Jolltax

From an engineering point of view - I think multiscale headless basses make sense to me as a way of optimising string length and balance and I wanted to try a 5 string - that pretty much narrows it down to the Ibanez EHB series! My research suggested the Nordstrand pickups were the way to go hence the 1505 series. I was lucky enough to be able to try an EHB 1005 at the Guitar show in Solihull and this really gave me the confidence to place an order. After a few days of messing about with it, here are my impressions and initial thoughts : It's very comfortable, superlight and the headless system means it is very well balanced As some others have said - the way the back is profiled means that the bass naturally sits on the strap slanted slightly upwards (towards the ceiling). Its not a huge deal, but I think I would have preferred it to sit parallel to my body. I'm still getting used to the multiscale fretboard but its not as dramatic a change as I thought it would be. Scan set the bass up for me and it has very nice low action, just like the one at the Guitar show, maybe they are all like that! Loads of output and many different sounds from the pickups and pre-amp, also sounds great in passive mode, B string seems quite well defined to my ears. The bass is silent, seems to have almost no noise, nice. I find tuning on the headless bridge to actually be easier and more accurate, the knurled knobs make fine adjustment easy I think the build quality is OK, but could be better. In the pictures if you zoom in you can see the finish has a lot of wood imperfections / unfilled grain holes on the body and the neck - I am not experienced enough to know whether this was done intentionally but it is not an aesthetic I enjoy, to my eye it looks sloppy and indicates a lack of attention to detail The neck is very nice, I have very little experience on 5 strings but it seems surprisingly thin and I like the fact that there is still reasonable string spacing. I think I would have preferred Dunlop straplocks but the Shaller ones are OK if a bit fiddly After one sitting I performed the mod on the locking jack, removing the spring, suggested by @fretmeister and others on here, the jack release was way to difficult to operate without removing the bass and messing about, hated it The neck dots, as many others have mentioned are pathetic and hardly visible under subdued lighting after a few minutes So far so good, not withstanding my niggles I am still very happy with the bass, especially the weight, balance and ergonomics making it so comfortable to hold and play ..... J

I've also been under weather since the show with a sore throat and generally feeling crap, haven't turned the corner yet either, grrr people and their diseases

I had a great time there today, it was mostly guitars but there was certainly enough bass stuff, as a newb I got a chance to try a lot of stuff I have never seen before, here are some of my impressions : The Ibanez EHB basses at Scan were an absolute a bargain, apparently they were B stock but were selling £200 below retail and as far I could see were new i.e. I think they might have been demonstrators. Unfortunately fortunately they didn't have an EHB1505MS PLF which the one I have my eye on. I got a chance to have a play though and it has really sold me on getting one, loved headless / multi-scale concept @Manton Customs there with his beautiful creations I liked the ACGuitars basses also, some beautiful finishes https://acguitars.co.uk/ Picked up another Pinegrove strap at a show discount, they are great My first ever time playing Yamaha basses, the BB they had was lovely, had such a nice tone and felt great in the hand, lovely neck - online and in photos I never liked the looks but in reality they were really nice, added to bucket list Had a really cool chat with the luthier who makes these https://www.fidelity-guitars.co.uk/ - his whole aesthetic concept of re-imagining catalogue guitars / basses from the 60's but making them with high quality materials is awesome, all the components are custom he has his own bridges made by CnC - really cool, was such an interesting guy I saw (but did not bother) Cici (from Cici bass YT channel and Andertons videos) and also the dude from Crimson guitars (is it Ben?) Was excited about seeing Sandberg basses, but couldn't find them sadly One further slightly more depressing point, standing in the queue and looking around the venue the attendees were overwhelmingly middle aged (and that's being generous), sign of the times I suppose. @Richard R I think its fair to say there were certainly a lot of metally looking people and things there Will be back next year, was great fun

Good point, I will bring some pocket money and I'll wear a badge just in case a fellow BCer wants me to bore the pants off them J

I'll be there on Saturday, probably aim to spring out of bed early and be there at the start - hoping to ignore all the guitars and try some multiscale basses and saying hi to @Manton Customs Looking forward to it, should I leave my wallet at home?

Would love to see pictures get your feedback, perhaps a NBD thread incoming? I too am looking at these basses as with the cessation of Enfield production they seem the only vendor currently producing basses specced with them (?), although I think I saw Robin use one in one of his custom builds @Manton Customs I am seeing him on Saturday and I might ask him about them then as I am sure that would also be a good option! Regards J

Looks really nice, very kind offer, thank you but probably a bit far for me

Looks fab, I have seen your For Sale - surely a bargain, unfortunately fretless not on my RADAR at the moment

I think the Sims Quad-Sim pickup system looks really cool and as I am considering buying a bass fitted accordingly I was interested in hearing forum members experiences of the pickup system. It seems almost too good to be true if it can do a good impression of precision, jazz and other basses. I found very little on Enfield basses in searching these forums. I am also curious, if it works as well as it appears, why is it still a niche product? My guess it is that there is some kind of compromise on sound, any thoughts or experiences? I am also really keen to know which builders are recommended for high quality basses which can be supplied with these pickups, I was really disappointed to see that the Enfield line of basses appear to have been discontinued, I particularly like the Enfield Avenger II. I am aware of the Bass Centre Power Basses, do you have any other recommendations? Cheers Jolltax In the unlikely event that any readers are not aware of the pickup system, here is a good video showing how it works