Members J. Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Is there a musical instrument equivalent to television's "jumped the shark" saying? I was seriously considering an Ibanez SR505 last fall. They're solid basses, Made in Korea, with a nice five piece neck (laminated exotic woods), two bartolini soapbars and good overall construction. Well, I just picked one up in Guitar Center this week. They're now made in Indonesia, the neck is three pieces of the same wood (don't know what it is... some darker 'exotic' wood), and the quality control has suffered. The one I played had mediocre fretwork, a lot of small fit and finish flaws (including bubbles in the hardware plating), and a horrible design change that saw the battery cavity moved to an awkward location right in the middle of the body. Of course, the price is still the same. The website still lists the neck as a five piece, but the one I played sure didn't have one. http://www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/model-SR505 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scary Bill Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 That sucks.I never liked the SR s, but I never hated them either. Gotta pump up the profits though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flâneur Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ther's an old SR505 on ebay UK at the moment. Dunno if m'laddo would send it to the US, but it might be worth asking, with the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reverend179 Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 That makes me sad. One of my first basses was an SR5 with the 5-piece neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 The stain no longer looks like the one pictured. They're now darker and more red. Like this: Not an improvement if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigPigPeaches Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 The phrase for bass badness is "It Dereked" or "It Duck Bluesed". But don't be whipping that out too often. It does tend to cause nausea around these parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bryan316 Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 I share your opinions about the differences you've seen. I've played the excellent earlier build, and one of the newer Indo pieces of crap. Still, the build quality is nothing like the Prestige line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 ^^^^^^^^^^^ MIJ FTW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 That's too bad, the SR-505 I had last year was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 ^^^^^^^^^^^ MIJ FTW! +1 Love my MIJ Yammy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 That's a bummer. I sure am glad I grabbed that ATK750KA that's still made in Korea and absolutely kills for $349.00. Indonesia? They must be using Tsunami Ash to build it now! I'd take it back since it's obvious you don't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bryan316 Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Find a Korean-made SR-505. They're around, I still see them sitting in the back of the stores, maybe with an inconvenient dent or scratch. So? It's a low-cost bass. It's a workhorse. It ain't a Ritter piece of art, it's a player's bass. Find it, SNAG IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Find a Korean-made SR-505. They're around, I still see them sitting in the back of the stores, maybe with an inconvenient dent or scratch. So? It's a low-cost bass. It's a workhorse. It ain't a Ritter piece of art, it's a player's bass. Find it, SNAG IT. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have a GC right across the parking lot from work here. Sure is convenient!! Wish I grabbed that all-tube Peavey head when they cleared them out for 350.00! I'll see if they have a Korean SR 505. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have a GC right across the parking lot from work here. Sure is convenient!! Wish I grabbed that all-tube Peavey head when they cleared them out for 350.00! I'll see if they have a Korean SR 505. See if you can wrangle up some tube socks while you're out. Nothing goes with an SR505 like tube socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 See if you can wrangle up some tube socks while you're out. Nothing goes with an SR505 like tube socks. I can see that, you look bad to the bone man! That is a nice bass by the way. It's a shame Ibanez took a step backwards in producing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazz Ad Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Get a Cort B5. Same instrument, just better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 I can see that, you look bad to the bone man! That is a nice bass by the way. It's a shame Ibanez took a step backwards in producing them. I didn't realize that it was not "fashionable" to wear taller socks with shorts until I posted that pic here. I bought some crew socks for last summer. It is too bad about the step backwards. IMO the SR505 was a great bang for the buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Get a Cort B5. Same instrument, just better. I played a Cort A4 bass and it was outstanding. Those Bart pickups had a sweet, woody tone to them and it played great. Pretty too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted February 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Just to clarify, I do not own a SR505. I was seriously considering one last fall and went around to a bunch of stores to play as many as I could, but ended up not pulling the trigger at the last minute. Since I saw one recently at the store, I picked it up again to see if it grabbed me. I was disappointed. Perhaps if I can snag a NOS one for cheap I'll go for it. Otherwise, I'll keep looking for a mid-level bass that suits me. I want to play one of those ESP LTD neckthru basses, but I haven't been able to find any in stock around me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scary Bill Posted February 17, 2009 Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Just to clarify, I do not own a SR505. I was seriously considering one last fall and went around to a bunch of stores to play as many as I could, but ended up not pulling the trigger at the last minute. Since I saw one recently at the store, I picked it up again to see if it grabbed me. I was disappointed. Perhaps if I can snag a NOS one for cheap I'll go for it. Otherwise, I'll keep looking for a mid-level bass that suits me. I want to play one of those ESP LTD neckthru basses, but I haven't been able to find any in stock around me. Main Street Music in Elk River. That is the only place I have seen them in MN. I got my b-305 there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted February 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 The main thing I don't like about those basses is the active EQ. I'm a passive guy, and whenever I have an active bass (usually passive pickups coupled with an active eq), I always end up leaving the eq knobs at their center detents. I'm thinking I could remove the active eq altogether, leaving just the passive volume and blend knobs. That way, I wouldn't need a battery at all. I could eBay the active eq, then throw some junk dime-sized pots in for hole fillers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scary Bill Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I thought about doing that to my ESP as well. I just play it as is with the eq flat. I don't use it much because eq my amp for my passive basses, it sounds fine that way with the active basses too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Get a Cort B5. Same instrument, just better. +1:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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