kendall Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 For a few months now I've been looking at various 4 string basses as my old faithful is really battered and has become a bit of a chore to play. I set a budget of about £400 max as I can't justify any more for an Xmas pressie. I whittled my list down to 5 basses to try out 1. Squier Dimension 2. Epiphone Thunderbird classic 3. Musician Sub Ray 4 4. Squier CV P Bass 5. Ibanez SR300 Took myself into a store last Monday and tried out a few. The Thunderbird, whilst sounding nice, was uncomfortable. The Ibanez felt a bit underwhelming on the tone, but played nicely. The SubRay sounded great and played nicely. I was pretty much set on the SubRay but it had a ding in the headstock and rather than take a discount, I wanted a mint one. Back to another store on Saturday, with Mrs K in tow, where I retried the SubRay - still liked it, tried the Dimension and instantly disliked it. The Squire CV was a lovely quality bass, and sounded good. But I still wasn't sure which to go for. Mrs K pointed out an Ibanez SR500BM which she liked the look of, because the colour would match our coffee table and mantlepiece! I wasn't sure as the SR300 I had previously tried hadn't really grabbed me. But I gave it a go.... Instantly, I was hooked, playability, tone, finish etc bowled me over. Then on checking the price, it was a touch over budget by £130. Mrs K pointed out that over the last few months, she's not seen me get excited by a bass like this one, so decided to try and get a deal for us. Mission accomplished, a nice reduction on price and approval to spend a bit more from Mrs K and I'm the proud owner of an Ibanez SR500. I do now have to wait until Xmas Day, but am really excited about opening this. My 4 month quest is over...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegummy Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Can't believe you were even considering a bass that didn't match your living room furniture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattpt85 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 what was it about the dimension that you didn't like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendall Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 [quote name='Mattpt85' timestamp='1480937299' post='3188132'] what was it about the dimension that you didn't like? [/quote] The Dimension, felt very cheap (which it was I admit) but compared to other Squier models I'd tried and even own, it just felt poor quality, fret ends were rough, controls very loose and the tone was a bit flat and one dimensional (no pun intended). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendall Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 [quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1480936986' post='3188130'] Can't believe you were even considering a bass that didn't match your living room furniture [/quote] I've learnt my lesson now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 you know how hard it is to find a 3 tier sunburst coffee table with tort ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 SR500 wins again, still rate them very highly especially for the money. though i dont really play mine much anymore when i do its a joy. Congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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