Ibanez Gsr 200 4 String Bass Guitar Review

It must be very hard to exist the manufacturer of bass guitars and to try and notice something that will challenge the perceived 'leader of the pack.'

For sixty years Fender has ruled in the world of the bass guitar. Firstly, with their Precision Bass, still widely accepted by many as the all-time bass guitar ever made. Then with its follow-upwards and soon to be competitor, the Jazz.

At that place take too been some not-Fender moments…

Chris Squire from Yep had a brief flirtation with the Fender Jazz merely is best known for his Rickenbacker 4001 bass. Other notable Rickenbacker users have been Geddy Lee, Lemmy, Cliff Burton, Roger Glover, Mike Rutherford, and Pete Quaife. McCartney likewise dabbled effectually with one for a while.

Gibson who you might be forgiven for thinking had a big user base didn't. Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser head the cue. Forth with Chas Chandler and the bassists from Mott the Hoople and the Scorpions.

Just, every bit y'all can meet Fender are the 'kings of the bass.'

Competing against them as a manufacturer is no easy job. Simply, there is something that gave competitors promise. Fender has gone through stages where the bass guitars they produced were shall we say, not fit for purpose.

We have a bass actor in our midst here, a Precision owner and fan. And, he openly says the worst two bass guitars he ever played were both American made Precisions. Other companies too knew this and decided to take them on, and some bully bass guitars arrived.

Perhaps the all-time known existence Status Graphite who really did rock the bass playing boat.

Ibanez is another company to endeavor their designs. Producers of fine vi-cord guitars they went for the bass market producing 4, 5 and now 6 cord models. And, they have made an impact.

Our rating: (iii.7 / 5)

So, allow's accept one of their premium bass, the GSR 200 4 string…

…and accept a closer wait!

This bass guitar isn't the loftier end of the Ibanez range only could be considered a premium musical instrument. It'southward designed either for the learner or someone that doesn't want to spend a fortune. It is, still, a nice bass as we shall come across, with some quality features.

The first thing to discuss is its size. Ane issue that Fender was slow in addressing was the sheer physical size and weight of a Precision or Jazz bass. There were, and still are, players who find them too heavy and just likewise big.

Some may not be aware of this but the original size, or calibration length to use the correct term, for a bass guitar was unremarkably 31 inches from the nut to bridge. A good example of this was McCartney's Hofner Violin Bass which arrived in the early 50s.

The introduction of the Precision increased the scale length to 34 inches, and the idea of long calibration and curt scale basses was born.

Many of those original basses other than the Hofner, were of poor quality and bass guitars mostly had a bad name. Leo Fender came forth, and the Precision was marketed as the 'Pro' bass guitar.

Ibanez with this model has gone down the curt scale road, and for what the guitar is designed for, it is the right decision.

Short calibration basses are more player-friendly. Shorter necks which permit easier playability for players with smaller hands, lighter in weight, they are a great thought for learners and experienced players akin.

Construction

The body of this bass is smaller than what might be considered usual, just information technology is still a total-size guitar.

It is made from Mahogany with a maple top. The trunk is finished off with Walnut urethane coating making it a very attractive musical instrument. The cervix is maple and is bolt-on. The fingerboard is Rosewood and has dotted inlays and has 22 frets.

The trunk has rounded edges which brand information technology comfortable to hold and play with a bevel in the elevation corner where your arm rests.

It is a good design with the best bits borrowed from our other instruments.

Perhaps the most important consideration for some volition be the weight. The guitar weighs in at simply ix pounds which is amazingly light.

Hardware

The Ibanez GSR 200 4 string bass's bones hardware is simple and constructive and adds to the styling of the bass.

The bridge and tailpiece and the machine heads are all finished in black and are of Ibanez design. Purely functional they practice in that location job with the minimum of fuss, and the bass holds its tuning well.

Controls

The controls are similarly onboard to practise a job. Volume controls for each of the two pickups, and EQ and tone controls. They are non elaborate but produce some tonal range. Finished in the aforementioned color every bit the hardware.

Pickups

Two pickups produce the sound. A Precision mode single scroll placed centrally and a Jazz manner single coil placed at the bridge end. Pickups are by Powersound. Both are agile and therefore require a 9v bombardment ability supply which is supplied.

Active Bass Boost

Onboard is a PHAT-11 boost for the lesser end. Short scale basses are rather notorious for losing out at the lesser stop at times, and this adds just a fiddling bit.

It is a bass guitar that has been manufactured for a certain market place, and it addresses a lot of the bug that players in that market experience.

It weighs a fraction of the weight of some bass guitars and with its short scale cervix is easy to play.

But, short calibration basses are for beginners…

If we accost this last issue briefly. Some have the idea that short scale basses are for beginners and novices only and once you lot tin can play you must use a long scale merely don't tell Jack Bruce or Andy Fraser that.

Some say if y'all have small hands, and so you must apply a short scale, simply that logic is defeated by one of the worlds best bass players, Mohini Dey. She is a 22-year-old girl from Republic of india who plays a bass almost as large as her, and she races around the fingerboard in a mistiness.

It is only near you and what you are comfy with. It will be helpful to a learner to have a short scale, merely in that location is nothing wrong with staying with that calibration as they ameliorate.

Also, if yous are comfy with a bass that weighs very picayune, then that is also ok.

If you lot are looking for a short calibration bass that is lightweight, and then this Ibanez GSR200 is a must to look at and try.

It will never quite achieve the thundering tones…

There are some differences sound wise; however, and pocket-sized size basses will never quite achieve the thundering tones of its larger cousins, but some don't demand that.

The main difference is that in that location is less tension in short calibration bass strings which does produce a dissimilar sound.

But, practise you want to know a secret…

Short calibration basses often have a fatter audio due to this lack of string tension and the sound options are oft wider. Yous might not get those deep notes that shake the plates off the walls just the sound of a curt calibration bass is wider and the harmonics more pronounced.

Our in-firm bass role player loves his pre-CBS Precision but often remarks he wished he'd kept his Gibson EB3 short scale as it was a improve studio bass guitar.

The Ibanez GS200 has this short scale pedigree, and even though Ibanez produce what some might refer to as some 'seriously good' bass guitars, the GS200 must rank very highly in its listing of value for money instruments.

Would We Buy It?

The uncomplicated answer to that is yes.

The Ibanez GSR 200 4 string bass for a young learner or fifty-fifty an adult acquiring their first bass guitar, information technology is exceptional value for coin. It looks good and sounds expert. It is easy to play and doesn't require the owner to take on a bodybuilding course first.

It is the playability that to us is the almost important issue. Of course, an attractive looking guitar is a nice matter for a new thespian to own. But, how easy will it be to learn on this guitar?

The answer to that is very easy. Short neck means in that location are no huge stretches and the whole of the fingerboard is in easy accomplish. And, information technology'southward not too heavy. Which means information technology is going to sit nicely on your lap as you lot brainstorm the journey all bassists must take.

An Absolute Steal…

There is one thing we have non mentioned, and that is the price. It is an accented steal. For such a fine premium musical instrument to exist offered at such a cheap price is a great achievement past Ibanez.

Of course, beingness a premium bass guitar, it is not fitted with all the loftier-end fixtures and fittings. You must expect that. There might exist a niggling fret fizz and maybe a bit of setting up to do, simply this guitar is a super product.

You will become a long style before you lot tin find another musical instrument that is better value for money.

The Ibanez GSR 200 4 string bass, a great little guitar.

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Source: https://oldtimemusic.com/ibanez-gsr200-review/

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