SeriesIbanez SR

The Ibanez Soundgear Series SR305 Iron Pewter is an inexpensive 5 string bass guitar. The bass wasn't made in the USA and was actually made in Indonesia. It's got two EXF passive pick ups and the neck is super thin. I don't know much about the materials this bass is made up of beyond that... UTILIZATION The playability of the Ibanez Soundgear Series SR305 Iron Pewter is actually way better than I thought it would be. The thin neck goes a long way with helping to navigate up and down the neck and controlling your tone is even easier. Each pick up has separate tone and volume control and getting a good sound is fairly simple if you can play a bit. You're not going to get the best bass sound in the world, but it's certainly far from the worst. SOUNDS The overall sound of the Ibanez Soundgear Series SR305 Iron Pewter isn't going to be anything to write home about, but it does sound pretty decent for the price. The pick ups are pretty decent and between the two of them and the tone knobs, you should be able to get a nice collection of different sounds. Again, don't expect this to be the punchiest or deepest sounding bass out there, but it will give you a nice collection of sounds in between. OVERALL OPINION The Ibanez Soundgear Series SR305 Iron Pewter is great bang for your buck if you're looking for a decent 5 string bass. It's pretty easy to play and has a decent enough sound to get by for playing shows for sure. It's not an ideal bass for recording because it doesn't have the fullest sound, but if it was your only choice you could get away with it in a project studio. If you'd like a 5 string bass to have around but don't want to spend too much money on it, the Ibanez Soundgear Series SR305 Iron Pewter is a great in between instrument for a more than reasonable price.

I bought this bass at a place in London, Ontario called John Bellone's Musical Instruments. I paid $400 plus taxes for it. Right off the bat I was impressed with how it sounded. It has a real deep yet almost twangy sound. I also like how the neck moulds to my hand. My friends have told me that wood doesnt mold to your hand, but I'm telling you it does. The frets are flawless, they are so smooth I can slide from the bottom all the way to the top without the worry of cutting my fingers.(I know that shouldn't be an issue, but I've played some guitars that shredded my hands)The strings stay in tune suprisingly long. I could be rocking out hard for 4 or 5 hours at band practice, come back next week, and they're still in tune. To be totally honest, there is nothing I don't like about this guitar. This bass is SOLID!! For anyone who plays bass a lot, Im telling you, you arent going to find a more solid guitar then this. I've dropped it many a times and she still keeps goin strong. The neck is attatched to the body with what seems like concrete, it is extremely strong. IF you are looking for a bass guitar in the $400 range, I hgihly recommend this guitar. It is amazing, I guarantee you'll like it. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

SPECS Neck Material: 5pc Jatoba/ Bubinga Neck Type: SR5 Body: Light Ash body Frets: Medium frets Fingerboard: Rosewood Inlay: Abalone oval inlay Bridge: Accu-Cast B25 bridge NeckPU: Bartolini® MK1-5-F BridgePU: Bartolini® MK1-5-R EQ: EQB-IIIS HW Color: Black Flat Finishes: NTF, WNF Scale/Length 864mm/34" a: Width at Nut 45mm b: Width Last Fret 67mm c: Thickness 1st Fret 19.5mm d: Thickness 12th Fret 21.5mm Radius 305mm PICKUPS Bridge Pickup Name: BARTOLINI® MK1 Model No: MK1-5-R Construction: Humbucking/Passive Magnet: Ceramic Description: Five string version of MK1-4-R. High output with well balanced tone. Neck Pickup Name: BARTOLINI® MK1 Model No: MK1-5-F Construction: Humbucking/Passive Magnet: Ceramic Description: Five string version of MK1-4-F. High output with well balanced tone. UTILIZATION I really cannot rave enough about Ibanez Soundgear series basses. This model in particular is a great example of a 5 string that won't break the bank, yet offers a lot of high pro-grade features. The playability, balance, and feel of the bass is top-notch. I can do whatever slap, pick, finger, or tapping techniques I need to do. The workmanship is also excellent for this price range. SOUNDS The Bartolinis, mixed with the electronics, offer a huge variety of tones to choose from. I cannot imagine needing any kind of raw bass tone that this particular bass could not provide - it'll do anything, from metal to country, jazz to hip-hop, and everything in between. The 3 band EQ plus mid-frequency switch allows me to make this bass sound like whatever I hear in my head. OVERALL OPINION I'm giving this perfect tens for the price point. No matter what style one plays, this bass could be a perfect addition to the bass rig. The low B is very tight and doesn't sound flabby, and the SR605 overall looks fantastic, feels fantastic, plays fantastic, and sounds fantastic. It IS fantastic! Enough said!

The Ibanez SoundGear Series SR-800 is an electric bass guitar in the beginner to intermediate range of instruments. I don’t own this bass, but one of my best friends and former band mates has it, so I’ve heard it a lot and have also played it a lot myself. The SR-800 has got 24 frets, along with both a neck and a bridge pick up. It’s also got an on board equalizer right on the bass, which is a pretty cool feature. Although this is a fretted instrument, a number of years ago my friend took the frets out and made it a fretless. UTILIZATION The feel of the Ibanez SoundGear Series SR-800 is definitely more than adequate. It isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s easy enough to play for sure. Of course professionals and more experienced players will be looking for a more fluid feeling neck, but it’s easy enough to play up and down the 24 frets that I can’t complain too much about the feel. Using the pick up parameters is very simple, although the EQ isn’t something you’ll find on many basses. A manual isn’t necessary at all here… SOUNDS The overall sound of the Ibanez SoundGear Series SR-800 isn’t the best, but is adequate for the price range that it’s in. I wouldn’t record with it, but for practicing and getting started with a bass, it sounds just fine. You’ve got a good amount of control over your sound between the EQ and the two pick ups, although I like the sound of the bridge pick up a bit more for whatever reason. Now that this bass has been made into a fretless, it has a lot warmer and free sound… OVERALL OPINION For a lower end bass guitar, the Ibanez SoundGear Series SR-800 is a really good deal. It’s definitely a bass that I’d recommend for a beginner, or for a player looking for an upgrade from their student level instrument without having to spend too much money. I definitely like this bass a lot more since my friend made it a fretless, but it was a good bass to begin with for sure. I don’t know if they still make these basses, but the price of one new a few years ago was more than reasonable. Definitely a better instrument than the SR-100 for not too much more money…

(Originally written by Kennet/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Body: ash Fretboard: rosewood Inlays: small dots Bridge, tailpiece/ nut: Accu-cats BV Hardware: cosmo black Pickups: LO-J5 + LO-J5 (or LO-Z J/J depending on the production year 1988-1990) One volume, one balance, two tone controls UTILIZATION Very slim and pleasant neck especially for a 5-string bass. Excellent access to the upper frets. The bass is quite heavy but it depends on the strap you use... Versatile sound ranging from very smooth to hard. SOUNDS High output power, it's an active bass. It matches every music style. Slapping isn't easy due to the slimness of the neck. OVERALL OPINION I've been playing it since 1990 and I will never sell it. I have played with very expensive bass guitar (Musicman, Fender, etc.) but the neck of this SR05 is something you won't find on every instrument. Excellent value for money. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

So look here....this is not an expensive bass guitar. What it is is a very nice inexpensive bass guitar. UTILIZATION I put some high quality strings on mine and it is sweet. After I set it up and adjusted everything it plays great. SOUNDS With the tone controls and the bass boost it can get lots of tones. OVERALL OPINION I bought mine used for $130 with no case. That may be the best $130 I've ever spent. This guitar is fantastic for the money. I also have an Ibanez AS73 6 string that is a wonderful guitar too. Ibanez just knows how to make good guitars that are not expensive............and they do it well!

Black Finish Had it on loan from a friend for a while, its a great bass and not that expensive. This is a great simple bass. It is like a more professional version of the GSR200 I learned how to play bass on. This bass like most ibanezes is great for rock music and has just the tone you need. It has a lot of control with the different EQ knobs on it and is more versatile then the GSR beginner models. This bass is also great for slapping. And I love slapping, the tone holds real well for it. It has 24 frets which I can't stand not having, once you play with 24 frets you will wonder where they went if you play without them (unless you only play root notes and fifths) I am not a big fan of rosewood fretboards, I always prefer ebony, something about the feel of it just suits me better, but that is more a personal preference then a con. Also I prefer my strings a bit closer together, but again that is a preference. Well constructed and built to last as long as you do not abuse it more then normal use. It's a great bass and a good deal if you are a rock player. If you play different genre's calling for different tone, you may need to look elsewhere though. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have been playin bass since 7th grade I wm now in 11th so about 4 years under my belt I play both stand-up and bass guitar,guitar,dryums,etc.etc. pretty much any type of music u can think I like I play in a metal band called Unstable Society I started off playing viola I bought my Ibanez from Guitar Center in Rosedale Minn. I needed a better bass then my squier becuase I surpassed its capabilites and wanted a six string bass I paid about 700 dollars for my Ibanez Over all I loev the bass,the MK1 Bartonili electronics are amazing,great tone,the action and the way it plays is just beutiful,the finish is very nice,the bass hangs extremaly well when playin with a strap,the neck is very very thing which is very nice for reaching those low strings,tapping and slaping is very easy on it,the woods are very nice and resonate extremaly,the mahogany body give a nice bright sound,and the 5 piece neck made with three pieces of wedge and two strips of Bubinga is extrmaly smooth,and the active pickups don't kill that battery fast at all there is'nt alot that I don't like about the instrument the only thing I can think of is that the truss rod extremaly hard to get at and Ibanes should have put the truss rod adjusment nut at the bottom of the neck instead of at the top great,very solid well built bass A spectacular purchase for anyone looking for a six string bass,very good to learn on if you want to try your hand at a six string bass This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I play bass in a Christian Rock band known as Not Empty. We started writing music about 8 months ago, and at the time play a couple shows a month. I have played bass guitar for 5 years. I bought the SR 905 from Musician's Friend as a much needed upgrade for a price of $849.99. (I also bought the hardshell case made specifically for this bass- $109 or so. Well worth it!) There is so much good to say about this bass. It can play anything from rock to funk to jazz- you name it. I play diffrent types of rock in my band, and this guitar rocks thru them all. It gives all these awesome sounds thru the active on-board Bartolini MK-1 3-band EQ. This EQ is amazing. With a 9-Volt Battery,(Which I haven't changed since I got the bass a year ago; and its still going, and going, and going...) you can boost your bass, mids, highs, and overall volume individually. Also complementing this EQ are the two Bartolini MK1-5 Neck and Bridge Pickups. I love Bartolini's. After playing a bunch of basses (Warwick, MusicMan, Pedulla, etc) before choosing this one for best quality, sound, and price, I knew that my final choice would have Bart's equiped. But enough about electronics. The wood- Bubinga/Maple. That says enough there. Great sound, and don't get me started on the sustain. Just like the battery, it keeps going, and going... at the end of a song, I have to stop the string or it will ring for a minute! Tuning- this baby will hold a tune for a long time. My old bass (a samick) didnt hold a tune for very long, so I was tuning it between every song. But now with the SR 905, I often forget to tune for an entire show. And you couldn't tell. Looks- Wow. This is a STUNNING guitar. the charcoal brown flat (cherry-ish) finish on the Bubinga/Maple is beautiful. And the finish is natural. It isn't a Gloss finish where the guitar feels like plastic. You can feel the grain of the wood. Some people wouldn't like this because you have to wipe it down often to keep the oils of your hands from marring the finish, but I think it is worth it. Action and Playability- Very close to perfect. Easy to play and a great action setup. The fingerboard is Rosewood- I didn't think I would like it as much as my faithful maple fingerboard on my samich, but I like it better. Very smooth playing. As you can see by all the above, this is a great guitar. (my fingers hurt from typing...but I just cant't stop! this bass rocks!) Well, not too much not to like. The only thing is the action if you play something smooth, like jazz. It rattles a little at certain spots, but with a little tweaking with the truss and bridge, this could be fixed. (but for rock, this is OK) I think that is the only thing. Top of the line. It sports Neck-Thru-Body construction. The best way you can build a guitar. If you don't know what this is, check out ibanez.com Quality- Accu-Cast B25 Bridge. This bridge gives you the option of putting your strings thru the back of the body, or thru the bottom of the bridge. Nice option to have. I put mine thru the body for best sustain, but putting them thru the bridge might fix the rattle. The bridge and tuners are an aged metal-ish material. Rock solid. This axe will stand up to anything. Bottom line, Great bass. and for the price, you can't top it. It well excedes my needs in a guitar, and it will yours as well. On a side note, I would purchace this from a dealer where you can personaly play and see the guitar before buying. When I recived this from MF, there was a big dent in the back. Now, I called them and got sixety bucks back and don't think much of a dent in the back, but some peeps might. If you are looking for an awesome rocking bass, you've found the one! Rock On! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I accquired this from a london music shop for £480 I love the way this bass looks, its dark oil finish and black hardware make it look very classy, and its light, balances well, and the has a nice flat slim low profile neck and the fact its made in japan is a bonus ok, firstly the frets buzz, despite playing around with the action, adjusting the neck and fret work, it still buzzed, the sound isnt great, the sound is always a really stringy high treble sound or a boxed in stringy muffled sound, and i dont know where the sustain is but its not here, but to be fair it does have a certain amount of punch but dissapears quickly, a real dissapointment, plus when you play you can hear the frets clicking on the low B and E strings which gives you a percussive sound through the amp, i dont mind this on occasion but you end up sounding like fieldy from korn alot of the time, plus there is a green streak running through the bridge where its not been finished properly its constructed quite solidly and the bridge is nice and strong, its a bolt on body and its bolted on with 4 bolts. well i have to say i was dissapointed with this bass, and i sold it, it looks nice and is nicely balanced but limited tone options, percussive, and the frets buzz alot, no sustain, i wouldnt reccomend this bass, i bought myself a musicman after buying this, and they are worlds apart, my advice would be to look for something else than this particular ibanez This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought it in Greece at local Ibanez dealer for 320 Euros... Great price for a bass like this! Really liked an older one from Ibanez (765JM). Terrific color! Anyway, I just got this one which is about two times cheaper and looks like it. Actually, I needed a 4-stringer but I went for a 5-er just because I liked the pickups more! (hmm, intelligent choice :-)) In my opinion, it's one of the best (if not the ONE) in this price range. Comfortable, nice action, attack, sound. At first it sounded a bit tinny, but that can always be tweaked... Nice black finish and LOOOOTS of room for experimentation (both musically and technically). Don't like the Bass-Boost. And the rest of the electronics in there. It does need a small fix here and there - nothing a layman can't do... I've already replaced most of the nickel hardware with black parts. Also planning to change ALL of the electronics. Everything works fine out-of-the-box. Nothing has gone wrong until now, but that's mainly because I treat it like a child ;-) (practicing-too young to have one). As I said, it has to be your main consideration for a 5-string bass in the 300-400$ price range. Great job from Ibanez! 2 thumbs and 2 toes up. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I recieved the bass as a gift for my birthday, because I wanted a 5 string for extra range, to my knowlege it cost $799NZ. The active controls are great for shaping a room filling sound that depending on your tastes can either blend in with a band or stand out in it's own sonic spectrum. The extra range is OK but I don't play anything lower than the low D because it doesn't really blend in with the other instruments, I have found the best sound and range out of this instrument is acheived by stringing it with D'addario flat wounds and tuning it in fifths from low to high 5=D 4=A 3=E 2=B 1=F# which gives you a range of 5 octaves and 4 semitones compared to the 4 octaves and 8 semitones of a standard tuned five and 4 octaves and 3 semitones of a four (all excluding harmonics), the low D is the equivalent of Drop D while the high F# is the equivalent of the 14th fret on the high E of a guitar.The input jack is solid as a rock and the battery seem to last for ages I've just changed my battery for the first time since march it is now august! I didn't like the brightness of the instrument, it's good for popular music styles but doesn't have the depth required for jazz, blues, latin or reggae even with the bass control turned right up and the mids and treble rolled off. Also the tight string spacing makes slapping a lot harder, I don't have huge hands or anything like that even though standard slap pop techniques are easy enogh to pull off, I found whe you get into the serious slap stuff like double thumbing(like Victor Wooten) or double plucking (like Ray Reindeau) these advanced techniques require far too much concentration to do on this bass. A warwick thumb with wide spacing option is a billion time better than this bass for such playing. The maple body is a touch on the heavy side for me but I put that down to me usually playing 4strings even though it is well balanced on the lap and on the strap. When I opened the electronic cavity for the first time yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find a fully sheilded compartment with foil and conductive paint, threaded screw inserts neatly placed electronics and a solid battery mount. the three piece maple neck is quite comfortable even for small hands and shouldn't intimidate anyone, tuners are quite accurate and hold their pithch well. The nut on my bass was properly cut and the action low with no string buzzes, whenever I get a new instrument I ussually set them up myself but on this bass there was no need I haven't even adjusted the neck. Just a well built bass. If you are wanting to delve into 5 string land and are looking for a bass which is easy on the hands then this is probably a good bet. It has a good preamp but does't have all the sounds in there which is fine if you don't want to play jazz or latin. This bass is probably perfect for what I am doing with that is playing in a 4 piece rock band with two guitars to cut through also responds well to effects such as electroharmonix bassball, crybabby wah and boss turbo overdrive, alll in all a good bass at a good price but final thoughts a set of flatwound really makes this bass sound great and does add considerable depth I recommend D'addarios 45-130 chromes. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com