Ibanez 4弦ベースギター GSR200BWNF

Veramente un buon basso considerando il prezzo

This came with a tag indicating that it had been inspected and setup at the factory. But, shipping and handling must have had an effect on it (and/or they weren't careful at the factory) since it had multiple setup issues: - Neck curvature was incorrect (not concave enough) - E string bridge position was too low (and other strings were slightly uneven) The manual shows you how to fix the neck curvature and the tool is included in the box. The manual didn't say how to adjust the bridge, but it was pretty easy once I found some documentation online: insert a small allen wrench into the holes on both sides of where the string enters the bridge area. Once I fixed those two issues and did basic tuning (strings were about a minor third too loose for EADG tuning), it played great! I like that it's a bit lighter than my other bass (Squier vintage PJ) and has a flatter, slightly slimmer neck. I also like that the neck back is a smooth satin finish (vs. a sticky high-gloss finish on my Squier). Conclusion: I strongly recommend that you have an allen wrench set (w/ options around 2mm for the bridge) and a feeler gauge in order to perform setup when you get your instrument. The manual tells you proper string heights. Electronics and knobs seem fine. There is one knob that mostly stops, but you can push it a bit further. But, generally, the knobs respond as described according to the diagram at ibanez.com and changes are continuous as you'd expect. While getting the bass set up, I noticed some buzz coming out of my amp (Rumble 40). I was worried about electronics quality, but tracked the problem down to overhead lighting in the room that was on a dimmer circuit. Once I turned off those lights, the buzz went away and I got a very clean sound. I had played this model before and noticed that it was easier to play than my Squier. That's still the case. Only two things left to decide are (1) whether to put on flatwounds, and (2) what to do with my Squier :)

The good: The neck is fantastic with a satin finish and very comfortable to play. The electronics are great and offer a good range of tones. It's very responsive to where you hit the strings. Obviously, if you hit the same note closer to the bridge than the neck it sounds different. But you can hit the same note an inch in either direction and get a different sound. I personally found this more effective than the tone control. The Phat EQ knob is excellent. The bad: This loses a star for two reason. One, the action is relatively high but somehow still manages to have fret buzz. It's not difficult to fret notes but but the fret buzz is annoying. Two, the tuners are cheap and stiff and hard to turn. Well, harder than they should or need to be. Sure, I could swap them out but decent tuners are around $50 or $60. That's 25% of the cost of the entire bass. For my purposes, it's fine. I just use it to record bass lines to go along with guitar parts and it rarely goes out of tune. A gigging musician could conceivably have some issues though. I'll do follow up review after I've tweaked the bridge a bit and tried some lubrication in the tuner gears. Don't think that for $200 it's a bad, or beginner, bass. It sounds and plays great.

High quality. Sounds great from the box

Great bass! Light weight and sounds really good. Smooth to play and beautiful. It could have a little more midrange. I have several basses including a Fender Precision 1986 and a Musicman and I have been using this Ibanez to play all my gigs.