# Ibanez SR300, need some recommendations



## ZeroS1gnol (Nov 29, 2018)

Dear readers,

I'm in dire need of a bass guitar to do some recording with. Just writing guitar parts doesn't really cut it for me anymore, so I want to track bass to make my writing sound fuller and give me more space to noodle around with the guitar without it sounding thin or empty on the high registers. 

All I need is something with that I can *downtune* to ADGC and it needs to be inexpensive, but good enough. 5 strings isn't really necessary. From what I read the Ibanez SR300 fits my needs, but I am concerned about two things:

1) Will the 34 inch scale length be long enough for my low A?
2) Can I put enough tension on that oh so thin neck to accomodate the low A? I'd like to put a fairly heavy guage string on it to have it not buzz.


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## Sumsar (Nov 29, 2018)

Hi!

I have a SR600 which is just a slightly more expensive version of the SR300. I have tuned mine down to BEAD, basicly 5 string tuning on a 4 string.
I used the four heavist strings on a 130' 5 string set, and it is completely fine. If you have string buzz then raise the action instead of using heavier strings.

The bass playes great, however I have an issue with the sound it is producing, which is down to the pickups. They say Bartolini, but doing a bit of research they have nothing do to with that brand and are as cheap/bad as the pickups you would get on an ibanez Rg350 guitar. If you are after a kinda J-bass sound I guess they could be OK, but I like the thicker sound from humbucker bass pickups (musicman style), so I ended up getting a Warwick Rockbass (also pretty cheap but with great pickups) Corvette 5 string that does the trick for me, even though it is a little harder to play, since the neck is much much thicker than on the ibanez.

Hope that helps a bit.


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## LordCashew (Nov 29, 2018)

ZeroS1gnol said:


> From what I read the Ibanez SR300 fits my needs, but I am concerned about two things:
> 
> 1) Will the 34 inch scale length be long enough for my low A?



With the right gauge of string, you should be able to tune any normal-quality bass to A with acceptable results. Probably not with the piano-clear Dingwall low note sound that's currently so popular, but certainly good enough to be usable for filling out your arrangements.



ZeroS1gnol said:


> 2) Can I put enough tension on that oh so thin neck to accomodate the low A? I'd like to put a fairly heavy guage string on it to have it not buzz.



In most cases, the added tension of a higher gauge string is more than cancelled out by the reduced tension of down-tuning. Excess tension won't be an issue with most off-the-shelf strings. Most commonly available sets have a low B between .125 and .135--tuning those down a whole step will mean that despite their larger size, they will put less tension on your bass than the stock strings did in E. You'll probably need a .145 or larger to even reach "normal" tension in your tuning.

In short, you won't need to worry about your neck unless you get some _crazy_ thick strings. You will probably need to widen the nut slots, though.


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## TheEmptyCell (Nov 29, 2018)

_There is no inherent difference in the tension between a set of strings for BEAD or EADG tuning!
_
If anything, using a set of strings made for BEAD tuning, say starting with a .130 for the B, then detuned to ADGC will be *less tension* than a standard set of strings made for EADG with a .105 E.

Personally, I find 34" B strings weak and flabby and gross. Tuned to A they're useless. But I've also been playing a Dingwall ABZ with a 37" scale on the low B for years, so I've gotten used to the super-clear tone of that extra long string. 

YMMV. If you're just trying to fill in the frequency spectrum and you're not concerned with the bass parts being really distinguished or having them cut through the mix, a 34" low A will be fine.


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## ZeroS1gnol (Nov 30, 2018)

TheEmptyCell said:


> _There is no inherent difference in the tension between a set of strings for BEAD or EADG tuning!
> _
> If anything, using a set of strings made for BEAD tuning, say starting with a .130 for the B, then detuned to ADGC will be *less tension* than a standard set of strings made for EADG with a .105 E.
> 
> ...



I'd say you're pretty spoiled, having a Dingwall, but you voice my exact concerns, because I do want the bass parts to cut through the mix. My old bandmate's bass was a 35 inch Cort and I thought it held up the A nicely, but only barely. So, if I'd to expand my search, can anyone recommend a *cheap* 35 inch model? With cheap I mean around 200 used, similar to SR300's I see. Note that I don't like the Ibanez BTB models, I hate the body shape. I'm not super concerned about pickup quality, I'll EQ it with my L6 Pod.


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## newamerikangospel (Nov 30, 2018)

The sr300s have a maple body which I find are incredible for attack. I find, for metal, the older ones sound best on bridge pickup only. Dont know how the newer pickups sound (the open pole pieces are the newer ones). My only complaint (on the older model) is that they are routed in the bartolini shape, which doesnt support a lot of pickups.


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## A-Branger (Dec 1, 2018)

ZeroS1gnol said:


> because I do want the bass parts to cut through the mix



take some low end out of the guitars.

Guitar players tend to create their "sound" based on what sounds good in their room (so by themselves) and by trying to mimic what they are hearing from their favourite band (so a full mix sound). This results in a guitar with a lot of low end to compensate for the lack of a bass player/band

guitars in a mix actually are more thin sounded than you might think. If you solo one of the guitar channels of you favourite band you would see.

this would lead you to not only ahving a better bass who would cut trough the mix and give better support for the guitars, but also guitars that would cut trough the mix


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## TheEmptyCell (Dec 5, 2018)

ZeroS1gnol said:


> I'd say you're pretty spoiled, having a Dingwall, but you voice my exact concerns, because I do want the bass parts to cut through the mix. My old bandmate's bass was a 35 inch Cort and I thought it held up the A nicely, but only barely. So, if I'd to expand my search, can anyone recommend a *cheap* 35 inch model? With cheap I mean around 200 used, similar to SR300's I see. Note that I don't like the Ibanez BTB models, I hate the body shape. I'm not super concerned about pickup quality, I'll EQ it with my L6 Pod.



Yes, I am spoiled. Because I got sick and tired of playing shitty five strings. I wasted so much time, effort, and money on cheap & middling 35" scale 5s, different strings, pickup upgrades, on and on. I finally said fuck it a few years ago, purged all the stuff that sucked, and got a great deal on an ABZ5.

For $200, I dunno... I'd rather spend $200 on a VST and a MIDI controller than a cheap 5 string bass at this point in my life. I don't even play keyboards, I can barely remember which keys are Cs that's how much I suck at them... but I'd rather fuck around with that than a really cheap bass.

Also, your $200 budget is *not* going to go far. EQing a shitty bass with shitty pickups is just turd polishing.

:: DELETED BASS RECOMMENDATIONS ::

You get what you pay for when it comes to basses and you're often sort of stuck with that instrument until you can upgrade.

Guitarists are spoiled for choice when it comes to extended scale, extended range, string options, pickup replacements, etc.

Bass players, not so much. Lots of companies use pickups that you can't find drop in replacements for. When they make a 35" bass, they just make the neck longer and that means it neck dives. Bridge stringing options influence what strings you can use. You can use fatter strings on a 34" bass and tune it down, but then you're contending with inharmonicity (that gross tubby sound you get when you play higher and higher up the low strings).

It also takes proper technique no matter how cheap or expensive your bass is. Have you seen the recent Periphery P4 update with Nolly doing his bass tracking? He picks _*incredibly*_ hard. But his attack and articulation are *SPOT. ON.* He knows how to hold the pick, how to approach the strings with it, how to mute with both hands, and has the instrument set up not to buzz no matter how much he's hulking out on those downstrokes. I guarantee you could give him an SR300 strung ADGC and he'd still get an amazing tone out of it. Would he struggle at first? Probably.

A lot of what you hear from modern metal bass players where their tone really cuts through is due to splitting the signal processing: treat the lows with a shitload of compression and limiting so that they are nice and even, and then treat the highs with less compression, then EQ and distort them so you cut through the mix. Bus the two tracks back together, apply a little compression and EQ to 'glue' the bass back together, and you've got a metal bass tone that slays the mix and can eat your guitars for breakfast.

If $200 is your budget and that's it, just buy the SR300 or if you can find one, an SR400 or SR500 with the P/J pickup setup. Then invest in a good set of strings (I highly recommend a balanced tension setup). Go on YouTube and learn how to set the bass up properly. Learn to play the bass like a bass player. Learn to mix that bass the way engineers do it in your genre of choice.

EDIT: Removed bass recommendations because I went back and saw that OP wants a 4 string. 35" scale 4s are rare as fuck and simply don't exist for $200 unless it's essentially broken. The only 35" 4 I can think of off the top of my head is a Yamaha TRB4ii or something like that, and it's way over that budget.


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## eggy in a bready (Dec 5, 2018)

Brice makes a 35" 4-string for $400. Good luck finding anything else for that cheap


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## eggy in a bready (Dec 5, 2018)

OP, if you're willing to stretch your budget and open your mind a little, Schecter makes a 35" 5-string p bass called the Diamond that's pretty nice. If you want your bass to cut in the mix, nothing will cut better than a p


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## ZeroS1gnol (Dec 10, 2018)

Thanks for the replies!


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## ixlramp (Dec 10, 2018)

34" will work but 35" will help with the tone. The extra mass and stronger neck of a 5 string will help too.
Since you want to use a well-tensioned A that will be a big string of .145+, these need the saddle moved back a long way to intonate, a 5 string bass will have saddles designed and positioned for more intonation movement, as well as pickups and electronics more suited to low frequencies.
It's possible a 4 string will not be able to intonate a .145+ string, it's a risk.

5 string basses are only slightly more expensive, and for these reasons well worth it, try to get a 35" scale.
Importantly make sure it has a modern top-loading and slot-loading bridge otherwise you will have trouble using big gauges, so avoid old fashioned or string-through body bridges. Be sure to use a taperwound string for the A, at these large gauges non-taperwound is too stiff.

There's nothing about a low A that results in higher tension, you simply choose a gauge that results in a similar tension to a typical E string. To match the tension of a .100 E you will need a .150 A. My experience on 35" is that .145 is an absolute minimum for a well-tensioned A.


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## ZeroS1gnol (Jan 16, 2019)

Update, I got a great deal on a 35" Schecter Stiletto Elite-5. Here it is:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/N9mF8G7AoHyHub1A7


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## VBCheeseGrater (Feb 25, 2019)

I recently sold a true turd, an LTD B15 i think it was, 5 string, passive bass - but the thing sounded absolutely fine on the low B - better than my current Ibanez 5 string (don't know model, but it's in the lower range you are considering). That LTD didn't get all overtly fat and obnoxious on the low B like my current main bass can - i don't use 5th string all that much, just for a few tunes that require it in my band so it doesn't bother me a whole lot, but it sounds like you are switching instruments almost - the B15 didn't really do that. Nothing special string wise, probably a 5 string ernie ball regular slinky IIRC of course for A you'd want heavier.


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