Ibanez Bass Workshop – Portamento SRF705 5 String Electric Fretless Bass

Our third review in the Ibanez Bass Workshop Series is the SRF705 5 String Electric Fretless Bass. (View Reviews: Ibanez Bass Workshop SRC6 Crossover and Ibanez Workshop Bass BTB686SC)

Words cannot describe how great his bass looks, plays, and feels. The SRF705, which is also available in a 4 string version as the SRF700 has one feature that is unique to only few basses, a two and a half octave range per string, i.e., a “30 fret” fretless range per string. This is a feature that many upright bassists will love.The fretboard extends all the way to the neck pickup and the cutaway allows access to the entire range across all strings. While the neck of the fretboard itself is not lined, the side of the fretboard has your standard dots and fret markings. This bass “cuts through” with great sustain and tonal range with the help of the neck through design.

The body is constructed of mahogany with a five piece maple and bubinga neck. The rosewood fretboard rounds out the eye appealing beauty of this bass. The neck and bridge pickups are both passive Bartolini MK-1’s and the bridge is designed for the AerosSilk Piezo system. On the back of the bass are the adjustments for single volume control of each string for the piezo pickup. I found the factory setting set up to be desirable with no changes needed. There are separate volume controls for the neck, bridge, and piezo pickups as well as tone controls for bass, treble, and the piezo tone. The EQ is 2 band, bass and treble and the electronics are active and require one 9-volt battery. Strings are flat wound D’addario chromes.

Being an upright player as well as electric, I am very well pleased with how the Portamento SRF705 5 String Electric Fretless Bass seems to bridge the gap between electric and upright. There are countless tonal options, and while it may not be an upright, the piezo system gives you a pretty close representation of an upright tone, while still being able to produce a real cool sounding electric fretless bass tone. While this is the third review of the basses in the Ibanez Workshop Series, I am hoping it is not the last being produced for the Workshop Series. Ibanez has crossed boundaries and brought us four great basses in the workshop series, the Portamento Fretless in 4 and 5 string, the SRC6 Crossover, and the BTB686SC Terra Firma 6 string bass.

Check out the Ibanez Bass Workshop Portamento SRF705 5 String Electric Fretless Bass at a music retailer near you!

Visit Ibanez online at ibanez.com