Which one?

hi all , what are your thoughts here …
an Ibanez SR300B OR a Yamaha TRBX304 ?
im a newb and ive seen josh’s shoot out and the TR came out sort of joint 1st so i know its a great starter / intermediate bass and the Ibanez is very similar looking etc so which would you have and why ?
im looking for a bass i can stick with for a good while and both those have come up close by me for what i see is good low money both at £200 . both are obviously used so what worries should i look for in both ?
thanks all have a great day

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Hi @RichBass72, welcome to the forums! You’re in luck: Josh reviewed these exact two basses in a direct comparison video about a year ago:

Technically, it’s about the SR300E and not the SR300B, but the differences (if any) are probably negligible.

Personally, having owned a TRBX304 in the past, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a great bass, but I didn’t like the “performance switch”. Probably better off with a three-band EQ, which I think the Ibanez has.

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I have never even heard of a SR300B, just a SR300 and a SR300E. The 300E is much better than the 300.

Having owned one though I would go with the TRBX there :slight_smile:

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looks like either will be good then , going off to hve looksie at my local shop now :wink:

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Have never owned either of them, but played both in a music shop. I preferred the Ibanez. The performance switch on the Yamaha was frustrating (a thought echoed in Josh’s above linked video comparing the two). I found both to be playable and enjoyable, but the pickup notch in the Yamaha I could not live with. Felt too strange. So, if my arm were being twisted, I would choose the Ibanez.

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I would probably go with the Ibanez. I have one and while I don’t like it, it isn’t because anything is wrong with it. I just don’t like the thin neck because I have fat, sausage fingers that get crowded while playing it. It looks good, sounds good and has a very adjustable pre-amp.

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So, in my past, I’ve had both an Ibanez SR300 (pre “B” or “E”) and a Yamaha RBX-260. Both different from what you’re looking at, but “close enough”, I think, for me to chime in.

Between the two, I preferred the tone of the Yamaha (it had a split coil pickup, like a p-bass), but the fit and feel of the Ibanez.

If you can, play them both, find out which one sounds and feels better to you. If they sound and feel equally good, flip a coin… I don’t think you’d go wrong with either one.

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It is most definitely a can’t go wrong with either one situation. Ultimately, get the one that pleases you more aesthetically because you’ll be more inclined to play it. If you run into a scenario that it’s not matching a sound that you’re after, spent 40 bucks and buy a Behringer EQ pedal and you can easily find the difference. And then a preamp, and then…

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Agree, both are great

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You are going to get a split decision here, lol. I had the 505 so my vote goes to Yamaha. They do sound better to my ears. It sounds more mainstream than mid forward Ibanez.

If you have the ability to test both in person then you can determine the feel for yourself. It’s more important than tone. You can change your tone quite inexpensively but feel it gets expensive, lol.

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Yeah. Best bet would be to try both as this is a really subjective thing. For me, one thing that both have going for them is they both feel really nice and easy to play - but YMMV.

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ok so , i went to the shop , now , remember im a total newb etc the shop guy came over and pulled both models from the racks and said here ill plug you in to which i said ohhh god no way im only just about to start learning and it will just be a noise but he said no no its fine i’ll put you in the private sound booth and close the door and you can make as much noise as you like lol
he tuned them both and closed the door , OMG , how different is a good nice Bass guitar , from the ; no makers name ’ ebay bass i bought a couple of weeks ago . EVERYTHING about both of the guitars were amazing … i tried the Yamaha 1st and to my total amazement i managed to wham a few notes together which actually shocked me that i looked up and the store guy gave the thumbs up lol . i had around 20-25 mins plucking the best way i remembered and played around with the settings on everything ,
Then i swapped to the Ibanez , Again wow , such a lovely feel and weight , my ‘ebay special ’ honestly nose dived to the floor as soon as i let go of it and with both the Ibanez and Yam felt so lovely and balanced with no having to hold onto the neck all of the time , the Ibanez sounded more ’ gravelly’ and raw if that makes sense ?
I am torn between the 2 but a couple of points in favour of the yamaha so i think i had swung that way but now another stone has been thrown in the cake mix , The shop told me as i was there that they have a yam coming in tomorrow or saturday that they have already appraised and said i could have it if i liked it for less than £200 with 12 months warranty etc so im glad i took the time to go and actually try both out properly and not just look at them on the racks .
I was really shocked that i managed to really play a riff without tripping up over my fingers , the neck and frets on both were perfect and fitted bang on in my hands … compared to struggling with the massively thick neck of the special lol …
Well i will update in couple of days which i pick but i think my minds made up so i cant wait now to get on and learn with josh and you guys :wink:
i will update

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Great to hear!

Yeah, both the TRBX line and the SR line are very comfortable, nice instruments to play. Glad they worked for you.

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Congrats @RichBass72

Now we will wait for your next post of which amp to buy, lol. Those guys sure know to do it. They probably plug it in a nice amp, that would make any bass sounds quite awesome. I went to check out my Cutlass bass with @T_dub the guy plugged it in a $1300 Genzler bass array combo, which sounds super amazing I ended up going back to get the amp too, lol.

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lol im sure you are right but im on a budget and ive already got a peavey amp which sounded really good when the guy i bought it off went through a load of tracks on his Fender using it when i went to buy the amp and he went through all the settings on it to show me how it might sound in different knob settings … plus im a total newb and i doubt very very much i will be gigging or jamming anyyyyyyywhere in public for quite some time lol , you watch now ive said that a new amp will appear doohhhhhhhhhh lol

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I’ve never held or played either. My advice would be to play both and see which one you like. Your money, you have to live with it; it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.
Good luck.

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:joy: Why am I not surprised. :rofl:

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Sounds like you found yourself a great shop!

My daughter and I tried out both of these models a few months ago when she was considering a bass of her own instead of stealing mine!!!. (*)

We both came down on the side of the Ibanez (She preferred how it felt and I preferred the versatility of tone) BUT she thought the Yamaha looked much better.

You can’t go wrong with either. :+1:

(*) It’s now a moot point as I think she’s decided she wants to be a drummer… Lord help the neighbours!

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You are a lucky dad! You have a complete rhythm section now.

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Now play the strings dead and then try all the other strings!! There’s a bunch of threads on that too. Welcome to the slippery slope. Your Thunder will be welcome in the rumbling chorus that is The Buzz!!

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