RichT

Ooh that's special! 😍 Do you know the weight on it? Thanks

Just for clarification, I thought the Icon series and Ignition series are the same thing, Ignition just being the newer name for the Icon.

Having had both an Ignition Club and a contemporary HCT Club, unless you specifically need it to be fully hollow then everything about the HCT is better - better quality finish, better pickups, better tuners & hardware, even a better quality pickguard. The HCT is simply a class above the Ignition build-wise. 

On paper the HCT neck spec is thicker, but in the hand my perception is that the carve feels much more refined, and despite the numbers it somehow feels slimmer and more tapered. I was actually really surprised to discover that the HCT had the thicker neck, it certainly didn't feel like it. Obviously one of those things where numbers aren't the whole story and you have to try it for yourself.

Just a heads up if anyone's interested - I was mulling over whether I should try some flats on my (ever so lovely) EBMM short scale Stingray just to see how it would sound, when I discovered that Ernie Ball will soon be launching short scale Cobalt flats, and Amazon currently have them on pre-order for about £33.  Looks to be a very decent price - at least when compared to what long scale Cobalts usually go for (and the inevitable short-scale premium that will no doubt get added on top).

There are two sets of gauges, 45-105 and 50-110, both about the same price. They sound great on this much-too-short demo: 

Visited Mike yesterday to buy an EBMM short scale Stingray bass. Wonderful experience all round, great communication, and wouldn't hesitate to have further dealings again in future. Mr & Mrs Scrumpy couldn't have been more generous with their hospitality (and cake!) and talked me into attending the South-West Bass Bash later this year, so will be seeing them again soon. 

Thanks! Definitely would like to take this gorgeous bass off your hands, have sent a follow up DM.

DM incoming... 

On 05/09/2022 at 09:04, RichT said:

 

Ok that's convinced me. I like the red/ebony A1H version that Dan's playing in the video, and upon investigating, it turned out there was literally one red A1H left - a refurbished unit for £718. Can't dither in those circumstances. Slept on it and then put the order in first thing this morning. Vox have a 30 day free returns policy so nothing to lose. 

 

So I thought I ought to report back after a week of ownership... and wow, what an instrument! The Vox A1H beats any bass I've owned in terms of build quality, it feels solid and made with precision and attention to detail. I think mine may be one of the heavier examples at about 6lb 14oz, but anything under 7lb is fine by me. Ergonomics of the surrounds are great and well thought through so while you're playing it, either sitting or standing, you're completely unaware there's anything unusual about the design. Neck & frets are beautifully finished, and the sound... oh the sound is exactly what I was after. I've never played an American Stingray, but the Vox has the ability to convincingly emulate all those Ray-featuring classic records I love, so I'm happy. 

What I'm most impressed by is just how easy it is to play. Whereas I've found I sometimes need to coax my EHB1505 into what I want it to do and have to play carefully to achieve the desired results, this thing just wants to make all the right sounds without me even really trying. I think there's something special about the Aguilar pickup and pre-amp in the Vox, it seems to respond to right hand positioning and how hard I play completely intuitively. 

The Starstream comes across as less odd and more functional in real life than in photos. The matt finish on the surrounds makes them feel like wood and it kind of has the impression of a natural evolution of something like my Hohner stick bass. And for something featuring so much physical space it really sounds very solid-body, much more so than the chambered EHB does. scrumpymike was entirely correct, at the price these are available they're an absolute steal, can't recommend them enough.

18 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

 

Believe me, the Vox Artist is in a completely different league from both the 'budget' Starstream (which I bought first and sent back) and the 'Ray. Vox said that the Artist was made in Japan for parent company Korg as a limited 'premium' run to test/prepare the market for the cost-engineered version intended to sell in higher volumes. Even priced at its launch RRP of around £1400 the Vox would be value for money. For the £800 I paid, it's a steal.

Ok that's convinced me. I like the red/ebony A1H version that Dan's playing in the video, and upon investigating, it turned out there was literally one red A1H left - a refurbished unit for £718. Can't dither in those circumstances. Slept on it and then put the order in first thing this morning. Vox have a 30 day free returns policy so nothing to lose. 

13 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Vox originally had them priced pretty high and then brought them down in price. A bargain IMO but you have to like different.

That's all fantastically useful information thank you. I do like different, my only bass for an awful long time was my Hohner B2A stick (well after/before they were cool 😉), and after being fascinated by the oddness of Ibanez EHB's since they launched I finally but the bullet and bought at 1505 a few months ago. It's the first 5 string I've ever bonded with and felt comfortable playing, now I wonder what took me so long. 

I've currently got the same fascination with the strangeness of the Starstream, and knowing it ticks all the boxes of being an affordable lightweight short scale that offers the 'Ray-esque sound, I may succumb sooner rather than later. 

1 hour ago, whave said:

It feels like they just overcharge you for a £300 Sterling, because it's a shorty.

That is exactly what it feels like. At the price point I was expecting a step up from the SUB level, but seems that's essentially what they are. 

51 minutes ago, dmc79 said:

Some places have the short Stingrays for £700, but even that sounds a lot based on your description. I can’t be certain but weren’t they nearer £600 a while back?

 

Yeah this was in PMT Bristol, being the only place I'd been for months with one in stock. They'd probably have price matched if I'd asked as they're £699 most places online. I'd happily pay it if the quality was there but sadly it was way off the mark on this one. I went in expecting to love it to bits and was really quite surprised at what I found.

On 25/08/2022 at 14:05, Obrienp said:

There have been some adverse comments around the forums.
 

I have the Vox Starstream H1 (passive) and it does the ‘Ray thing pretty well for less than a Sterling SS and everybody notices it at a gig (if you like that). Mine is very nicely made. Only real issue with it is not being able to fit the usual culprits in strap locks: you have to use those rubber washer things. Otherwise it is extremely light, ergonomic and balances OK on a strap.

 

I love the look of those genuine EB Ray short scales but the money they charge for them is just gouging the punters in my view. Even the Sterling’s are over-priced compared to their 34” offerings.

In light of my experience with the Sterling SS described in my previous post, I've been looking at the Vox Starstream 1H again, with the Artist version being available for a similar price to the Sterling.  How exactly does the non-Artist version differ? I guess it doesn't have the Aguilar and Gotoh hardware, but what's the setup with it? Is it all passive with just a straightforward volume & tone? How are the ergonomics and how have you found it compares sound wise (I guess I'm asking with regard to 'Rays more than anything else)? Do you feel like you'd prefer the option of it being active?

Part of wanting the SS Sterling was the appeal of a passive Stingray. I'm in love with Paul Denman's dark mellow 'Ray tone on the early Sade records, I'd love a lightweight SS bass that can sound like that!

On 25/08/2022 at 13:43, whave said:

 

I had ordered a brand new one a few weeks ago and made a post about how absolutely terrible it was before sending it back (it's somewhere in my post history). Whatever can go wrong on a cheapo bass went wrong there, it was not just slightly damaged and bad quality in general, but it had some major issues like a bridge where you can't get low action at all.

 

Basically my £150 Ibanez was running circles around the £630 Sterling in build quality. And my Ibanez was far from perfect.

 

Now I have a second hand one that I bought here, and that's completely fine! Although the fretwork is still sub-par compared to the Ibanez. I have some sharp edges, and with semi-low action there is some serious buzz around the highest frets, which does not happen on the Ibanez where the action is even lower.

I finally got to try a SS Sterling Ray last weekend, one of the new black/maple ones. After all the glowing reviews and demos online, I was pretty shocked at the lacklustre build quality. Sure it played and sounded pretty good, but it felt... cheap. The knobs in particular were shockingly flimsy, loose and wobbling everywhere. The pickup selector felt kind of 'spongy' with a huge amount of mushy play between the clicks, felt like it was about to break in my hands.

The neck too was no more than functional. It reminded me most of the neck on my son's Squier Affinity Jazzmaster HH - completely unfinished and not in a good way, like some kind of cheap uncompleted neck blank with no finesse about it and a hard corner on to the fretboard. I'm biased against maple boards anyway so I'll let that bit go, but compared to this the neck profile on my Gretsch G2220 is a work of art. 

Despite that, it sounded good and actually felt fine and easy to play with a comfortable body, and the weight felt less than I'd feared, but there is no way on earth I'd part with £749 for the specimen I tested. I noted afterwards that these are a lot less in the US, currently $599, equivalent to £520. I think they launched more equivalent to around the £450 mark. We're being completely gouged on these over here. I honestly don't think they'd have been initially reviewed half so well if the Americans were getting them at our current equivalent of $800-$860, they're just not worth it. I think I'll be keeping my eye out for a well priced 2nd hand rosewood one.

On 15/05/2022 at 12:42, Woodinblack said:

 

A few people have here, I have the normal scale one. With the nords.

 

 

In which case that is the only down side, so you are good. Note the Nords you can take off the top end warm them up just fine with the EQ, the barts aren't well liked as they lack definition, as well as just being wooly. But if you like the sound then you are good.

The pickups are the reason I don't have one and that when one came up on here with replaced pickups i had already bought something else!

 

 

They feel well made, but light. The B string sounds fine but the ergonomics are down to you - the neck is smaller than the SRMS805 but similar in its still an ibanez.

After thinking very hard about what you wrote above, spending literally days listening to demos to the point of distraction, briefly going back and forth over my other GAS distractions of SS 'Rays & Mustangs before remembering my ultimate goal of low weight... the ultimate deciding factor came down to the fact that I just couldn't get past the green finish on the EHB1005SMS. Yeah I know  

Call me shallow but I like my basses and guitars to look like they're made of wood, and as much as I'd probably prefer short scale to play, the solid metallic emerald green just wasn't doing it for me. So tonight I've made a decision and ordered the EHB1505 Dragon Eye burst with the Nords.  PMT currently have it on sale for under £1000, and at only £65 more than the shorty it seemed way too good an opportunity to pass up.

Thank you everyone who has offered advice and input to my recent questions, it's been very much appreciated even if I didn't ultimately end up buying SS this time. But it's an EHB so will no doubt be light, and as it's the parallel fret 34" version it'll still be easier to get around than the 35.5" SRMS805 was. And I love bursts. Delivery on Thursday. Fingers crossed...  

On 15/05/2022 at 19:56, uncle psychosis said:

 

1. I realised I'm a traditional Fender man. Being 100% honest I felt silly playing a headless bass. 

 

23 hours ago, RichT said:

 

By contrast I'm not a traditional Fender man, never owned a Fender bass or FSO.

 

See, now look what you've gone and done! Today all I can think about is Mustangs. I'd love a sunburst American Performer Mustang... (un)luckily they seem to be pretty much impossible to find at the moment. 

1 hour ago, uncle psychosis said:

@RichTI bought and returned an Ibanez EHB1005SMS last week.

 

I didn't spend that long with it, but the balance was excellent, I really liked the sounds it made, it was super light, and very comfy to play. 

 

So why did I return it? 

 

1. I realised I'm a traditional Fender man. Being 100% honest I felt silly playing a headless bass. 

 

2. On balance I don't really need the fifth string

 

3. The luminous fretmarkers just didn't work. 

 

4. The fretboard markers might as well have been invisible too

 

5. The locking jack was terrible. If I'd been keeping it I would have ditched it. 

 

So, on balance I thought it was a really good instrument, just not for me in the slightest. It does have some compromises though, at £900 I think Ibanez have let themselves down slightly on a couple of points. Absolutely worth trying one though. 

By contrast I'm not a traditional Fender man, never owned a Fender bass or FSO. My main bass right up until about 2019 was my beloved headless Hohner B2A. Only when the electronics got too unreliable did I start buying new basses for the first time this century (and begin making up for lost time!) at which point I started with some Ibanez models, so in my case Ibanez + headless is an attraction for me

I've seen several people complain about those luminous side fretmarkers. I don't need them to be luminous, but I do need the markers to be visible under normal lighting. I've seen some people say they don't even do that too well - is this because they camouflage into the bird's eye maple neck? Is this maybe less of an issue on the plain darker necks of the 1505 series? The front fretboard dots don't bother me, I never look at them, but side markers are essential. I've also seen a few people comment unfavourably on the locking jack, but also that there seems to be a particular technique to it. Hopefully that would just be persevering to get the hang of it. 

Thank you, excellent feedback.

4 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I have the 30-32 EHB model

 

Here it is with Aguilars and Flats.

 

This tune has plenty of B string use.

 

Thanks! Interesting - from what I've heard there I prefer the sound of the Aguilars to the Nordstrands. Are you playing flats there (and is that maybe why it's darker and warmer sounding than all the demos I've seen with Nordstrands?) Out of interest, how much did they set you back for the pair? Always got the option of upgrading further down the line. 

Thanks, that sounds very encouraging. Light and well made is the number one goal here. Glad to hear the neck isn't too disimilar to the SRMS805, I navigated the width and fanned frets of that just fine.

I hear you with the ability to darken the tone on the Nordstrands. The non-multiscale 34" Nord-equipped EHB1505 is also an option and within budget, but after enjoying playing the Hofner and Gretsch so much and finding I can do things easier than on my long scale basses, I think I'd prefer the shorter reach and scale of the 1005SMS. Oh decisions decisions... 

Following on from my posts a few pages ago about looking for a lightweight SS solid body a little more upmarket than my Gretsch G2220, and a little less hollow sounding than my Hofner HCT Club, the current top of my list is the Ibanez EHB1005SMS - i.e. the multiscale SS 5 string version.

The thinking is mainly around wanting a light comfortable main player SS. The 5 string element isn't the primary concern, where that comes in is that I had the SRMS805 multiscale SR style 5 string, loved the sound but I was never playing it for more than 10 minutes at a time due to the size and weight, so discussions on this thread spurred me on to sell it to fund something smaller and lighter that will see more use. It was however my only 5 string and I'd love to have at least one, so this could be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. 

Has anyone tried one of the EHB short scales? Anything I should really know about them in advance? I know a lot of people don't like the Bartolini pickups and want to replace them with Nordstrands or Aguilars. The same BH2 Barts as the SRMS805 are in the EHB. Going by all the videos I've seen on Youtube I honestly I prefer the warmer sound of the Barts. The Nords seem too trebley and top-end heavy for my tastes, not sure if maybe people who prefer their sound are just playing totally different genres to me but the Barts suit me just fine. 

Interested in any thoughts re how that B string holds up at 32", the neck profile and reach to the nut, overall ergonomics and comfort/oddities, any particular successes or failures with types of strings tried, whether they really do feel like a well made main bass or if there's a gimmicky element to them. Anything at all that would be useful. TIA!

4 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

I had one of these for a while and was very impressed. One of the best s-s basses I've played and massive value for money even if you buy new as I did. There's lots of love for them over the pond on Talkbass, including from owners of the much more expensive EB/MM version. I only moved mine on because that's what I do with my 3rd bass so I can try lots of stuff.

 

For what it's worth, my top 5 s-s basses so far have been: 1) Andy Rogers Custom (no. 1 gig bass and keeper); 2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been); 3) Vox Starstream A2S (probable keeper); 4) Atelier Z Ken-Ken Signature; 5) SBMM 'Ray. Price-wise, the 'Ray punches well above its weight.

Thanks for that rundown, lots of food for thought there. I looked at the Vox before, love the retro futurism aesthetic of it, it looks like it's escaped from Daft Punk's Interstellar 5555 Tell me more, was it really that good? Have you tried the humbucker version? 

10 hours ago, ezbass said:

I don't think you'd be sorry. Yes there are things that aren't so great, but it's a mid priced bass and some small corners have been cut to get it to a price. I've posted what I think is a fairly comprehensive review here (@RichT might be interested in this too).

 

 

Thank you for linking to the review, very informative. Incidentally you mentioned on the thread how noisy your JMJ Mustang was. I've never owned a Mustang, but I was under the impression that the split coil pickup was split for the same purpose a P pickup is - to cancel hum. Is that not the case on Mustangs then? 

20 minutes ago, Clarky said:

 

Ah right ounces, I was confused for a moment there too  but that's excellent info, thank you!

2 hours ago, dmc79 said:

That’s the first time I’ve seen the SS Ray in Black / Maple / Tort. Looks real nice but I’m still not a fan of the huge ugly silver banana control plate 

 

I seem to be the only person who likes the dropped copper finish, that's probably the one for me if I go down that route but I wish it came with a darker board. I note that on Talk Bass a community of SS Ray neck swappers has developed to deal with that issue. 

29 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

You will never recover anything like the money you put into upgrading the G2220, if you decide to sell it. Obviously, that is no problem if you think you are going to hold onto it for a long time. 
 

A bass that might be worth a look at is the Ibanez EHB1000S. It is light (chambered), extremely ergonomically designed and it doesn’t have single coil pickups. It comes in at around £800. A lot of people, including me, find the OEM Bartolini pickups a little too old school sounding and change them for Aguilar, or Nordstrand equivalents (approx £215). Otherwise it comes with just about everything you could possibly want on a bass IMO. The headless design might not be for everybody but it is very practical from the perspective of string choice: you use standard gauge strings and cut off the excess once clamped. Therefore, you have a much greater choice of string types and gauges,  which are readily available and you don’t have to pay the short scale premium.

 

I only sold my EHB because I have ordered a Nordstrand Acinonyx and I operate a strict one-in, one-out policy. Incidentally the Acinonyx might have been one for you to consider but it is very definitely single coil equipped and quite noisy, according to posts on TalkBass.

 

 

Yeah I get what you're saying about resale value. Upgrading the G2220 would be purely because I love the playability of it and would be wanting to keep it, but those TV Jones pickups aren't cheap and it kind of doesn't feel worth spending all that money when it's already 'a good bass' and would just be to iron out some fairly minor issues. And part of its charm is that it's not precious, right now I know I can take it to an open mic night and not be devastated if it gets dinged or worse. That's lost if I sink more money into it. 

Funnily enough the 5 string EHB 1005SMS is one of my top contenders at the moment. I'd like something lighter to replace my Ibanez SRMS805 multiscale (getting on for 8.5lbs) which also has the MkII Barts and it's a sound I like and am familiar with. I'm fine with headless, I played a Hohner B2A as my main bass for an awfully long time .  The EHB has really got a lot of plus points, but I'm looking for something that will be a main bass, and I do hesitate slightly simply because the EHB is such an odd looking beast! But getting one does mean I can then feel ok selling on the SRMS805 which is my only 5 string but realistically too heavy for me to play for any length of time.

The Acinonyx looks and sounds really great on the demos I've heard, and the light weight is amazing (proves it can be done - why are so many companies producing 8-9lb shorties?) It was literally just the single coil hum that turned me off that one. I look forward to hearing your report on it when you get it  

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

If you still have the receipt, you can contact Gretsch customer services for $100 worth of goodies by way of reparation for misrepresentation.

 

My Sterling’Ray SS weighs 3.4kg. Stick a set of lightweight tuners on one of those and that’ll be very close to 7lbs and under that £1k budget; it’s what I’m doing (more for the better tuners than the weight in my case). The new black/maple/tort version looks great. YMMV.

Ooh now that's very interesting. I'm rather taken by the idea of the SS passive Stingrays, the pickup switching system on them looks great, versatile but also intuitive. I'd written them off due to the weight, I hadn't considered  putting some of my budget into lightweight tuners. I've never actually changed tuners on anything before, what sort of weight saving would you expect to gain from it?

And thanks for the update on the Gretsch business   I was looking up the G2220 neck measurements yesterday and noticed they now describe them as single coils on the official specs, so wondered if there had been some kind of official response. 

7 hours ago, ezbass said:

If you want super premium, there’s a Serek up for grabs in the for sale section right now.

 

I've just been looking at that   It's a little over my budget, I'm anticipating £1500 absolute tops, preferably more around the £1K range.  My main restriction is weight (I know, I know), my left shoulder desperately struggles to deal with much above 7lbs for any length of time these days, hence me getting into the hollow & semi-hollow Hofners. The plus side of that though has been that after more than 30 years of playing bass, I've now found I prefer short scale and wonder why I never tried it before. Better late than never. 

Needing a quick solid body fix, I found myself a 7lb Gretsch G2220 a few months ago (yes it was plainly obvious it had single coil hum from the minute I got it home ) and while it's so much fun to play, there's no denying the components are cheap - jack socket, bridge, pickups, tuners, all could be much better. I do however love the look & weight, and the neck is possibly my favourite that I've ever played, so I kind of have a choice between setting about upgrading the Gretsch (could easily be £500 worth) or just look for something better built to start with. 

I've been researching and been somewhat surprised to be honest at how heavy solid body short scales can be! When the likes of Sandberg are doing their superlight line I do wonder why other companies don't make a similar effort, there's obviously a market for it. 

I would be grateful for any suggestions offered - I'm just looking for that tight solid (or possibly chambered) body sound, nothing hollow. Anything coming in below 7.5lbs considered, the lighter the better. It's kind of essential to avoid anything with single coil hum as well, but I'm easy as to whether that's in the form of humbuckers or split pickup designs. I feel I've looked at a lot already but I'm certain to have missed some, let me know! TIA