Ibanez Standard SR370E Fretless Review

Excellent Budget Fretless

I'd been wanting to explore the fretless world for a number of years, but a limited high school- and later college student-budget made that unrealistic. I was finally able to get my hands on this bass this past week after years of biding my time and researching different fretless bass options. I settled this one as it ticked a lot of my boxes - active electronics, SR shape, 24 frets,… read more realistically affordable - and also because I couldn't find any horror stories of fretless fret sprout on this bass like I found with other lined fretless basses. Those fret sprout reviews on other basses scared me so much that I left my comfort zone of roundwound strings and picked up some La Bella black tapewound strings to put on this thing just in case. I'll find out in time what ends up happening to the fingerboard on this one, but sonically, the tapewound strings were the perfect choice - really brings out that fretless mwah I was looking for and makes this bass perfect for achieving some of those bouncy and stretchy 70s tones. My only recommendation if you go that route is to pick up the light gauge La Bellas; I got the standard gauge and ended up having to improvise a bad nut file job to get the strings to fit. For what it's worth, I hated the sound and feel of the stock strings that came on this, and that's coming from someone who swears by roundwounds, though it might've just been that they were lighter than I'm used to. Other than the nut issue with the replacement strings, this bass has given me no problems. I'll write an update review 6 months down the line or so to see how well this bass holds up, but so far, it's been a perfect choice, especially with the tapewounds. I love the sound of this thing and do not exaggerate when I say I can't put this thing down - the vast majority of my waking hours this weekend were spent with this lovely gem in hand. If you're looking for an affordable fretless bass, especially if you're new to the fretless world, this bass is a great has been a great starting point for me.

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Really Nice Bass

I am incredibly happy with this bass. It's light, it has a comfortable 24 fret neck, and it's active electronics are great. It's very well made, I've had other fretless basses, and this one plays much nicer than the others. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking at going fretless.

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A true gem

Finding a inexpensive fretless is not easy, but finding one that is inexpensive and a great instrument is difficult at best. Which is why this bass is such a great find. It is very comfortable to play and very resonant. Most times when I want to practice, I don't even have to plug it in. It just sings out begging to be played. And the price point to value is amazing. If you've ever… read more wanted to try a fretless but didn't think you could afford one, give this one a look. You will be pleasantly surprised.

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Ibanez SR370E

Sweet action, beautiful looks, superior electronics, good tuners and big strong bass bridge! All work well as a unit. Sustain! Nice balance, a lot easier to carry than a Precision when standing. I will sell my Squier basses because they do not have the bridge, electronics, looks or fretboard action to compare with my new fretless. Being aguitar player who has played bass in three… read more bands but never fretless, I worried about my technique with a fretless. Not to worry! It's much smoother to play and not hard to keep up with proper intonation. I'm in a new world and I like it.

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Great value

Having played a 1986 Ibanez Roadstar II for a long time, this was quite a step upward. The sound was MUCH better! I like the skinny necks on Ibanez instruments. I purchased mine from Sweetwater. I was a bit apprehensive about not being able to play it before buying it. But the folks at Sweetwater assured me that they do some sort of 50 point inspection, including intonation checks,… read more etc. It all worked out great. I've been playing mine for nearly 2 years now. Don't forget to change out the battery about every year or so.

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