I’ve owned a lot of basses. And the Sound Gear series of basses by Ibanez are by far the most ergonomically comfortable instruments I played to this day. Best quality and sound? Probably not. But they don’t suck by any stretch. But it’s the COMFORT and FEEL that wins it for me.
@@jimbigboystoys4077 I’ve owned a few as well, and the neck was usually very very nice. Ever play a good Spector? That have great ergonomics with the curved body.
I’ve played soundgear basses for years and I’ve always enjoyed performing and recording with them. I currently own a modified Ibanez soundgear bass that has bartolini electronics and it sounds phenomenal. It’s one of my most treasured basses along with my schecter and Yamaha basses. 😎🤘🏻🎸
I had a SR bass way back in the early 90’s and was in a very busy cover band. I remember I liked the neck and light weight, it just sounded kind of generic….it was missing a unique or signature sound I wanted. I was listening to a lot of RHCP at the time and sold it to fund a Stingray, which I still have.
I’ve played almost exclusively Ibanez basses. Have had a few other brands, but sold them. Nothing wrong with the actual instruments. I’m so just used to how Ibanez’s feel and play. I only have 2 right now. One is my Ibanez GSR 206, was just a cheap 6 string for me to try it. I still love it. My main driver is an SR605E. I found myself not using the high C string much with the music I write, so I went back to 5 string. I do have a cheap Rogue LX205b. Was 80 bucks on sale, so I use that as my practice bass when I travel. Not exactly how I like basses to feel, but if something ever happens to it, it’s not too much of a big deal. But yeah, I learned on Ibanez basses and guitars. It’s not so much brand loyalty. It’s really a matter of feel, as I said before, and familiarity. I understand their weird model names and all the things that come with Ibby’s. Their guitars are hit or miss, but I’ve yet to play any of their basses, cheap or explosive, that didn’t play and sound great. Best bang for buck instruments on the bass end. My most recent ones that I sold were the standard 200, and 200 Mikro basses. Wish I didn’t, but I needed the extra money to fix my car lol For me it’s Schecter guitars and Ibanez basses.
just a detail I always felt was important with the SG (and Yamaha TRBX) the long 24-fret neck allows for a somewhat smaller lighter body, it is barely bigger than a guitar body.
Thank you for giving the SR basses an honest assessment. Ibanez is constantly innovating and providing more options to the beginners, the working musicians, and the professionals. As a lifelong Ibanez guitar player, their is a reason why I am such. With Gibson and Fender, I can buy 8 guitars and have everything that they have to offer. With basses, I could by 5.
Me carrying what is probably the most comfortable 6 string I've played.. the BTB806MS. (Ok.. not SR.. but I am hoping for a SRD906F... ) Good sound, sleek, fast.. beautiful.
Love your channel. How is the SR2605, if you had to review it in one line? Been planning to get one. Looks very attractive and spec'd out. Do the Big SIngles hum a lot?
@anuragchoudhury2079 hey, thank you! A review of the 2605 is in the works. I personally love it!! I also love the Big Singles as they are very articulate and punchy. They don't hum on (poorly wired) stages that normally make my J basses buzz. It does have a few warnings that I'll talk about in the video
Great video man❤. I'm mainly a guitar player but I also like to play bass especially for my backing tracks and sometimes out jamming with others. I bought one of these 4 years ago with active bass boost. It surprised me no hum from the active part. I wasn't surprised by how well it played and sounded. It's an Ibanez and I expected it to play and sound great. I've been playing Ibanez products since 1976 and have always been satisfied .
@@Nordster SRX body contour is less ergonomic - more like a traditional slab body with SR shape. But thx for pointing it out - haven't seen it before. Looked up for some videos, but it did not sound inspiring
You ever gigged with a 6-string bass? I got a sub 500€ SR306 for a Progmetal gig, really the only venue I think this type of bass is suitable for. And it plays like a dream, I feel with soundgears, as long as you play good, they sound good. Cheers!
If there's any production bass that comes close to sounding like an Alembic it's the ol' Musician. I own a MC9240LE and it's my most treasured bass, I'll never ever sell it.
Love this video. Personally I'm always tired of seeing the same old content on bass youtube about the same technique tips. Would love to see more bass history content whether on gear or on evolution of the trends in music.
I had a really nice turquoise active SR Bass. I ended up selling at after about 2 years as it had too many knobs and switches on it for me. It looked pretty much brand new when I sold it, even had the tag and the plastic plate explaining the knobs. About a year later the person who bought it was selling it on FB market place, it had strings and a string saddle missing and one of the plastic knob covers had been pulled off.
Excellent Video !!! Glad you made this video. Very informative and true. I own the Musician Series 924. Ibanez is doing what other companies should be doing, which is exploring, being innovative and trying to make a better instrument, instead of repeating History. Back in the day, I was going to buy a Fender Jazz or a Travis Bean and a salesman said to me try Ibanez which was cheaper and sounded better if I didn't care about brand name and buying an instrument to resale later for a profit. Man, Ibanez blew Fender and the others out of the water. I never looked back since !! I read a Bass Music magazine where Stanley Clarke was so impressed he bought one and even included a picture of it on the record sleeve of his album "I wanna play for you." Which displayed several of the basses he owned, laid out on the steps of a doorway. A true musician cares about the instrument can do and not the name on the instrument !
I still have my first bass SR305 and still going strong all these years. super fast and it has its own sound.. sounds way different from any of my other basses.
I own three my self: a 4 string, a 4 string fretless and a 5 string fretless. Love ‘em. They are light, the necks are thin and are on the affordable side.
I'm a bloomer blues boomer. Loved SRV, picked up a strat, gave it to my son, he loves it. He just asked me about new guitars since he's a new guitarist. Awesome vid Rib, as usual. It would be cool if you made some vids about amps/cabs.
@natron1908 thank you as always and I plan on doing amps/cabs in the foreseeable future.....the issue I have with amps/cabs is they usually don't translate well in any video demo ( one of those things that make more accurate sense hearing it live in the same room as the amp/cab, if that makes any sense)
@@Rib13Bass Yep, totally understand. If you have a space where you really crank the volume it could show the difference in sustain, playability, tone, etc. Your opinion would carry more weight (pun intended) with your audience probably since everyone is listening on their phones, and I bet you have some really funny stories about moving 8x10s.
@@Rib13Bass you can select from my Crate of Failed Bass Phases: -used set of round wounds -$30 multi effects pedal -a few cut up bits of sponge -giant triangle pick? Where the hell did that come from? -1/2 a joint
My first bass was a '97 SR300DX in Jewel Blue. Sold it when I was young, and regret it almost daily. Loved that guitar. Took a 2 decade hiatus to raise kids, and just recently got back into music. Curently playing on a little Gio GSRM20 Mikro in Roadster Metallic Orange just for kicks, and it's been a blast. I will be acquiring a new SR300EDX in Cosmic Blue Frozen Matte, among several others of varying pedigree soon. I'm just as much into collecting as i am playing. May even pick up an RGB in matte black for that old school metal vibe, or a BTB. Ibanez is by far my favorite maker. Fenders and Music Mans sound great, but their designs are decades old and stale. I can't imagine playing on anything without the Ibanez name on the headstock, except maybe a Kubicki if the time and price are right someday. Ibanez is always fresh and funky, loaded with innovation at reasonable prices. Hard not to love them.
A year and a half ago I went to a music store to check out one of the new Fender Ultra Precisions with the special Umbra finish but couldn't justify paying the $2800 price tag. I ended up walking out of the store with a new Ibanez SR400 in Tropical Seafloor finish instead for $550. Must've made the salesman's day, eh?. A quick change of the pickups to a set of Aguilar Super Doubles and added a Hipshot D-Tuner and it's my #1 goto bass now for everything.
'80s and '90s Sr. Series. Incredible quality. Now that they're all beat up, they go for a fraction of the cost. 20 years ago I bought a musicman and the brand new sound gears were the same price. I mean next to it
My second bass was an SR400 back in the early 90s. Honestly, they're fantastic instruments, but I absolutely HATE the thin necks. If it weren't for that, I'd have played them all along.
Back in the day, you weren’t considered a “proper band” if the bassist wasn’t playing a Soundgear and the guitarist wasn’t playing an RG series. 😂 I know. Because I had lot’s of RG’s. 😎 🤣
I used to work in a guitar shop, how many times did I hear boomer trash Ibanez like it's the worst thing ever created...until I convinced them to play one (but they still would go for the fender or gibson in the end...)
I’ve owned a lot of basses. And the Sound Gear series of basses by Ibanez are by far the most ergonomically comfortable instruments I played to this day. Best quality and sound? Probably not. But they don’t suck by any stretch. But it’s the COMFORT and FEEL that wins it for me.
@@jimbigboystoys4077 I’ve owned a few as well, and the neck was usually very very nice. Ever play a good Spector? That have great ergonomics with the curved body.
@
Yes, I tried one out at our local Guitar Center once. They’re pretty nice too.
I’ve played soundgear basses for years and I’ve always enjoyed performing and recording with them. I currently own a modified Ibanez soundgear bass that has bartolini electronics and it sounds phenomenal. It’s one of my most treasured basses along with my schecter and Yamaha basses. 😎🤘🏻🎸
Great video! Love the historic background :)
I had a SR bass way back in the early 90’s and was in a very busy cover band. I remember I liked the neck and light weight, it just sounded kind of generic….it was missing a unique or signature sound I wanted. I was listening to a lot of RHCP at the time and sold it to fund a Stingray, which I still have.
I’ve played almost exclusively Ibanez basses. Have had a few other brands, but sold them. Nothing wrong with the actual instruments.
I’m so just used to how Ibanez’s feel and play. I only have 2 right now. One is my Ibanez GSR 206, was just a cheap 6 string for me to try it. I still love it. My main driver is an SR605E.
I found myself not using the high C string much with the music I write, so I went back to 5 string. I do have a cheap Rogue LX205b. Was 80 bucks on sale, so I use that as my practice bass when I travel. Not exactly how I like basses to feel, but if something ever happens to it, it’s not too much of a big deal.
But yeah, I learned on Ibanez basses and guitars. It’s not so much brand loyalty. It’s really a matter of feel, as I said before, and familiarity. I understand their weird model names and all the things that come with Ibby’s. Their guitars are hit or miss, but I’ve yet to play any of their basses, cheap or explosive, that didn’t play and sound great. Best bang for buck instruments on the bass end.
My most recent ones that I sold were the standard 200, and 200 Mikro basses. Wish I didn’t, but I needed the extra money to fix my car lol
For me it’s Schecter guitars and Ibanez basses.
Another solid video.
just a detail I always felt was important with the SG (and Yamaha TRBX) the long 24-fret neck allows for a somewhat smaller lighter body, it is barely bigger than a guitar body.
Thank you for giving the SR basses an honest assessment. Ibanez is constantly innovating and providing more options to the beginners, the working musicians, and the professionals. As a lifelong Ibanez guitar player, their is a reason why I am such. With Gibson and Fender, I can buy 8 guitars and have everything that they have to offer. With basses, I could by 5.
video starts at 4:11
I HAVE A 1988 IBANEZ EX606
BUT I LOVE MY 2014 FENDER JAZZ
Me carrying what is probably the most comfortable 6 string I've played.. the BTB806MS. (Ok.. not SR.. but I am hoping for a SRD906F... )
Good sound, sleek, fast.. beautiful.
Love your channel. How is the SR2605, if you had to review it in one line?
Been planning to get one. Looks very attractive and spec'd out. Do the Big SIngles hum a lot?
@anuragchoudhury2079 hey, thank you! A review of the 2605 is in the works. I personally love it!! I also love the Big Singles as they are very articulate and punchy. They don't hum on (poorly wired) stages that normally make my J basses buzz. It does have a few warnings that I'll talk about in the video
Great video man❤. I'm mainly a guitar player but I also like to play bass especially for my backing tracks and sometimes out jamming with others. I bought one of these 4 years ago with active bass boost. It surprised me no hum from the active part. I wasn't surprised by how well it played and sounded. It's an Ibanez and I expected it to play and sound great. I've been playing Ibanez products since 1976 and have always been satisfied .
GREAT AWSOME VIDEO!!! not an Ibanez bass fan , I would like to one day demo an SR5005.
Very comfortable and ergonomic design. It's a shame there is no SR bass with MM pickup and it's positioning.
SRX400. Not an MM pickup but i think the pickup positioning is close
@@Nordster SRX body contour is less ergonomic - more like a traditional slab body with SR shape. But thx for pointing it out - haven't seen it before. Looked up for some videos, but it did not sound inspiring
You ever gigged with a 6-string bass? I got a sub 500€ SR306 for a Progmetal gig, really the only venue I think this type of bass is suitable for. And it plays like a dream, I feel with soundgears, as long as you play good, they sound good. Cheers!
love my ibanez mc924, ive played an alembic before and prefer the ibanez, i think that was one of their best achievements
If there's any production bass that comes close to sounding like an Alembic it's the ol' Musician. I own a MC9240LE and it's my most treasured bass, I'll never ever sell it.
Love this video. Personally I'm always tired of seeing the same old content on bass youtube about the same technique tips. Would love to see more bass history content whether on gear or on evolution of the trends in music.
I had a really nice turquoise active SR Bass. I ended up selling at after about 2 years as it had too many knobs and switches on it for me. It looked pretty much brand new when I sold it, even had the tag and the plastic plate explaining the knobs. About a year later the person who bought it was selling it on FB market place, it had strings and a string saddle missing and one of the plastic knob covers had been pulled off.
Excellent Video !!! Glad you made this video. Very informative and true. I own the Musician Series 924. Ibanez is doing what other companies should be doing, which is exploring, being innovative and trying to make a better instrument, instead of repeating History. Back in the day, I was going to buy a Fender Jazz or a Travis Bean and a salesman said to me try Ibanez which was cheaper and sounded better if I didn't care about brand name and buying an instrument to resale later for a profit. Man, Ibanez blew Fender and the others out of the water. I never looked back since !! I read a Bass Music magazine where Stanley Clarke was so impressed he bought one and even included a picture of it on the record sleeve of his album "I wanna play for you."
Which displayed several of the basses he owned, laid out on the steps of a doorway. A true musician cares about the instrument can do and not the name on the instrument !
Nicely done as usual Rib!
I still have my first bass SR305 and still going strong all these years. super fast and it has its own sound.. sounds way different from any of my other basses.
My main basses are a SR500 and and a SR600. They’re great!
I own three my self: a 4 string, a 4 string fretless and a 5 string fretless. Love ‘em. They are light, the necks are thin and are on the affordable side.
I'm a bloomer blues boomer. Loved SRV, picked up a strat, gave it to my son, he loves it. He just asked me about new guitars since he's a new guitarist. Awesome vid Rib, as usual. It would be cool if you made some vids about amps/cabs.
@natron1908 thank you as always and I plan on doing amps/cabs in the foreseeable future.....the issue I have with amps/cabs is they usually don't translate well in any video demo ( one of those things that make more accurate sense hearing it live in the same room as the amp/cab, if that makes any sense)
@@Rib13Bass Yep, totally understand. If you have a space where you really crank the volume it could show the difference in sustain, playability, tone, etc. Your opinion would carry more weight (pun intended) with your audience probably since everyone is listening on their phones, and I bet you have some really funny stories about moving 8x10s.
@@natron1908 lol omg yes 😆
I still have my 1996 SR-405. Still love it, too!
That was excellent. Thank you.
I missed out on the Boomer Blues Boom, but I did partake in the Boozer/User Loser sensation of the early 2000s.
Thanks for the tips! 10/10 fricheks
Where can I redeem my accumulated fricheks for prizes? I need another coffee pot
@@Rib13Bass🤣
@@Rib13Bass you can select from my Crate of Failed Bass Phases:
-used set of round wounds
-$30 multi effects pedal
-a few cut up bits of sponge
-giant triangle pick? Where the hell did that come from?
-1/2 a joint
My first bass was a '97 SR300DX in Jewel Blue. Sold it when I was young, and regret it almost daily. Loved that guitar. Took a 2 decade hiatus to raise kids, and just recently got back into music. Curently playing on a little Gio GSRM20 Mikro in Roadster Metallic Orange just for kicks, and it's been a blast. I will be acquiring a new SR300EDX in Cosmic Blue Frozen Matte, among several others of varying pedigree soon. I'm just as much into collecting as i am playing. May even pick up an RGB in matte black for that old school metal vibe, or a BTB. Ibanez is by far my favorite maker. Fenders and Music Mans sound great, but their designs are decades old and stale. I can't imagine playing on anything without the Ibanez name on the headstock, except maybe a Kubicki if the time and price are right someday. Ibanez is always fresh and funky, loaded with innovation at reasonable prices. Hard not to love them.
Ibanez basses far surpass Fender in basically all aspects in my opinion.
My only issue with Ibanez basses is that finicky barrel jack they use
I agree, except for their looks. They always have the most tasteless finishes.
I’m glad I stumbled on this, mythical pull.
I love my Soundgear 5 string. My favorite bass I’ve ever had.
Great basses
A year and a half ago I went to a music store to check out one of the new Fender Ultra Precisions with the special Umbra finish but couldn't justify paying the $2800 price tag. I ended up walking out of the store with a new Ibanez SR400 in Tropical Seafloor finish instead for $550. Must've made the salesman's day, eh?. A quick change of the pickups to a set of Aguilar Super Doubles and added a Hipshot D-Tuner and it's my #1 goto bass now for everything.
@rattan3793 awesome! Grats.....I wasn't tickled by the Ultras either: they're good but not 2800 good lol
'80s and '90s Sr. Series. Incredible quality. Now that they're all beat up, they go for a fraction of the cost. 20 years ago I bought a musicman and the brand new sound gears were the same price. I mean next to it
My second bass was an SR400 back in the early 90s. Honestly, they're fantastic instruments, but I absolutely HATE the thin necks. If it weren't for that, I'd have played them all along.
Nice video! I'm thinking of getting one for the lighter weight. Which Ibanez is your favorite?
@@BobBlackBass I'll run my 2605 by the store for you to check out this week
The premium and prestige models are very well made basses. I’d buy a prestige over a Stingray any day.
@vincebowling1778 I have a SR2605 Premium and it is my absolute favorite 5 string
That was fun.
I kept noticing that there are more Ibanez Sound Gear basses being sold on kijiji than any other bass...
I still prefer the musician fretless that sting used to play, they should bring it back.
@jamesmacleod671 would love to see Musician reissues.....I would get one....would love to see the 8 String version reissued as well
@@Rib13Bass too right, it was a classic design which I liked, it was up there with the Wal fretless which I used to own.
They made some carbon fiber cousins of the Soundgear called Ergodyne.
I have 3.
More than half of my collection is made up of Ibanez basses, three of which are SR’s. I just love to play them.
@myoptik3x103 I have four Ibanez basses: a SR2605, a SR505, a Destroyer, and a BTB845.....I love all of them lol
I'm drawn to the sr500 series. Can anyone with practical experience, I'd like to hear your opinion.
@@dennisrohm6372 there's a review of the sr505 on my channel
i had a cheaper sound design blue n black burst. didn't compare to my deans. glad it was stolen. my dean skull crusher, crushes. 💀 🍻
Ibanez use of poor quality plastic tone control knobs and apparent sloppy controller installation sabotage what should be a great family of basses
Back in the day, you weren’t considered a “proper band” if the bassist wasn’t playing a Soundgear and the guitarist wasn’t playing an RG series. 😂 I know. Because I had lot’s of RG’s. 😎 🤣
Ibanez gives you a whole lot of bass guitar for the money. I'd take a soundgear over any Gibson; except to sell it and buy an Ibanez.
#38_inspired🤔🇺🇸
I used to work in a guitar shop, how many times did I hear boomer trash Ibanez like it's the worst thing ever created...until I convinced them to play one (but they still would go for the fender or gibson in the end...)
This explains everything. Dang boomers got their grubby little fingers in everything...
@@Isaiah-ft5nx lol....just this one man's observation from living through that era....it wasn't meant as a derogatory statement: its just what it was
I've never been a fan. The necks feel too thin for me
@@peterjanjanin9883 I get that: they're not for everybody. No bass is really
@Rib13Bass I had the Gary Willis model, the cheaper version, not the expensive one
My 1st bass was an Ibanez TR series 🤣 The Thundercat model looks interesting
If only there were passive options in all but the cheapest of the cheap. Batteries are for toys.
@zhegwood most of the new SRs have passive/active switches now. My 2605 has it
Unfortunately, they have really ugly head stocks..
@osXcanada I do too but my Mom chose to love me anyway :)
@ my mom tied baloney slices around my ears so the dog would play with me!