A couple questions about Ibanez 305E

[JordanFireStar]

I currently own a Sterling Subray 4 which I'm happy with except for how much it weighs. I recently went to a bass store and I fell in love with the Ibanez 300 as it feels so comfortable in my hands and it's very lightweight. I've also been wanting a 5 string for a while, so now I'm thinking of buying an Ibanez 305.

However, there are two things that concern me.

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

The other issue is regarding the tone. I honestly don't have a very good ear for tone yet, especially as I am still upgrading the rest of my gear and I don't have too much experience with it. I've heard other people complain that some of the lower end Ibanez basses have scooped mids in the pickups, so would it be difficult to get a clanky tone out of these pickups? Or is this a problem more with the Bartolinis instead of the PowerSpan pickups the 305 series has?

Thank you for any answers

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Neck warping on an Ibanez bass? I've never encountered such a problem and I've owned a cheap Chinese GSR100EX, a Roadstar RD905AH, several versions of the SR300 and a SR405QM and 505, and never have I encountered problems with neck twist. If the neck is a 3 or 5 piece neck, you should be good to go. The only issue I could possibly see would be the cheap basses with the 45° mitre join at the headstock but that's only my assumption.

Problems encountered:
Barrel jacks (4) , tuners (1) and bridges (1) yes, but never necks.

As for "clank"(?) I'm assuming you mean ability to cut through the mix?
I've never encountered such an issue either and I've played all sorts from Adele to Zappa, Disco to Punk, Country to Grunge, Metal to Folk rock, Motown to SKA. They're rather versatile instruments from what I've experienced. Some electronics are better than others of course.
Quality does improve the further up the range.

 

[Riff Ranger]

I currently own a Sterling Subray 4 which I'm happy with except for how much it weighs. I recently went to a bass store and I fell in love with the Ibanez 300 as it feels so comfortable in my hands and it's very lightweight. I've also been wanting a 5 string for a while, so now I'm thinking of buying an Ibanez 305.

However, there are two things that concern me.

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

The other issue is regarding the tone. I honestly don't have a very good ear for tone yet, especially as I am still upgrading the rest of my gear and I don't have too much experience with it. I've heard other people complain that some of the lower end Ibanez basses have scooped mids in the pickups, so would it be difficult to get a clanky tone out of these pickups? Or is this a problem more with the Bartolinis instead of the PowerSpan pickups the 305 series has?

Thank you for any answers

Which series are you asking about? It sounds like maybe one of the SR/Soundgear models based on the pickups you’ve mentioned, but I can’t tell for certain from what you’ve written.

I can say that you really can’t generalize accurately about the features on Ibanez basses. Ibanez is to stringed instruments what Toyota is to motor vehicles: they may not make the best known or sexiest version of everything, but chances are if you can think of a type of stringed instrument or motor vehicle, they’ve made several high-quality, high-value versions of it at every price point for decades now. And an Ibanez ATK305 is as different from an Ibanez SR305 as a Toyota Tundra is from a Toyota Camry.

 

[Yahboy]

My previous ibby 300E.

The goods.
-Powerspan pickups tone ( better than MK1 and BH1/2 )
-Comfort playing
-Light weight less than 8 lbs
- nice dark rosewood fretboard (current day version use jotoba)

The bads.
- unstable neck

 

[Snert]

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

I've owned maybe 50 Ibanez basses, from the early 80s to 2020 and have never had an issue with the necks warping. Currently I have 6 SRs, a BTB and an ATK.

I honestly don't have a very good ear for tone yet, especially as I am still upgrading the rest of my gear and I don't have too much experience with it.

Buy the one you like playing and don't become too much of a tone cork sniffer. You'll be able to find a huge range of tone with the Powerspans or Barts and external FX. Take other people's opinions on tone, including mine, with a large grain of salt. YT videos I've also found aren't a lot of help.

 

[JordanFireStar]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I'm glad that the neck issues don't seem to be much of a problem and most people have theirs last al long time.

Which series are you asking about? It sounds like maybe one of the SR/Soundgear models based on the pickups you’ve mentioned, but I can’t tell for certain from what you’ve written.

I can say that you really can’t generalize accurately about the features on Ibanez basses. Ibanez is to stringed instruments what Toyota is to motor vehicles: they may not make the best known or sexiest version of everything, but chances are if you can think of a type of stringed instrument or motor vehicle, they’ve made several high-quality, high-value versions of it at every price point for decades now. And an Ibanez ATK305 is as different from an Ibanez SR305 as a Toyota Tundra is from a Toyota Camry.

Sorry I forgot to put it in the body of the text, I meant the SR3505.

My previous ibby 300E.

View attachment 5423000

The goods.
-Powerspan pickups tone ( better than MK1 and BH1/2 )
-Comfort playing
-Light weight less than 8 lbs
- nice dark rosewood fretboard (current day version use jotoba)

The bads.
- unstable neck

Is having an unstable neck that big of a disadvantage? Or is it easy to overlook?

 

[gr8avocado]

I've owned many Ibanez basses over the years. ATKs,RDs,SRs,Talman's and for the most part all have been really good basses for the price.
The only problem I've had were with my last two SR305E's. On both the truss rod nut stripped out. One was made in 2017 and the other 2019.
I've been doing my own setups for 20 years so it wasn't inexperience that caused it.
To me it seems like the metal used on the nuts is cheap and soft. They made have fixed the problem by now but it's something to think about.

On the other hand I did get a SR605E a couple months ago and I love this bass. Sounds and plays wonderfully and the build quality so far has been great.
The only downside is it's 9.5lb weight which in my experience is out of the ordanary for an Ibby.
I've actually tried 5-6 5strings over the last few years and the 605 is the only one I ever liked.

 

[S.F.Sorrow]

I see lots of SRs at the workshop and also own two SRs myself: An SR300E and an SR2605.

I can't remember ever seeing a twisted Ibanez SR neck. At least not bad enough to be unplayable. But my experience with SRs is mostly with models that came after they started laminating the necks, which should reduce the risk of twisting significantly. The 4-string necks are very thin, and rather soft though. In my experience the truss rod typically needs to be adjusted at least twice every years for a good setup. The 5-string necks seem to be more stable, but my experience with 5-string SRs is rather limited (mostly with my own SR2605 which has a stiffer wenge neck).

The tone of my 300E (the 4-string version of the 305E) isn't inherently scooped, but it will become scooped if you make the most common mistake people do with active basses: Boost the lows/highs too much. The tone controls on these basses provide FAR more boost than anyone should ever need. Turning the tone knobs even just barely past the center-detent will cause a noticeable boost. A little goes a long way with the tone controls on the 300E. And of course the 300E has a mid boost/cut too. You can certainly dial in scooped tone if you want to, but any unwanted scooped tone on these basses is 100% user error. In fact, my main criticism of the 300E is that it has slightly "nasal" sounding mids that can't really be dialed out. At least not without ruining the tone. I've never been quite happy the eq frequency points on these SRs. But one person's "nasal" is another person's "growl". This is very much a matter of personal taste. Of course the pickups aren't as good as pickups that cost more than this entire bass. Compared to more expensive pickups they come across as slightly "sterile" sounding and lacking in warmth/character. But they're not bad. Especially when considering the price.

Clank is more about choosing the right strings. If you install clanky sounding strings these basses will sound clanky.

If I had to describe my SR300 I would call it a "jack of all trades, a master of none". The full humbucker mode has a kinda T-bird vibe, but not quite the same "heft". The split coil mode can be described as a slightly thin/sterile sounding J-bass. The "Power Tap" mode is kinda in-between, but with a hint of scoop/comb filtering going on. It's a very flexible bass that can dial in LOTS of useful tone, but the flexibility also means it's very easy to dial in a poor tone. The 300E doesn't really excel at anything specific but it can cover a lot of ground, with good results. Is it the best bass ever? Of course not. But it is a VERY good bass for the money.

 

[Bassdirty]

However, there are two things that concern me.

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

The other issue is regarding the tone. I honestly don't have a very good ear for tone yet, especially as I am still upgrading the rest of my gear and I don't have too much experience with it. I've heard other people complain that some of the lower end Ibanez basses have scooped mids in the pickups, so would it be difficult to get a clanky tone out of these pickups? Or is this a problem more with the Bartolinis instead of the PowerSpan pickups the 305 series has?

Thank you for any answers

I play only Ibanez SR 5 strings (in my band), and have for the last 25+ years.

Never had ANY "Neck issues". (in fact, I haven't even heard of Ibanez neck warping until this thread)

I haven't had experience with the 305, as the 405 was my 1st. (but these days, the 305s appear to be "better" than the 405s were 20 years ago).

Now, Is it something with 4 string model you've heard of? Maybe because the narrow neck compared to a 5 string?
(Still never heard of 4 string issues either).

Tone is subjective, but there's nothing about the tone that you can't adjust / dial in or out with your amp's EQ

I think you'll be happy, and dont have to worry bout neck issues. I'd put $$ on it.


T$

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I currently own a Sterling Subray 4 which I'm happy with except for how much it weighs. I recently went to a bass store and I fell in love with the Ibanez 300 as it feels so comfortable in my hands and it's very lightweight. I've also been wanting a 5 string for a while, so now I'm thinking of buying an Ibanez 305.

However, there are two things that concern me.

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

The other issue is regarding the tone. I honestly don't have a very good ear for tone yet, especially as I am still upgrading the rest of my gear and I don't have too much experience with it. I've heard other people complain that some of the lower end Ibanez basses have scooped mids in the pickups, so would it be difficult to get a clanky tone out of these pickups? Or is this a problem more with the Bartolinis instead of the PowerSpan pickups the 305 series has?

Thank you for any answers

I think you will be fine. If there was that many chronic problems they wouldn’t be selling as many of them as they are.

As for the tone, that may take a bit for your to dial it in the way you like it. If you are gigging or other wise playing I an ensemble, having a scooped tone can be an issue. A good amp with parametric midrange controls can mitigate it. Just keep in mind that certain amps and cabs that don’t, can have that “scooped” sound baked in and it may not be an issue with the bass as it is claimed to be.

Best wishes.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Shouldn’t have any neck issues…well, I’ve never heard of any. Personally, I’d wait and spring for a used 600-700 series. Problem is they rarely show-up in the classifieds and for good reason: they’re keepers! You will see a consistent build quality irrespective of price point.

Riis

 

[Maestro29]

The first is that I've seen quite a few reports online of Ibanez necks warping over longer periods of time. Is this a concern due to it's thin neck? Should I avoid buying a used one because of it? I like the idea of having a bass that I can keep for many years, but not if it's neck is on the more fragile side compared to other basses.

I mean any bass neck can warp over time. It’s really about maintaining. A friend of mine destroyed a Modulus back in the 90’s by leaving it in his trunk all day in 90 degree July heat. He claimed the carbon fiber neck was supposed to be resistant to any climate. An engine can seize up on a Rolls Royce just as easily as a Pontiac Sunfire without proper maintenance and care. Like others, I’ve owned a few Ibanez basses over the years. The “lowest” end being an SR506 (great bass) and highest being a Prestige. Never had an issue with the neck….or anything for that matter. Yes, graphite rods, torrefied and quartersawn woods can help stability but it’s not the end all be all. Get a good setup, maintain that setup, don’t leave it in your trunk in sweltering heat or frigid cold and you should be ok. I personally oil my fingerboards every time I change strings too.

 

[PlatoFunFactory]

As it happens, I just picked up a used SR405, which has the same pickups as an SR305E.

I can't speak to the stability of the neck, but as to tone I'll mostly agree with S.F.Sorrow above, though with a slightly more positive spin. I picked the bass up because I wanted something modern sounding, but when it arrived it had old, dead roundwounds on it, and frankly it sounded more like a P bass than I'd like. (I have plenty of P basses.) That said, a new set of stainless steel strings and 30 minutes figuring out how to best tweak the EQ and I pulled pretty much exactly the sound I wanted out of it. If you don't feel like you have a great ear for tone, I expect it will be years before you reach the edges of what that bass can deliver for you. It probably has more useable tones on tap than every bass I own other than my L-2000. Yeah, you can definitely dial in some bad tones, but just go very gently with the knobs and I’m certain you’ll find multiple sounds that will serve you well.

 

[Agent0]

I had one. When I took it in for a setup, the luthier took one look at it and said send it back due to a warped neck. As it was past a bit past 30 days or whatever the limit was, the store said I had to deal with the company directly. I did and the customer service was great and they sent me a new one. It was fine, for the year or so I kept it. I sold it as I figured out I preferred wider string spacing.