Ibanez SRF705-BBF

Con il marchio Ibanez si è in una botte di ferro. Esteticamente è uno strumento perfetto, curato in ogni dettaglio.
Dal punto di vista del suono può vantare un ventaglio di colori sonori che pare non sia possibile su uno strumento solo. Il fatto che il volume del piezo sia personalizzabile su ogni singola corda è un "di più" che vale tutta la spesa.
Lo strumento è leggero e maneggevole, comodo in ogni situazione, sia per suonare in piedi che da seduti, molto ben bilanciato. Consigliatissimo sia per gli amanti del fretless che per i contrabbassisti che devono suonare in jazz club dove c'è un palco piccolo.

This bass arrived well set-up, with a quality control card from Meinl Distribution, as well as the usual Ibanez one. No need to approach a luthier for a once-over and nut adjustment this time.
The straight-through construction gives a light, well-balanced instrument that "settles" at horizontal, but a light left-elbow pressure on the upper bout brings it up to a more angled settling point with no trouble, if required. However, I found that I needed to adjust my normal playing position to cope with the extra access and higher notes offered by the extended fingerboard. Once that was sorted out, playing became very comfortable. I still need to bridge my left hand to use the very top end of the fingerboard, but that's probably just down to my physique. Access to the top of the neck is very easy, and the bass speaks very easily - hugely responsive for a new instrument.
The neck and fingerboard are wider than the usual soundgear construction, but this gives more room at the nut end, and doesn't feel unpleasant or difficult to cope with.
The piezo pickup gives a lovely acoustic sound, that's drawn positive comments from the other musicians in several bands. Using the Bartolinis gives a nice funk/pop variation, so I can drop into the correct sound for each piece without changing bass or messing about with my amp. That's a huge bonus, making this the most versatile bass I own. Overall, the available tones range from big plums via nasal snarl to deep growl.
I've previously been playing a Gary Willis model, so I was relieved to find that it's possible to use the top of the fingerboard like a ramp, or move to playing between the pickups for a more conventional bass sound - again, very versatile.
Ibanez have put a lot of thought into this instrument, in my view it ticks all the boxes for a fretless bass.

Ibanez' SRF705 is a triumph of style, sound and features at an affordable price that outstrips pretty much every competitor in the sub-£1000 price bracket.

Looks: visually the instrument is stunning, with a deep warm brownish sunburst open pore finish which is immediately eye catching. I wanted this bass the moment I looked at it. It is let down slightly by the fact that the finish is not the most durable.

Fit and features: the bass is neck thru, which is rare for something at this cost. It features the acclaimed and versatile Bartolini MK.1 electronics package as well as a piezo in the bridge, for suprisingly effective electric upright tones when played on the fingerboard. Note that in this case the typical mid control is absent and replaced by a tone control for the piezo. The piezo tone is very "hot" and gives ample treble well before the 12 o' clock point. The magnetic pickups IMO offer the best tone when both fully open, or with the bridge pickup solo'd (with a little bass boost) for more Jazz like tones.

Playability: its a Soundgear. It practically plays itself! The body is lightweight and the neck fast.

A superb bass!

Very beautiful bass! Usually, I somewhat dislike sunburst, but it seems like it makes a good combination with the neck-thru body. The finish is also very nice to touch, so holding the neck is a pleasure. The instrument is very ergonomic, quite light and with a very comfortable neck.
Fretmarks on the side of the neck work fine as a visual cue for intonation, while the fingerboard still has that beautiful upright aesthetic.
Overall, quality is great, with no defects or quirks.
Only thing that I didn't like is the nut, it's made of dark gray plastic and does not fit the look of the bass too well.
Tone wise, it has piezo and 2 split-coil(AFAIK?) pickups, they all sound good. Preamp only has bass and treble, and separate tone control for piezo.
A little warning about cases: it has a little different lower horn shape than other Ibanez soundgear series basses, shorter but at just a bit higher angle, so a tight-fitting case for another SR should fit it, but will apply some amount of pressure on the lower horn.