Ibanez SR series - Opinions wanted
Jeff Richards
Greetings,
I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like the
Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell no
difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real differences?
I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes the
SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
Thanks
Jeff
--
_____________________________________________________
Jeff Richards
Personal Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Home Page Writer
email: je...@exo.com
homepage: http://exo.com/~bobn/metal.html
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Tamara Traub
I thought that the bolt on neck(SR800?) actually sounded brighter than
the neck-through-body(SR1000?).Maybe it was the different woods as I
think that was a nice unfinished wood. But either way I thought they
sound good. But I'd definitely appreciate an opinion on these instruments
from people that have spent some time on them!
Jay McHollister
email: ttr...@agt.net
Vulgar2
I have had a ibanez SR500 for about 6 months now. I think its great, cool
body style, good action, and the active electrionics really can crank out
the bass. basically the only difference I think is the electronics, and
maybe the type of woods used. I heard that SR1000's and up can only be
found with a natural finish. I don't know, only my opinion. seeya
*Before we take it anywhere, we have to figure out where we're gonna take
it from*
*-Lars Ulrich
*
*
Mohammad Seyal
> I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like the
> Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell no
> difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real differences?
> I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes the
> SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
Electronics, pickups, woods, finishes....Did I get everything?
Boon Chua
Tamara Traub (ttr...@agt.net) wrote:
: Jeff Richards wrote:
: >
: > Greetings,
: >
: > I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like the
: > Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell no
: > difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real differences?
: > I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes the
: > SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
: > Thanks
: >
: > Jeff
: > --
: > _____________________________________________________
: > Jeff Richards
: > Personal Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Home Page Writer
: > email: je...@exo.com
: > homepage: http://exo.com/~bobn/metal.html
: > _____________________________________________________\
: > \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Hey Jeff... good question! I've been looking into the Soundgear line too.
: I thought that the bolt on neck(SR800?) actually sounded brighter than
: the neck-through-body(SR1000?).Maybe it was the different woods as I
: think that was a nice unfinished wood. But either way I thought they
: sound good. But I'd definitely appreciate an opinion on these instruments
: from people that have spent some time on them!
:
: Jay McHollister
: email: ttr...@agt.net
Having played most of the SR range before, I was impressed with all of
them. Even the low-end models(SR400, etc) had a great sound and feel. Of
course, the feel of a bass differs from each person, but I've read many
good comments about the Ibanez SR400. The SR1000 is great, but if you are
willing to pay that amount of money, the SR1300 or SR1500(don't know if
they still make that one anymore) is a really great bass. But don't
underestimate the lower end models.
boonpro
DucatiSS
I had one of the 800 series, fretless, bolt-on necks. It was finely
made bass, but the body was microphonic as hell. Even bumping it against
my hip while playing it sounded like someone was knocking at the door. A
belt buckle was downright disconcerting.
I found the neck to be tough and that it didn't need any adjustment,
even after getting the usualy abuse from the airline apes.
As far as differences from others, I'd say the active vs. passive models
would show the biggest difference.
dan sorenson (The Mollys)
James R. Thor
In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.960506...@dale.ucdavis.edu>, Mohammad Seyal <szs...@peseta.ucdavis.edu> writes:
>> I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like the
>> Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell no
>> difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real differences?
>> I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes the
>> SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
>
>
SR1300 all use the same pickups and electronics in the 1996 models. They
didn't make an SR1000 this year. The pre-amp has a three band vari-mid EQ
which gives you to bass, mid and treble controls along with the capability to
adjust the center frequency of the mid-range band. The major differences
between them are in the woods and available finishes. There are also some
differences in the hardware used (tuners, bridge etc.). The SR1200 is also
a neck through design as opposed to bolt-on for all the others. I don't
recall which pickups the SR400 and SR300 have but they do not have the
vari-mid EQ. There is also an SR5000 this year for those who want to spend
lots of money.
Now for my opinion - maybe only worth 2 cents -
I have played most of them. What I did like was the finish, I didn't note
any flaws. I liked the neck through design of the SR1200 because it was
easier to play the upper frets. What I didn't like was feeling sharp edges
on the ends of each fret while running my hand up and down the neck (all
models). The store clerk had to replace a battery in the SR500 so I got to
see the inside. The circuit board was not mounted to anything. It floats
around inside the compartment held in place only by the wires. Poor design
IMO. I presume the same holds true for the other SR models. I could not
discern any differences in sound between the models (maybe my ears are bad).
Playability was also the same for all models except the SR1200 I mention
earlier. I came to the conclusion that the only reason to buy an SR800,
1200 or 1300 over the 500 is if you just gotta have the exotic wood or the
neck-through or the biggest number in the model number. It's then just a
matter of deciding if the price difference is worth it. IMO. As for me, I
didn't bue one.
Kevin Holbrook
On Monday, May 06, 1996, Jeff Richards wrote...
> Greetings,
>
> I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like
the
> Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell
no
> difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real
differences?
> I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes
the
> SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
I play an SR1200. It's a neck-through. The electronics are the same as the
SR800, as are the pickups.
I used to own an SR800, but wanted to upgrade. As far as the SR300 & 400
go, I think you'll find that the
electronics are totally different (2-band EQ versus 3-band with sweepable
mids). The wood remains the same
until the 1200. The bridge is the same until the 800.
> \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>
>
Kevin Holbrook
On Monday, May 06, 1996, Jeff Richards wrote...
> Greetings,
>
> I was down at guitar center today playing some basses and I really like
the
> Ibanez SR series. I played all they had, SR300 to SR1000. I could tell
no
> difference in them except hundreds of dollars. What are the real
differences?
> I want to buy one in my price range, but I want to find out what makes
the
> SR1000 much better than an SR300 or 400!? How do they hold up?
>
> Thanks
> Jeff
I play a SR1200. It's a neck-through. I used to have a SR800, which has
the same
bridge, pickups and electronics as my SR1200. The difference is in the
wood, and the neck.
As far as the 300 & 400 go, I think you'll find that the electronics are
totally different(2-band EQ vs.
3-band w/sweepable mids). As far as price goes, my SR1200 was worth every
penny ($799 w/o case).
I have no idea what the 300 or 400 costs, though.
Russell Johnson
flippin lovely they are
Dave Trenkel
boo...@tartarus.uwa.edu.au (Boon Chua) wrote:
>
>Having played most of the SR range before, I was impressed with all of
>them. Even the low-end models(SR400, etc) had a great sound and feel. Of
>course, the feel of a bass differs from each person, but I've read many
>good comments about the Ibanez SR400. The SR1000 is great, but if you are
>willing to pay that amount of money, the SR1300 or SR1500(don't know if
>they still make that one anymore) is a really great bass. But don't
>underestimate the lower end models.
>
>boonpro
I've had an SR 1306 6-string for about 2 years now, and I thinks it's a terrific
bass. When I was shopping around, the only bass I liked more was a modulus,
for about 3X the price. The wood, wenge body and bubinga/pau ferro neck, is
beautiful, and it's one of the nost playable 6-strings I've ever seen. But, the
electronics, the active vari mid system, etc, really sucked. It was very low
output, and the EQ was hissy whenever boosted. Replacing the pickups with
EMG 45DC's, passive EQ, made it pretty close to perfect.
Rick Neal
I have an SR885 (5 string version of SR800). In general, I like it
a lot. I can get a nice variety of sounds that all sound good.
This works well for me because I play a variety of music. It's also
comfortable to play. I can get the action lower than some of of my
other basses without having to tolerate fret buzz. One problem I had
was the low B string would not saddle the bridge very well. I solved
this problem by switching to La Bella Super Steps strings. I didn't
know if I would like them at first but as it turns out, I like them
fine. With those strings, the intonation is a lot easier to set.
One problem I have with the SR885:
The pickups (stock 1991) are not as hot as they ought to be, especially
since this is an active bass. I get the best sound with the pickups
set flat (the middle click.. sorry the correct word escapes me).
Anyway, at this setting, the tone is great but the volume is low.
Playing live I can compensate by cranking up the sensitivity on my
wireless. However, this has been a problem in some studio situations.
If I turn both pickups all the way up, the hiss in intolerable. Even
with both pickups all the way up, the output is not as hot as some of
my other basses. So I use my Precision when I find myself recording.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Rick
Mohammad Seyal
The circuit board in my SR506 (6 string, bolt on) seems to be pretty
firmly mounted...And my SR is a '95 model w/o the vari-mid eq...That's
ok, I don't miss it...If you cut the mids, you lose too much volume
anyways, and the soundgears don't have a lot to spare...
Alex Basson
>>course, the feel of a bass differs from each person, but I've read many
>>good comments about the Ibanez SR400. The SR1000 is great, but if you are
>>willing to pay that amount of money, the SR1300 or SR1500(don't know if
>>they still make that one anymore) is a really great bass. But don't
The SR1000 was discontinued about three or four years ago -- too bad, because
it was a nice instrument. The SR800 seems to be their most popular model,
at least I see tons of people playing them. It strikes a nice balance
between the quality of the higher-end models with the price of the lower-
end models.
--
Alex Basson Standard disclaimers apply.
apba...@midway.uchicago.edu I don't think for the U of C,
University of Chicago I just study here.
jsh...@default.ibm.net
>flippin lovely they are
Couldn't agree more. I've got an SR885LE (fancy name for the 5 string)
in black. Great feeling axe.
I moved to this from a Precision about 4 years
ago (4 string) and have never turned back. I do have a few concerns about
the hum, as well as the lack of volume. Have any of you Soundgear users done
anything interesting with your electronics to fix up these shortcomings?
Steve
Mohammad Seyal
Yeah...I started playing thru a 450 watt SVT III. I don't have a problem
with lack of volume anymore :)