PVTele Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) I'm the proud owner of an Indie IB604 in natural swamp ash. Decision finally made for me (long story!) but I'm totally in love... I'll post some decent pics of my own when I get around to taking some (i.e. when I can look at the thing without playing it!) but here are a couple from the Indie website to be going on with: Briefly - swamp ash body, maple neck, rosewood board, abalone inlays - 34" scale. Active electronics - 2 of Indie's own humbuckers. I haven't weighed it, but if feels like around 8lbs. Very comfortable neck indeed, and fast. Feels more like a Warwick or a Spector than anything else I've played. Beautiful tone - I'm still finding out all the different sounds, but going John McVie to Marcus Miller by way of (simpler!) Steve Lawson is no problem at all... Edited October 29, 2008 by PVTele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Get no arguments from here...... Nice looking piece of kit...... (athough I'm biased as I love a nice bit of Swampy..... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markytbass Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Nice, I've seen these in a shop in Consett but didn't have time to try them, also I was at work at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVTele Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 I did promise some pics of my own bass, rather than the Indie website ones - here you go: Excuse the mess in my den Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 [quote name='PVTele' post='338783' date='Nov 27 2008, 06:38 PM']Excuse the mess in my den [/quote] i'm sure i'm not the only one here who's carpet you can no longer see because of the mess in their bedrooms *looks to teenaged boys for support here* anyway, great looking bass. i gotta say i love a bit of swamp ash, to me its the perfect wood. can have a lovely grain, yet its far from a "coffee table" wood (which i hate). i bet it plays great. are the active electronics 2 band or 3 band? and is that a set neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 [quote]i'm sure i'm not the only one here who's carpet you can no longer see because of the mess in their bedrooms *looks to teenaged boys for support here*[/quote] Nowp, gf keeps my room tidy for me before i even wake up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 (edited) Quite nice looking, i've always been apprehensive of indies because they're a kinda cheap sounding/new to the market brand that seem quite expensive. How does it sound? Also is that a set neck? EDIT: my room is actually pretty tidy Edited November 27, 2008 by budget bassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVTele Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 [quote name='budget bassist' post='338844' date='Nov 27 2008, 07:32 PM']Quite nice looking, i've always been apprehensive of indies because they're a kinda cheap sounding/new to the market brand that seem quite expensive. How does it sound? Also is that a set neck?[/quote] I agree about the name, but they're not actually especially cheap (list price just short of £550 for my bass) and the build quality is superb. Yes, that is a set neck (hard maple, 2-way truss rod, rosewood fingerboard) - you can get them in bolt neck also, 4, 5 and 6-string, and with either colour of hardware I love the sound of mine - more Warwick than Fender, but a sound all of its own. Very articulate and punchy (especially on both pickups) but distinctly growly. The neck pickup avoids muddiness, but has a wonderful deep singing quality, while the bridge pup is much more snarly - good for slap. Lovely to play - very nice neck - perfect balance on the strap, sits nicely on the knee. Weight exactly 8lbs, so not uncomfortable. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 That's what i mean, they seem expensive for a fairly new brand to the market, especially one that does mainly copies. You can see that your bass is modeled on an ibanez soundgear, i've also seen rickenbacker, les paul etc copies. Good to hear it's a decent bass for the cash though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVTele Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 [quote name='budget bassist' post='338919' date='Nov 27 2008, 09:01 PM']That's what i mean, they seem expensive for a fairly new brand to the market, especially one that does mainly copies. You can see that your bass is modeled on an ibanez soundgear, i've also seen rickenbacker, les paul etc copies. Good to hear it's a decent bass for the cash though.[/quote] At the risk of seeming argumentative, I don't think the IB604 is a Soundgear copy. Similar body shape, of course, but then so have dozens of basses, from the cheapest (e.g. Stagg) to models like the Lakland 44 series. But that's as far as it goes. Detail and materials are very different, as is the sound. Anyway - it's a good bass, for a good price, and I'm very pleased with it, no matter what anyone thinks it resembles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Well, i'll admit it's not a close copy, i was thinking more along the lines of the inlays, the body shape (which isn't that close) and the contouring, but like the jazz and rick copies (though i realise some companies make nice jazz copies) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVTele Posted November 28, 2008 Author Share Posted November 28, 2008 [quote name='budget bassist' post='339047' date='Nov 27 2008, 11:08 PM']Well, i'll admit it's not a close copy, i was thinking more along the lines of the inlays, the body shape (which isn't that close) and the contouring, but like the jazz and rick copies (though i realise some companies make nice jazz copies)[/quote] Do you know I'd never noticed that about the inlays? They're much bigger than the Ibanez's (SR500 up - the others have pearl(oid) dots) but they [i]are [/i]oval, and abalone... I was thinking more of the swamp ash and maple as opposed to mahogany and bubinga, the different type of bridge, etc. ... Good point about the JB copies - some respected companies built their reputations on those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 [quote name='budget bassist' post='338919' date='Nov 27 2008, 09:01 PM']You can see that your bass is modeled on an ibanez soundgear...[/quote] Can we just pause & remember at this point that the Ibanez Soundgear range is an unashamed knock-off of the Tune Bass Maniac design, which dates back to 1984? Ibanez copies aren't all "lawsuits". I think this is a fine-looking bass, right pretty bit of wood too. If it plays & sounds great, what does it matter what name's on the end & what it cost? Indie have been around for 6 or 7 years, I think and admittedly some of their pricing seems a bit eye-watering - particularly their not-great Rick copy & the active Jazz copy, but they're presumably doing something right or they wouldn't have lasted this long. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 You see i didn't know about that, did they go under or something? Because ibanez seem to have done something right to keep afloat. I've never heard of a tune bass maniac. Also i didn't know indie had been around that long, they've only just started appearing in shops around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 [url="http://www.cc.rim.or.jp/~tune/index.html"]The current Tune Japan website[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 (edited) Hmm, some nice stuff in that psychadelic custom guitars section, very nice! If a little generic... Edited November 29, 2008 by budget bassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 What, the idea of a trem-equipped 8-string doesn't appeal to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunkee Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 [quote name='BigRedX' post='340793' date='Nov 29 2008, 09:31 PM'][url="http://www.cc.rim.or.jp/~tune/index.html"]The current Tune Japan website[/url][/quote] Sorry, I really don't mean to appear as if I am following you around, but I just clicked on the link and the bass pictured on the index page is fekkin gorgeous. Once again, sorry - I'm not a stalker...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 [quote name='BigRedX' post='340820' date='Nov 29 2008, 09:56 PM']What, the idea of a trem-equipped 8-string doesn't appeal to you?[/quote] I just meant on that one page, although funnily enough, no it doesn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I haven't played any Indie basses, but I've played a few of their guitars - they were pretty good I'll keep my eyes open for a bass to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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