geilerbass Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 (edited) [quote name='lowhand_mike' post='264982' date='Aug 18 2008, 09:56 PM']the SR 500 has the bartolini MK1 pickups and pre amp, its active though i'm not sure if its just the pre thats active(it's a 9v system). looking at the frequency curves the K5 has very limited mid adjustment where as the Sr500 has alot of adjustment and the bart pre and pups have a greater amount of boost and cut available to you. If you want to get near to the SR type of mids leave the mid frequency pot at center and boost from there. i'm guessing the K5 is voiced that way and as such limits you to a certain amount of tones. to be honest you would be better trading in the K5 for an SR505 if you want more flexibility, as the proportions are pretty much the same as should be the neck profiles main difference being the pickups and pre amp and woods. the new sr's have at last got a decent battery box on them rather than the slightly annoying screw plate. but they have a jatoba/bubinga neck now rather than the wenge/bubinga neck on previous models (wenge is now an endangered species). the K5 has the Maple/Walnut neck which is going to give you a brighter sound anyway.[/quote] There's still some Wenge/Bubinga-necked 505 models kicking around - I tried one in the Gallery only a couple of months ago and the Bass Cellar had one (though I wouldn't shop there unless there's no other choice). I didn't realise that they'd changed to Jatoba, though it's obviously a good thing. The K5 that Barry's got is the older model (I believe), with the Wenge/Bubinga neck, so if he can get an older SR505, it might be the right thing for him. I think the pickups probably make a difference, as the ones on the K5 are the older Ibanez-own ones, whereas the new SRs use the Bartolini-branded ones. From what I recall, the SR505 is pretty close to the older K5, though with a slightly more rounded neck-profile and, obviously no sweepable mid. Again, if it's really only the playability that's the bind with the K5, then the SR505 could well be the bass for you. Edited August 18, 2008 by geilerbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisedude Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I guess the signature guitar thing leaves you open to some foibles. My Wimbish signature (SRX body shape) is pretty straight ahead but sadly had no mid-EQ options .... but there are signatures out there that are unfathomable to anyone apart from the creator/user. If you like how the K5 plays and can't get the right sounds from it then a mod of some sort might be really good. Make it your own if you want to be playing it for some time. The preamp in the SRs is the Bart Mk1 as previously said. I think they SRs sound really good but the good folks on here will be able to recommend all sorts of retro-fit preamps, hopefully you won't need to take any extra wood out in which case the mod would be reversible. Intrigued to see what you decide, keep posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 (edited) the ACG preamp looks rather interesting, does anyone have experience of this? however, before i get too carried away with this, the bass was a swap to try out five strings and i am about to be a father for the second time next friday, so it might be best for me to swap or sell this on!!! i have mucked around with the sansamp following advice and might get a better sound from it in the studio on sunday..... will keep you all posted, once again thanks very much for all your advice. Edited August 19, 2008 by barry44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 definitely going towards the new pre amp route, the sound samples sound really good( based on the EQ1 system). have had clearance from the missus to get one..... will keep you all posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 [quote name='barry44' post='265440' date='Aug 19 2008, 01:02 PM']have had clearance from the missus to get one.....[/quote] whats that then? nice, the playability of the SR's is really nice and i like the look of the feldy one, and getting the green light to mod is a nice touch and should give you a sweet bass. are you changing the pickups too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 [quote name='lowhand_mike' date='Aug 19 2008, 03:01 PM' post='265568'] whats that then? nice, the playability of the SR's is really nice and i like the look of the feldy one, and getting the green light to mod is a nice touch and should give you a sweet bass. are you changing the pickups too? [/quote i'm going to leave the pups as they are at the moment, should hopefully not need to alter them. if i need to i assume that the barts on the sr should drop right in?? i am really looking forward to getting the pre amp in as i don't want to give up on the feel and playability of this bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisedude Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 [quote name='barry44' post='265654' date='Aug 19 2008, 04:38 PM'][quote name='lowhand_mike' post='265568' date='Aug 19 2008, 03:01 PM'] whats that then? nice, the playability of the SR's is really nice and i like the look of the feldy one, and getting the green light to mod is a nice touch and should give you a sweet bass. are you changing the pickups too?[/quote] i'm going to leave the pups as they are at the moment, should hopefully not need to alter them. if i need to i assume that the barts on the sr should drop right in?? i am really looking forward to getting the pre amp in as i don't want to give up on the feel and playability of this bass [/quote] The ADX5 pickups on the K5 are not the only bass those pickups have been used in by Ibanez so I'm guessing they are going to be ok and that it's just this Fieldy preamp that's stopping you from getting what you want from it. Could you record a clip of it before and after the upgrade so we (and you) can compare the sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 don't have the facility to record i'm afraid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 got my acg preamp today and have fitted it in the K5. first impressions is that i now have the bass i wanted, the range of sounds out of this pre amp is overwhelming.... i can honestly say that the difference is night and day. going into the studio tomorrow, i hope i won't need my SRX..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisedude Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 [quote name='barry44' post='268543' date='Aug 23 2008, 05:55 PM']got my acg preamp today and have fitted it in the K5. first impressions is that i now have the bass i wanted, the range of sounds out of this pre amp is overwhelming.... i can honestly say that the difference is night and day. going into the studio tomorrow, i hope i won't need my SRX.....[/quote] Fantastic news, got me thinking about some modding of my own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 sorry barry i didnt get a chnace to get down to denmark street to back up your assumptions but looks like you have made the right choice, dammit this site always make me want something new. have to see if you can get us some sounds of your new setup. kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 i will see what i can do. my mate does all the recording for the band, i will speak to him once i figure the pre amp out!!! thanks again for all your advice and encouragement on this, i have learned a lot about my bass and also what sounds i like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted August 25, 2008 Author Share Posted August 25, 2008 right.... i took the K5 to the studio yesterday and had a fiddle around with various things and i feel that i am on the right track to getting a good sound out of it. first of all i set all the amp bass, mids and treble knobs to centre and found a sound i liked using the pre amp. Once this was done i boosted all of the knobs to centre, to get a general boost on the sound. I was still losing mids and was getting rather overwhelmed with the pre amp. eventually, i rolled of the gain on the amp, i usually drive the gain quite hard, and then it all became clear. My mids were a lot more responsive and the guitar was starting to cut through. the ACG preamp controls on the filters are boost all the way with a centre indent for reference, i was using them as a cut/boost control, so i was boosting everything to max which when used with my sansamp was causing feedback from the treble, not surprising as i had walloped +18dB onto the treble. so after about 2.5 hours of messing around, i started to get a sound i liked. next time, i shall start at zero on the boosts and have a tinker around there as i was obviously missing a lot of different sounds by using them as a cut/boost control. the pre amp shall take a bit of getting used to, but i am very happy with my decision to put this in. i shall keep you all posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisedude Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I think the trick, as you're finding, is probably not to overcook any one aspect of the sound. I put a hump in the lower mids for my sound but I don't usually push the sliders up more than halfway between neutral and the top, same goes for my cut/boost EQ on the guitar. As before, use your ears, but it's unlikely to sound great if you boost one frequency area on the guitar and a different area on the amp, so try to get the two working together if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 i gigged the K5 last night, via my sansamp, and i am still smiling. i opened up both the frequency controls to allow everything through and WOW, this thing was amazing. so, so pleased that i went with this pre amp as i definitely have the sound the playability of this bass deserved. if anyone is thinking of getting the ACG pre amp, i thoroughly recommend it. my mates were even commenting on the change in the sound of the bass as i think they were previously getting annoyed with the old pre amp in practise as it just did not kick it. i even woke the wife up to tell her how good it sounded, she wasn't as overjoyed as i would have thought.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadraven Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 [quote name='barry44' post='283051' date='Sep 13 2008, 08:51 AM']i gigged the K5 last night, via my sansamp, and i am still smiling. i opened up both the frequency controls to allow everything through and WOW, this thing was amazing. so, so pleased that i went with this pre amp as i definitely have the sound the playability of this bass deserved. if anyone is thinking of getting the ACG pre amp, i thoroughly recommend it. my mates were even commenting on the change in the sound of the bass as i think they were previously getting annoyed with the old pre amp in practise as it just did not kick it. i even woke the wife up to tell her how good it sounded, she wasn't as overjoyed as i would have thought....[/quote] I also had the same problem with the same model, still do! But it is a wonderful bass to play and looks amazing. I'm also going to play around with it alot more and try to get the settings right, as I too couldnt get much out of the A,D,G strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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