Jamieboy Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 I'm very new here and recently came back to the bass after a few years where life got in the way. I have an ibanez gsr205 5 string which is about 12 years old. Nothing wrong with it but I bought it new when I was in my 20s thinking it's just cool to have 5 strings. I now want to get a 4 string to get back to basics. I like the thin neck and relative light weight of my current bass. With a budget of about 250 quid the trbx 174 and the sr300 seem to be a couple of options which jump out at me. I've small kids so want something which will last a few years as I can't see myself with spare money to upgrade for a while yet! At the moment this is really just for home practice etc. Anyone got any experience with either (or both) of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 If you go for an SR, buy a used one - for £250 you'll get an SR500 or SR600. Or two used SR300s. For reasons no-one's clear about (because if you get on with the skinny necks, they're great basses), used Soundgears really don't hold their value and there are always s/h bargains out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 What Bassassin said. But also, the Yamaha is passive. That may suit you better, or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 I have an Ibanez SR300E that I bought new about 6 months ago. You say you like a thin neck and this thing is as thin as it gets. It was great for me as I was switching from guitar. A lot of people have very good things to say about them, particularly given how cheap they are. It's served me reasonably well and is very very easy to play. I have the pearl white finish and it looks awesome. It has two humbuckers with coil splitting options, and active eq (the pickups themselves are actually passive), so there is a large variety of tones available to you. The thing is, I could never quite find one that I really liked. I tried it through various amps etc and it always seemed to lack a certain "clarity" that I was looking for. It has a lot of power but it's difficult to harness/focus that power (sorry, it's quite hard to put into words!). I guess all that depends on your style though. I'm playing mostly hard rock - as soon as I plugged in my new Fender Precision I realised that that was what I needed all along. The Ibanez is about as far from that as you can get, so no wonder it didn't quite work for me. I also found that an hour or two of playing with a pick at a rehearsal caused the saddle height screws to loosen and drop the action right down. I fixed this with some Loctite thread locker and the bridge is otherwise pretty nice. It's nice and chunky and has grooves to stop the saddles wiggling from side to side. To be fair, I don't know anything about Ibanez's quality control standards. Maybe there are better ones out there. I didn't really know what I was looking for when I bought it and I liked the neck. To summarise: Insanely thin neck, very easy to play, looks cool, BUT, for all it's bells and whistles, it still sounds like a mediocre inexpensive instrument. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 I like the look of the SR300E with the powerspan pickups. Good variety of tones there I imagine. I have owned a few 300`s and they have all been nice. Haven`t had a 174 but did have a TRBX 304 with an active set up and handy tone switching which is a nice bass but is £70 dearer than the Ibby, so the 300 is on budget. You would be better having a blast on the both of them and see what suits you best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Can I play devil's advocate for a moment :-/ is there a reason you can't get back to basics with the five string? If it's not broken why not just spend the money on a set of new strings & things that'll make practicing easier, like an audio interface, transcribe software & some new headphones. Just an idea. P.s Yamaha all the way! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 [quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1483363258' post='3206493'] Can I play devil's advocate for a moment :-/ is there a reason you can't get back to basics with the five string? If it's not broken why not just spend the money on a set of new strings & things that'll make practicing easier, like an audio interface, transcribe software & some new headphones. Just an idea. P.s Yamaha all the way! :-) [/quote] Yep, I'd say my playing is fairly 'back to basic' - Blues and old Soul, all of which I do on a 5 string. I really like playing around the 5th position, so find the 5 great, playing E at that position on the low B. Also love having a low D. Unless of course you're having a gas attack 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Thanks for the input all. I understand that for some a 5 is no more complicated but I just want a 4 string basically. In a curve ball move I'm now considering a 2014 squire vintage modified jazz bass which has come up near me. I played a jazz bass and liked the neck of that. I would think that's at least on par with the aforementioned two basses....I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 .....GAS being a given, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 [quote name='Jamieboy' timestamp='1483478229' post='3207586'] .....GAS being a given, of course. [/quote] Think I've been here too long - can spot it a mile off Have fun finding your 4 string! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I love the look of the Ibanez basses, but the Yamaha will be a better instrument hands down in my view... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Well. After playing it I've gone for a squier vm jazz bass. I'm really pleased with it. To me it seems to sound and play really nicely. Ends up my question was irrelevant but thanks to all for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 [quote name='Jamieboy' timestamp='1483793774' post='3210144'] Well. After playing it I've gone for a squier vm jazz bass. I'm really pleased with it. To me it seems to sound and play really nicely. Ends up my question was irrelevant but thanks to all for the input. [/quote] Great choice. How is it weight-wise compared to the others you were considering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 [quote name='Jamieboy' timestamp='1483793774' post='3210144'] Well. After playing it I've gone for a squier vm jazz bass. I'm really pleased with it. To me it seems to sound and play really nicely. Ends up my question was irrelevant but thanks to all for the input. [/quote] I've got the VM70s Jazz. Lovely basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 I had a VM 77 in black, added some Schaller tuners, Jazz knobs and it looked and sounded rather good. So why did I sell it? GAS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Right choice - for all my Ibby love! Squier VMJs are great, as (IMO) are Jazzes in general. I have, and have had, dozens of different basses, and much as I like variety I always come back to a J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks guys I've only had 2 basses before this and this just feels right somehow. Rexel matador- the vmj is marginally heavier than my ibanez 5 (which I've always considered to be light) but it is certainly not a heavy bass. I read on here that there is some variation and I think it happens to be on the lighter side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 [quote name='Jamieboy' timestamp='1483478053' post='3207584'] In a curve ball move I'm now considering a 2014 squire vintage modified jazz bass which has come up near me. I played a jazz bass and liked the neck of that. [/quote] Excellent choice! I have a 70's VM Jazz and absolutely love it. Neck is so playable, best I've ever owned! Now for the important stuff: show us some pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Good point. Hope this works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Phwoar, very nice! I have the same model but in Olympic white. Can I ask where you got the case? Mine doesn't quite in my old hardcase unless I squeeze the padding a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamieboy Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks mate. The case was just the one the bloke had who sold it to me. It does fit perfectly. It doesn't have an obvious brand though so can't be very helpful on that one, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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