Ibanez RGB vs Ibanez SR

[Donici Mihail]

Technically,which is better?

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/rgb300_1p_01.html

or

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/sr300e_02.html

[LeftyJ]

Original thread is still here: 

 

[S.F.Sorrow]

I own the SR300E. It's a really nice bass for the price but it does have a couple of issues:

 

Pros:

-Very comfortable neck (if you like them ULTRA slim).

-Very good fretwork for this price range.

-Decent pickups (at least a HUGE upgrade on the ones they replaced a couple of years ago).

-Good quality hardware. I actually like it better than the hardware they use on the Ibanez Premium series and I also find it far superior to anything Squier or Fender MIM.

-3-way humbucker/split-switch for three different sounds adds to versatility.

 

Cons:

-Extremely brittle finish, but I think this is the case for all lower range Ibanez basses with a glossy finish.

-The sound has this nasal, honky quality in the mids that can't really be dialed out without completely ruining the tone. This is something I've experienced with many lower range Ibanez basses. My "solution" was DR High Beams which I normally find too scooped sounding.

-I personally prefer these pickups in single coil mode but the bass is very poorly shielded and the active electronics picks up at lot of noise with the pickups in split mode.

-The tone controls may seem versatile but the eq points are in the wrong places for my taste. Adding lows also add some lower mid mud and things get too boomy with even just a tiny amount of low boost. Scooping the mids doesn't get rid of the nasal, honky quality I mentioned unless you go too far and ruin the tone (unless you're looking for VERY scooped mids of course). Cutting highs remove too much upper mids and things get dull really fast.

 

Don't get me wrong, with all it's shortcomings I still think the SR300E a bargain at this price and in some ways even better than the more expensive Ibanez SRs. Possibly the best value bass in the entire Ibanez range. But you really need to know if this "lower range Ibanez sound" is what you're looking for.

For metal or similar genres with some aggressive stainless steel roundwounds? Probably a great choice. I always get that "90s metal"-feeling when I pick up a lower range SR. Using both pickups at full for that characteristic scooped tone actually works very well with this bass. It removes some of those nasal mids. Personally I don't like that scooped "both pickups at full"-tone but if that's what you're looking for the SR300E will probably be a very good choice.

For soul, classic rock or anything old school/vintage using warmer roundwounds or flats? Stay away, get a passive P or J clone instead.

 

I've never played the RGB300 but I've tested those Dynamix pickups in my Talman. They lasted about 30 seconds. Very sterile and harsh sounding IMO. Ceramics, not alnico. Not a classic P/J tone at all. But the RGB300 is easy to upgrade. Presumably standard size P/J-size pickup routings which means you will have LOTS of different options if you're prepared to upgrade the pickups (maybe even rip out the electronics and go passive if you don't mind having an unused pot/knob/hole).

 

Without ever having actually played the RGB300 my advice would be to get the SR300E if you're not inclined to do any upgrades and the RGB300 if you think you might be prepared to do a pickup upgrade in the future.

 

I should probably also mention that I'm really more into passive P-basses (and vintage short scales basses)  so I'm always drawn towards anything that can be modded into a passive P  The lower range SR series will always be more "metal" than "versatile" to me. Which isn't necessarily bad at all. It depends on what kind of tone you're looking for.

Edited October 6, 2020 by S.F.Sorrow

[S.F.Sorrow]

I should probably also add that my SR300E "Iron Pewter" doesn't look like the pics on the Ibanez website AT ALL. It's more like halfway between the pics of Iron Pewter and Cerulean Burst. More like dark turquoise than dark grey. Which isn't necessarily bad but probably not what you would want if it's for extreme metal... But I have no idea if they're all like mine. The online pics look so completely different to mine that I suspect mine could be a mistake at the factory.

[PaulThePlug]

I'd say the SR300...

The RGB300 looks more comparable to a GSR200 in spec... Bridge, Pickups, etc.

I likes the SR shape... got a GSR200B and a SR600... the RGB is a bit 'young' for me now at 50+

Whats the £€$ difference?

Your previous post mentions metal... so the RGB wins on the style stakes...

Edited October 6, 2020 by PaulThePlug

[bassbora]

I remember the EXB series from the very early’90s and saw few death metal players using them. I love that look and when I saw this thread and realised what the RGB was I started looking for a 5 string. I have no idea why because I don’t need another bass. 
 

I did look at the spec and like what has been said before I think the SR is the more substantial instrument with build and hardware. What I would say they seem to have a different neck profile which you might want to consider. Electronics in the SR seem to offer a lot more flexibility but personally I would go for the RGB since I wanted one 30 years ago and I like PJ config. 

[PaulThePlug]

RGB300 is wider at the nut, like the GSR200 - than the SR...

Couple of mm but noticeable... P v Jazz Anyone?

[bassbora]

4 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

RGB300 is wider at the nut, like the GSR200 - than the SR...

Couple of mm but noticeable... P v Jazz Anyone?

I did notice and also the thickness of the neck