A 1994 Ibanez sr500, a 1996 Ibanez sr400 or a 2017(?) Ibanez sr500...?

[jeroen boov]

As a third (why do I need a 3rd bass..?) bass I'm looking for a 2nd hand Ibanez sr bass. Quite a few models and year of making to choose from. At this moment 3 options.
A 1994 Ibanez sr500 (cherryred sunburst) for €140 ($ 175).
A 1996 Ibanez sr400 (blue) for €250 ($310).
A 2017(?) Ibanez sr500 (brown mahogany) for €400 ($495).

With the first two I see the chance to buy Ibanez sr and give these kind of basses a try.
With the third I see a chance to buy as good as new quality bass.

First idea was to buy with a budget of about $300 a 2nd hand Ibanez sr. But I don't want to end up (being too cheap) with a low end sr. What attracts me in the Ibanez sr , purely based on internet research, is the slim design, the rich variety of sounds capable.
But now with some options I find myself kinda lost. Can you please help me gather my thoughts?
I never played a sr yet. Of course I should, that's going to happen soon. Please, just some thoughts about these basses.
1994 sr500 active 2 way band eq. 1996 sr400 active 3 way eq. 2017 sr500 more sound options.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I'm only qualified to talk on the brown SR500 from 2017. I have one that was built in late 2016/early 2017. I love the fingerboard, it's my favorite feeling fingerboard/neck by far (I've also got some jazz basses and a P/J). The weight is awesome...it's so light.

Now the down-sides of it: The pre-amp is a little bit boom-y. It's still fairly flexible, but it's very easy to get into the boom-y territory. Others have described the sound of this pre-amp as "honky". For me this results in a fair amount of the range being unusable. But I guess that's fair, since even on pre-amps that I like, I've found the settings that work for me and pretty much stick with them. The other negative is the super thin finish on the body. I attempt a lot of slap, and underneath the G string between the neck pickup and the fingerboard there are gouges from my fingernail where the very light colored wood of the body has been exposed. It's about a 1-inch by 1.5-inch patch. Super noticeable. If you search you will find others complaining about this as well. It's a real thing. An easy fix would be to design and order a custom pick guard. This is on my list of things to do, just haven't gotten around to it. A less easy fix would be to re-finish it and put on a good coat of clear (there's an older thread here on TB where someone did that...he shared lots of photos and detailed the specific materials that he used--this one).

Despite the negatives it's probably one of the last basses I'd sell. The feel is that good and I can get enough good tone out of it for what I want to play.

 

[jeroen boov]

I'm only qualified to talk on the brown SR500 from 2017. I have one that was built in late 2016/early 2017. I love the fingerboard, it's my favorite feeling fingerboard/neck by far (I've also got some jazz basses and a P/J). The weight is awesome...it's so light.

Now the down-sides of it: The pre-amp is a little bit boom-y. It's still fairly flexible, but it's very easy to get into the boom-y territory. Others have described the sound of this pre-amp as "honky". For me this results in a fair amount of the range being unusable. But I guess that's fair, since even on pre-amps that I like, I've found the settings that work for me and pretty much stick with them. The other negative is the super thin finish on the body. I attempt a lot of slap, and underneath the G string between the neck pickup and the fingerboard there are gouges from my fingernail where the very light colored wood of the body has been exposed. It's about a 1-inch by 1.5-inch patch. Super noticeable. If you search you will find others complaining about this as well. It's a real thing. An easy fix would be to design and order a custom pick guard. This is on my list of things to do, just haven't gotten around to it. A less easy fix would be to re-finish it and put on a good coat of clear (there's an older thread here on TB where someone did that...he shared lots of photos and detailed the specific materials that he used--this one).

Despite the negatives it's probably one of the last basses I'd sell. The feel is that good and I can get enough good tone out of it for what I want to play.

Thanks Hari, I managed to gather my thoughts on the sr basses. Yesterday closed the deal on the 2016 (!) Ibanez SR500 BM for €350 ($435). I think I made a good deal on this bass. I see what you mean with the thin finish. In the (near) future I see myself taking that finish off and give it a nice line oil finish. Did that with my Peavey Grind with good resulst.

 

[Bassist Jay]

I’ve owned several Ibanez Soundgear basses including all of the models mentioned. I still own my 94’ and 95’ SR 500 Soundgear basses.

Assuming there are no major issues with any of the basses, I would go for the 94’ SR 500 as my first choice. Then the newer SR 500 as my second choice. Finally, I would go with the SR 400 last but not because it’s a bad bass. Only, because the SR 500’s are better.

Now the reason why I would choose the 94’ SR 500 over the modern one is simple. The 94’ was made in Korea whereas the newer one was built in Indonesia. In my opinion, and having owned several basses and guitars built in both plants, the Korean made instruments have a slightly better build quality. The qc from the Indonesian plant isn’t horrible, but just like comparing the SR 400 to the SR 500, one is slightly better than the other.

With the new SR 500, it is stained turd brown. Many people have major issues with the finish peeling off

I think my modern SR 500 was a 2014. It was a good bass. Mine was a Guitar Center exclusive so it wasn’t turd brown but instead, was a poplar burl bursted matte finish. When I compared that bass to my 94’ and 95’ SR 500’s, they were built much better. Those basses have also withstood the test of time.

With my 94’ and 95’, both were bought new by myself. Both have toured with me, been in the studio have been played countless hours when I practiced. Both basses were my main basses from 94’ and 95’ to 2010 before I semi retired them. Both basses also were down tuned a whole step and then tuned back to normal tuning for my bands practice and shows and then to my churches worship team practice and then playing at church. There is no way my 2014 SR 500 could take the same things.

 

[jeroen boov]

I’ve owned several Ibanez Soundgear basses including all of the models mentioned. I still own my 94’ and 95’ SR 500 Soundgear basses.

Assuming there are no major issues with any of the basses, I would go for the 94’ SR 500 as my first choice. Then the newer SR 500 as my second choice. Finally, I would go with the SR 400 last but not because it’s a bad bass. Only, because the SR 500’s are better.

Now the reason why I would choose the 94’ SR 500 over the modern one is simple. The 94’ was made in Korea whereas the newer one was built in Indonesia. In my opinion, and having owned several basses and guitars built in both plants, the Korean made instruments have a slightly better build quality. The qc from the Indonesian plant isn’t horrible, but just like comparing the SR 400 to the SR 500, one is slightly better than the other.

With the new SR 500, it is stained turd brown. Many people have major issues with the finish peeling off

I think my modern SR 500 was a 2014. It was a good bass. Mine was a Guitar Center exclusive so it wasn’t turd brown but instead, was a poplar burl bursted matte finish. When I compared that bass to my 94’ and 95’ SR 500’s, they were built much better. Those basses have also withstood the test of time.

With my 94’ and 95’, both were bought new by myself. Both have toured with me, been in the studio have been played countless hours when I practiced. Both basses were my main basses from 94’ and 95’ to 2010 before I semi retired them. Both basses also were down tuned a whole step and then tuned back to normal tuning for my bands practice and shows and then to my churches worship team practice and then playing at church. There is no way my 2014 SR 500 could take the same things.

Hi Jay, thank you for your elaborate reply. I went for the 2016 SR500. A good feature of the SR basses (according to people here on TB en elsewhere) is the versatility in sound. That's why I was looking for a ASR. Comparing the 1994 SR500 to the 2016 SR500 the 1994 has a 2 way eq while the 2016 has a 3 way and a midrange switch. I thought this setup will give me more versatility.
And yeah, the color they sell as mahogany brown is in fact turd brown. ;-) And really thin. But in the future this finish will be sanded down and I'll give it an oil treat. Maybe even the near future.

 

[BaltoNealio]

Is it safe to assume that the alternative to turd brown--flat sapphire--would suffer the same surface-coating disintegration? I've been eyeballing that one for around a year now, but I don't have the time (or inclination) to refinish a bass body.

 

[jeroen boov]

Is it safe to assume that the alternative to turd brown--flat sapphire--would suffer the same surface-coating disintegration? I've been eyeballing that one for around a year now, but I don't have the time (or inclination) to refinish a bass body.

I checked some Google pics of the blue sapphire body. This looks more like an opaque stain. The finish on the Mahogany Brown is more like laquer in such a thin layer it doesn't seem to fill all the grains. I'd rather have the blue sapphire but 2nd hand dont give that much options... ;-)

 

[Maxdusty]

I believe the 1994 SR500 has a maple neck, I know the more recent versions have the jatoba/bubinga necks which feel so much better to me. Imo you picked the better option. I had an SR700 which is basically the same bass but a better finish, these SR basses are very versatile and easy to play on.

 

[jeroen boov]

Thanks Maxdusty, for confirming I made the right choice... ;-).

 

[Bassist Jay]

Hi Jay, thank you for your elaborate reply. I went for the 2016 SR500. A good feature of the SR basses (according to people here on TB en elsewhere) is the versatility in sound. That's why I was looking for a ASR. Comparing the 1994 SR500 to the 2016 SR500 the 1994 has a 2 way eq while the 2016 has a 3 way and a midrange switch. I thought this setup will give me more versatility.
And yeah, the color they sell as mahogany brown is in fact turd brown. ;-) And really thin. But in the future this finish will be sanded down and I'll give it an oil treat. Maybe even the near future.

The 3 band eq and midrange boost switch was one thing I did like over the 2 band eq on the earlier models.

When you sand yours down, send me some pics. I’ll be interested to see it like that.

And to answer Maxdusty’s question, yes the 94’ SR 500’s have maple necks.