Ibanez GSR200 Electric Bass

...older style that the one Ibanez now advertise and sell, so mine doesnt have the Phat II EQ Bass Boost control that newer models now come eqipt with.

The body is Agathis, which is not a great wood for guitar bodies, but ibanez use it well to get the best out of it. All basses/guitars in this price range use it, as it is the cheapest musical wood. This wood is a relative of true mahogany and gives nearly the same tonal characterists. ...
...this bass is very impressive. Ibanez are famous for thier hard rock stylings, and my bass is the jet black colour. It looks supersleek, and with a little cleaning it is possible to get the finish looknig as good as new, even after a year. All the hardware is silver, which looks more modern that gold, and it goes well with the instrument.

There are a few slight problems I have had with mine, and I'll go through them here.

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I bought this electric bass about a year ago, along with a Fender Rumble amp, as my first proper instrument, and let me say this - I couldn't have been happier with it.

First, lets go through some specs. My model is an older style that the one Ibanez now advertise and sell, so mine doesnt have the Phat II EQ Bass Boost control that newer models now come eqipt with.

The body is Agathis, which is not a great wood for guitar bodies, but ibanez use it well to get the best out of it. All basses/guitars in this price range use it, as it is the cheapest musical wood. This wood is a relative of true mahogany and gives nearly the same tonal characterists. Warm lows with a fairly strong sustain.

The neck is made out of maple, and the finish is just perfect for my tastes. It is very thinly varnished, so you don't get the stickiness of a super shiny neck, nor the rough feel of a neck left unvarnished. The neck is a 34" scale, that is:

- 41mm wide at the nut
- 62mm wide at the last fret
- 21mm think at the first fret
- 22mm wide at the 12th.

With a radius of 305mmR, it really is comfortable.

The bass comes with a dark rosewood fingerboard which brightens up the sound, making it stronger and boosts the highs slightly. Mine still looks great after a year of heavy use.

The B10 bridge provides the warm sustain that is necessary with bolt on basses. The strings are easily adjustable in height - mine was set up at the shop but I have since played around with it and it couldnt have been easier. The 19mm bridge spacing is standard, and means that there is plenty of room to play with, even if you have beefy hands, without the neck being overly wide.

The PSNDP Neck Pickup and PSNDJ Bridge Pickup provide your sound. I would describe the sound of this bass as good, up to an extent, but I have to be careful as having played other basses of a higher price, the difference does show. The sound can sometimes be slightly weak, depending on the EQ of your amp, which is certainly not what you want from a bass. I have found though, that this instrument is very versatile. Although not dedicated to one style of playing, with a little tweaking of the tonal controls it can be played fingerstyle, with a pick, and slapped, and still sound really good.

In terms of style, this bass is very impressive. Ibanez are famous for thier hard rock stylings, and my bass is the jet black colour. It looks supersleek, and with a little cleaning it is possible to get the finish looknig as good as new, even after a year. All the hardware is silver, which looks more modern that gold, and it goes well with the instrument.

There are a few slight problems I have had with mine, and I'll go through them here.

My tonal control for the neck pickup came loose and stopped working after a band practice one day, probably due to me flicking it up and down to get a weird sound. All I had to do was grab an adjustable spanner, tighten it up, and it was as good as new.

Second, after dropping my bass onto concrete, the jank lead input has become slightly loose, which means that if I press the jack lead to far to one side, I loose all sound. This is my fault rather than the bass's, and I dunno how I'm going to fix it. A shop job, probably.

Those are only two real faults with this bass, that I've had. It is great value for money, I got mine for £180 from a guitar shop, new, and i'm sure you could find an older model like this for cheaper than that now. I'd recommend it to anyone, either new to bass or at a moderate level, as it performs well in gigs as well as just practicing at home.

Thanks for reading.
 

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