By Bill Leigh
Few companies have the wherewithal and motivation to offer a line of basses as extensive and varied as Ibanez. There are currently over 40 different basses in the company’s stable, covering tastes from trad-cool, to muscled and metal-worthy, to elegant and refined. Our request to test an entry-level axe and a higher-end beauty was met with two thoroughly different instruments: the revamped bolt-on GSR200, one of the lowest-priced basses we’ve seen with active electronics, and the SR905NTF, a neck-through 5-string built from handsome tone woods. I tried both basses in our Soundroom, and armed with a two-bass gig bag and an Ampeg Portabass rig, I toted both to a month of rehearsals and a recording session.
Here Comes The Boom When I first picked up the GSR200, I felt that its lightweight agathis body made it feel like an beginner axe. It didn’t take more than a few minutes with its slim, smooth neck and big tones before I found it hard to believe that the GSR200 could be had for just over $200. While the company indeed aims the Indonesian-built GSR at beginner and intermediate players,
the bass has enough high-end features to be a decent backup axe for seasoned giggers. The GSR had an invitingly comfortable C-shaped neck with a rosewood fingerboard and respectable fretwork. Its rounded neck heel and petite, curvaceous body would make playing it a cinch for young neophytes and old pros alike. It balanced well on a strap or a lap, and the pickups and neck offered plenty of playing positions for fingerstyle and slap. A G-string bridge saddle tweak easily corrected a little fret buzz.
The attractive finish and chrome hardware rounded out the aesthetics nicely.
The P- and J-style pickups, which had separate volume controls, provided a decent range of burpy bridge-pickup J-style tone and round P-style punch. I dug the warm sound of the neck pickup soloed, but even with the passive tone control wide open, this setting lacked articulation enough to draw a gripe from the drummer. Adding a little of the bridge pickup helped the notes stand out.
Ibanez recently updated the GSR200 with a fourth knob called Phat EQ, although the removable plastic label it comes with says, “boom!” An active bass and treble boost, Phat EQ provides a substantial fattening and perceived volume boost for when you need extra
oomph. With a bit of boom dialed in, the GSR200 easily supported and cut through two guitars, a mandolin, and a drummer on a funkda-fied folk tune.
At just over two bills, the Ibanez GSR200 is a true bargain. It plays and sounds great, and the Phat EQ is an added bonus for a low-priced starter axe.
Golden Arch Ibanez’s instrument-naming system may be confusing, but nothing was unclear about the good looks of our SR905NTF tester. A new addition to the company’s Soundgear line, the Korean-built 5-string had a handsome figured-maple top, maple and bubinga neck laminates, a rosewood fingerboard, and tasteful, impeccably installed oval abalone fingerboard inlays. Rather than arched body wings laminated to a flat center neck, the SR905’s through-body neck had its own scooped-back curvature for an ergonomic and graceful overall design. The figured maple top is matched with an attractive headstock laminate, and the smoky Cosmo Black cast hardware is one of several nice aesthetic touches. The bridge, which offers the option of through-body stringing, is countersunk into the top’s gentle curve, as are the pickups. However, neither the battery compartment—oddly routed into the center of the neck laminate—nor the control cavity have countersunk covers, leaving the scooped-out back with thick plastic cutouts that break the SR905NTF’s otherwise smooth contours.
The Soundgear’s comfy body balanced well on a strap, but the neck dove a little when I played the bass sitting down. The narrow, contoured neck has a light oil finish and shapely curves that felt delicious from volute to heel, with a C shape that gradually flattens as you approach the 12th fret. The cutaway curves feel sweet to the touch, but access to the top few frets is a little awkward. For my personal taste, the strings were a bit narrowly spaced for slap-style playing, but it didn’t bother other staffers. Across the neck the 905 had the consistent tone and feel of a precision tool, with an articulate and impressively taut
B string.
The SR905NTF has Bartolini MK-1 pickups and 3-band EQ, the same Korean-manufactured electronics system used in boutique-style imports like the Lakland Skyline 55-01 and the Cort Elrick Josh Paul Signature 5. The result here is impressive tone versatility. With the EQ flat, the neck pickup delivers beefy punch while the bridge coughs up gargly J-style bark.
With the versatile EQ, I was able to dial up everything from mid-scooped snap to big lows and twinkly highs, but with its rich sustain and lack of a passive option, I found it difficult to get a good Old School tone without palm muting.
I played the SR905NTF as the primary instrument on a grooving folk-rock demo session with two guitars, drums, mandolin, and tambourine. Its colorful sound palette and fast, fun fingerboard had me inspired all afternoon. I was impressed with how articulate and clear the Ibanez sounded, even when the engineer mixed the bass fairly low.
The Ibanez SR905NTF is a beautiful and versatile axe with features that are regularly found on instruments priced several hundred dollars higher. Moreover, it’s fun to play, because it feels good and sounds great.