OK. I have Guitar center gift cards burning a hole in my pocket…
I am torn between an Ibanez SRMS805 5 string Multi Scale Gloss Poplar Burl or a Sire M7 5 string (Black). Anyone care to weigh in? I am so unsure which way to go…
Both are in my shopping cart and I have cards for one only!
I’m no help to compare these two instruments to each other, but I will say that GC has a very lenient return policy right now. Obviously you would like to choose right the first time, but if you pick the wrong one you can always just exchange it for the other. Good luck with your decision!
Thats a really good point! Thanks!
Sire basses have a reputation of being very good but also very heavy. So if you plan to play a lot of live gigs it could become a problem with weight. Ibanez basses are great for their money light weight and usually worth every penny. I think it might be best to play each one and see what your personal preference is.
Those are both really nice instruments. When you start getting up into this kind of money a lot of it comes down to personal preference. Like @LesterH said, if you can try them first you’ll probably be able to tell pretty quick which one you want.
And when you go to have a look at them keep an open mind and have a good browse at the store. You may come away with something completely different that you just couldn’t leave behind
+1 to personal preference and maybe even finding something else.
For my personal preference I have the SRMS805 and absolutely love it from feel to tone. It’s a terrific instrument. I have a Fender American PJ that I also really like playing because the P tone doesn’t really come out of the Ibanez, but for the comfort and feel of playing I prefer the SRMS.
Lots of amazing options in that price range.
I am a huge fan of Ibanez and the SR line. Another one to check out might be the SR2405. I am totally in love with the feel of the 2404 myself, I want one.
I Bought an Ibanez SR375e, I played the 4 and 5 series in the store for a good hour (love my music shop), and came to the conclusion i liked the feel of the cheaper 3 series…it comes down to personal choice feel i guess. I love my ibanez 5 string. But i will say, putting a good set of strings on it made it even better !!! Whatever you like the look and feel of, you have to play it !!! 
photo please when you buy it, new bass day is the best feeling !!!
Yep. This. Try out everything, even if you don’t think it’s something you would like.
I never thought I would be so taken with the Fender Jazz bass. It wasn’t even on my radar when I started trying out instruments. I expected to gravitate to one of the modern style basses. Like a Yamaha or Ibanez. When I finally decided to try one, I loved it.
I am not a Fender guy but I appreciated the first MIJ Jazz I played in a store and can see why you folks like them. I’d still go for a P instead though
Why the multi scale?? Have you played one of those before? if not, that should probably figure prominently in your decision making!
So, I never even thought more about this, but is Ibanez in essence a Japanese company??? I know they have most of their basses made in Indonesia, but is the company original from/founded in Japan??
Just curious… (and I kind of replied to one of @howard’s post because he, uhm, lives in Japan, but also because he likes Ibbys 
)
Yep, Ibanez is a Japanese company, famous during the Fender lawsuit years for making excellent Fender clones, and famous after that for making fantastic more modern instruments. They make a wide range of nice instruments, many MIJ, made by themselves, subcontractors, and also sharing Indonesian factories with (IIRC) Cort.
Another example of a Japanese company with a Spanish name would be Fernandes
Thanks, @howard!
Obviously, my knowledge of the history of the instrument is still fairly spotty…
The Fender lawsuit era is fascinating. There’s still boutique Japanese manufacturers making higher end (and much more expensive) Fender style guitars than Fender makes itself
So I took advice and played a bunch of Basses at a few Guitar Center stores I actually ended up with an Ibanez SR500 with a poplar burl too and brown burst! It’s lovely. No fan fret basses anywhere so I stayed with a traditionally fretted bass.
The SR are a fantastic range of basses. Congratulations on the addition to your family
