Ibanez SRH505F NNF Electric 5 String Bass

I love this bass!!!The fret lines are not wood!! I don't mind fret lines, but it seems they've used plastic, possibly nylon, but definitely some sort of polymer, NOT WOOD, as fret lines. I have played this bas A LOT since I bought it about 7 months ago. And the rosewood fingerboard wears down while the fret lines do not. One area, between the e flat and g notes on the g -string (frets 6-12 on a fretted bass) has become so worn that the fret lines are beginning to function as actual frets! I cannot play the semi tones between the fret lines in that area!!! Sliding in that area no longer has a fretless slide sound, and playing the specific notes on the fret lines achieves a buzzy, dull, unclear note, as opposed to the clear, specific, precise note sounds it made when ... MoreI love this bass!!!The fret lines are not wood!! I don't mind fret lines, but it seems they've used plastic, possibly nylon, but definitely some sort of polymer, NOT WOOD, as fret lines. I have played this bas A LOT since I bought it about 7 months ago. And the rosewood fingerboard wears down while the fret lines do not. One area, between the e flat and g notes on the g -string (frets 6-12 on a fretted bass) has become so worn that the fret lines are beginning to function as actual frets! I cannot play the semi tones between the fret lines in that area!!! Sliding in that area no longer has a fretless slide sound, and playing the specific notes on the fret lines achieves a buzzy, dull, unclear note, as opposed to the clear, specific, precise note sounds it made when first purchased. I can also feel almost all the fret lines on the entire fingerboard as ridges while I play, which is pretty annoying. I wasn't like that when I bought it.I'm gonna plane the neck and coat with superglue.

Fun to play, not as 'acoustic' sounding as I hoped untill I changed the strings. (UPDATE!)

Changing my review on this bass! I am still only giving 4 stars simply because Ibanez has chosen to use D'Addario Chromes for the stock strings and that is absolutely the wrong choice! After a month and almost putting the bass up for sale I changed the strings to D'Addario Tapewounds and lo and behold it sounds like a completely different bass! Now it has the acoustic tone I was after without sounding thin and tinny! Otherwise the bass itself is well made, very playable right out of the box and looks great! I think Ibanez should consider changing their string choice and go with the tapewounds... I think they would have better luck with it because I don't see this bass becoming very popular... So if you are willing to make the extra investment in new strings I can ... MoreChanging my review on this bass! I am still only giving 4 stars simply because Ibanez has chosen to use D'Addario Chromes for the stock strings and that is absolutely the wrong choice! After a month and almost putting the bass up for sale I changed the strings to D'Addario Tapewounds and lo and behold it sounds like a completely different bass! Now it has the acoustic tone I was after without sounding thin and tinny! Otherwise the bass itself is well made, very playable right out of the box and looks great! I think Ibanez should consider changing their string choice and go with the tapewounds... I think they would have better luck with it because I don't see this bass becoming very popular... So if you are willing to make the extra investment in new strings I can highly recommend this bass!

Good bass with a few minor issues

Overall:For the price, this bass is great. I have it strung up with La Bella Balanced flats and it sounds amazing. The piezo pickup is way more flexible than I would have thought. It's extremely light and comfortable to play for hours. One thing to keep in mind is that the fretlines are nearly invisible in bad lighting. The dots are lined up with the lines which helps a lot for fretless newbie such as myself. I only have a couple complaints. The setup it came with was really bad. The setup it had out of the box was really bad. Also, there were a few rough spots on the neck that I had to smooth out with some steel wool. Next, it does neck dive which I expected for a 5 string semi-hollow. I'll put some Hipshot ultralights on it eventually. Overall, I really love the ... MoreOverall:For the price, this bass is great. I have it strung up with La Bella Balanced flats and it sounds amazing. The piezo pickup is way more flexible than I would have thought. It's extremely light and comfortable to play for hours. One thing to keep in mind is that the fretlines are nearly invisible in bad lighting. The dots are lined up with the lines which helps a lot for fretless newbie such as myself. I only have a couple complaints. The setup it came with was really bad. The setup it had out of the box was really bad. Also, there were a few rough spots on the neck that I had to smooth out with some steel wool. Next, it does neck dive which I expected for a 5 string semi-hollow. I'll put some Hipshot ultralights on it eventually. Overall, I really love the bass. For the price it's really hard to find a better option.

Great Fretless Sound

Overall:Light bass for it's size. Thickness of body take some time to get use to being much thicker than the typical Ibanez bass. Neck is the typical Ibanez bass neck, thin and fast. Being fretless, wonderful sound with the flatwound strings and piezo pickup. If you need lines, they are there but need good lighting to see them. Anyone some distance away will probably see it as unlined. Dots on the side of the neck are on the fretlines.

Ibanez Fretless five string bass

A fantastic looking and sounding instrument. An upright acoustic bass is too much for me to manage but I wanted that kind of sound. This bass has separate under saddle pick ups for each string which can be adjusted for the tones that you are looking for which an electric bass doesn't give. The sound is very much like an upright bass and for me was exactly what I was unable to get from a fretted electric instrument. Playing technique obviously needs to very precise with a Fretless instrument but the amount of expression available is astonishing. Considering the size of this instrument and semi hollow construction the weight is very manageable although not exactly lightweight. Arrived well setup and playable with a fairly low action that I will probably raise slightly ... MoreA fantastic looking and sounding instrument. An upright acoustic bass is too much for me to manage but I wanted that kind of sound. This bass has separate under saddle pick ups for each string which can be adjusted for the tones that you are looking for which an electric bass doesn't give. The sound is very much like an upright bass and for me was exactly what I was unable to get from a fretted electric instrument. Playing technique obviously needs to very precise with a Fretless instrument but the amount of expression available is astonishing. Considering the size of this instrument and semi hollow construction the weight is very manageable although not exactly lightweight. Arrived well setup and playable with a fairly low action that I will probably raise slightly once I am more used to playing it. Very pleased with this bass and it was just what I was looking for. Nicely built with good quality hardware and only the odd very minor blemish to the finish here and there if you look closely. Have had much more expensive instruments with more cosmetic defects than this. I consider this as money well spent on this instrument. David.

Love it !!!

I absolutely love this bass.I could do without the fret lines, but I don't really mind fret lines in general, especially if they are wood. What I strongly dislike is that the fret lines are seemingly plastic. It's hard to tell, but they are definitely not wood. They seem to be black plastic, possibly nylon, definitely a polymer of some sort.Having played this bass A TON, these plastic fret lines have caused an issue to arise. The rosewood wears down (and yes I'm using the recommended flat wound strings) at a much faster rate than the plastic fret lines. I am now able to feel the plastic fret lines as ridges in the fretboard as I play. I find that to be quite annoying. What's even worse is that the wood in an area up the neck under the g-string is worn quite a ... MoreI absolutely love this bass.I could do without the fret lines, but I don't really mind fret lines in general, especially if they are wood. What I strongly dislike is that the fret lines are seemingly plastic. It's hard to tell, but they are definitely not wood. They seem to be black plastic, possibly nylon, definitely a polymer of some sort.Having played this bass A TON, these plastic fret lines have caused an issue to arise. The rosewood wears down (and yes I'm using the recommended flat wound strings) at a much faster rate than the plastic fret lines. I am now able to feel the plastic fret lines as ridges in the fretboard as I play. I find that to be quite annoying. What's even worse is that the wood in an area up the neck under the g-string is worn quite a bit more than the rest of the neck, so the plastic fret lines in that area protrude from the fretboard even more. This is actually causing the fret lines to begin to perform the same function as an actual fret!!! I physically can no longer play the quarter tones in between the fret lines in that area of the neck on the g-string. Also, sliding up the g-string in that area doesn't sound like a smooth fretless slide, it sounds almost as if there are frets. Trying to play the notes on the protruding fret lines in that area of the neck results in buzzing, muted, unclear notes, as opposed to the nice, clear, specific notes that were produced when I first purchased this bass barely 7 months ago.I am going to plane the entire neck with sandpaper and a 12" radius block. I am the going to seal the entire neck by coating it with multiple thin layers of thin cyanoacrylate (super glue). I'll sand the neck with finer levels of grit sandpaper, using the 12" radius block as I go. Finally, once it's all dried, cured and hard I'll give it a good buffing to make it shine like glass. I know this will result in a change in the sound of the instrument, but I am actually looking forward to that!

Love it!!!!

I absolutely love this bass.I could do without the fret lines, but I don't really mind fret lines in general, especially if they are wood. What I strongly dislike is that the fret lines are seemingly plastic. It's hard to tell, but they are definitely not wood. They seem to be black plastic, possibly nylon, definitely a polymer of some sort.Having played this bass A TON, these plastic fret lines have caused an issue to arise. The rosewood wears down (and yes I'm using the recommended flat wound strings) at a much faster rate than the plastic fret lines. I am now able to feel the plastic fret lines as ridges in the fretboard as I play. I find that to be quite annoying. What's even worse is that the wood in an area up the neck under the g-string is worn quite a ... MoreI absolutely love this bass.I could do without the fret lines, but I don't really mind fret lines in general, especially if they are wood. What I strongly dislike is that the fret lines are seemingly plastic. It's hard to tell, but they are definitely not wood. They seem to be black plastic, possibly nylon, definitely a polymer of some sort.Having played this bass A TON, these plastic fret lines have caused an issue to arise. The rosewood wears down (and yes I'm using the recommended flat wound strings) at a much faster rate than the plastic fret lines. I am now able to feel the plastic fret lines as ridges in the fretboard as I play. I find that to be quite annoying. What's even worse is that the wood in an area up the neck under the g-string is worn quite a bit more than the rest of the neck, so the plastic fret lines in that area protrude from the fretboard even more. This is actually causing the fret lines to begin to perform the same function as an actual fret!!! I physically can no longer play the quarter tones in between the fret lines in that area of the neck on the g-string. Also, sliding up the g-string in that area doesn't sound like a smooth fretless slide, it sounds almost as if there are frets. Trying to play the notes on the protruding fret lines in that area of the neck results in buzzing, muted, unclear notes, as opposed to the nice, clear, specific notes that were produced when I first purchased this bass barely 7 months ago.I am going to plane the entire neck with sandpaper and a 12" radius block. I am the going to seal the entire neck by coating it with multiple thin layers of thin cyanoacrylate (super glue). I'll sand the neck with finer levels of grit sandpaper, using the 12" radius block as I go. Finally, once it's all dried, cured and hard I'll give it a good buffing to make it shine like glass. I know this will result in a change in the sound of the instrument, but I am actually looking forward to that!

Not bad, cheap, solid, but not up to a really heavy player

Decent Fretless, action sits pretty low. Only has the piezo pickup and only a tone rolloff control so a limited range of tonal options from the axe itself. There seems to be some compressive thing going on in the electronics, there is a subtle of breathy effect at low volume and a compression at high volume. Not a problem, but a particularity to this bass's sound. I often compress a fretless, but prefer to be able to control it myself. Major CON - When I rest my palm or fingers on a string heavily, the pickup will cut out. You have to actually push down, not just touch, but there is a definite cut in the sound. It only seems to happen which a sort of "banjo style" picking method, thumb and fingers plucking and palm on the low strings when plucking at the top ... MoreDecent Fretless, action sits pretty low. Only has the piezo pickup and only a tone rolloff control so a limited range of tonal options from the axe itself. There seems to be some compressive thing going on in the electronics, there is a subtle of breathy effect at low volume and a compression at high volume. Not a problem, but a particularity to this bass's sound. I often compress a fretless, but prefer to be able to control it myself. Major CON - When I rest my palm or fingers on a string heavily, the pickup will cut out. You have to actually push down, not just touch, but there is a definite cut in the sound. It only seems to happen which a sort of "banjo style" picking method, thumb and fingers plucking and palm on the low strings when plucking at the top strings, or when I finger muffle with a heavy pressure. I'm going to see if this is a warranty issue or a design flaw. This never happens for my normal finger plucking technique, only with lower hand positions.

SRH505 5-String Electric Bass Guitar

I bought the fretless version of this bass first and was so impressed with it that I bought this one, with frets immediately. This has become my favorite go to bass. It works in so many different situations that I can't seem to want to play anything else. I ditched the D'Addario Chrome flats that came on it and installed a set of La Bella Tiger's Blood nylon tape wounds and that was the bomb! The bass is light, has a great feeling neck, looks awesome and just sounds great for everything I throw at it. I just finished a week long musical using it instead of a regular electric bass and an upright and it worked great!

Upright sound from an affordable electric bass

Purchased this bass last week and received it the next day. This bass sounds amazing. For the price point I can't imagine a better instrument in terms of build and performance. I was looking for a bass that sounded as much like an upright as possible. It delivers that and more. Anytime I read a review that says a new bass showed up well set up from the factory I wince, but I have to admit this one did. great low action and intonation. The bass is very light. The pieso system sounds really good and has a nice range from woody boom to bright crisp treble. Very pleased with this purchase after a week of playing it.