lowregisterhead

For sale is my Ibanez EHB1265 MS-NML (Multi Scale - Natural Mocha Low gloss) in case you wondered!

I bought it early this year when the model first became available, and it's an excellent bass. The only reason I'm offering it for sale is I've really bonded with my new Dingwall, so as great as the Ibanez is, I've decided to move it on. The scale lengths are 35" on the B, down to 33" on the G, but the headless design makes the bass incredibly compact despite the extended scale - the gigbag it comes with is the same size as an electric guitar.

Although the Bartolinis it came with were nice, I fitted a set of Aguilar DCB D4 pickups which have a bit more bite and definition, but the original pickups are also included in the sale, plus the Ibanez gigbag, Straplocks and pickup ramp (all unused) right down to the allen keys, user manual and original shipping carton. In my opinion this is the nicest finish they offer in this range, and they go for about £1150 new, so adding the Aguilars at £300, this is £1450 worth of bass for under a grand. It's only left the house a handful of times, so the condition is excellent. I've moved the end strap button, as I found the body used to sit up a little with it in the original position, but it can easily be moved back.

NOW SOLD.

1 hour ago, dyerseve said:

Absolutely gorgeous! Looks like a helluva a lot of bass for the money!

It really is. I don't know how they do it for the price.

For sale is a Human Base Roxy B5. This must be an earlier one, as the headstock facing is natural, unlike the dark wood of current models. For those unfamiliar with the brand, they're quality German-made instruments.

NOW SOLD.

For sale is a lovely example of the now increasingly rare Status 'The Groove' 5-string, their answer to the Stingray 5.

It has two-band eq with an active/passive switch, and does the Stingray snarl very well. The previous owner had a very cool mirror scratchplate made for it, but the original black one is also included, as is the Status-branded Hiscox LiteFlite case. It's in excellent condition, with no visible fret wear, and has a very slim, fast neck with a low action. The picture of the back of the body appears lighter than it really is - the overall colour is more of a cream (as per the pics of the front).

NOW SOLD

For sale is a Cort A5 Ultra Ash 5-string. I bought it last year, and it's only been out of the house a handful of times, for a couple of gigs and studio sessions.

It's a beautifully made instrument, with a thru-neck and a standard of build and finish that far exceeds what you could reasonably expect for the price range, and features Fishman's new Fluence pickups and 2-band preamp. It also comes fitted with a Hipshot bridge and Ultralite tuners as standard. It's 34" scale, 18mm spacing at the bridge, and weighs in at just a shade of over 4kg. The controls are master volume, pickup pan, treble and bass cut and boost, and a three-way coil tap switch. It comes complete with a quality Cort hardcase. The only reason I'm selling it is I've really bonded with a new Dingwall I bought earlier this year, and this bass has been in its case since.

There's quite a few reviews of this and the 4-string version on YouTube, so I haven't bothered to do a video for this one, but it's a genuinely great bass in excellent, as-new condition. Collection is preferred (I'm about 10 minutes from junction 10 of the M25 in Surrey) or I can ship at the buyer's cost.

NOW SOLD

19 hours ago, BreadBin said:

Thats a lovely thing.

I'm not in the market (I'm approximately £1990 short) but am interested to know - does it take regular strings or double ball-end?

Regular strings. There are individual screw clamps in the headpiece.

For sale is my custom made SKC Bogart Sport in Alpine White. It was made for me by Stefan at SKC about 4 years ago to my specs (35" scale, 19mm spacing) and has Bartolini MM and Candy Bar pickups with a Mike Pope Flex Core 4-band preamp.

For sale is my Lakland 55-94 in translucent white.

WITHDRAWN

On 30/06/2022 at 08:16, nationofzeros said:

These are amazing fretless basses. Fantastic growly sounds and brilliant playability. Built like an oriental tank, with Ibanez at the height of their capabilities. What a bargain !

+1. This takes me back. I had a brand new one in 1980/1 when I was trying to be Sting and Colin Moulding rolled into one, fronting my first originals band at the tender age of 19. I recall it was quite heavy, but it sounded phenomenal and was so well made. GLWTS.

I had a pair of these (fretted and fretless) back in the day - cracking basses. I eventually sold one to Graham Edwards, who was Go West's bass player at the time. Here's a short clip from The Tube of him in action. GLWTS.

1 hour ago, horrorshowbass said:

Cheers dude so the rotary switch with series/parallel combos doesn't affect sounds? 

I've owned both. I had a twin pickup 5-string about 10 years ago, but I couldn't get it to sound the way I wanted, despite a pickup upgrade. I bought a new 5-3 a few months back, and it's tonally much more versatile IMHO. All 4 positions on the selector are very useable sounds, and I'm really happy with it. It depends what you're looking for of course, but I'd recommend you try before you buy.

Still here! Make me an offer...

12 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

I was there too! I’ve just bought some new Dingwall soft plastic knobs…. A Canadian build is a bit of a dream atm

So did I !! The bass doesn't slide into the gigbag quite so smoothly now, but I can live with that.

Cheapest I can see for one of these new in that finish is £899 at Andertons, and your one looks pristine. Bargain!! GLWTS.

I had a second-hand 2-pickup Combustion over a decade ago, and although I loved how it played, I could never get it to sound the way I liked, despite pickup upgrades etc. I bought this 5/3 new a couple of months ago, and it's a very different animal. I upgraded the FD-3N pickups to a set of Super Fatty II's, which gave a subtle lift in the mids and overall warmth of tone, and my other basses (Lakland, Bogart, Status) don't seem to get a look-in now.

After going to hear Sheldon Dingwall speak at guitarguitar in Epsom a couple of weeks ago I'm considering a Canadian build, but they're well beyond my budget for now. There's a very nice AB1 on eBay at the moment though...

22 minutes ago, loki said:

My first (and definitely NOT my last!) Dingwall. An NG3-5 with upgraded Hipshot USA tuners, bridge units and Dingwall knobs.

This bass has effectively changed my life. I've never dug 5 strings until now and it's made my poor Status, Fender & Music Man basses redundant.

12 minutes ago, lowregisterhead said:

 

 

Very nice! Where do you source the control knobs? I had a look at the Dingwall site, but with shipping, taxes and duties it worked out at about £20 a knob...

Don't worry, just found some at Bass Direct...

9 minutes ago, loki said:

My first (and definitely NOT my last!) Dingwall. An NG3-5 with upgraded Hipshot USA tuners, bridge units and Dingwall knobs.

This bass has effectively changed my life. I've never dug 5 strings until now and it's made my poor Status, Fender & Music Man basses redundant.

Very nice! Where do you source the control knobs? I had a look at the Dingwall site, but with shipping, taxes and duties it worked out at about £20 a knob...

Price dropped again. This needs to go!

On 15/04/2022 at 15:31, trim said:

Hi! What's the string spacing? 

Hi, 17mm at the bridge, 9mm at the nut.

7 minutes ago, mustafunk1 said:

👍 Thanks!

22 hours ago, mustafunk1 said:

Isnt huge

 

Fair enough. Larger than average then! 😁

That's a great price considering the upgrades. I just bought a EHB1265MS which I'm very happy with, and the Barts are quite fat, but a bit on the dark side. The Aguilars are currently £299 for the pair at Andertons. GLWTS!

That looks like it's been beautifully put together. The control cavity is HUGE! Any chance you can post a pic of the electronics? Thanks.

14 hours ago, thebassist said:

Nice little initial view that - thanks for sharing!

What do you mean by “preamp re-plugging”?

 

This was shared by fretmeister, who apparently saw it on a YouTube video by the user LowEndLobster. I found it made a big difference, but I have to say at this point that you obviously try this completely at your own risk - if something fries, I accept no responsibility! It's probably also advisable to have nothing plugged into the jack socket when you do this so the preamp isn't active, or better still, remove the battery.

There's a long connector board uppermost in the control cavity. The plug furthest to the right is in a socket marked '0dB IN'. If you move that into the empty socket to its left marked '+6dB IN' it gives a noticeable boost in overall output. I also found that moving the plug on the end of the board which is in 'VM3 OUT' to the adjacent socket marked 'BEQ3 OUT' boosted the treble and overall clarity of the tone quote a bit, giving the Bartolinis more edge and bite.

I just picked up a new EHB1265MS-NML from Andertons, after seeing it on their website a couple of weeks back due in soon, and putting a deposit down. It's one of only two they got into stock, and the other one was sold before it arrived as well.

After my niggles with the EHB1505MS two years ago, I have to say this is quite a different animal. Knowing what the potential pitfalls are helped, but not only was this very playable straight out of the box, but the preamp re-plugging (as suggested by @fretmeister and @6feet7 in my original review thread) made a substantial difference to the sound - not just a higher output, but noticeably more top end bite. I'll stick with the factory-fitted Barts for now, but I'm interested in the replacement Aguilars, just not interested enough to shell out £299 for the set!

I love the look of the walnut top and ash body combination, much less gaudy to my eye than the pacific blue burst, but more interesting than a solid colour. I also have a Dingwall Combustion, so the multi-scale was no surprise, but the 35"-33" scale is really nice to play - not as much of a stretch as the Dingwall's 37"-34" scale. Particularly since re-plugging the preamp, the EHB has noticeably more zing and bark to its sound, making the Dingwall sound a little pedestrian in comparison.

The strap button's going to have to move though. At least with the fanning of the tuners due to the multi scale, it can be re-sited on the body in a more traditional position in line with the middle tuner, which will help with the neck tilt issue. I've got a rehearsal with one of the bands on Sunday, so I'll report back once I've had a chance to use it in anger! First impressions are very positive though.