Help me choose an Ibanez bass

[saarangnarayan]

So I currently have a bass-shaped hole in my guitar rack, and I'm pretty set on putting an Ibanez bass in it. I've had an older version (from 2008) of what is now the Yamaha TRBX304, and I had an Ibanez SR500E for a couple of years which I had to sell when I was moving countries. The Ibanez SR felt and played MUCH better than any other bass I've ever tried, and so it's a no-brainer for me to go with that again. But I was wondering if it's worth upgrading to either their headless ones or one of the other SRs that they offer. I'm quite keen on having a multiscale bass which would allow me a tad more tension on the lower strings. My caveman self likes to tune the bass like my guitars to Drop C, so I was also wondering if getting a 5-string would be a good way to go or not?

The SRMS720 with the Fishman Fluences seems pretty tempting right now, and that blue chameleon finish is something I'm really into. Though it might be cool to have the headless option, considering they supposedly can be transported in a regular guitar gig bag.

Would love to hear y'alls' thoughts and experiences on the matter!

P.S.– I'm not a bassist proper, but I do like to lay down bass tracks for a lot of different kinds of stuff, so the tonal diversity of an Ibanez is right up my alley, but I'm open to other brands, too. It'll need a bit of arm-twisting tho!

 

[paisleywookiee]

That SRMS720 is awesome, definitely recommend. Just have it set up for C. The headless basses are VERY different feeling. Flatter radius and shape. I do like them though.

 

[RGB]

I've been looking at some of the Ibanez short scale basses as I need one for my music room too. Don't want anything fancy, just something to do tracks at home.

Maybe I'll get some ideas here as well.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I've been looking at some of the Ibanez short scale basses as I need one for my music room too. Don't want anything fancy, just something to do tracks at home.

Maybe I'll get some ideas here as well.

The SRMD200? It’s a fun bass, but it’s cheap. I wish it were made better.

 

[RGB]

I was looking at the TMB30 and the other low dollar short scale offerings. Haven't looked at other brands though. Just getting started.

 

[Frankencat]

As someone who has worked on many of these I want to say that these are very decent basses as far as playability and sound but the hardware is absolutely junk. Update the bridge and tuners and they are great.

 

[paisleywookiee]

As someone who has worked on many of these I want to say that these are very decent basses as far as playability and sound but the hardware is absolutely junk. Update the bridge and tuners and they are great.

Yeah agreed. Talmans are cool, but I’ve seen the tuners literally fall apart. Plan to replace.

 

[maguchi]

Iceman? JK.

 

[saarangnarayan]

Iceman? JK.

I wish! That EHB upper horn does remind me of that, tho.

 

[saarangnarayan]

As someone who has worked on many of these I want to say that these are very decent basses as far as playability and sound but the hardware is absolutely junk. Update the bridge and tuners and they are great.

Which ones specifically? SRs or EHBs? I had a very good run with my SR500E and the hardware on it felt quite solid.

 

[saarangnarayan]

The headless basses are VERY different feeling. Flatter radius and shape.

I don't mind that since I'm not too wedded to any particular spec like that. I have read online tho that the headless ones seem to have a bit more QC problems than other models. The other trouble is that the SRMS720 isn't readily available with any music stores (online or otherwise) near me.

 

[metropolis_4]

If you’re going for a 5 string I would recommend trying a 5 string SR first and make sure you’re OK with the string spacing. Most 5 string SR’s have super narrow string spacing.

If you find you don’t like it there are some SRs with wider string spacing, you just have to dig a little more

 

[Will Onyx]

I haven’t looked at the current Ibanez lineup but if it’s similar to years past, I’d start with the SR500 series and look upwards from there. That always seemed to be the cut off where they offered better hardware and electronics/pickups.