Phil Maneri’s
BASS
LAB
10 years ago, you couldn’t buy a new bass for $300 that was well built enough that it didn’t need some kind of technical intervention before the first lesson. Now it’s starting to become the expected norm. Even in this modern climate of competence, Ibanez has delivered a bass that eclipses an already higher bar. Here is a short-scale P/J bass with a great look and solid construction. The 32” scale is gaining some steam in a market that has generally gone longer than shorter. Beginners and smaller people appreciate the more compact nature of these instruments, and unlike the shorter-scale instruments from the late 20th Century, these don’t suffer from weak E strings or other points of compromise relative to their slightly longer 34” brethren.
Ibanez starts with a poplar body. Not the highest grade of tonewood choice, but serviceable and decent enough for the price range. They bolt on a scarf joint, back-angled peghead maple neck with a separate maple fingerboard. Glancing at all the dimensions, the whole instrument is a just a touch smaller than standard. Thinner neck all around, closer string spacing, almost every dimension has a little shaved off of it.
They choose to make this a P/J setup. That is quite common, but comes with its unique set of trade-offs. As I’ve mentioned before, the split humbucker neck pickup mated with a single-coil bridge pickup always leads to the bridge pickup having some level of hum when on and the two pickups leading to some kind of phase cancellation on the side where the magnets match polarity and windings are in the same direction (rather than an equal and opposite mate). The volume, volume, active bass and treble with boost and cut are industry typical controls that work well and sound very good given the price range. The control cavity is a little sloppy, but it is well-shielded; a decent trade off.
The build quality is pretty darn good for the price. So good, in fact, that it raises the bar seriously high for high-dollar instruments. If you can get this all right at this price point, then at $3000, there’s no excuse for error.
With a quick tweak out of the box (from shipping settling), the bass sprung back to a great spot to play from. It’s a comfortable playing instrument, albeit miniature for some of us used to longer scales. The finish on the neck is satin and smooth, the body finish is tough and thick with no flaws in the metallic paint I could detect. The hardware is inexpensive and so is the plastic, but still better than one would guess for a $300 bass. I keep saying that over and over, but for this kind of money – or even a good bit more – the SR Mezzo is hard to beat.
Ibanez SR Mezzo SRMD200
CONFIGURATION
| Strings: | 4 |
| Style: | Double cutaway |
| Overall Length: | 42 ¾” |
| Body Dimension: | 19 ½” long x 13” wide at lower bout |
| Body Contouring: | Minimal |
| Weight: | 7.5 lbs |
NECK
| Scale length: | 32” |
| Neck width at nut: | 1.496” |
| Neck width at 12th fret: | 2.139” |
| Neck width at joint: | 2.277” |
| Neck thickness at nut: | .845” |
| Neck thickness at 1st fret: | .792” |
| Neck thickness at 12th fret: | .865” |
| Neck thickness at joint: | 1.006” |
| String spacing at nut: | .336” |
| String spacing at saddle: | .735” |
| Fingerboard radius: | 12” |
| Descriptor for neck shape: | Flat D |
| Peghead break angle: | 11 deg |
| Bridge break angle: | 11 deg |
| Afterlength at nut: | 5 ¼” to 2 7/16” |
| Afterlength at saddle: | 1” to 1 3/8” |
| Attachment: | N/A |
| Pocket gap: | .010” on both sides |
| Truss rod type/access: | dual-action / peghead end |
| Fret count: | 22 |
| Fretwire: | 103 x 43 |
ELECTRONICS
| Pickups: | Ibanez DXP & DXJ |
| Pickup location(s): | 10 ½” and 13 5/16” from 12th fret |
| Electronics: | Ibanez 2-band EQ |
| Controls: | Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass |
| Shielding: | Paint |
| Preamp circuit voltage: | 9v |
CONSTRUCTION
| Body Material: | Poplar |
| Neck Material: | Maple |
| Fingerboard: | Maple |
| Body Finish: | Gloss polyurethane |
| Neck Finish: | Satin polyester |
HARDWARE
| Strings: | D’Addario XL |
| Gauge: | .045, .065, .085, .105 |
| Attachment: | At bridge |
| Bridge/material: | proprietary / chrome |
| Nut: | Plastic |
| Tuners/color: | Gotoh-type / chrome |
| Knobs/color: | Dome-top knurled metal / chrome |
| Pickguard: | 3-ply (tortoise) |
| Control cavity cover: | Plastic (separate battery cover) |
GENERAL
| Company: | Company: Ibanez/Hoshino USA 1726 Winchester Rd, Bensalem, Pa. 19020 Phone: 215-638-8670 Fax: 215-245-8583 Email: ibanez@hoshinousa.com https://www.ibanez.com/usa/ |
| County of origin: | Indonesia |
| Warranty: | One year |
| Price: | $299.99 |
| Options: | None |
| Accessories: | None |
| Available colors: | Seafoam Pearl Green, Candy Apple Matte, Roadster Orange Metallic, Sapphire Blue Metallic |
| Acquired from: | Hoshino USA |
| Dates: | Spring 2019 |
| Locals: | Washington, Ohio |
| Test gear: | Genzler MG-800, BA210-3 & BA12-3, Line 6 Helix Floor, Tsunami Cables |
TEST RESULTS
1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
In-hand
| Features: | 3.5 |
| Tonal Flexibility: | 4.5 |
| Ease of Use: | 5 |
| Aesthetics: | 5 |
| Ergonomics: | 4.5 |
| Tone: | 4.5 |
| Value: | 5 |
In-hand Score
4.57average
On-bench Score
4.32average
On-bench
| Overall construction | 4.5 |
| Wood choice | 4 |
| Materials choice | 4 |
| Joinery | 5 |
| Fretwork | 4 |
| Fit and Finish of adornments | 4 |
| Quality of finish work | 5 |
| Ease of repair | 5 |
| Potential range of setup | 5 |
| Balance on knee | 4 |
| Balance on strap | 4 |
| Overall electronic quality | 4 |
| Solder joints, wire runs | 3 |
| Clarity | 4 |
| Noise | 4 |
| Shielding | 5 |
| Quality for Price Range | 5 |
SONIC PROFILE:
Low: Very present, not lacking
Mids: Gnarly and aggressive from P/J combo
Highs: Not shimmering, but also not lacking. Plenty on tap for slapping and modern tones
TONE-O-METER
Fun for cheap! Well made, well executed P/J medium scale bass with comfortable contouring, familiar looks and great sound. Not much to nitpick about the Mezzo for fans of smaller basses.
