The description said there a few cracks but they were barely noticeable. The pickup cut out in active mode as described but as Ive been told its an easy fix.Over all it sounds great in passive. I cant wait to get it fixed to experience. The full Monty!

After being away from music for several years, I recently bought this inexpensive Ibanez bass thinking that I would try to get back into it and if I did, I could always pick up a better bass along the way. Well, after plugging this baby in and playing it extensively, I am so overwhelmed at the quality and the sound and the ease of play, that I'm not sure I need a more expensive bass guitar. Instead, after looking extensively for an adequate bass amplifier to handle the low end Hertz of a of 5-string, I decided to put the money into a pair of powered 400 watt JBL subwoofers instead. I discovered that most bass amplifiers only provide a low end frequency response of around 45 Hz to 50 Hz. The low E string on the 4-string bass vibrates at 41.2 Hz and the low B string ... MoreAfter being away from music for several years, I recently bought this inexpensive Ibanez bass thinking that I would try to get back into it and if I did, I could always pick up a better bass along the way. Well, after plugging this baby in and playing it extensively, I am so overwhelmed at the quality and the sound and the ease of play, that I'm not sure I need a more expensive bass guitar. Instead, after looking extensively for an adequate bass amplifier to handle the low end Hertz of a of 5-string, I decided to put the money into a pair of powered 400 watt JBL subwoofers instead. I discovered that most bass amplifiers only provide a low end frequency response of around 45 Hz to 50 Hz. The low E string on the 4-string bass vibrates at 41.2 Hz and the low B string on the 5-string is right at 30.87 Hz. So, even though you will still hear those two strings you are really testing your speakers and the sound you get will be more like a thud than a clearly distinguishable note. No wonder it's hard to tell when those 2 strings are in tune. But, my JBL ES250P subwoofers are providing a frequency response of 25 Hz allowing me to tune that B string down to an A (27.5 Hz) and still have adequate head room (or bottom room as the case may be) which results in one of those bass sounds that you feel and that seems to just spill out into and suround the people on the dance floor. And I can clearly hear all those beautiful sounding low notes coming out by my Ibanez bass and I can tell that it's still in perfect tune. If you select this bass, and support it with adequate amplification, you are going to get a lot of comments on the great sound your putting out from the other bass players in the crowd.

This has been my favorite bass for a few years now, so I have really had time to get to know it. The SR 505 is not a fancy bass, but it is solid, sounds great, plays great and never gives me any trouble. It was easy to set up when I got it, took only a few minutes to have my tech find the sweet spot on string height (it wasn't far off when I got it.) The thing is a workhorse and the Bartoloni's have a phat, meaty sound. Great for everything from rock to jazz. Sounds great in the studio, very clean electronics after several years - the pots haven't even needed cleaning yet. I have, and have had much more expensive basses, like my Alembic, but this is the bass I use almost all of the time. I strongly recommend this bass - it's a no brainer for the price.