HILS headless basses

[edstraker123]

1 hour ago, Brian18242 said:

Does the string spacing feel quite wide?

Looks like 19mm at the bridge

[edstraker123]

51 minutes ago, bnt said:

Would you mind measuring the pup dimensions? It would let us see what will fit e.g. maybe the EMG E5W or similar. 

[Brian18242]

Shame. Was hoping it would be 17mm

[bnt]

Hmm. There was a thread about the EMG E series as possible replacements for the Bartolini BH2s in Ibanez EHB 5-strings. They are the Bartolini P4 shape, 117x32mm, while the  EMG E6W is 119x32mm. These on the HILS look slightly smaller, 114x30mm? It might take a little woodwork or smaller pickups than those I mentioned. 

[edstraker123]

Yes I was a bit disappointed too hoping some Nordy's would drop straight in but it will obviously need some pickguard fettling. I'll take it off tomorrow and post a pic of what's underneath.

[bnt]

Now, the upcoming HZB4 looks a bit better to me, though a 5-string would be preferable. The changes from the HNB5 are subtle e.g. the pickguard is not quite as mad and isn't under half the controls. The rear doesn't have a cavity all the way under the bridge. These pics are the Satin Silver (top) and Gloss Aura Pearl (rear) finishes, it's also expected in Satin Black. 

 

 

[edstraker123]

I do like the look of the aura pearl but a 5 would be much better.

[bnt]

Back on the topic of the HNB3, I'm thinking of getting one so I can drop in the Artec Mudbucker I bought but haven't used so far. I did some mockups of what the black model would look like with that and different colour pickguards: 

 

Edited November 2, 2025 by bnt

[edstraker123]

Hils have said I can order a black pickguard for the HNB5 through Anderton's so it will be interesting to see how much it costs.

There are some good YouTube vids of somebody changing pickups on a HNB3-they even put jazz pickups in it !

 

I decided to keep the stock pickups on the 5 - thought they were fine given what it would cost to replace them and the effort involved. I put LaBella super polished strings on it which I hadn't used before - the sound of rounds and the feel of flats and was really impressed. I ended up with some really nice tones.

Edited November 3, 2025 by edstraker123

[bnt]

I think I saw those videos: his main conclusion was that the HNB3 needs a real neck pickup, and a bridge pickup is underwhelming. Simply moving the existing humbucker up was a good start, but I think it could use more. Still thinking about it.

[edstraker123]

The prices have gone back up 😢.

[bnt]

Anderton's? They still have the "Black Friday" sale label, but yep, the price of the HNB3 has gone back uo from £399 to £499. 

[markbunney]

I have seen the HNB5’s on and off sale quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, so I am sure they will come back down again. 

[Kev]

Gotta artificially raise those prices to bring them back down again for a "sale"  

[BassApprentice]

9 minutes ago, Kev said:

Gotta artificially raise those prices to bring them back down again for a "sale"  

Unless you're DFS Sofas - the longest sale know to man.

[edstraker123]

£12  for the replacement pickguard including delivery ( although a wait to get it into the New Year)  was expecting a lot more so pleasantly surprised 😀

[bnt]

On 02/11/2025 at 12:09, edstraker123 said:

I do like the look of the aura pearl but a 5 would be much better.

I can find no official mention of a HZB5 model … but this guy has one. In a custom gold finish. TF? Me likey. 

 

 

Edited January 5 by bnt

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I saw Johnny Dibble reviewing the HZ on YouTube. I asked him what he thought was best out of that and the cort space 5

He said that the feel of the Cort was better feel wise ,but the sound of the HZ was better than the Cort.

 

It’s great that headless basses are becoming more popular at last . However it does seem that there doesn’t seem to be one that covers everything up to the £1,500 mark.

I stand to be corrected of course ,but it seems that people are not happy with the Ibanez EHB pickups ,the pick guards of the Hils or the pickups on the space 5 etc

The quality control of all those basses seem to be criticised too . 
Maybe with persistence from those companies and others something really good may emerge within the next couple of years .

Edited January 7 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[Al Krow]

On 07/01/2026 at 11:30, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

I saw Johnny Dibble reviewing the HZ on YouTube. I asked him what he thought was best out of that and the cort space 5

He said that the feel of the Cort was better feel wise ,but the sound of the HZ was better than the Cort.

 

It’s great that headless basses are becoming more popular at last . However it does seem that there doesn’t seem to be one that covers everything up to the £1,500 mark.

I stand to be corrected of course ,but it seems that people are not happy with the Ibanez EHB pickups ,the pick guards of the Hils or the pickups on the space 5 etc

The quality control of all those basses seem to be criticised too . 
Maybe with persistence from those companies and others something really good may emerge within the next couple of years .

 

Is that a comment on the cheaper Ibby models though? The EHB 1500/1505 have the Nord pups, I believe, which have always been pretty awesome! 

 

Looking forward to the new Sire F10 DX headless basses coming out shortly, too!

 

Great to finally have some quality non MS 5 string options!

[crazycloud]

On 07/01/2026 at 22:30, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

I saw Johnny Dibble reviewing the HZ on YouTube.

What a horrible YT channel.

On 07/01/2026 at 22:30, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

The quality control of all those basses seem to be criticised too . 

I really haven't seen any QC issues of note with the Cort at least, and I'd be surprised if there were substantive issues based upon my 2 recent Artisan series basses (which are superb).

[Machines]

2 hours ago, crazycloud said:

What a horrible YT channel.

 

Why's that ?

[Greg Edwards69]

I have an Ibanez EHB1005SMS that I like, but I don't love. I like the feel and ergonomics (the neck is lovely, and the whole bass is light and balances well), but it has issues: The infamous, dark-sounding Barts; lacklustre preamp, which I always have difficulty dialling in (possibly due to the Barts themselves); and as for the glow in the dark fret markers... pointless. But also, I wonder if I made the right decision in getting the short-scale version (30"-32"). The shorter scale is a joy to play, but somewhat goes against one of the purposes of a multi-scale, the low B. 
 

I could replace the pickups, but the recommended replacements (Nords) are a custom order and not exactly cheap, and I still may end up with a bass I don't love. 

 

I like what I see and hear about the Hils basses, particularly the NEXT HNB5. Does anyone have any experience with the Bart-equipped EHB and the Hils that can shed some light?

[bnt]

1 hour ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

I could replace the pickups, but the recommended replacements (Nords) are a custom order and not exactly cheap, and I still may end up with a bass I don't love. 

The new EMG E6W pickups are BART-sized too, there’s a separate thread on those. Low End Lobster dropped some in to a EHB1005MS.