Mode!

To me, the new Ibanez Mode basses are clear winners in the 2026 lineup. The headstock was clearly derived from the AZ design. The rest of the features borrowed heavily from Fender's J-Bass; there's no hiding this. The 1000 & 1600 sport an alder body with the former featuring a poplar top. The 1300 is ash. Despite hinting at classic derivatives, Mode basses feature 24 SS frets. Over the years, I've noted that Ibanez don't hold back when it comes to their basses. In fact, the more adventurous designs & tweaks were manifested by basses instead of guitars. Please be informed that 5 & 6-string versions are available (at Swee Lee) as well.

Pics: Ibanez

In brief: Aria STB-PB/M

Bass on a budget - a rather tricky proposition. More often than not, a very affordable bass manifests too many compromises, it affects playability & tone. Bottom line - why bother. The Aria STB-PB/M is indeed a budget bass ($299) but it's worthy of your considerations.

Likes

• good playability, no fret sprouts
• smooth pots
• responsive tuners
• well-slotted nut

Dislikes

• tone taper could have been better
• heavy

This is one of those no frills bass on a budget, no doubt about it. Hardly any oversight in terms of build, impressive in this price range. If you are a tone connoisseur (wondering why you are looking up basses in this price bracket), chances are, you'll be bothered by the tone control sweep; a marked brightness / bottom end boom is virtually absent here. Some electronics upgrade should do the trick but adding on components which eventually exceed the instrument's price is not a prudent move, yes? Also, be mindful of the substantial neck profile, a complete opposite from a Yamaha Attitude / Ibanez SR. I see this being favoured by home-recording enthusiasts & those in need of an above-average bass to get things done disregarding its lack of flash; it's plain looking indeed but it's not awful. Recommended 👍

Final rating: 85%

Aria: STB-PB/M ($299) - available @ Davis GMC

Bello-ed

One of metal's more eminent bassist, Frank Bello, is now in the Spector camp (Above: NC-4). Looks like it's retaining more of his previous ESP affair than moving away from it. In any case, the bass looks good but that headstock will be a hit / miss affair. This is due to Frank's preference for a 4-a side tuner lineup as opposed to Spector's traditional 2x2 version. All in all, Frank Bello deserves attention from any bass company for that matter.

Pic: Spector

Bass as well

The Fender (Japan) models recently featured here with gold hardware - it's available for bass as well.

Ditto the competition stripes. Contrary to convenient assumptions, I'm not anti-bass... 😅

Pics: Fender Japan

September deals @ SL

Swee Lee is having some discounts on selected products this September: 10% +/- 

I have personally handled the Fender Player Series (Gen 1) Strat & must say it's a good instrument if you are in the market for a no-frills Strat. This one going for $1,199.20 is a reasonable asking price despite my personal vendetta against Mex Strats that exceed the $1K mark. I'm a maple fretboard fan but I find this pau ferro version to be more enticing tone wise.

At the shred end, this Jackson Dinky JS22 arch top going for $272 should be considered. 

Squier Sonic P-Bass for $314 - recommended for those of us in need of a back up or for guitar dweebs looking for palatable bass tones for recording. 

Saving the best for last - this Fender 68 Vibro Champ (reverb) is about $200 off the list price but it's one of the best clean-sounding amps out there. Those looking to attach pedals through the FX loop - this might be a deal breaker - no FX loop. 

Pics: Amazon / Five Star / SL

Mikro goodness

Had some gear time yesterday (because I did not watch the National Day parade) as it was a public holiday. It was bass day. 

I'm still overwhelmed by standard-sized basses so my basses are essentially short-scaled models or a travel version of a popular model. The person who gave me this bass used to sell me his guitar pickups not too long ago. He switched to drums for good so he decided to hand this over to me as a gift. I was obliged to pay him for this but he refused. Before we parted, I gave his son some school pocket money instead which he accepted on his son's behalf.

Folks, a reminder that porous wood dries over time. Here's how a dry & treated (final 2 frets) wood surfaces look like. I will usually let the treated area absorb as much oil as possible & in most cases, it's left overnight. The residue would be wiped away before proceeding to re-string the instrument.

The hardware was thoroughly cleaned but the strap buttons were replaced. One of them was dislodged & it remained inside the bag without the previous owner realizing it. So it dented the body on some areas when the bag was moved around. The other strap button turned green & they both made way for  GOTOH replacements.

Last but not least, a fresh set of strings. Yes, a short scale set was used as indicated on the top right corner of the package but that doesn't look too obvious. Of course, regular bass string sets would work but these strings were made longer to accommodate standard sized basses. The issue would be the tapered length at the string tip; this would occur later on the string length which means you require more winding at the post & that's not a good thing for short scaled basses as the winding would require some overlapping. By the way, this string set was left unopened for more than a year & there's absolutely no tarnish / rust so top marks for D'Addario for doing it right in terms of shelf life preservation. 

Ibanez June '24 (3)

Ibanez GSR200 - not new but offered in new pastel colours. Thusfar, all the GSRs I've tried are good basses for the money. Hope these would be available here soon.

Pics: Ibanez

FB @ Satyricon

In the mean time, Anthrax's Frank Bello is completing the current Satyricon line up. He did a stint with Helmet before (2004 - 2005) so this is nothing new. Hope there's new Satyricon music to be had soon. However, Darkthrone would probably have a new album out before that can happen.

Pic: Satyricon FB

F-less

There are no new guitars from Ibanez this November. The only new stringed instrument this month is this AEGB24FE. It's a fretless electro-acoustic bass but not featuring a solid top. Not surprising as the AEGBs are not higher tier instruments. Also not surprising - no new guitars this month & we can expect likewise for December. All new stuff will be released in January 2024. 

Pic: Ibanez

V-Nile

Dan Vadim Von (bottom right) is now in the live Nile lineup. Unlike his Morbid Angel commitments, he's covering bass for the band. Em... I've stopped listening to Nile, gave away my Nile CDs. 

Pic: Nile FB

RGBs

Not everyone's cup of tea when it comes to bass but the Ibanez RGB  basses are available in Swee Lee now. Seen above: RGB300 (List: $449)

For $50 more, you can get the 5-string version (RGB305). These basses pretty much bowed out of the catalogues back then when the SR models were released. The RG design might be a hit with players but manifesting a bass version makes it a little less wieldy & in need of certain player ergonomics which the SR design addressed.

Pics: Ibanez

Ray of colours

EBMM added more colours to their line up of short scale Sting Ray basses. As you can see, both rosewood & maple fretboard versions are offered. I'm always a fan of short scale basses, regardless of the brand name. I feel these resonate better with  guitar players as they feel more like a baritone guitar rather than shorter basses. With EBMM, even their short scale basses are listed for a premium & we know it's all about uncompromising quality.

Pic: EBMM

Fretless B

Ah, you wish for a bass adventure but want a slightly different experience. The fretless LTD Vintage 214 is in stock at Davis GMC (List: $595). The fretless bass or any fretless instrument, teaches us precision; how to not mess up by properly fingering the notes exactly at the marked line. Some of them have no such lines at all so it's all about knowing exactly when to press after repeated playing - familiarity. This LTD is a full-sized instrument (34" scale length) so it gives the full bottom end one expects from a standard plug-in, solid body unit.

Pic: ESP international

More Solar Bs

In the mean time, SOLAR has more basses to offer - the AB2.4 is now available in this awesome orange finish (ebony fretboard)...

... or this maple 'board version in grey. Waiting for them to do an all single coil guitar soon 😛

Pic: SOLAR

Selling: Ibanez AGB200 bass (SOLD)

Have not been playing bass for months & this is my least played bass. Please note: 1) It's a semi hollow instrument 2) Scale length is 30.5"

• Ibanez AGB200 bass (bag included)
• Condition: 8/10 (fading / tarnished gold parts)
• Self-collect: Yew Tee / CCK mrt station
• Query / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No trades / reservations
• Price: $399 (final)

Get grooving

New from the Edwards camp, the E-Goover bass, seen here in a vintage white finish.

Also available in seafoam green (along with black & natural). As I grow older, I kinda appreciate simple designs more, the E-Groover bass here is the epitome of simplicity; just a pair of P-Bass type pickups (Seymour Duncan SP & it's good to groove (Seymour Duncan SPB-1). Even the pickguard is a simple affair.

Pics: ESP

Short sting

I was at Swee Lee last weekend & came across this little wonder. Gave it a go & it did not disappoint. If you are into shorter scaled basses, this one might just be the sweet deal you've been hoping for. The instrument itself plays well, nothing negative to say in terms of feel & overall QC. Tone is wonderful but don't expect a standard Sting Ray serving in an economy package; suffice to say that it delivers similar sonic manifestations with a hint of brightness but in a useful way, definitely. Recommended. List: $799

Pic: sterlingbymusicman

San D Bass

Hot off the press - Charvel has released the new San Dimas bass. Seen here is the PJ IV model.

This is the JJ V. I expected a 'JJ' to feature a jazz body outline but that's not the case here. The pickups are Dimarzios & the rest of the appointments are very contemporary - caramelized neck / fretboard & jumbo frets, among others.

Pics: Charvel

 

Selling: Bacchus WJB-mini (SOLD)

Emotional farewell - letting my Bacchus WJB Mini go. If you've been following my post-discharge activities (or the lack of it), you would know that this bass puts me at ease when it comes to managing numb fingertips & poor blood circulation. It's a short scale bass, please note; 29.5" in scale length. Comes with the bag you see here. Tough times ahead, will only get tougher. Chemo funding continues... 😔

• Bacchus: WJB Mini (bag included)
• Short scale bass (29.5" scale length)
• Condition: 9/10
• No trades / reservations
• Queries / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Self-collect: CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• Price: $190 (final)

Bird bass

I think it's pretty clear that Gibson won't be unveiling other new stuff except for the signature models which have been done. Maybe they have other strategies since there's no Live NAMM show this time round. The consolation here is the non-reverse Thunderbird bass done in Pelham Blue. OK...

Pic: Premier Guitar