I originally bought an Ibanez SR300E Iron Pewter as a gift for a member of my family who took an interest in playing the bass. When it arrived I took it out of the box to tune it and give the action a little tweaking. Of course, being a bass player myself, I had to give it a try to see how well it played. I was in shock and awe by how well it played and sounded. The neck was extremely comfortable; very thin and fast! It felt like this thing could play itself. After playing it for a few days, (and a few times since), I was so amazed by it that I had to come back to order one for myself (Weathered black - that black hardware on black bass just looks so good).

Sound
I was impressed by the sounds I could get from this little beast. I'm a pretty heavy handed finger style player (I've always had a heavy attack), but I could hear the differences every time I alternated pickups, adjusted the EQ, and flipped the "Power Tap" switch. This thing offers a lot of sound for very little money!

Features
As stated, the thin fast neck of this bass is amazing. I have smaller than average sized hands, so the slimmer design is really comfortable for me. The PowerSpan dual coil pickups are really decent sounding for what they are. The "Power Tap" switch is what sold me on it. After some knob twiddling, trial and error, I found a really nice warm, but heavy sound that I enjoy. Also, the ease of access to the battery compartment is a nice… read more feature as well - no screwdriver needed!

Ease of Use
Ease of use is great! Plug it in and play ;-) Seriously though, my stepfather is a guitarist by nature, and even he's remarked at how nice it plays and how nicely the knobs freely turn to dial in the sound you are looking for.

Quality
I was impressed by the overall quality of this instrument for the price. I own and play "higher end" basses (Warwick's, Ibanez SR Premium's, etc.), and the quality of this is bass is almost as nice as my SR Premium at a fraction of the cost. Of course it had a few things that needed some tweaking out of the box, but overall I am very pleased with the product. You could spend a lot more and get a lot less (I have anyways...). I guess there's a reason I keep coming back to Ibanez basses.

Value
The Ibanez SR300E is considered by most to be a beginner bass. I get that. Yet, for the price, you will be hard pressed to find something with better quality and features. If you are new to bass, or need a backup for your regular player, I would highly recommend the SR300E. I see it becoming my regular player because of it's features and sound. And hey... If something were to ever happen to it at a gig in one of those "seedy" venues, I could easily replace it and not be too upset about the price.

Manufacturer Support
I've never had to deal with Ibanez directly, but I have dealt with zZounds a few times and their customer service is wonderful! Friendly, knowledgeable, and courteous. Those are the things that make me a repeat offender to this site!

The Wow Factor
This bass is a lot of bang for the buck! I love the look of the black hardware on the weathered black finish. When my girlfriend gave me the "Oh no. Did you buy another bass?" look - even she had to admit the weathered black finish was sexy looking. Ha!

Musical Background:
Bassist: mostly a hobbyist hack and a weekend warrior.

Musical Style:
Mostly a hard rock/ metal guy, but have been branching out to other genres. Been attempting some jazz lately... read less