DEFINICIONES DE LOS CONCEPTOS UTILIZADOS

I could spend hours playing this bass: it’s just so comfortable, and the woody, organic sound responds so well to certain playing styles, especially if you start to dig in, which brings out a different harmonic emphasis to your notes. Acoustically, the low B-string stands out incredibly well, and just getting a feel for this bass highlights how vibrant and resonant it truly is – a good sign. The instrument feels very slinky to play and, despite the fingerboard broadening the higher you go, the shallow neck depth accommodates this so there is no strain on the fretting hand.

Plugging in, the first thing that hits you is the quality of tonal response and consistent string volume across all five strings: the D and G string are particularly lively. With a lot of natural spring and resonance, the EQ works well in rounding out the tone and giving the signal some extra body and power, while the mid-EQ provides some extra presence. The mid-selector switch adds some additional colour and

differentiation: the 250Hz setting provides a darker character, while the 600Hz setting offers a brighter, throatier bark. The bass

is capable of a really good range of usable tones to suit all styles of playing and it has plenty of life in its tonal delivery, although the slap sound is particularly woody with a noticeable thump in the

bottom end. Top end percussiveness requires quite a bit of treble boost, but the circuit works well with these

Bartolini pickups, no question.

concluSion

Many players will be enticed by the SR’s slim proportions and extreme playability, and there’s no doubt that it

will suit players looking for a five-string with little bulk or excessive weight. It may lack frills and gloss in terms of finishing, but it has bags of tone, and a lot to offer the player in terms of playability. At this pocket- friendly price, I can’t imagine too many players being disappointed with this bass..

BaSS GuitaR MaGazine 054

GeaR

iBanez SR605-ntf pRice £635

Bass Guitar MaGazine 056

Phil Jones PJB M300 head and neoPower 12B CaBinet (12B CaBinet in BraCkets)

PriCe | £999 (£1099) Made in | China Power | 300 Watts at 4 ohms

(600 Watts)

sPeakers | 12 x 5” Neodymium

(total 4 ohms)

Features | Two channels, each with

HI and LO impedance input, Gain, Clip indicator and five-band graphic EQ, Limiter with level control and indicator, Master Volume, Tuner Out, Effects Send/ Return, Power on/off with status light, spare fuse holder, XLR DI with ground lift, Input Voltage selector, 2 x Speakon Speakon out, 2x preamp out (12x5” baffle mounted neodymium drivers, 2 x Speakon inputs, 4 ohm impedance, front port)

weight | 15 kg (31 kg)

What We think

like the sound of your bass you’ll love the sound of this rig

Minus | The distinctive ‘retro hi-fi’

look and super-clean tone may not be to everyone’s taste

overall | Phil Jones has always forged

his own path when it comes to bass amp design. This rig proves he still leads the

field in innovation and accurate bass reproduction

BGM ratinG

technical specification

M300 head

Following the success of his small combos, the fi rst amp head Phil Jones designed and built was the mighty M500. He put all of his experience as a bass player, engineer and hi-fi boffi n into that amp and the results were spectacular – without doubt one of the fi nest bass amps ever made. It was big, powerful, beautifully engineered and redefi ned what ‘accurate’ meant in terms of amplifying bass guitar. It made perfect sense, then, to use this design as the basis for a smaller, but perhaps more usable amp head, and that’s exactly what we have here – the M300. It’s less powerful, certainly, but just as well made and with its comprehensive two-channel layout, it is one of the few mid- sized amps that’s perfect for someone who wants to use both acoustic and electric basses on the same gig.

The two channels are identical and laid out side by side. Each has a low and high impedance input (you can use either channel for acoustic or electric) and each has its own gain, overload indicator and fi ve-band graphic EQ. The switchable studio quality optical limiter serves both channels. Set below the large master volume is a stereo headphone socket and, to the right of this, there’s an FX loop and tuner out. Lastly, there’s a large old-school nickel toggle switch for on/off with a blue status light. Round the back you’ll fi nd everything necessary on a pro quality amp: two Speakon outs, a balanced line (XLR) DI with ground lift, spare fuse holder and two preamp outputs. These have a neat feature: they’re separately buffered, meaning that a dodgy cable or bad connection into one side will not affect the other.

Inside, the amp is built around a solid 2.5mm steel chassis and silver solder is used throughout, meaning dry joints and crackling connections should never be a problem. The case is well-built, too. Constructed from dense birch ply, it’s covered with tough black Tolex. This looks great, with chromed steel corners, vent plates and chassis bolts. All of this hardware is made in-house, as is the sturdy strap

handle on top. Four chunky rubber feet help keep the amp solid and leave space underneath to allow free fl ow of air around the amp to help keep things cool.