Mike Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864042569/"][/url] Hi all, I am sorry to sell this about 6months after I bought it new at the Bass Merchant. They were the cheapest I found selling at £1600 - [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-sr5005e/19155"]GAK, [/url] who can be quite competitive are selling for over £1900. So, let's get the obvious thing out of the way. A freakin' Ibanez for £1600? Really?? This was the dilemma I was in at the end of last year when I sold my Sadowsky 5 (great sound but string spacing just too big to be comfortable for me) and started looking for a really perfect 5 string for me. I played so many but never found the neck to be exactly as I wanted it. I saw this in Bass Merchant, was surprised at the price but quite attracted by it – wenge/mahogany/wenge body – so decided to have a play and I was really blown away. Firstly, the neck is sublimely comfortable. Slim, smooth, just fit my hand perfectly. If you like really wide spacing this isn’t for you. It’s quite close – 16.5mm – and is the best feeling 5 I’ve ever played. It sounds really big – sits in the mix beautifully with both pickups on and has a very nice woodiness to it. The rear pickup can nail that lovely Jaco punch, and the front pickup sounds like a huge precision – this has been really handy on function gigs where a range of sounds has been welcomed. There’s an active/passive switch – very handy, and useful for when I experimented using an outboard Sadowsky preamp. This wasn’t because of the failings of the onboard preamp though, I just was seeing if I could match tones with my 4 string Sadowsky. The smallish body is very comfortable, not light but not heavy either – I would say solid. I use a decent strap with it and am quite particular about heavy basses as I have a bad back – this has been fine for me. The sound is measured and even all the way up the neck and has clearly been precision built in Japan, attention to detail is sublime. So, I spoke to Darren at Bass Merchant about buying it, worrying about paying so much for an Ibanez. He advised me to not worry about it as it is clearly a superb instrument. I had played a lot of high end instruments and this really stuck out. The reason for sale? I need to buy a few bits - a double bass bow, and a cab (Genz Benz 212) so I guess I would be interested in trades for these items. I have another cheaper 5 I can use and frankly I do most of my work on a 4 string, my beloved Sadowsky! So – here are some pictures followed by the technical stuff. It’s pretty much mint condition – I can’t find any notable marks on it. On the picture of the back, it’s not a big white scratch – it’s from my white cat Mr Louis who decided to stroll through while I was taking photos. Check out the immense hardcase it comes with –plus all hangtags. The case is a beast, you could run over it in a car and the bass wouldn’t be touched. Click the pics for a bigger one. EDIT: I have to halve the pics as I can't post this money in one thread [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864040585/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864041649/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864042569/"][/url] [b]Note - This is a white cat hair, not a scratch, there are no marks like this on it! [/b][url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864597036/"][/url] [b]^^ This is a cat hair, not a scratch!" ^^ [/b][url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864597864/"][/url] a [url="http://quickrpickr.com"]quickr pickr[/url] post [b]SPECS[/b] Neck Material: 5pc Wenge/Bubinga Neck Type: Atlas-5 HP Body: Mahogany body/ Wenge top & back Frets: Medium frets Fingerboard: Wenge Inlay: Abalone & pearl oval inlay Bridge: Mono-Rail IV bridge NeckPU: Bartolini® Custom BridgePU: Bartolini® Custom EQ: POWER CURVE III (SR) HW Color: Gold Finishes: OL [b]NECK DIMENSIONS [/b] Scale/Length 864mm/34" a: Width at Nut 45mm b: Width Last Fret 67mm c: Thickness 1st Fret 19.5mm d: Thickness 12th Fret 23mm Radius 305mm PICKUPS Bridge Pickup Name: BARTOLINI® CUSTOM Model No: N/A Construction: Humbucking/Passive Magnet: - Description: Humbucking passive soapbar pickup. Excellent clarity with well balanced tonal response. Neck Pickup Name: BARTOLINI® CUSTOM Model No: N/A Construction: Humbucking/Passive Magnet: - Description: Humbucking passive soapbar pickup. Excellent clarity with well balanced tonal response. So, this is an as-new bass for [s]£1250[/s][s][b] £1100[/b][/s] [u][b]£999[/b][/u] - best retail on this is £1600 - I can't really be too flexible on the price I'm afraid. Ideally I'd like this picked up from Chelmsford, Essex CM2 (near A12/J28 M25) though I could possibly deliver within reason for petrol money. If all else fails I will ship but priority is for people who can pickup or organise to meet me. Bank transfer or cash on collection please. Any questions feel free to PM/email on mikemcgibney AT gmail DOT com. If you want to come and play it first, please be my guest, the kettle will be on. Thanks for looking! Mike Edited July 5, 2011 by Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864045317/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864599818/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864600918/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864049223/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864051249/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34009019@N04/5864052011/"][/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussFM Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Can a moderator please move this to Bass Porn? Wow, if only I had £1250!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPAC Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Fabulous bass. I would suggest another photo of the back to show it's not actually damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorVic Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I have a SR506 (6-string) -not prestige- and after playing other 6 strings am realizing the Ibanez necks are the most comfortable to play! That 16.5mm spacing is golden! The Wenge-Bubinga-Mahogany combination also makes for a great tone. Everything gets an upgrade in the Prestige series! I think the 5006E would be my ideal 6 string bass. Bump for a wonderful bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XB26354 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I briefly owned a 5006E and they are every bit as good as Mike says. Nothing like a standard Ibanez, attention to detail is on a par with custom built basses. I think this model works better as a 5-string as I found strings B to G sounded great but the C was a bit too stringy for me. Little touches like the curved Bartolini pickups and the super-light Gotoh tuners (not to mention the titanium neck reinforcement and Tusq nut) only add to perception of quality. Great bass, good luck with sale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 [quote name='XB26354' post='1280472' date='Jun 24 2011, 07:10 AM']I briefly owned a 5006E and they are every bit as good as Mike says. Nothing like a standard Ibanez, attention to detail is on a par with custom built basses. I think this model works better as a 5-string as I found strings B to G sounded great but the C was a bit too stringy for me. Little touches like the curved Bartolini pickups and the super-light Gotoh tuners (not to mention the titanium neck reinforcement and Tusq nut) only add to perception of quality. Great bass, good luck with sale![/quote] Thanks - wish I could be this eloquent about it. The tuners are lovely and I totally forgot about the pickup shaping. Thanks for the bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adledman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 ibby prestige range are awesome and the necks are the best out there for my money. ive had many boutique basses over the years costing thousands but never had a player like my prestige neck through so stopped buying and changing basses because the wood looks fantastic and sticking with my reasonably priced ibanez as i am never going to better it for my needs. the necks are astounding and so slim and fast. i had a sr1304 back in the nineties which is pretty much the same as above in terms of wood and always severely regretted selling it. it was so easy to play it virtually doubled my skills and speed in an instant. whoever buys this will be totally happy with it and for the money have a phenomenal bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 [quote name='adledman' post='1281046' date='Jun 24 2011, 02:36 PM']ibby prestige range are awesome and the necks are the best out there for my money. ive had many boutique basses over the years costing thousands but never had a player like my prestige neck through so stopped buying and changing basses because the wood looks fantastic and sticking with my reasonably priced ibanez as i am never going to better it for my needs. the necks are astounding and so slim and fast. i had a sr1304 back in the nineties which is pretty much the same as above in terms of wood and always severely regretted selling it. it was so easy to play it virtually doubled my skills and speed in an instant. whoever buys this will be totally happy with it and for the money have a phenomenal bass.[/quote] Agreed! Thanks for your input. The wood and neck are just stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 PMs replied. There are brand new Elixir medium gauge strings on the bass which cost me £37. I have some slight wiggle room price wise but not much as I need a certain amount of cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golchen Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I only clicked on this thread as there were no others that interested me that I hadn't been to already, thinking 'it's just an ibanez', but wow .... that is one beautiful bass there! I absolutely love the look of it. Very appealing indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycrowave Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 how much for the cat hair? good luck with the sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Really wanted a four string version of this before I switched to guitar, can I ask the scale on the 5's and 6's?? BUMP!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 [quote name='Schnozzalee' post='1282155' date='Jun 25 2011, 02:29 PM']Really wanted a four string version of this before I switched to guitar, can I ask the scale on the 5's and 6's?? BUMP!![/quote] A delightful and comfortable 34" ! I can't get on with 35", personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I love the look of these, although I've never played one. Having played many other Ibbys though I imagine it's lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 [quote name='cycrowave' post='1282144' date='Jun 25 2011, 02:18 PM']how much for the cat hair? good luck with the sale [/quote] FREEEEE! With more to spare! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 [quote name='Golchen' post='1282109' date='Jun 25 2011, 01:30 PM']I only clicked on this thread as there were no others that interested me that I hadn't been to already, thinking 'it's just an ibanez', but wow .... that is one beautiful bass there! I absolutely love the look of it. Very appealing indeed![/quote] Cheers. I know exactly what you mean. I had never expected Ibanezes to be so great. Made me feel like i had been a bit of a snob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 A few PMs replied, nothing 100% firm yet, open to reasonable offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Reduced to £1100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Bump! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Reduced to £999, I have things to buy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Aaagghh I'm sooo tempted.... [quote name='Mike' post='1289918' date='Jul 2 2011, 10:35 AM']Reduced to £999, I have things to buy [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 My impartial advice would be, [i][b]go for it![/b][/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo m Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 great bass guitar period! i tryed one last year and was very tempted to buy but"""i would have too have parted with my 76 jazz to do it"...i stayed put knowing that the fender is appreciating all the time. still a very well made & alluring instrument & im sure @ this price a snip best wishes paulo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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