My Latest Purchase

Malice

So there I was, innocently showing a friend around the Ishibashi website as they were curious where my Ibanez K7 has come from, when lo and behold I see a couple of Ibanez K5s for sale. Immediately I thought to myself how useful it would be to have a five-string bass to noodle around on. All of the music I write is in B tuning due to the aforementioned K7 so it gets awkward putting bass parts together on a four-string bass. So, a couple of e-mails back and forth and I ordered it. It's currently in transit but hopefully it'll be here sometime next week.

I am looking forward to annoying the hell out of my neighbours with some sub-sonic rumbles .

I will take some pictures myself once it gets here but for now here are some taken by Ishibashi:

Karl Hungus

Nice! I approve. Greatly.

Malice

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Nice! I approve. Greatly.

Thanks man, I thought it was an interesting co-incidence given that we were talking about them recently!

Karl Hungus

Indeed. I'd love to give it a go myself at some stage. Although I thought you might've gotten yourself a new amp, to be honest.

Dord

Congrats.

I'll refrain from making any remarks about Fieldy's "tone".

<_<

>_>

Rigsby

Nice bass. Good to know I'm not alone in having "bass gas" lately.

Malice

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Indeed. I'd love to give it a go myself at some stage. Although I thought you might've gotten yourself a new amp, to be honest.

Unfortunately my meagre finances will only stretch so far. I need a new computer, guitar amp, bass amp and a holiday so unless I win the Lotto sometime soon I'm going to have to prioritise . Or just become even more impulsive in my musical purchases .

Joe Robot wrote: »

Congrats.

I'll refrain from making any remarks about Fieldy's "tone".

<_<

>_>

I'm not that much of a Korn fan so Fieldy's tone wasn't a selling point at all.

Rigsby wrote: »

Nice bass. Good to know I'm not alone in having "bass gas" lately.

I know. I wonder if it's going to turn into an epidemic? Who's next??

DeadSkin

malice_ wrote: »

I know. I wonder if it's going to turn into an epidemic? Who's next??

Tis me sir **raises hand and hangs head in shame** tis not a bass though

Oh, nice bass there, very sleek

Karl Hungus

malice_ wrote: »

Unfortunately my meagre finances will only stretch so far. I need a new computer, guitar amp, bass amp and a holiday so unless I win the Lotto sometime soon I'm going to have to prioritise . Or just become even more impulsive in my musical purchases .

Hah, know the feeling, I'm planning on getting a new comp at some stage myself, my current one is, well... It was cutting edge in 2002.

Good luck on all your monetary spending ventures.

Ancient1

malice_ wrote: »

Immediately I thought to myself how useful it would be to....

You know you have mastered the art of GAS when you immediately think of something like that. :pac:

Congrats man!

Malice

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Hah, know the feeling, I'm planning on getting a new comp at some stage myself, my current one is, well... It was cutting edge in 2002.

Good luck on all your monetary spending ventures.

Tell me about it! My computer, which had held itself together well since 2003, died before Xmas and I've been quietly using one from work ever since .

Ancient1 wrote: »

You know you have mastered the art of GAS when you immediately think of something like that. :pac:

Congrats man!

Yep, even though I've only played 5 string bass twice before in my life I'm fully convinced that buying this guitar is essential. In fact, to not buy would probably be some sort of a crime!

Doctor J

Congrats, the SR is a great design, that's a decent bass alright.

Though you know you could've just detuned the 4 string? :pac:

Malice

Doctor J wrote: »

Congrats, the SR is a great design, that's a decent bass alright.

Though you know you could've just detuned the 4 string? :pac:

Funnily enough, that was one of the first threads I started on Boards . The prospect of filing the nut down to accommodate the B string put me off so I never got around to it.

Malice

The bass arrived this morning which has cheered me up immensely after the football last night. Unfortunately I'm in work so I haven't had much of a chance to play with it. The whole instrument feels quite light and, like the K7 guitar, the neck feels a lot thinner than it should be .

Now to start the long countdown until I can go home!

Doctor J

malice_ wrote: »

Now to start the long countdown until I can go home!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo... only twenty past three, eh? Bet it feels later

Don1

Doctor J wrote: »

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo... only twenty past three, eh? Bet it feels later

Now that is just evil!!! Hats off to you sir, you evil bast**d!! :D

Malice

Doctor J wrote: »

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo... only twenty past three, eh? Bet it feels later

The day is passing quite quickly which is good. Unfortunately it's a given that I will hit roadworks, funeral processions and probably a convoy of escaped cattle on my way home which will ensure no bass playing fun until the wrong side of seven o'clock :mad:.

Doctor J

Just make sure you stop off and buy a 9v battery... just in case

Malice

Doctor J wrote: »

Just make sure you stop off and buy a 9v battery... just in case

I have a couple of spare batteries anyway but thanks for the tip! I know this is a noobish question to ask but with active pickups, does the battery only drain if the circuit is completed from Plug Socket to guitar?

I got home safe and sound without too much hassle. So far I'm very impressed with the bass. I avoided a minor catastrophe by remembering to tune the highest pitched string to G rather than E . The neck is only slightly wider than the neck on my Squier Precision and it's much thinner. The string action is also nice and low. Even with the 24 fret neck, the instrument is nice and compact. The Precision really feels like a tank in comparision .

There's quite an array of sounds available through tweaking the various knobs. I have attached a small MP3 showing just two possibilities. Remove the .txt extension and then extract it from the .zip as it was just slightly too big to attach as a .zip by itself.

Gaspode

malice_ wrote: »

I I know this is a noobish question to ask but with active pickups, does the battery only drain if the circuit is completed from Plug Socket to guitar?

.

Generally yes, you need to remember to unplug your lead when you're finished playing. Best of luck with it, it sure is purty!

Malice

deswalsh wrote: »

Generally yes, you need to remember to unplug your lead when you're finished playing. Best of luck with it, it sure is purty!

Cheers! I always take out the lead when I'm done anyway as I find they curl up and are much more of a tripping hazard otherwise!

After a long playing session last night I have to say I was surprised at how easy the transition from 4 to 5 string bass was. It was a lot easier than switching from 6 to 7 string guitar. I'm just so used to switching down to the low B on the guitar .

Doctor J

I've a similar preamp in my SR6, I think. If you really want to get the Fieldy tone (you never know :pac: ) turn the bass and treble all the way up and the mids all the way down. In fairness, it is a unique sound but might not be suitable for everything

Malice

Doctor J wrote: »

I've a similar preamp in my SR6, I think. If you really want to get the Fieldy tone (you never know :pac: ) turn the bass and treble all the way up and the mids all the way down. In fairness, it is a unique sound but might not be suitable for everything

Thanks for the tip. I have settled for now on a treble-heavy clanking sound. It doesn't remind me of a particular artist. Once the strings lose their shininess I will try something else.