Ibanez SR300E PW Bass Guitar

This is an excellent instrument and the features all work well. It was setup quite well out of the box but further setting up is needed. There was no explanation of what the controls actually do. I have seen this model on YouTube and there was an overlay around the controls showing what each control does. This was not on the guitar supplied. This booklet supplied is only of a general nature. But it’s a nice instrument. I like the 2-octave 24 fret design which helps to set intonation.

A solid choice for the aspiring bassist

I just started the bass a few months ago and this was my first purchase. Decided to do both guitar and bass at the same time but I found myself not enthused with guitar practice. The boring black strat copy with the thick neck didn't make me excited nor did it feel comfortable in my fretting hand. I needed something with a comfy neck and a finish that feels like "me".So, during a music store visit, I came across the SR line from Ibanez. I was originally looking at the mikro due to my shorter arms but once I felt that wizard III neck on the bigger models, I knew what I was looking for. They had a few Gios and was about to settle on one of them but I saw a walnut SR300e on the wall and picked it up out of curiosity. That was it. Something about it just clicked. At ... MoreI just started the bass a few months ago and this was my first purchase. Decided to do both guitar and bass at the same time but I found myself not enthused with guitar practice. The boring black strat copy with the thick neck didn't make me excited nor did it feel comfortable in my fretting hand. I needed something with a comfy neck and a finish that feels like "me".So, during a music store visit, I came across the SR line from Ibanez. I was originally looking at the mikro due to my shorter arms but once I felt that wizard III neck on the bigger models, I knew what I was looking for. They had a few Gios and was about to settle on one of them but I saw a walnut SR300e on the wall and picked it up out of curiosity. That was it. Something about it just clicked. At this time I didn't have any experience playing at all so I had to go by fit and feel alone. This felt right but the walnut was too plain for me.Musician's Friend had all the colors in stock and I immediately said that the Cerulean Blue Burst had to be it. About a week later, I was unwrapping it and was shocked at just how good the finish looks. It has a depth of color that the pictures just can't do justice. It felt even better than it did at the store. A little setup and I was on my way.After a few months, I have accrued a few guitars and basses and I'm seriously eyeballing another bass to add to the collection.Despite my expanded choices at home, I find myself reaching for this more than any other instrument (guitar or bass). The tones, versatility, feel, and looks just keep me coming back to it despite having more expensive and famous alternatives. It's fast and fun to play with just enough weight to it and the smaller body fits me perfectly. I don't think I'll ever outgrow this one and if I had to choose, it'd be the last bass I'd sell out of the ones I own.

Absolute bargain

I'm a guitarist who likes to record at home and I was looking for a fairly cheap bass to replace a chunky 5 string bass (that was much more expensive).The SR300e has a beautifully slim neck which is easy to get up and down for those faster runs and I much prefer the narrower 4 string bass too. It's a pleasure to play.The tone is great and so versatile with the 3 band cut/boost eq, the blend knob and the awesome power tap feature. It's so easy to dial in the tone you want.And finally, I love the Sky Veil Matte finish. I was originally going to go for the Weathered Black finish but decided to go for this one and I'm happy I did.Sure, there are better basses out there but for the price this is hard to beat. It looks, feels, plays and sounds like a more expensive ... MoreI'm a guitarist who likes to record at home and I was looking for a fairly cheap bass to replace a chunky 5 string bass (that was much more expensive).The SR300e has a beautifully slim neck which is easy to get up and down for those faster runs and I much prefer the narrower 4 string bass too. It's a pleasure to play.The tone is great and so versatile with the 3 band cut/boost eq, the blend knob and the awesome power tap feature. It's so easy to dial in the tone you want.And finally, I love the Sky Veil Matte finish. I was originally going to go for the Weathered Black finish but decided to go for this one and I'm happy I did.Sure, there are better basses out there but for the price this is hard to beat. It looks, feels, plays and sounds like a more expensive instrument. An absolute bargain!

Best bass for the price

This is an exceptionally bass guitar. I currently have one I ordered from Amazon. The pickups are phenomenal. It has a clear rounded robust sound. It tunes great and it is wonderful slap & pop funk bass playing, I would highly recommend this bass, you won't regret it, As I stated, I already have this same bass which I bought from Amazon and It was delivered within 2 - 3 days. With that being said, I ordered this from Adorama because you discounted my purchase price by $50, so I decided to return it to Amazon to get the $50 saving. I ordered it from Adorama on 8/28, there was no indication that you didn't have it in stock. It said I would get it in 7 - 14 days. Next, your status said it is on backorder, and I would get it by 11/23. What kind of game are you playing? ... MoreThis is an exceptionally bass guitar. I currently have one I ordered from Amazon. The pickups are phenomenal. It has a clear rounded robust sound. It tunes great and it is wonderful slap & pop funk bass playing, I would highly recommend this bass, you won't regret it, As I stated, I already have this same bass which I bought from Amazon and It was delivered within 2 - 3 days. With that being said, I ordered this from Adorama because you discounted my purchase price by $50, so I decided to return it to Amazon to get the $50 saving. I ordered it from Adorama on 8/28, there was no indication that you didn't have it in stock. It said I would get it in 7 - 14 days. Next, your status said it is on backorder, and I would get it by 11/23. What kind of game are you playing? If I was running your business, I would order it from Amazon, and make sure the customer gets it in 7 days. Just to keep a good customer. Even Walmart would get this item to me within 7 days or less. Now I have to wait at least 2 months just to get my discounted bass. This seems like a scam! I complemented you on your great website, but your process is totally unacceptable. Walmart or Amazon would indicate if the items were in stock. I am totally dissatisfied with the process. I gave you 5 stars anyways, because I am not knocking the quality of the bass because of your morainic process. Adorama you can do better than that! i am sure you will find some reason to disqualify my review, but your management needs to know that this hurts your business. I am not entering my name to win any gift card from, I don't trust your process. Have a great weekend.

Excellent instrument for the price!

I'm a 40+ year working bass player. Previously I had owned an Ibanez BtB and loved it, then traded it for a Warwick, which was cool, and definitely fashionable too. Ended up having several shoulder surgeries and a major spinal surgery in my neck, (I set off metal detectors now), also gathered a pile of some rather large medical bills in the process, so the Warwick had to go to pay the bills, so I decided to retire in order to heal up for awhile. Lately, sitting at home doing nothing and waiting for the pandemic to end. I decided it was time to get another bass, and decided to start playing again. Since I had worked at a local music store for years as a guitar tech I was familiar with the Ibanez SR Series, so when I found this here I knew this had to be the "one" ... MoreI'm a 40+ year working bass player. Previously I had owned an Ibanez BtB and loved it, then traded it for a Warwick, which was cool, and definitely fashionable too. Ended up having several shoulder surgeries and a major spinal surgery in my neck, (I set off metal detectors now), also gathered a pile of some rather large medical bills in the process, so the Warwick had to go to pay the bills, so I decided to retire in order to heal up for awhile. Lately, sitting at home doing nothing and waiting for the pandemic to end. I decided it was time to get another bass, and decided to start playing again. Since I had worked at a local music store for years as a guitar tech I was familiar with the Ibanez SR Series, so when I found this here I knew this had to be the "one" because of the price and me being familiar with the SR Series, (we were an Ibanez dealer). I love the color, the feel of the thin neck and the active electronics. With the 3 way tap switch, volume/tone/pickup splitter knobs you can get an amazing number of sounds out of this instrument, from floor shaking lows to twinkling clear highs. The color was nice, the neck felt good and the price was definitely right. It also arrived with a decent set up, not great, but better than many others I have seen, so as a retired guitar tech I lowered the strings a bit, tweaked the truss rod, worked on the intonation and it was ready set go! If only my callouses would come back that easy everything would be golden.I would definitely recommend this as a great beginner instrument, and also as capable of being a suitable gigging instrument.

Excellent value for money

For a "cheap" bass this is very impressive. It's so easy to play even for beginners or people with small hands like myself! Considering the price you would expect some manufacturing defects, but I didn't notice any imperfections. The frets were all nice and smooth, no loose pots, no buzzing frets. I spent a good time looking for faults but there honestly were none! I couldn't imagine getting anything better for this price.As for the finish, if you were worried about the colour looking a bit "plain" or boring, you shouldn't. The iron pewter is more like a dark metallic grey than black. Anyway it's a real thing of beauty.My only one issue with the bass is the design of the cut-away making it awkward to reach those elusive 23rd and 24th frets. But I hardly play down ... MoreFor a "cheap" bass this is very impressive. It's so easy to play even for beginners or people with small hands like myself! Considering the price you would expect some manufacturing defects, but I didn't notice any imperfections. The frets were all nice and smooth, no loose pots, no buzzing frets. I spent a good time looking for faults but there honestly were none! I couldn't imagine getting anything better for this price.As for the finish, if you were worried about the colour looking a bit "plain" or boring, you shouldn't. The iron pewter is more like a dark metallic grey than black. Anyway it's a real thing of beauty.My only one issue with the bass is the design of the cut-away making it awkward to reach those elusive 23rd and 24th frets. But I hardly play down there anyway... if you're someone who does though, you may want to pass on this one.Oh, and it sounds fantastic too!

Grat bass and value for the money!!

I've been a long time bass player, owned a lot of cool, older axes, P-basses, Ricky's, Kramers, etc. Haven't played in bands for a long time, do it more or less as a hobby with my trusty Korg multi-effects unit. I recently had a 370 SR model, which I absolutely loved and had no intention of selling or trading for anything else. However, after perusing at GC one Saturday, I saw the 300E model with the killer charred champagne finish, tried it out and was blown away! I guess you could say there isn't a whole lot of difference between that and my 370, however, it's definitely lighter, with the mahogany body compared tot he maple for the 370, plus it has the 3-way toggle switch, which gives you other tonal options. So yeah, I traded in the 370, got the 300E and couldn't ... MoreI've been a long time bass player, owned a lot of cool, older axes, P-basses, Ricky's, Kramers, etc. Haven't played in bands for a long time, do it more or less as a hobby with my trusty Korg multi-effects unit. I recently had a 370 SR model, which I absolutely loved and had no intention of selling or trading for anything else. However, after perusing at GC one Saturday, I saw the 300E model with the killer charred champagne finish, tried it out and was blown away! I guess you could say there isn't a whole lot of difference between that and my 370, however, it's definitely lighter, with the mahogany body compared tot he maple for the 370, plus it has the 3-way toggle switch, which gives you other tonal options. So yeah, I traded in the 370, got the 300E and couldn't be happier. This thing really kicks rear end, beautiful color palette, sleek, fast neck, and with the 3 band EQ and toggle switch, you truly have a ton of tones to choose from. My only slight complaint as mentioned, was the spotty paint job on the interior input jack area. One of those things where you roll your eyes a bit and say "ahem," but in the end, no one's ever going to see it, and not a big deal. Maybe an oversight with the inspection, bad paint machine - who knows. But other than that, it was set up perfectly at the store - string height and intonation. I believe the factory strings are Ernie Ball, not sure, but I really like them. They remind me of my long stand use of the D'Addario XL 170's - balanced, crisp and punchy, but you can also get that warm P-bass feel with the EQ and with my Korg processor. Oh, and how many times have we all had a bass or two with a slightly dull E string? I have, and it's a treat to have one that actually sounds good! so yeah, we're not talking about a high end Spector, Fodera or Sadowsky here, but I tell you what - test out other high end basses with this, and I think you'll be shocked at how well this sounds for the money!

Great for guitar players too :)

Sound:To my ears it has a more modern sound than the Fender style P or Jazz basses I’ve played or listened to. The active EQ is pretty versatile. I just set it to where I like it and leave it but it’s nice to have so many tonal options. Output between strings is ok. Low E will boom out a little but that’s what they make compressors for.Features:Active EQ on an affordable bass is a great feature. I also like the center indent on the knobs. The nitpick things I noticed was only some of the basses pictured have a plastic EQ cheat sheet under the knobs. Mine did not so it was a little bit of a pain to have to look at the website to see what was what until I memorized it. Also the input jack is the same as the Ibanez S series guitars. Very small tight space so some ... MoreSound:To my ears it has a more modern sound than the Fender style P or Jazz basses I’ve played or listened to. The active EQ is pretty versatile. I just set it to where I like it and leave it but it’s nice to have so many tonal options. Output between strings is ok. Low E will boom out a little but that’s what they make compressors for.Features:Active EQ on an affordable bass is a great feature. I also like the center indent on the knobs. The nitpick things I noticed was only some of the basses pictured have a plastic EQ cheat sheet under the knobs. Mine did not so it was a little bit of a pain to have to look at the website to see what was what until I memorized it. Also the input jack is the same as the Ibanez S series guitars. Very small tight space so some wireless transmitters will not fit nor will 90 degree plugs. Minor stuff all things considered but things to know.Ease of Use:I don’t have much experience with active electronics, but I found start at noon and make small adjustments works best. The center indent knobs help you know where you are. A little overdrive or fuzz on it sounds awesome too.Quality:I am continuously impressed with how good inexpensive guitars are these days. The build quality on my bass was great, I found zero flaws. Smooth fret ends with no sprout, tight neck pocket, decent electronics, and the body and headstock finish was blemish free. The bridge and saddles are nicely polished with no burrs, and the tuners have a good ratio and making fine adjustments is easy.Value:This bass is well worth the asking price. It doesn’t feel cheap and it is well made, and it looks very niceManufacturer Support:I’ve owned several Ibanez guitars over the years and never had a need to contact them.The Wow Factor:Great looking, great playing bass that doesn’t break the bank! I think this would be a great adult beginner bass or a sold backup for a gigging musician. I say adult beginner only because of the scale length. If I was buying for a child I’d probably have gone with the Talman for the short scale. I have zero reservations about purchasing this bass and if it got run over in the street I would buy another one in an instant.Overall:My perspective may be a little different from other reviewers. I’m a guitar player and I wanted to get a decent low cost bass mainly to use on home recording projects, but also to plunk around on for fun. I looked at several offerings in the sub $500 arena and decided the SR300 was the one for me. Customer reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and honestly I really like the look. I chose the Sky Veil Matte model. The jatoba fretboard looks great with the dark/light blue body and matching headstock. It looks just like the photos. When I picked it up it reminded me of the Ibanez S series guitars with the super thin body. It’s fairly light and well balanced sitting or standing up. Out of the box the set up was playable. I lowered the saddles and gave the truss rod a 1/4 turn because us guitarists are babies and we have to have our action low :P

It's awesome

I really don't like basses that have neck dive. This one stays planted. It can also make a LOT of different tones. It has a great neck too. One down side is the end of the frets are squared off. I don't like that. I'm going to sand them down to about a 45 degree angle. All in all it's a FANTASTIC bass especially for a beginner like me. I highly recommend it.

The Bass for pro/amateur alike

Overall:I've played guitar over 30yrs,wanted a bass that was light weight, thin fast neck and versatility. This checked all the boxes and added a few excellent features. The active p/u's and 3way tone feature and balance knob,this bass can growl be smooth and jazzy or snappy for slap funk bass and the thin 9.5 or 10 radius neck will have u playing for hours and it's balance perfectly.