what you really do and don't like and WHY!
If you can, completely ignore the name on the headstock! Look at how well/robustly made and designed it is, and how well does it perform.

I once spent a considerable sum of money on a bass by a manufacturer I'd never heard of. When I'd started off wanting a Fender Jazz...
As it turned out, I bought a bass by a well thought-of boutique bass builder (!) and it's still the best bass in my collection!
It felt great, sounded good, and was superbly put-together. Job done.

[Myke]

I will definitely be trying out many of the basses in my local shop but I had looked at a Yamaha TRB4 online previously but I haven't had a chance to try one out and that would of been a 'blind' buy.

Also my local shop only really sells Ibanez and Fender basses so it limits what basses I can look at.

[JeSuisSkeleton]

Do it! I'm a massive SR500 fan. I like playing mine more than any other bass I've tried.

[Myke]

[quote name='JeSuisSkeleton' timestamp='1354052632' post='1881518']
Do it! I'm a massive SR500 fan. I like playing mine more than any other bass I've tried.
[/quote]

Sounds positive, I'm going to have to give one a proper try soon!