Ibanez SRH500F Fretless - Natural Browned Burst Flat Review

Best bang for the buck

When it comes to fretless acoustic electric hollow basses this one is the best. Unlike the notable boutique brands it has several advantages; 1) a fully adjustable bridge 2) the piezo system is very responsive but not too "scratchy" sounding 3) the shape is perfect and well balanced 4) very smooth tuners 5) w/ flats and a bridge mute of your choice it has a very upright bass like… read more tone and note "bloom" 6) the price for the build quality is way below others

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From jazz bass mwah to upright growl.

This is the most responsive bass I've ever played. Every single tone at the touch of my fingers. It takes a little to get used to how sensitive to the touch this instrument is, but it's quite worth it.

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Competing for my number one fretless...

My wonderful wife surprised me with this bass for xmas. I was blown away right from the start. It came set up from the factory nearly perfectly. I had to lower the saddle on the d string ever so slightly. Other than that it was perfect. It did come with D'addario flat wound light gauge strings. I am not a fan of light gauge strings so I swapped them out for a La Bella… read more standard flat wound set. The original strings were nice, and had a mellow warm tone. The La Bella's gave the bass a little more presence, especially in the low end. I put a piece of foam under the bridge to lessen my attack and give it more thud. The playability was off the charts. The string spacing is similar to my fender jazz, and the neck is a little slimmer. The back of the neck was a nice slippery matte finish. Very fun and pleasurable to play. The tone was outstanding as well. Mwah for days even in the lower quadrants. Did I mention that the set up was spot on? I will say that the piezo system is very sensitive to right hand technique. It made me hyper aware of any discrepancies in my plucking. But, that just makes me a better bass player, right? Overall I would highly recommend this bass. There are dark lines, but they don't wrap over the edge so it is essentially like playing an unlined fretless. The dots on the edge of the neck are on the fretlines, and a good reference point. I learned on an unlined fretless, so for me this was kind of like coming home.

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Great fretless bass

I've always wanted a fretless bass. The bass arrived very nicely packed in an enourmous box. It played beautifully right out of the box. The fretboard has the slots for frets filled with something like black epoxy - that turns out to be very helpful for finger placement. For a modestly priced instrument, the fit and finish is very nice.

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Going fretless

Having great fun with the Ibanez SRH500F. First time fretless and flat string. I'm loving both the tone and fretless experience. Very light, well balanced, easy to play. It's becoming a favorite.

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