Ibaneeezes

[noisedude]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='261052' date='Aug 12 2008, 05:51 PM']Completely forgot about this one... the SR7005MH-OL.



Very similar to the SR5005, but possibly a custom model? I would commit horrific acts to get my hands on one of these. More photos here...

[url="http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/j-custom/gal-sr7005mh.htm"]SR7005[/url][/quote]
OK you commit those acts and then when you're banged up in jail I'll mind the SR20th for you.

[geilerbass]

[quote name='noisedude' post='261082' date='Aug 12 2008, 06:58 PM']OK you commit those acts and then when you're banged up in jail I'll mind the SR20th for you. [/quote]



Hopefully it won't come to that. The rarity of such instruments means that I doubt I'd even be put in the position where I could get one for the price of committing foul deeds.

Edited August 13, 2008 by geilerbass

[noisedude]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='261468' date='Aug 13 2008, 12:00 PM']

Hopefully it won't come to that. The rarity of such instruments means that I doubt I'd even be put in the position where I could get one for the price of committing foul deeds.[/quote]
That's actually a really interesting point because it gets into the realms of instruments that 'money can't buy'. I can't aspire to getting one because I'll probably never come across one.

[nick]

Great basses - got a couple in the current arsenal
A lovely '83 Ibanez RB920, that used to belong to Happy Mondays' bassist, on all their early stuff.
[attachment=12126:003.JPG]

And an '81 Blazer. Actually better than a lot of Fender P-Basses I've tried. Supergrass bass player Mick Quinn has a penchant for these too.
[attachment=12127:1981_Ibanez_Blazer.jpg]

Cheers

Edited August 14, 2008 by nick

[geilerbass]

[quote name='noisedude' post='261786' date='Aug 13 2008, 06:12 PM']That's actually a really interesting point because it gets into the realms of instruments that 'money can't buy'. I can't aspire to getting one because I'll probably never come across one.[/quote]

It's a pipe dream - you need to have something to aspire to.

[KennysFord]

A nice pair of blazers......well i think so.
An 81 on the left and an 80 to the right.
I liked Bob (left)so much i just had to have another.
These guys used to live together and thanks to The burpster and Basszilla respectively they're back together again at mine.

Edited August 16, 2008 by kennyrodg

[Basszilla]

They sure look good together Bob...

Doh!!!!! I want them back already haha ;-)

[geilerbass]

So what's the deal with older Ibanez basses that look like other manufactuers' instruments? Like the Blazers etc? Do they sound/play like Fenders? Same materials?

I'm only familiar with the Soundgear range, of which I'm a huge fan, but there appears to be this whole other world of pre-90s classic looking instruments.

[nick]

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='263684' date='Aug 16 2008, 06:27 PM']A nice pair of blazers......well i think so.
An 81 on the left and an 80 to the right.
I liked Bob (left)so much i just had to have another.
These guys used to live together and thanks to The burpster and Basszilla respectively they're back together again at mine.

[/quote]

Very nice.
I have one identical to one on the left - killer bass, blows away many a Fender
Is there much of a diffrence in sound/tone between them?

Cheers

[noisedude]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='263893' date='Aug 17 2008, 11:55 AM']So what's the deal with older Ibanez basses that look like other manufactuers' instruments? Like the Blazers etc? Do they sound/play like Fenders? Same materials?

I'm only familiar with the Soundgear range, of which I'm a huge fan, but there appears to be this whole other world of pre-90s classic looking instruments.[/quote]
Like Aria and many of the other Japanese brands, Ibanez made their name making high-quality, low-price copies of American guitars in the 70s. When the sales started rising high enough to affect the big boys, they took them to court to stop it happening. This is why you hear people refer to 'lawsuit' era guitars, which can refer to different times and guitars for different makers. Obviously you can tell which guitars those Blazers were 'inspired by'.

Funny thing is that these companies made their best and most popular instruments (Ibanez Artist, Yamaha SG2000, any Westone or Aria with a thru neck ) after they had been stopped making straight copies .... with the ongoing exception of Tokai, of course.

[nick]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='263893' date='Aug 17 2008, 11:55 AM']So what's the deal with older Ibanez basses that look like other manufactuers' instruments? Like the Blazers etc?
Do they sound/play like Fenders? Same materials?[/quote]

(IMHO) Better in many cases :ph34r:

[KennysFord]

[quote name='nick' post='263901' date='Aug 17 2008, 12:18 PM']Very nice.
I have one identical to one on the left - killer bass, blows away many a Fender
Is there much of a diffrence in sound/tone between them?

Cheers[/quote]
Hi Nick,
thanks for the nice complement.
The 81 is strung with labella flats and i guess its a very "P" sounding bass.It has schaller pickups and the midrange is very growly.The neck is more jazzlike than P though. The 80 on the other hand is strung with D'addario nickels and has a single MM style pickup nearer the bridge so the tone is more mwaagh than the other.I havnt played it thru' my rig yet but i'm guess it will cut thru' extremely well.The neck is a lot fatter than the other but it's still great to play.I'm uber chuffed with both.

[geilerbass]

[quote name='noisedude' post='263904' date='Aug 17 2008, 12:20 PM']Like Aria and many of the other Japanese brands, Ibanez made their name making high-quality, low-price copies of American guitars in the 70s. When the sales started rising high enough to affect the big boys, they took them to court to stop it happening. This is why you hear people refer to 'lawsuit' era guitars, which can refer to different times and guitars for different makers. Obviously you can tell which guitars those Blazers were 'inspired by'.

Funny thing is that these companies made their best and most popular instruments (Ibanez Artist, Yamaha SG2000, any Westone or Aria with a thru neck ) after they had been stopped making straight copies .... with the ongoing exception of Tokai, of course.[/quote]

Yeah, I read all about the lawsuit busines on the Ibanez Wikipedia page. One thing I wasn't sure about is if the copies were any good - sounds as though they are! So now I see the appeal. Though I think I'll stick with my Soundgears for the time being...

[noisedude]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='263922' date='Aug 17 2008, 12:46 PM']Yeah, I read all about the lawsuit busines on the Ibanez Wikipedia page. One thing I wasn't sure about is if the copies were any good - sounds as though they are! So now I see the appeal. Though I think I'll stick with my Soundgears for the time being...[/quote]
Me too!!

[Bassassin]

If you'll indulge me a bit here in Pedant's Corner - the whole "lawsuit" thing is a misnomer - no court cases ever happened. This was because by the time Norlin (70s parent company of Gibson) got around to threatening legal action against Elger/Hoshino (Ibanez brand owner) they had already changed the design of the "infringing" element of their Gibbo copies, which was the headstock. This acted as an incentive though, for other manufacturers & importers of Jap copies to pack it in & concentrate on original designs. The eventual result of this was really that pretty much everyone - pro or amateur - by the late 70s/early 80s played, and often endorsed, Japanese instruments.

Interesting to note that the Japanese factories only stopped [i]exporting[/i] copies; they never actually stopped making them.

Which leads onto interesting fact number two: the American companies - who had been rapidly losing market share based on overpriced & inferior product - decided "if you can't beat 'em - join 'em" and started outsourcing production to Japan. Fender chose Fujigen Gakki as manufacturer of MIJ Squiers, and later, Fenders - the same factory which built 70s and 80s Ibanez. Fender Japan is run by Kanda Shokai - owner of the Greco "lawsuit" brand, and currently many CIJ Fenders are built by Tokai!

Anyway, I have an unashamedly massive hardon for 70s & 80s Japanese instruments, predominantly because many of them are so damn good. One of my favourite basses at the moment is a 1982 Ibanez RS924 Roadster - which sounds [i]phenomenally[/i] good & plays like a dream. Weighs a ton, though!

Jon.

[KennysFord]

Cheers Jon.
An informative post as ever.

[noisedude]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='263944' date='Aug 17 2008, 01:52 PM']If you'll indulge me a bit here in Pedant's Corner - the whole "lawsuit" thing is a misnomer - no court cases ever happened. This was because by the time Norlin (70s parent company of Gibson) got around to threatening legal action against Elger/Hoshino (Ibanez brand owner) they had already changed the design of the "infringing" element of their Gibbo copies, which was the headstock. This acted as an incentive though, for other manufacturers & importers of Jap copies to pack it in & concentrate on original designs. The eventual result of this was really that pretty much everyone - pro or amateur - by the late 70s/early 80s played, and often endorsed, Japanese instruments.

Interesting to note that the Japanese factories only stopped [i]exporting[/i] copies; they never actually stopped making them.

Which leads onto interesting fact number two: the American companies - who had been rapidly losing market share based on overpriced & inferior product - decided "if you can't beat 'em - join 'em" and started outsourcing production to Japan. Fender chose Fujigen Gakki as manufacturer of MIJ Squiers, and later, Fenders - the same factory which built 70s and 80s Ibanez. Fender Japan is run by Kanda Shokai - owner of the Greco "lawsuit" brand, and currently many CIJ Fenders are built by Tokai!

Anyway, I have an unashamedly massive hardon for 70s & 80s Japanese instruments, predominantly because many of them are so damn good. One of my favourite basses at the moment is a 1982 Ibanez RS924 Roadster - which sounds [i]phenomenally[/i] good & plays like a dream. Weighs a ton, though!

Jon.[/quote]
You are, of course, absolutely right on the details of this era. The headstock thing is also the reason why most copies look like copies ... e.g. if the Vintage LPs didn't have such rubbish looking headstocks, I'd probably get one. In fact, the only really good one I can think of is the G&L design.

As another aside, I have a 1983 Westone Prestige 150 which was my first guitar and still my favourite. Very, very rare, only seen one on Ebay in almost a decade of trying to pick up a backup one ........ and it went for over £300!

[geilerbass]

Yes, very informative - interesting history lesson there.

I'm a fan of Japanese-made products generally, though I've often heard musicians praising Japanese-made instruments, when compared to Western-made equivalents. The guitarist in one of my bands swears by MIJ Fenders for delivering a far higher cost/performance ratio than US Fenders. And I once had a trombone teacher who insisted I buy a Yamaha trombone, based on how far ahead the Japanese production process was compared to all the European manufacturers.

[lowhand_mike]

not had the pleasure of trying one of those blazers though given my slightly odd leaning towards a 'P' type bass they could be it (i just don't really like fenders TBH).
i canty really see me going for anything other than another Ibanez (should the funds magically appear ) what though could be a cause for a long debate

[Faithless]

So, my friend's is looking for an axe in EvilBay.

Tonight he asked me if I know anything about Ibanez [b]TR 500[/b]...

I thought, he was actually talking about SR500, but, nah...

TR500 Expressionist - it really exists! Though, never heard of it...

[url="http://img383.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tr600cu6.jpg"][/url]

Yesterday it went for 25euros. A bit cheap. It's said, electronics are passive/active, so, switchable, right?


Can anyone tella few more words about that - is it worth looking at all?

Edited August 23, 2008 by Faithless

[lowhand_mike]

not seen these before but as they are quite old now thats not suprising, but this lot seem to think they are pretty special

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Ibanez/TR500+Expressionist/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...ressionist/10/1[/url]

[geilerbass]

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='267711' date='Aug 22 2008, 11:07 AM']not seen these before but as they are quite old now thats not suprising, but this lot seem to think they are pretty special

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Ibanez/TR500+Expressionist/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...ressionist/10/1[/url][/quote]


Here you go: -

[url="http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/tr/gal-tr500.htm"]TR500[/url]

[Faithless]

Chars OK, but, maybe there's someone, who got a blast on that TK, or even owned it... I'm a bit interested in 'how does it feel' theme...

[Guest MoJo]

This thread and the "The One You Wish You'd Never Sold" thread have got me crying into my keyboard. I used to have a superb RB950



It played beautifully and had such a wide range of tones available as each of the humbuckers was coil tapped. I owned it for a couple of years but then sold it on and replaced it with a Yamaha BB414 of all things. I've seen posts on a couple of forums with a link to my photo on the Ibanez register asking anyone with information to the whereabouts of a similar bass to come forward. I really regret selling this bass as I realise that the chances of finding another are almost impossible.

I can't believe I let it go...pass the kleenex

[nick]

[quote name='bassman2790' post='268034' date='Aug 22 2008, 06:13 PM']This thread and the "The One You Wish You'd Never Sold" thread have got me crying into my keyboard. I used to have a superb RB950



It played beautifully and had such a wide range of tones available as each of the humbuckers was coil tapped. I owned it for a couple of years but then sold it on and replaced it with a Yamaha BB414 of all things. I've seen posts on a couple of forums with a link to my photo on the Ibanez register asking anyone with information to the whereabouts of a similar bass to come forward. I really regret selling this bass as I realise that the chances of finding another are almost impossible.

I can't believe I let it go...pass the kleenex[/quote]

Gorgeous bass - seen this photo around. It's two pickup, 24 fret version of mine. You have every right to feel gutted ([i]sorry[/i])!
Will Sinnott of the Shamen used one - Rave On!
[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUX6V8ZQv0"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUX6V8ZQv0[/url]