NBD : Ibanex EHB 1505 MS - Pacific Blue Burst

[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

 

 

 

Edited March 12 by Jolltax
Removed accidental picture of my dog, lol

[franzbassist]

These are great basses!  I had a six for a while, then realised sixes and I do not get on, so I sold it on.  That said, I added another strap button to the other side of the bridge and it sorted the angled body perfectly, so I'd highly recommend that.  Also bought some larger luminous dots off Amazon to deal with the visibility issue, which also worked really well.

 

Yours looks lovely.

[TRBboy]

Very nice indeed! I tried the 1005SMS at the show and was really impressed.

 

The wood finish is supposed to be like that, it's an 'open pore' finish. I really like it. 😊

[tauzero]

8 hours ago, Jolltax said:

• 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 find tuning on the headless bridge to actually be easier and more accurate, the knurled knobs make fine adjustment easy

 

You can move the rear strap button to a more central position (on my 1265 it's in line with the A string tuner) which corrects that issue.

 

As well as being easier, you can tune from either above or below a note, rather than having to tune upwards as you have to with conventional tuners.

[pete.young]

I think it looks great and I love the finish. The secret with Schaller strap locks is not to put them on the strap. Just put the strap on the pin, then fit the straplock on top of it.

[tauzero]

All my Schaller-equipped straps (about 15) have the straplocks attached to them. I don't have a problem with them, whereas if I just put the straplock over the strap it wouldn't be long before I lost a straplock.

[moley6knipe]

Yeah the Schallers are ok but Dunlops are better in my experience.

 

Great review: the non multi version is in my future for sure. Not averse to multi scale but I know the pickup angle and my thumb wouldn’t get on.

 

You couldn’t be more correct about the the Nordies unless you were Carey Nordstrand 😀 Had some Big Singles on an SR a while back. Everything a bass pickup should be. Will I sound like Jameson? Defo no. Fine by me.

 

Ibby 5s (apart from the BTB) are about the skinniest necks and string spacing you’ll find I reckon. I love Ibanez necks in all forms, they are GREAT at necks.

Headstocks are a PITA for the pub gigs I play (mostly tiny) so headless appeals, and approaching 50 means I need to go lighter weight too.

 

I hope you enjoy the bass… let us know how it performs live!

Edited March 13 by moley6knipe

[SumOne]

Nice Bass!

 

Your review of it is pretty much how I'd describe the two EHB 1005 MS basses that I've had : Good basses in almost every way, but some small issues that are mostly easily fixed. But both of mine had small quality control issues (paint not perfect, a couple of the strings had rust on them), I'd do away with the contoured back - but I did get used it, locking jack is annoying - but easily removed, fret markers aren't great - but I added luminous ones.  

 

Headless multiscale 5 seems a winning combination, I'm hoping companies like Dingwall also go down this route.

[horrorshowbass]

Beautiful. Health to play.