The Ibanez GSR205 : Value for Money

Advantages: Solid workmanship, useable tones, very versatile.
Disadvantages: Shoddy electronics

...I got this in 2006, plus RM600 in cash; from a dealer who'd always wanted my '81 Fender P-bass. The GSR205 is a good, sturdy; all-round 'gigworthy' bass with a wide palette of tones. I've used it exclusively on a wide array of gigs, from rock to quasi-jazz; and it's held up well. My only grouses are the quality of the electronics and the battery-hungry 'Phat EQ' circuitry. I ended up replacing all the controls with Ernie Ball 500K pots; and getting rid of the entire 'Phat EQ' circuit by rewiring the bass like a stock Fender Jazz Bass (2 Volumes and a Master Tone). So, what I have now is basically a passive bass that still sounds great; without the hassle of changing batteries. The bass sounds clear and clean either through an amp; or a direct box (mine's a Boss) straight into a mixer. I do hope that Ibanez can come up with a GSR205 that...

bluesguy62 16.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez GSR205 Electric Bass

Best Beginners Bass Guitar. Period.

Advantages: Great Looking, Smooth Neck, Good Sound.
Disadvantages: No Active Pickups

...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...

janestone 22.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez GSR200 Electric Bass

My first 5-String bass...and it won't be my last!

Advantages: Price, High Quality, Rigorous Checks at Ibanez
Disadvantages: Let down by pickups (although they can be replaced).

...Features ------------- Taking into consideration its relatively low price, this bass hosts a myriad of features commonly only seen in much more expensive basses. These features include an Agathis body, full scale 22 fret neck, two J-Style pickups with individual volume controls, and a Master Tone control. Durability -------------- Throughout a year of heavy use, this bass it still in near perfect condition despite a right bashing. While inspecting the instrument closely while writing this review, the only marks I can see on the guitar are a few minor scratches on the back of the guitar and a chip on the head of the guitar which was the coincidence of an altercation with a light fitting as I was carrying my bass. :o) Playability -------------- This bass is very easy to play. The neck allows very quick playing whatever...

MatthewForshaw 24.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez GSR205 Electric Bass

Active Bass for Under £250!!

Advantages: Value for money, active electronics, easy to play
Disadvantages: only comes in 3 different colours

...If you want a small bass with a punchy sound and active electronics but don't have much cash, the SR300DX is the bass for you! I've had my SR300DX for about two years and in that time it's never let me down even after many times of being dropped, knocked over, bounced about in the back of vans and cars, left in damp rehearsal rooms and gigged. Before the Ibanez I used a Fender Jazz bass. The jazz bass hasn't been touched since I got this bass. The Ibanez feels like a guitar compared to the jazz bass because of its weight and short length but still manages to have 24 frets (2 more than the jazz). The neck is very slim and the frets are low and fat making this an easy bass to play. This bass would suit someone who is small or has small hands. The cutaway gives plenty of access higher up the fingerboard. The fingerboard itself...

Werksheye 05.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez SR300DX Electric Bass

It's a Double Bass daddio!

Advantages: They're beautiful.
Disadvantages: You'll cry if you have to sell it.

...It's difficult to buy a double bass in the simple way you might buy a good quality electric guitar or electric bass . For a guitar you can sort of decide if you're Fender, Gibson, Gretsch etc type of person by seeing what you're favourite players use on the telly and then trying them out in any good guitar store. But for the double bass we're in different territory all together and different rules apply. If you try out the bass in a store or room that is stuffed with other double basses or even other wooden acoustic instruments its going to resonate a little in each of those instruments and lead you into believing you have a lovely sounding bass when you probably haven't. Some spaces can make an unamplified double bass sound great. I like to play mine on the lower landing of my stairwell - always sounded beautiful there. If you...

padfoot100 17.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Double Bass

Getting back to Bass-ics

Advantages: Good quality budget guitar
Disadvantages: none really

...I have been hankering for a Bass guitar to fiddle with as a project and when I earned a few extra quid for a private job I started to browse eBay for a likely candidate. I found a Yamaha RBX170 4 string bass on a pick up only deal in Ringwood, a place that I pass through regularly. This bass retails between £120 - £150, putting it in the higher end of the beginners' market. When I collected it, along with the 30 Watt amplifier which I got with it for a very reasonable £73, it was a bit grubby and looked as though it had been used for serving pizza. There were several torn and grubby stickers on it and I feared that I had bought a pup. I got it home and plugged it in. The first thing I noticed was the weight, for a full scale bass guitar it is very light, I can hold it out at arm's length with ease. The range of tones is...

JeffFromPoole 14.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha RBX170 Bass Guitar

Ibanez AW15 LG

Advantages: Very affordable top quality acoustic
Disadvantages: if you want this in a cutaway version you'll pay considerably more

...Straight out the box in your lap this guitar screams of QUALITY!!! Your expectations will be surpassed! The sound this guitar produces is exquisite, nice warm pleasant bass tones decent mid-tones, and in the high end its sings like a skylark! It has the best sustain I've ever heard in an acoustic, on a par with my friends Clapton signature Martin, honestly, it's that good. Well constructed, decently finished the solid cedar top, with mahogany inlay looks the part, the smooth solid mahogany neck is a sheer joy to play, the Ibanez tuners are of a reasonable standard. If your looking to upgrade to a high spec acoustic and considering spending double what one of these babes costs...think again, at least try one out, could save you a small fortune, and put one heck of a smile on your face!!!...

smigg-fingers 16.01.2009 (15.01.2009) · Read review
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Review of Ibanez AW15

The Double Bass. A very very big instrument!

Advantages: Great fun
Disadvantages: Very large to store and transport

...My family are all rather musical and we have acquired quite a collection of instruments over the years. For a significant anniversary I decided to buy a double bass. In his younger days my partner had played the electric bass in various bands and had always said one day he would like to have a double bass. Well now he has. ♫ ♫ What is a double bass? ♫ ♫ Well I suppose the short answer is that it looks like a giant violin, although it?s actually descended from an instrument called the viol. It dates as far back as the 16th century and is the largest and lowest sounding instrument in the string family of instruments. The other instruments in this family are the viola, the violin and the cello. No one seems quite certain where the name comes from but one theory suggests it is because the double bass...

perfectlypolished 09.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Double Bass

Ibanez SM-7

Advantages: It is sexy and gives a good sound
Disadvantages: It's a distortion pedal.......how can there be any cons?

...The Ibanez SM-7 is a tough one to review, it most definitely full fills it's task as a big crushing metal distortion pedal but does very little else. So, let's just have a run down of all the features on the pedal. Clean Channel --------------------- This pedal works a real treat when switched off. This may sound very strange to most people but trust me, some pedals when you aren't using the effect on them will still alter the sound coming from your guitar ever so slightly, the smash box avoids this totally. DISTORTED channel ----------------------------- Oh yes. Here we go. Although this pedal is of what I would call limited capacity in effects it does cover a wide horizon in one field of effect. The smash box features four recesible dials (they push and lock in so you can't knock them and change the setting...

onlineguitarhero2 30.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez SM7

Ibanez IC400 Iceman - Let There Be Rock!

Advantages: Lightweight, Low Action, Awesome Shape
Disadvantages: Large Headstock.

...-Ibanez IC400 Iceman- Wow, i have not written a review in YEARS! Since 2005! I feel like my heads about to explode. You'll have to bare with me on this one cause ive got to get back into the swing of things. As with every guitar, the Iceman has a history. Hoshino Gakki, the developer of the Iceman, wanted to make a distinctly Japanese looking guitar, as, before this time, Ibanez had been making replica copies of Fender Strats and Gibson Les Pauls and such. So after a meeting between Ibanez, and another guitar manufacturer, Greco, the "Iceman" design was born. Ibanez got the distributing rights for outside of Japan, and Greco for in Japan. Thats pretty much the history. So now for the guitar itself!! I picked it up second hand from ebay for about 350 quid, although you can buy them new nowadays for anywhere between 420 and 470...

helpa4eva 25.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez IC400 Iceman