Not my first bass but definitely my first bass of any good quality and the difference between this and my 2nd hand Kramer are chalk and cheese. My first 5th string aswell and I'm loving it. Finish is superb. Tone out of the box is gorgeous plugged into a basic solid state orange. Also this is possibly the lightest bass I've played which I think is worth mentioning. All in all I'm in love with my new bass.

My Ibanez SR505E bass is great! Cost more than the GIO price I’m accustomed to. But AMS made it affordable with monthly payments. The sound goes from smooth to rich and gritty with ease. And the switches are a plus! Easier for me to flip a switch than turn a knob. Love the blended colors that seamlessly flow together. The input line is tighter than usual. Not a problem. It definitely won’t get yanked out. Luv this bass!

Ordering this bass was easy. Shipping was prompt and on time.The bass unfortunately didn't work when plugged into my amp. A mild inconvenience. Return to AMS was easy, and a replacement was sent and received in just 2 days. I plugged this one in and it works beautifully. My New Ibanez 5 string is absolutely beautiful! I little lighter than expected, so thats great. The tone is fantastic. Haven't stoped playing this thing since. A wonderfull buy!

A great Bass!

The description said there a few cracks but they were barely noticeable. The pickup cut out in active mode as described but as Ive been told its an easy fix.Over all it sounds great in passive. I cant wait to get it fixed to experience. The full Monty!

Another excellent Ibby

I've owned several Ibanez basses and they've been excellent. And the new The new BH2 pups are perfect for me. Fell in love with them on my BTB six string. Much better than the old Mk1s. I can get every tone I need from the stock pre and pups. The 505 is not to heavy but very resonant. Great feel on the SR neck. Fast and easy action.

Excellent bass for its price!

Overall:Sounds good, plays good, built solid. I’m new to bass, but I played guitar professionally for 8 years. This bass is worth every penny. I’m sure a $2400 bass is in my future, but until then this bass exceeded my expectations, and is really fun to play. Having either passive or active is a plus. Passive sounds more vintage, but in a nice way.

Excellent value, playability, and even great aesthetics.

Fantastic bass guitar with a solid neck, great Bartolini pickups, comfortable body contour, and good tuners. For the price, this is hard to beat as a high-level intermediate or pro bass. Needed minimal setup (slight intonation adjustment) and it even looks awesome. It has some heft to it, and as a smaller stature musician I need a wide strap to distribute the weight across my shoulder. Still, a minor inconvenience for an instrument of such quality at a low price point.

Love it

I love the double coiled pickups and the thinness of the body. I can hug it real close to my body and it makes for easier playing. The fifth string is something to get used to if you've only been using or learning on a 4-string. I haven't quite figured out how to best use the onboard EQ, but it's nice to have it.

Very Satisfied

Overall:I have had this bass for some time now, and I am completely satisfied with it, but, it is a bit on the mellow side of music. As a supportive instrument, it can stand up to anything on the market.But I miss my sr655. Eventually, I will re-order it from somewhere. Hopefully, zZounds will re stock it, because this is where I prefer my money to go to. The SR series, in my opinion is by far some of the best basses in the industry. It is extremely difficult to find a better neck on a bass.Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or pro, try the SR series., and 9 times out of 10, you will not want to play anything else.

almost perfect

It sounds and play great, which is for me the main reason I bought it. only you may find some imperfections, only cosmetically. It took me a few months until I decide to make the order. I did my search and made all kind of comparisons to lower and higher models of this bass. It is twice expensive than 306, and a few hundred cheaper than 606, and I think it is worth the price especially for the flawless fret work, the Bartolini pickup and the bridge. you may find other basses on this price range, but non of them will have Bartolini or an Ibanez bridge where you can adjust the space between the strings. also the place of truss rod adjustment hole is unexpectedly useful. and it has only one truss rod which is also a plus for me; I have no idea about twin truss rod ... MoreIt sounds and play great, which is for me the main reason I bought it. only you may find some imperfections, only cosmetically. It took me a few months until I decide to make the order. I did my search and made all kind of comparisons to lower and higher models of this bass. It is twice expensive than 306, and a few hundred cheaper than 606, and I think it is worth the price especially for the flawless fret work, the Bartolini pickup and the bridge. you may find other basses on this price range, but non of them will have Bartolini or an Ibanez bridge where you can adjust the space between the strings. also the place of truss rod adjustment hole is unexpectedly useful. and it has only one truss rod which is also a plus for me; I have no idea about twin truss rod thing. also I need to mention about the finish of this bass, here and there you may find it is easy to damage it, no it is not. surely unless you are at learning process or play beastly, you can damage anything I guarantee you. otherwise the finish is pretty decent. also using the eq is simple, only you should constantly consider the high pass is also a tone control on passive mode. the pick ups are passive and the eq is active with a battery, and if you play on passive mode, so you are not using eq, and if the low pass on 12 o'clock, it means your tone control stays on 12 o'clock, probably you are clever than me to realise that faster, but it would be good to know anyway.