ibanez musician or aria sb

[Quin]

Hey,

 

maybe a hopeless attempt but I'm really curious about the difference between the old Ibanez musician basses like the MC900 and the Aria SB1000. Does anyone have an experience with one or hopefully both? Is either better than the other in your opinion? I can't decide which one I want to get, as I know they are both great basses. I hope someone can help me out

ill attach pictures of both basses

[Bassassin]

Where to start?

 

First off - you've shown a pic of 'an' Aria SB, and 'an' Ibanez Musician. Both basses were part of quite extensive ranges covering numerous features like pickup number & types, active or passive, number of frets & in the case of the Arias, physical proportions of the necks.

 

The SB1000 & MC900 you've shown will sound and feel completely different - chances are if you're used to a conventional Fender-type neck, the near-parallel, wide-at-the-nut shape of the Aria SB series will feel very odd & possibly off-putting. The Aria SB-R & SB-Elite basses have a conventional neck shape but tend to be passive, in both single and twin pickup versions. There was an active version (SB-R150) but these are ridiculously rare.

 

I'll have to admit my playing experience is limited to the Arias & my preference is for the SB-Rs & Elites, as I really don't get on with the SB necks. However I do know there were both passive & active versions of the Ibanez Musicians (passive defined by an 8-prefix rather than 9) and 22 & 24-fret versions. The pickups/electronics and aesthetics of the Musician basses changed quite radically over the lifespan of the range, and early ones likely sound quite different to the mid/late 80s basses.

 

Someone who knows the MCs better than me will likely chip in, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone with experience of both ranges. These basses are all pretty rare these days - particularly the MCs - and as high-end vintage instruments, prices can get quite eye-watering too.

[Doctor J]

The big thing to keep in mind is the Arias with dots have, IIRC, 16mm string spacing that the bridge. The ones with the cat's eye inlays are 19mm, I believe. Another thing is that those old epoxy/sealed MB pickups have a habit of coils dying. Despite the humbucker size, there's a coil for E-A and a coil for D-G, like a Precision pickup. Many of them have serial/parallel switches and get passed off by sellers as "faulty switch" as the pickup kinda works in parallel mode. Getting a replacement pickup which actually sounds like an original MB is not easy. Rautia aren't selling at the moment and the Armstrong versions only look the part.

That being said, they're really good basses if you can find a spacing you like and the pickup works. The Ibanez shares the same characteristic of being incredibly heavy, generally, but less fragile, electronically. They're both good, but, in my opinion, much, much better basses have come along in the 45 years since they came out.

[White Cloud]

Both superbly well built, both offer a wide variety of sounds, both likely to be heavy...

 

Sounds a tad shallow, but for me the Aria SB has held its looks better. 

[police squad]

I currently still have an Ibanez MC940. It's an early fretless one. Used on my Police tribute gigs. My favourite non-fender bass. Lovely neck and not too heavy

I've also had 2 SBR-150s. Awesome to play, too heavy for me and I didn't really like the sound, it wasnt Fendery enough. I sold my last 150 just as we went into lockdown 1. It was almost immaculate and I was the 2nd owner. I think it sold for 1600 pounds.

 

I would buy the Ibanez personally

[NancyJohnson]

Just going off on a small tangent, the Aria Pro II SB1000.  While having played a SB1000 and a SB900 briefly a long time ago (I didn't own either), I always felt the SB900 was a country mile better (subjective) than the '1000.  No idea what the construction was (they were both laminated body/neck-through; end of the day they were both high-gloss natural finishes, so it mattered little what was under the finish), I think the SB1000 had active circuitry whereas the SB900 was passive with dual pickups and some additional switching.

 

The SB900 just edged it for me personally...I always prefer a two pickup bass; more tonal variety at the front end rather than making the active circuit do all the work by trying to boost resonant frequencies that may not be there.

[Munurmunuh]

Every time I hear the bridge pickup on the MC900, I'm like a rabbit stuck in headlights, what a noise.

[miles'tone]

For me it would be the Ibanez to keep as a player, the Aria to enjoy and probably turn a profit on in a couple of years. 

Doubt you'd be disappointed with either though.

[Shaggy]

No experience of Aria SB’s, but they seemed to be the more ubiquitous of the two in mainstream music in the early ‘80’s.

 

The Ibanez Musician MC900 is the only bass out of a crazy number owned that I ever bought brand new.  Beautifully constructed, really nice to play, but I didn’t bond with it for whatever reason; I think I just found the tone a bit bland and characterless.   Probably if I’d tried it with other amps and strings I’d have found the combination that suits (being only 18 at the time I was pretty clueless....)  - I know it’s one of the favourite basses of Dave Swift (Jools Holland’s band), think he has a few of them.

 

When I finally was able to acquire an Alembic S1 I realised it was everything I’d wanted the Ibanez to be, but I know that’s raising the stakes to a whole new level!

[dmccombe7]

Had both in 80's. The original Aria SB1000 with bat wing headstock i thought was a tremendous bass and sorry i ever sold it on. I found the neck very easy to get along with and i was used to playing Jazz or Shergold necks at that time.

I did find it a very mid-focused bass no matter where i set the controls it always came across as having nice Lo to Hi mids depending where you set the switch.

Reasonably heavy bass compared to newer basses but i was 9.5 st back in them days and didn't have any issue over a full gig.

Neck was gorgeous to play and it just felt like a big step up on quality from other basses i had tried to that point.

 

Had the MC925 in white in later 80's and again a heavy beast of a bass but a glorious neck. I did find the weight an issue with it over a full gig and it would dig into my shoulder a bit. A wider strap would have resolved that i think.

Tonally i think it had a huge range of available tones from smooth bass to high treble and very nice mids. On a personal point of view i found the controls a bit more than i needed but always had a great tone from that bass. My strong memory is how good the neck felt to play.

I dont recall anything special about the tone on the Ibanez.

 

For me i'd prefer the Aria SB1000 as i liked that mid focused tone and growl. It always felt different to other basses in that price range whereas the Ibanez was just another bass to me.  Aria had a distinct tone that the Ibanez didn't. Ibanez would probably give more variety of tone tho.

It was a long time ago but my memory tells me the Aria felt better to play and better quality bass. 

 

I cant comment on reliability of either bass as i bought them new and had no issues over the 1-2 years i had them.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

Dave

Edited May 4, 2022 by dmccombe7

[PaulThePlug]

Arai looks like everything else... Nowt Special...

Ibby looks like a blast from the past with a classic touch of class, just look at that headstock.

Needs a matching set of knobs and Flats... Nice

 

EDIT: Ah... i see the knobs should be like that (pics in post below)

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[SteveK]

Late 70s I bought an aria SB1000, and early 80s an Ibanez MC924. I still have the SB1000. The MC924 lasted about 12 months before selling it. IMV It just didn't feel and sound like a proper bass.

[LeftyJ]

I've owned a 1978 SB-1000 batwing headstock, and have had three MC924's. I can't comment on the tones of the SB-1000, the electronics in mine were shot. Someone had added two more pickups (original model) and had removed the original varitone and active circuitry and the middle (stock) pickup was barely working so the bass sounded nothing like it should have. I can comment on playability, feel and weight though: it was heavy, big and chunky and the near parallel strings won't be for everyone, as pointed out by various people above. I liked it a lot though, but I eventually sold it because I would rather want one that's still stock.

 

I still have two of my three Musicians, and they're quite different from the SB despite the similar construction and looks. I have a 1981 MC924 (single coil soapbar pickups, mahogany body wings with ash facings, rounded body edges, HUGE neck) and a 1983 MC924 (PJ pickups, ash body wings, bevelled body edges, narrower and thinner neck). The one with the soapbars has a voice all of its own and sounds great, but the PJ is my favourite for versatility, ergonomics, playing comfort and range of tones (in part thanks to a pan pot as opposed to the 3-way switch of the older model). The 1981 is about to be shipped to Boston, but the 1983 is not going anywhere anytime soon! It's exactly one month younger than me, and very dear to me. 

 

 

[Quin]

Thanks for the responses! change of topic might sound a little weird, but I want one of theses as a kind of poor mans alembic. i know they dont really sound the same but i have a washburn eagle and a westone thunder iii from the same time and i like the japanese 80s quite a bit so far. But I do have a possibility to buy an Alembic Spoiler from 1988, but it would cost me around 2600€. I know prices for alembics have gone up but is this worth it? it does have a nice mahogany/flamed maple top

[Quin]

(the spoiler i mentioned is in good condition by the way, not any apparant marks)

[Shaggy]

1 hour ago, Quin said:

Thanks for the responses! change of topic might sound a little weird, but I want one of theses as a kind of poor mans alembic. i know they dont really sound the same but i have a washburn eagle and a westone thunder iii from the same time and i like the japanese 80s quite a bit so far. But I do have a possibility to buy an Alembic Spoiler from 1988, but it would cost me around 2600€. I know prices for alembics have gone up but is this worth it? it does have a nice mahogany/flamed maple top

If you can stretch to the Spoiler I’d say go for it, as ‘bics really do have that special “extra” quality, and you’d pay the same as that these days for a ‘70’s Fender or MM Stingray.

 

Or if not, to be honest I’d be looking for a nice old Jaydee - boutique hand-built, very ‘Alembic-ish”, and can still be sometimes had for not too much moolah

 

Edit: sticking with vintage Japanese; the Kawai  F2B was effectively an Alembic series 1 copy - I’ve no experience of them but owners seem to love them, and they generally go for around the same as an Ibanez MC900

Edited May 4, 2022 by Shaggy

[Quin]

coincidentally, i have been keeping my eye out for the kawais for two years now. I wanted one as my first bass when one was available close to me but thought it was maybe a bit much then... now they havent popped up here for a while (netherlands :p)

[dmccombe7]

12 hours ago, Quin said:

Thanks for the responses! change of topic might sound a little weird, but I want one of theses as a kind of poor mans alembic. i know they dont really sound the same but i have a washburn eagle and a westone thunder iii from the same time and i like the japanese 80s quite a bit so far. But I do have a possibility to buy an Alembic Spoiler from 1988, but it would cost me around 2600€. I know prices for alembics have gone up but is this worth it? it does have a nice mahogany/flamed maple top

Love Alembic basses. One of those basses i'd still like to own at some point.

Think there's an Alembic thread on BC somewhere. Might be worth reading. I know when i fancied an Alembic there were some that had issues. Cant remember what it was ?

Dave

[Misdee]

Well,two (or three, if you are now including the Alembic) classic 1980s basses to choose between, all of which have a lot going for them.

 

I must admit to having a preference for the Ibanez; the Musician Bass was one of the basses I most coveted back in the late '70s/ early '80s when they first came out. Sting had one, as did Colin Moulding. Funnily enough, I remember John Taylor from Duran Duran recounting how he had wanted an Ibanez Musician Bass the same as Sting had but couldn't afford one and so bought an Aria SB because it was similarly modern but a bit more affordable.

 

I bought a brand new MC 924 in about 1984 and I remember being so happy I couldn't sleep. I used to get up in the night just to look at it.  Wonderful sound, proper Japanese build quality, quite hefty  weight but most basses were in those days.

  

Aria SB1000 is a classic too, albeit with a very different vibe to the Ibanez. Usually pretty heavy, great sounds available and a very fast neck. Can be prone to the strings whizzing off the edge of the fingerboard due to the way the nut is cut in relation to the narrow neck dimensions. Also, the pickups have been known to become defective over time and are not easily replaced.

 

As for the Alembic, it was a "budget" model at the time, but  as with any Alembic, it was still a pretty big budget. I've played a couple of Spoilers and they were  lush, played effortlessly and had the authentic Alembic tone ect. 32 inch scale so easy to get around on.

 

All great choices. I still love the Ibanez, but don't let my prefences prejudice you. If you can get to play and compare them then that would be the best guide.

. 

[Quin]

25 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Well,two (or three, if you are now including the Alembic) classic 1980s basses to choose between, all of which have a lot going for them.

 

I must admit to having a preference for the Ibanez; the Musician Bass was one of the basses I most coveted back in the late '70s/ early '80s when they first came out. Sting had one, as did Colin Moulding. Funnily enough, I remember John Taylor from Duran Duran recounting how he had wanted an Ibanez Musician Bass the same as Sting had but couldn't afford one and so bought an Aria SB because it was similarly modern but a bit more affordable.

 

I bought a brand new MC 924 in about 1984 and I remember being so happy I couldn't sleep. I used to get up in the night just to look at it.  Wonderful sound, proper Japanese build quality, quite hefty  weight but most basses were in those days.

  

Aria SB1000 is a classic too, albeit with a very different vibe to the Ibanez. Usually pretty heavy, great sounds available and a very fast neck. Can be prone to the strings whizzing off the edge of the fingerboard due to the way the nut is cut in relation to the narrow neck dimensions. Also, the pickups have been known to become defective over time and are not easily replaced.

 

As for the Alembic, it was a "budget" model at the time, but  as with any Alembic, it was still a pretty big budget. I've played a couple of Spoilers and they were  lush, played effortlessly and had the authentic Alembic tone ect. 32 inch scale so easy to get around on.

 

All great choices. I still love the Ibanez, but don't let my prefences prejudice you. If you can get to play and compare them then that would be the best guide.

. 

Fun story! If that about John Taylor is true, thats pretty funny as I didn't know they were priced much differently. The Mc900 im interested in is for sale for 650£. Is that a good price? also if you don't mind me asking, how much did the mc924 cost new? I have only found one old japanese catalog but its in yen, and I'm curious about the price here in europe

[Quin]

I also just want to say, I'm genuinely surprised by all you kind strangers. I made a thread once before and every time so many people spend their time to help out someone else and i appreciate that a lot

[ezbass]

10 minutes ago, Quin said:

I also just want to say, I'm genuinely surprised by all you kind strangers. I made a thread once before and every time so many people spend their time to help out someone else and i appreciate that a lot

Basschat is like that, always has been. Folk here are genuinely willing and happy to help, not just with bass related stuff either, the breadth of expertise and experience is truly amazing.

[dmccombe7]

We're all just bass geeks. 

Dave

[police squad]

59 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

We're all just bass geeks. 

Dave

just about sums it up

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, Quin said:

Fun story! If that about John Taylor is true, thats pretty funny as I didn't know they were priced much differently. The Mc900 im interested in is for sale for 650£. Is that a good price? also if you don't mind me asking, how much did the mc924 cost new? I have only found one old japanese catalog but its in yen, and I'm curious about the price here in europe

It's true. JT writes about it in his autobiography.

 

I bought my Ibanez Musician for about £350- ish ( it's a long time ago!) in 1984, from what I remember, but I probably got a discount on the full retail price. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Misdee