Ibanez EHB1000S Review

[RobParker]

Hi

 

So after playing a Fender 54 reissue P, a ‘78 Fender Musicmaster and an Epiphone Thunderbird IV pro for a while I decided to check out Ibanez. Given recent shoulder and wrist surgery after being knocked off my bike by a careless motorist, I’m finding short scale basses more comfy. 
 

I pulled the trigger on an Ibanez EHB1000s. 

I wasn’t sure what  to expect, but I’d had Ibanez guitars before and they were always well made but a tad clinical for my taste. In a nutshell, great to play, but lacking mojo. 
 

My bass arrived and it felt bit cheap initially. I think that this is because it was super lightweight at around 3Kg. When In plugged it in however, it was a beast. The preamp EQ supports a wide range of tones and the passive mode is great too. Everything from old school thump to modern mid and top heavy sounds. 

The build quality is generally high end apart apart some finish blemishes where the beck bolts are. The headless design is cool and the extremely flat radius neck is super fast. The tuners are great too especially for fine tuning quickly. 
 

The one downside is the fret markers. The main inlays are so small and insignificant that they are obscured by the E string and the luminescent ones only stay bright for about 2 minutes. This makes playing a gig on a dark stage complete pain for quick neck orientation when changing  key etc. 
 

Such a shame as this factor alone will probably relegate the bass to a studio tool rather than the lightweight gigging bass that I so wanted.
 

For now I’ve  gone back to my Fenders and will probably end up buying a Mustang which will be a backward step in many ways as everything else about this bass is great. 
 

Alternatively I have to pluck up courage to put my own neck inlays in just for  gigging on dark stages.  It’s not something that I expect to do for a bass at this price point. 

The pics below show a luminescent fret marker after 20 seconds of direct light and the same fret marker 2

mins later. The last 2 pics are the bass overall and the shoddy finish by the neck bolts. 
 

Overall a great bass let down by a few niggles. The main one being the fret markers given the offset of the neck and the cutaways. The 12th fret is about where the 9th is on other  basses so. It being able to see markers can be disorienting.  

 

  
 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by RobParker
Correct typos and add pics.

[Boom Face]

Thanks for the review. Have you considered getting a local luthier to put the markers in? It'd be cheaper than buying a new bass

[4000]

6 minutes ago, Boom Face said:

Thanks for the review. Have you considered getting a local luthier to put the markers in? It'd be cheaper than buying a new bass

This. It’s not a big job. 

[fretmeister]

My sandberg didn't have markers on the board.

 

I used stickers. I used those little round removable web cam covering stickers as they don't mark anything.

£10 for the stickers and half an hour of swearing while getting them lined up properly. Use tweezers!

 

Job done.

 

I'm sure you could try the same on the side, or use slightly larger stickers over the top of the front ones so you can see them.

Probably won't need them forever - just until you get used to the scale.

 

 

 

[Obrienp]

I found this with mine as well. The dots aren’t much use in the light either, they just blend into the beige tone of the neck. I have found that I am getting used to it now and I don’t have to look as much. I haven’t tried it on a dark stage yet. Getting a luthier to change the dots, or even stickers sound like good options.

 

The other great irritation to me was the cheap toothpaste tube tops they used for the control knobs. I have replaced them for about £16 with tele and jazz bass metal ones from Northwest Guitars but they catch a bit on the edge of the indentation around the knobs. It’s manageable but keeping my eyes open for a better fit set.

 

I would be interested to hear  your view of the pickups as you get used to them. Quite a few people, me included, liked them to start off with and then went off them with more use. Replacing the Bartolini pickups with Aguilars seems a popular option. I am holding out against spending another £200 at the moment. I have put D’Addario Steels on mine to try to make it less muddy but listening back to yesterday’s rehearsal recording, it now sounds really nasal. I might put the nickels back on it.

[Marvin_]

5 hours ago, Obrienp said:

I found this with mine as well. The dots aren’t much use in the light either, they just blend into the beige tone of the neck. I have found that I am getting used to it now and I don’t have to look as much. I haven’t tried it on a dark stage yet. Getting a luthier to change the dots, or even stickers sound like good options.

 

The other great irritation to me was the cheap toothpaste tube tops they used for the control knobs. I have replaced them for about £16 with tele and jazz bass metal ones from Northwest Guitars but they catch a bit on the edge of the indentation around the knobs. It’s manageable but keeping my eyes open for a better fit set.

 

On mine the dots are also pretty bad in terms of 'glow in the dark', but I've got used to it by feel anyway.

 

The standard pots are a slimmer shaft than many, so if you use a knob with too large an ID, it'll not rotate around the centre axis, so it'll hit. I found there is a black/gold set that Thomann sell which is the 8/6mm stack and the 6mm required for the single pots - https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_parts_dual_knobs_bk.htm and https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_parts_t_style_knob_black.htm. I have these on mine and the fit is spot on.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Marvin_

[Obrienp]

4 hours ago, Marvin_ said:

 

On mine the dots are also pretty bad in terms of 'glow in the dark', but I've got used to it by feel anyway.

 

The standard pots are a slimmer shaft than many, so if you use a knob with too large an ID, it'll not rotate around the centre axis, so it'll hit. I found there is a black/gold set that Thomann sell which is the 8/6mm stack and the 6mm required for the single pots - https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_parts_dual_knobs_bk.htm and https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_parts_t_style_knob_black.htm. I have these on mine and the fit is spot on.

Thanks for the recommendation. Do you still have to pay post-Brexit import duty on stuff from Thomann, or have they sorted that now? I heard a horror story about somebody getting a £200 bill on a bass, not that knobs are going to attract huge duty but it’s the hassle.

[Marvin_]

If the order is less than £135 (inc shipping) from the EU, VAT is included already, so no worries. If it's over that, you'll not be charged VAT at purchase, but you will at customs (plus applicable duties, and the courier's clearance fee). Thomann however have now arranged VAT pre-payment, so it's like it was pre-Brexit.

[Obrienp]

Thanks. That’s good to know.

[Jay J]

Just swapped out the barts for the dcb aguilars. Really pleased with the results... Ditched the pre amp and replaced it with a volume pot for each pickup and a tone control, so now just passive.  Have left the switch and 1 of the pots,  now both redundant.  Its now my perfect bass,  nice grunt,  short scale and only 7lbs with the strap.  Getting used to the e string blocking the fret dots/from my eyeline.  Shame! Othewise,  very happy! 

[Obrienp]

Pressure to get the Aguilars is growing! I tried D’Addario Pro Steels on mine to see if it would make the Barts sound less muddy and it just made it nasal and muddy☹️, so I have put Nickels back on but 50-105, which didn’t require any work on the nut. For me anyway, the proper medium gauge set sounds more balanced. I always felt the hybrid set made the top 2 strings too bright in comparison to the bottom two. I guess if you slap all the time the contrast is good but not for my Dad rock covers band. It has also improved the feel, especially because we tune down a semitone to help the vocalists. The extra tension makes it rattle less when I dig in.

 

Do the Aguilars come with pickup height recommendations? I had wondered whether part of the problem with the Barts might be to do with the height but I can’t find any recommendations on their website. 

[Jay J]

I havnt spotted any pickup height clues for the aguilars, mine are curently 5mm below the strings. Its early days though, only finished this project today and only bought the ibanez 2 weeks ago.  i did find that lowering the barts made them a lot less muddy... 

[Woodinblack]

I find it a real pain they still haven't made a EHB1505sms yet - just seems crazy to spend a grand on a bass knowing you have to throw the pickups away and get some nords (or whatever)!

[Obrienp]

21 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I find it a real pain they still haven't made a EHB1505sms yet - just seems crazy to spend a grand on a bass knowing you have to throw the pickups away and get some nords (or whatever)!

I agree. The EHB 1000/1005s should get better OEM pickups, given their price. They are on the expensive side for the standard range. It’s not as though they are Premium, or Prestige.

 

I might try dropping the height on the Barts before shelling out for Aguilars, or Nordstrands. Last chance saloon for the Barts. Having to shell out an extra £200 on pickups does hurt!

[Obrienp]

Well I did eventually shell out the £200 for a set of Aguilar DCBs to replace the OEM Bartolinis; funded by the sale of my Markbass 801. I would like to report that I am bowled over by the change but to be honest, I don’t think the difference is that dramatic. I hadn’t played it with the Barts in for a few days before doing the swap, so maybe I would have noticed more of a difference if I had.

 

A few points that others have not mentioned: the Aguilars have 3 retaining screws instead of two. Not a big problem but it would be nice if they came with screws, springs and/or foam. Instead you just get them in a cardboard box. Fortunately I had some black jazz bass type mounting screws left over from another project, so i didn’t have to order and wait for extra screws. The advantage of the 3 screw mounting is that you can adjust the angle of the pickup in two plains to get them perfectly aligned with the angle of the strings.

 

The Aguilar DCBs are not as deep as the Barts. I didn’t notice this in my impatience to get them in the bass. Put it all together, got the strings back on and then wondered why the pickups were so far from the strings. I had to disassemble everything, find bits of foam and a few longer springs to get the Aguilars nearer to the strings. It was at this point that I got a bit miffed with Aguilar for not providing a mounting kit with their expensive pickups. Anyway I had enough bits and pieces from other projects to sort it out but still annoying.

 

Funny how the cheaper end of the replacement pickup up market generally come with screws, springs, foam, copious wiring diagrams and fitting instructions. Get up to the refined high end atmosphere of Aguilar, Nordstrand, etc and you are lucky to get a scruffy bit of paper with a barely legible diagram on it. 

I hope I am going to grow to appreciate the Aguilar DCBs but I am currently wondering whether I should have gone for the Splits. I did consider it but thought the Jazz bass voicing would change the character of the bass completely. Still, it’s a very ergonomic and comfortable bass, so not regretting getting it.

[Killed_by_Death]

On 15/08/2021 at 16:44, RobParker said:

The one downside is the fret markers. The main inlays are so small and insignificant that they are obscured by the E string and the luminescent ones only stay bright for about 2 minutes. This makes playing a gig on a dark stage complete pain for quick neck orientation when changing  key etc. 

 

The job of replacing them with real LuminLay isn't that difficult or time-consuming.

The local luthier quoted me $120 USD to replace them, material included.

 

I'm not sure why Ibanez refuse to use the real LuminLays that are made in Japan, maybe a dispute between them or a licensing issue with another manufacturer.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

23 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

I should have gone for the Splits.

The Big Splits are superior, almost as good as the Big Singles, but w/o noise.

 

[Woodinblack]

8 minutes ago, Killed_by_Death said:

I'm not sure why Ibanez refuse to use the real LuminLays that are made in Japan, maybe a dispute between them or a licensing issue with another manufacturer.

 

 

I have some real luminays, frankly they aren't much better, its hardly worth it. Its best to get something that shows when they are not glowing.

[Killed_by_Death]

 

That's what I hate about Ibanez's 'luminescent' inlays, they're damn near invisible in the light of day, about the same shade as the neck itself.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Get a UV flashlight for charging the dots, it works better than natural light or even neon or LED lights. 

 

[Marvin_]

3 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Well I did eventually shell out the £200 for a set of Aguilar DCBs to replace the OEM Bartolinis; funded by the sale of my Markbass 801. I would like to report that I am bowled over by the change but to be honest, I don’t think the difference is that dramatic. I hadn’t played it with the Barts in for a few days before doing the swap, so maybe I would have noticed more of a difference if I had.

 

A few points that others have not mentioned: the Aguilars have 3 retaining screws instead of two. Not a big problem but it would be nice if they came with screws, springs and/or foam. Instead you just get them in a cardboard box. Fortunately I had some black jazz bass type mounting screws left over from another project, so i didn’t have to order and wait for extra screws. The advantage of the 3 screw mounting is that you can adjust the angle of the pickup in two plains to get them perfectly aligned with the angle of the strings.

 

The Aguilar DCBs are not as deep as the Barts. I didn’t notice this in my impatience to get them in the bass. Put it all together, got the strings back on and then wondered why the pickups were so far from the strings. I had to disassemble everything, find bits of foam and a few longer springs to get the Aguilars nearer to the strings. It was at this point that I got a bit miffed with Aguilar for not providing a mounting kit with their expensive pickups. Anyway I had enough bits and pieces from other projects to sort it out but still annoying.

 

Funny how the cheaper end of the replacement pickup up market generally come with screws, springs, foam, copious wiring diagrams and fitting instructions. Get up to the refined high end atmosphere of Aguilar, Nordstrand, etc and you are lucky to get a scruffy bit of paper with a barely legible diagram on it. 

I hope I am going to grow to appreciate the Aguilar DCBs but I am currently wondering whether I should have gone for the Splits. I did consider it but thought the Jazz bass voicing would change the character of the bass completely. Still, it’s a very ergonomic and comfortable bass, so not regretting getting it.

 

Weird, mine are a two screw mounting. Then again, mine are a P4 size, whilst I guess yours are a P2? Same deal with the 'just some pickups in a box thing' though, took me a while to decide that it must mean there isn't a "bridge" and a "neck" pickup. Depth wise mine were fine too - although again, I had to transfer the springs and foam over from the originals. Couldn't hurt to include them I think.

 

Sound wise, I thought it was a really big positive improvement at all areas, but then again we're dealing with a different configuration of pickup and bass which might make the difference with our respective experiences?

[Obrienp]

35 minutes ago, Marvin_ said:

 

Weird, mine are a two screw mounting. Then again, mine are a P4 size, whilst I guess yours are a P2? Same deal with the 'just some pickups in a box thing' though, took me a while to decide that it must mean there isn't a "bridge" and a "neck" pickup. Depth wise mine were fine too - although again, I had to transfer the springs and foam over from the originals. Couldn't hurt to include them I think.

 

Sound wise, I thought it was a really big positive improvement at all areas, but then again we're dealing with a different configuration of pickup and bass which might make the difference with our respective experiences?

Mine are D1 size, approx 3.9”x 1.5”. Obviously quite a bit different. Although with bar magnets, I would have thought they would be wide enough for a 5 string but maybe not a fan fret with diagonal pickups. Maybe the different format does have a big impact on the sound they produce. I’ll see how it goes before coming to a final conclusion about them compared to the Barts. My local luthier winds pickups at very reasonable prices, so that might be my next move if these don’t cut the mustard.

[scrumpymike]

On 15/08/2021 at 21:44, RobParker said:

Overall a great bass let down by a few niggles. The main one being the fret markers given the offset of the neck and the cutaways. The 12th fret is about where the 9th is on other  basses so. It being able to see markers can be disorienting.  

I'm interested in these but just trying to understand your comment re offset as positioning on the strap is important to me.  So, compared to a normal s-s bass, does the offset shift the bottom end of the fretboard (i.e. F1) further out to your left - meaning a longer reach for your fretting hand - or bring it closer in towards your body for a shorter reach?

[fretmeister]

Regarding the invisible dots...

 

I've had mine drilled out and replaced with normal bright white dots. It's much much better.

[fretmeister]

4 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

I'm interested in these but just trying to understand your comment re offset as positioning on the strap is important to me.  So, compared to a normal s-s bass, does the offset shift the bottom end of the fretboard (i.e. F1) further out to your left - meaning a longer reach for your fretting hand - or bring it closer in towards your body for a shorter reach?

I've got the 5 string - the reach is shorter. The bridge is basically in the same place as any other bass - near the rear strap button, so the shortness is from the other end.

 

If you put your finger on a F on the shorter scale that probably is close to where G or G# would be on a 34 inch bass.