A hard time reaches you sooner or later. Now it was my turn.

[garyb]

similar, but like all wood instruments, highly variable.

the only way to be sure is to play it. short of that, it's a lottery. i'd say that an Ibanez is more likely to be useable than not.

[Janni]

I have two Basses: a Squier Japan Vintage P-Bass and a SR and I love both!
I bought the P-Bass about 1990 and the SR about 1994 and everybody who plays the SR
loves the feeling and the sound...
It's so easy to play but still has a powerfull sound.
Actually I can't look up the exact type because I borrowed it to a friend...

IMG_0614 2.jpg (95.02 KiB) Viewed 1606 times

[Nestor]

similar, but like all wood instruments, highly variable.

the only way to be sure is to play it. short of that, it's a lottery. i'd say that an Ibanez is more likely to be useable than not.

I had an Ibanez P-Bass, long, long ago, and the body was just delicious to play and touch. I have tried several models lately, just for the sake of it, to feel and see how they are, and I was amazed at the feel, particularly, the pleyability of their necks. Fantastic necks, even in their low range, but of course, not electronics or P'us.

I haven't looked at the bass marketplace for a very long time, and I'm impresset (not always in a good way), about the crazy amount of instruments, brands, kinds of P'us, etc., etc., etc., that there are at your disposal. It has become a difficult thing to get an instrument based only on their specifications. I myself, as a player, don't understand the need of so many instruments, other than bussness itself. It is somehow confusing so much stuff that, in fact, are very close to each other somtimes.

Then, the Active choices, particuarly those that give you passive P'us with active EQ, will tell you your bass will play any style of music, from punk to heavy, from jazz to funck, whatever..., so, it seems that today most basses are capable of playing anyghing, but there are more basses than even before.

Don't get me wrong. I would love to have, let say, 4 instruemtns in all, and with that I would be happy for life, but choices are mad...

The fact that a piece of wood would change sound in regard to another piece of wood it is something that I have also experienced. And also, the fact than an aged instrument, if it is a good one, may be better sounding than a new one exactly the same, becuase wood waves change due to the influence of constant vibrations bettering its sound. This is curios and wonderful at the same time. It is amazing how sound can shape all these wood molecules.

I don't know how this guy recorded it, but this is pretty much the kind of sound i like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHBn4m5JSIQ

He probably put the thing through some really good amp, don't know, but it sounds so reach, clear, great to my ears.

I come to the conclusion that if this kind of sound is what most like, I don't care about it, and I want it. And if what I like is totally opposed to what most people like, I don't either care. I want something I like, without thinking that other people may or not like. I say so too, because I have fond that many guys says things like: "you are going to impress everybody with this bass", sor of... I don't really care about it, I want the bass to impress me!

[Nestor]

I have two Basses: a Squier Japan Vintage P-Bass and a SR and I love both!
I bought the P-Bass about 1990 and the SR about 1994 and everybody who plays the SR
loves the feeling and the sound...
It's so easy to play but still has a powerfull sound.
Actually I can't look up the exact type because I borrowed it to a friend...

IMG_0614 2.jpg

I would really love for you to tell me about your SR, and then talk about it... please.

The Squier seems so easy to play, so confortable, even if it is not my cup of tea.

[Janni]

my SR is pretty much similar to this SR1300PM

http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/exp ... 208&now=17

the only difference is that the body is only red (not red and beige) and the mechanics
are 'golden'.
The neck is very slim and soooo easy to play that it's really difficult to play other basses after you
got used to it
It's a bass every guitarplayer loves!
The sound is very versatile, but compared to my lovely P-Bass it has less punch.
The typical P-Bass 'click' is missing and it has... hmmm... let's call it less 'cojones'
(not less bass!!)
It's a bass you can use for everything!!!
Ahh, and one thing is: after about 10 years the wiring for the battery broke... but
it was not too expensive to get it repaired.

[Nestor]

Wow! That's a great instrument no doubt! Love the sound that Geralds pulls out of it.

I think that the SR basses in general are quite a lot my coup of tea. The more I look at them, the more I like their sound, and particularly, their amazing playability.

Cheers

[Cochise]

I have an SR405-JB here...
Someone replaced it with the active version and passed it to me years ago.
I replaced original pickups with EMG active (9V driven, at now).


Carefully look at the body, if you go for something anyway cheap; I've seen instruments having boards being not a single piece of wood under the paint; something like the short shoulder part glued to the rest...
The thing looks like a thin, straight line under the paint, front and rear of the board

Of course, this just in case you choose something having paint finish

[Nestor]

I have an SR405-JB here...
Someone replaced it with the active version and passed it to me years ago.
I replaced original pickups with EMG active (9V driven, at now).


Carefully look at the body, if you go for something anyway cheap; I've seen instruments having boards being not a single piece of wood under the paint; something like the short shoulder part glued to the rest...
The thing looks like a thin, straight line under the paint, front and rear of the board

Of course, this just in case you choose something having paint finish

the SR405 is a solid instrument, well constructed but P's are not great. With EMG active the thing must be really great.

I am very careful with what I see, even if I like very much something, I don't get emotional about it, but keep quite objective, so not to get involved with something I don't need or like.

[Nestor]

Clearly, my main concern is "confort" and "playability", then, "tone and overal sound quality", then "electronics" (because you can change them in a later state, just like you did), and finally, construction and durability. This last point comes at the end because the other things are far too important for me, but not for being the last it is regarded as unimportant... not at all.

[Nestor]

As a list:

1...Confort
2...Playabiligy
3...Tone characteristics
4...Sound quality
5...Electronics
6...Built quality and reliability

[Nestor]

Things I would not compromise by any reason, not even for a dream price are: #1, #2 #3 and #6.

#4 could be fixed more and less, with some amp solutions and the so, and #5 can be replaced by something better as we said before, and this will also affect directly #4, so it is not that bad.

#6, may come to be the last point to consider, but if the instrument sounds great but will be unreliably, just forget about it.

I am more and more into the Ibanez RS line of basses, as they sound the way I like a bass to sound.

I have played several Fenders, Squiers, and other reproductions of the J-Bass and the P-Bass, acutlly, to please Astro and Wayne about their love for Fender basses , but a Fender will hardly be my main instrument, I will be looking for something else every time. What I mean is that I'm sure I would use Fender for many things like more traditional songs, some funk ala Marcus, etc., becuase they sound very welll for this things, but for fusion, they are not ment, according to my ears.

Playability comes not even close, according to my way of playing.

Cheers

[Nestor]

Expect a killer new topic very soon! You'll be more than surprised!