Ibanez SR500 vs SR520 - any advice please?

[Herbsley]

I'm thinking of folding about £450 into Ibanez's pocket, for either the SR500 or the SR520.

If I am honest I really prefer the 520 as the gloss black really suits the SR look imho.
Out of the two, I have only tried the 500 in a shop so far - and I like it. The neck is uber-slim, just as I like it, and the Bart pick-ups sound nice n punchy.

It seems the only differences between these two basses are:
1) The colour - of which the black is clearly better
and
2) The neck. The 500 has a jatoba/bubinga, while the 520 has maple.

The 500 felt nice - kinda strong/'substantial'/sturdy for such a thin neck I spose. Or did I just think that after playing some other (worse) guitars immediately prior?!
So here's my question - and probably quite a rookie one - will there be a huge difference with Maple (in feel, playability, and/or sound)?

Sorry, but it seems I really don't know my bass woods as well as I thought!

Web examples:
[url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ibanez-SR500-Bass-Guitar-Brown-Mahogany/7DY"]http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/...wn-Mahogany/7DY[/url]
[url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ibanez-SR520-Bass-Guitar-Black/A43"]http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/...uitar-Black/A43[/url]

Cheers,
H.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Herbsley

[LawrenceH]

I can't help with the wood choice as such I'm afraid, but I have the SR500 and it is a lovely feeling neck and amazingly stable - can leave it for weeks without it drifting tuning. The overall tone of the bass is very punchy, but it doesn't have much barking upper-mids (which is why I'm thinking of getting rid of it, as I've decided I prefer the jazz tone). The bass has served me really well though.

[Herbsley]

Cheers Lawrence.
Yeah I was really quite impressed with the SR500 for the price.

If you consider getting shot in the next few weeks mebbe PM me first?

H.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='Herbsley' post='861518' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:27 PM']Cheers Lawrence.
Yeah I was really quite impressed with the SR500 for the price.

If you consider getting shot in the next few weeks mebbe PM me first?

H.[/quote]

Will do - mine isn't exactly pristine though! That thin varnished finish wears very easily, and I used to help run a local jazz-funk jam night - do people wear diamond belts these days or something?! Still plays brilliantly though, so let me know if you're interested in one that's been 'road worn'! The good thing about mine is that it's a two piece body rather than the three-piece that seems more common on these now. Looking at pictures mine seems to be lighter and more 'woody' in colour too. Ibanez seem to have made minor variations on this bass over the years, I notice the pickup position shifting slightly between models although it doesn't seem to have much impact on tone (spacing between pups looks the same regardless).