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Ibanez SR500E Bass Guitar - Brown Mahogany

4-string Electric Bass with Okoume Body, Jatoba/Walnut Neck, Jatoba Fingerboard, and 2 Humbucking Pickups - Brown Mahogany
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Ibanez SR500E Bass Guitar - Brown Mahogany
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A Comfortable Bass with Tons of Tone

The Ibanez SR500E 4-string electric bass offers one of the most playable necks in its class. With its thin 5-piece jatoba/walnut construction and SR4 profile, you won't believe how fast this neck plays and how effortlessly you can access the upper frets, thanks to this sleek instrument's deep cutaways. The okoume body is nicely balanced and contoured to be comfortable for hours of playing. When you need to deliver earthshaking lows and crystal-clear highs, the Ibanez SR500E's Bartolini pickups and 3-band EQ really come through. This beauty is an amazing player and an incredible value.

Built for tone and comfort

The Soundgear series from Ibanez offers players a sleek alternative to the standard bass designs that have been around for half a century. The SR500E's contoured okoume body provides a warm, woody tone, and the fast neck is built to give players in any genre a comfortable playing experience. And the SR500E is lightweight, which means you'll enjoy the gig more, play better, and not have an aching shoulder afterward.

Fast neck for nimble runs

For the SR500E, Ibanez spec'd its supremely playable SR4-profile 5-piece jatoba/walnut neck. It feels great in your hand and offers effortless mobility up and down the fingerboard with great upper-fret access. The nut width is thinner than what you'll find on most bass necks, which further aids the comfort factor. And the jatoba fingerboard pairs beautifully both sonically and visually with the neck and body woods.

Flexible Bartolini electronics

The Ibanez SR500E doesn't just play great and look great, it sounds amazing as well. The Bartolini BH2 humbucking pickups are paired with the custom Ibanez electronics that feature 3-band EQ for easily dialing in your tone. This is great if you find yourself hopping from genre to genre, or when you just want to take total control of your signature sound. Sweetwater's take: All in, the SR500E is a killer bass and an excellent value. We love it; we're sure you will too.

Ibanez SR500E 4-string Electric Bass Guitar Features:

  • 4-string bass guitar designed for comfort and versatility
  • Sleekly sculpted okoume body with deep cutaways for easy access to higher frets
  • 5-piece bolt-on, SR4-profile jatoba/walnut neck
  • Jatoba fingerboard with 24 medium frets and abalone oval inlays
  • 2 Bartolini BH2 humbucking pickups
  • Custom Ibanez electronics with 3-band EQ
  • EQ bypass switch (passive tone control on treble pot), mid-frequency switch
  • ACCU-cast B500 bridge

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Tech Specs

  • Number of Strings: 4
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Body Shape: SR Standard
  • Body Material: Okoume
  • Body Finish: Satin Polyurethane
  • Color: Brown Mahogany
  • Neck Material: 5-piece Jatoba/Walnut
  • Neck Shape: SR4
  • Radius: 12"
  • Fingerboard Material: Jatoba
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Abalone Oval
  • Number of Frets: 24
  • Scale Length: 34"
  • Nut Width: 1.496"
  • Nut Material: Plastic
  • Bridge/Tailpiece: Accu-cast B500
  • Tuners: Ibanez Machine Heads
  • Neck Pickup: Bartolini BH2 Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup: Bartolini BH2 Humbucker
  • Controls: 1 x Volume, 1 x Balancer, 1 x Bass, 1 x Middle, 1 x Treble, 1 x EQ bypass switch, 1 x 3-way Mid frequency switch
  • Strings: .045-.105
  • Case Included: Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: SR500EBM

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Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

SR500E

Fantastic bass, build quality, playability, tone, all fantastic. QC also great. NO NECK DIVE!!
Music background: pro
Rated 5/5

Great Guitar

I really like this guitar. I am a beginner so I haven't played a bunch of different bass guitars so far. I have one other bas guitar that is an Ibanez. It was given to me. The SR500E plays really nice. I like that it's a slim design. It's pretty well balanced when using a guitar strap. The finish is nice but I can see where it could be damaged as there is no thick protective clear coat. But in my opinion that is what makes this guitar so good looking. I am happy over all with this guitar. I would recommend it.
Music background: Beginner
Rated 4/5

Will l Not Disappoint and alot of different sounds

I bought this guitar about then eleven years ago and at the time I needed different sounds instead of more pedals and more basses. Everything from aggressive to a smooth Fender Jazz like sound but at that time this model had Bartolini MK1 pickups where the Ibanez pre-amp eventually died recently and since replaced. Beyond the sound this bass is still the best lightest and fastest neck I have ever played. Yes, the Mahogany which is now Okoume will easily take a beaten but other then that been very loyal. The neck and headstock is very strong where is doesn't scratch easy. You can't beet Ibanez's price and quality in this series of basses. I haven't been a Ibanez fan boy till this bass. Please excuse the missing C string.
Music background: Professional
Rated 5/5

Ibanez SR500E Bass

I know this is not the most expensive bass out there, but it is one of the
best. I absolutely love this bass it is very light weight has an
awesome tone and very easy to play. I also have a fender P Bass which is almost
twice cost and this bass is comparable. So if your budget is light I would
recommend you buy this one.
Music background: Intermediate level Bassist
Rated 5/5

Waiting for a long for this gem!

Back in the early 2000s I bought my first Ibanez, the SR490. I had more questions than answers on a comfortable bass, great quality and playability. My hands are tiny compared to most people and the Sr 490 was very comfortable to my surprise. Several years later I had to part with the bass because of cross country moving.
Since 2003 until 2023 I had my eye on the SR500 and about a month ago I purchased the upgrade. After unpacking I realized that the endgame of my search has arrived, the feel and the playability brought back memories of the SR490 the matte brown finish the hours of recording in my folk's basement. The SR500 a four stringer just like the former felt just the same but with enhancements with not only passive but also active pickups, quality craftsmanship and the earthy embellishments The neck is also very slim. So I could definitely recommend this bass for musicians with smaller hands or just starting out.
Kudos to Loui for all the excellent advice for the past few years helping us all on this journey and to you and your future customers!
Music background: Restaurant keyboardist (Classical Trained), former High School orchestra Bass Player
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