Ibanez UB804 Upswing EUB

[JimmyN2]

Hey thanks guys 👍that’s really very helpful.  Yes I’m using the original strings and your comment about settling in is true.

Not liking the round wound original strings on my Rickenbacker bass (much too twangy for jazz and church situations) I changed them for Tomastik infeld flats which were good straight out of the packet and they have just improved with age. 

I’m so liking the UB, the Rick might have to get sold (We’ll see !!)  

Cheers 

Jimmy

 

[JimmyN2]

One more thing!

Has anyone removed the back cover yet?  It’s just there is something loose, rattling around. Everything works and I only discovered it when showing my wife how it breaks down  into it’s bag. 
 

Edited July 21, 2020 by JimmyN2

[JimmyN2]

We had our rehearsal/practice yesterday and the others all thought the UB804 was “fantastic” in looks and sound. To them it sounded like a double bass!!

Everyone happy. Now I’ve got to decide if I sell my leftie Rick4003, because I can’t see when I’ll need it again. 
Thanks again for your help, guys. 👍👍

[stewblack]

Thank you all for this thread. I now have my first ever EUB gas! 

[Marc S]

Just resurrecting this thread again, as I'm getting more & more tempted to get myself an Ibanez Upswing....
I dithered when one came up here on BC recently, and am now kicking myself.
To be fair, I have been trying to de-clutter and sell some basses & other gear - so perhaps I shouldn't kick too hard?  

Just wondering whether anyone else has recently acquired one of these, and what their thoughts are?
Do you find they sound more DB-like than many other EUB's?
I've watched quite a few YouTube videos, and sometimes it does sound more like an acoustic DB, other times it doesn't.... this will depend on many factors, of course.
 

[Marty Forrer]

On 30/06/2021 at 21:43, Marc S said:

Just resurrecting this thread again, as I'm getting more & more tempted to get myself an Ibanez Upswing....
I dithered when one came up here on BC recently, and am now kicking myself.
To be fair, I have been trying to de-clutter and sell some basses & other gear - so perhaps I shouldn't kick too hard?  

Just wondering whether anyone else has recently acquired one of these, and what their thoughts are?
Do you find they sound more DB-like than many other EUB's?
I've watched quite a few YouTube videos, and sometimes it does sound more like an acoustic DB, other times it doesn't.... this will depend on many factors, of course.
 

I can make mine sound real close to my upright acoustic. LaBella black nylon tapewounds and a Nordy NinoMute do the trick. If I remove the mute I can get it to sound like a fretless BG. I don't much like the factory supplied strings (DÁddario Chromes). Too metallic and snarly.

[JimmyN2]

On 30/06/2021 at 10:43, Marc S said:

Just resurrecting this thread again, as I'm getting more & more tempted to get myself an Ibanez Upswing....
I dithered when one came up here on BC recently, and am now kicking myself.
To be fair, I have been trying to de-clutter and sell some basses & other gear - so perhaps I shouldn't kick too hard?  

Just wondering whether anyone else has recently acquired one of these, and what their thoughts are?
Do you find they sound more DB-like than many other EUB's?
I've watched quite a few YouTube videos, and sometimes it does sound more like an acoustic DB, other times it doesn't.... this will depend on many factors, of course.
 

I can’t recommend the Ibanez UB840 highly enough. It’s brilliant for a bass guitar player who wants to look and sound authentic in a jazz setting.  I use a Markbass CMD 121P with it but tend to have the bass (on the amp) cut back a bit.  The object is to be heard without being loud, amongst two saxes, electric piano and drums and I’ve found less bass-boom works better.  This particular upright also has each string with it’s own piezo pickup in it’s individual bridge, which has allowed me to swop the strings round - I am an unashamed lefty.  I like the original strings and believe your playing style makes a huge difference to the sound you get.

Having it’s own stand, rather than being an unsupported stick, is extremely useful in gig situation and the price is just insane - what’s not to like.

😎

 

[tinyd]

They look really nice, and I can see the attraction of the smaller size relative to full-scale EUBs. Any DB-players out there - do you find that the shorter scale and lower tension means that if you "dig in" too hard then the Upswing can't really handle it? I'm not saying that you *have* to dig in to get a DB experience, but there are times on DB when doing so is the right thing to do....

Edited July 15, 2021 by tinyd

[Marty Forrer]

I have removed the nylon tapewounds and installed an old well-worn in set of TI Jazz Flats off my Fender Jazz bass. Wow! They speak with more authority than the original Chromes and the tapes. Do they sound like an acoustic bass? No. Do I care? No. I have an acoustic bass for jazz and rockabilly gigs. The UB804 is just the beez kneez for my blues, americana and latin/gypsy gigs.

Tinyd: I play a lot lighter on the Upswing than I do on the acoustic. It's a natural thing for me as the Upswing doesn't actually physically allow me to "dig in."

[Marc S]

On 21/04/2019 at 13:22, Mr Bassman said:

Another update.

I really like Labella 760N black nylons on my fretless basses so tried a set on the Ibanez. They were nice to play but sounded too much like a bass guitar so went for some Daddario ETB92 Tapewounds. What a difference! Less sustain with nice sound. Looking forward to trying them on a couple of gigs next weekend.

Hi again Mr Bassman.

How do the D'Addario tapewounds bow? - not that I play much with a bow.... Still. But I keep promising myself that one day, when I have more time, I will play & practice more with a bow.....

So I don't want strings that aren't suitable for bowing.

Thanks for your thoughts again good sir 😊

[JimmyN2]

Hi Marc, I know you didn’t ask me but I can answer that question, yes the original strings are perfect for bowing, and a bow is great for a long last note.  
 

On TinyDs question about ‘digging in’ I find that with the original strings that is perfectly doable. This is because of the individual bridges and aerosilk pickups, I think. 
 

Cheers

Jimmy

[Marty Forrer]

I find digging in makes it sound like a fretless bass. Playing light and playing Ray Brown style with the side of the forefinger sounds much more like a double bass than playing with fingertips. IMO.

[aircoutix]

Just resurrecting this thread again, as I got my Ibanez UB804 yesyerday. It is used but like new, strung with D'addario flats. Nice instrument. Never played something else than fretless basses up to now. Was willing to try for my last jazz-soul group. The sound was anyway closer to a big fretless than to a double bass. Tried to rise the action to get a more double bass sound. It worked but was then very difficult to play. Tried several strings. Tried the Roto nylon first which were the lower sustain ones on the several fretless bass on which I tried them. Surprisingly not on this UB804: fretless sound with those strings. Moreover the strings were very high at nut (also with the D'addario, had to dig the nut a bit). Tried the Galli nylon, the La Bella Deep Talking, the Dogal flat and the Galli flat (steel). Did not try the GHS flat nor the Ernie Ball cobalt flat nor the TI nor the La Bella White Nylon (steel) which favored the meow on my fretless basses. Tried several foams. It worked but was losing too much of something (presence maybe or hgh). Did not try the D'addario nylon that I like much since I was not willing to remove a set from my Fender fretless or my Carvin Bunny Brunel 5 (now with frets). Did not try the Fender nylon since I don't have a set. But I am going to order one since I got the best close to DB result with those on an Epiphone Zenith fretless that I do not have any more. Finally the best for my taste are the La Bella Copper White Nylon. Second the Galli flats. Third the D'addario flats (originally strung on this bass). I now have to dig the nut once again (already did it with the D'addario) since these Copper White nylon (as well as the Roto nylon and the Galli nylon) are larger (e.g. 115 for the E). Some fretless meow still remains (certainly due to the rosewood fretboard instead of the ebony which reduces the medium frequency band level, thus also the meow). This is part of the instrument signature. Hope this helps.

[stewblack]

Wow! You must have spent more on strings than on the bass 😜

[aircoutix]

20 years of getting basses (more than 180) and strings, removing them almost new (especially with flats) when not pleasant on a new bass. I do not play professionally, just for the pleasure. I spend less on bass stuff than some friends on Hi-Fi devices.

 

Finally came back to the Dunlop flats. A bit less pleasant to play with (metal feel vs nylon) but a bit less meow, which seems normal since flatwounds vs tapewounds (nylon coated roundwounds).

[Marc S]

I put a set of the D'Addario tapewounds on my Upswing. I quite liked the sound initially, and tried re-setting the string height a little.
I've mentioned before that I'm not really a bow player - but there are occasions where I bow some simple parts, as in some songs, it really works well.

The Tapewounds didn't bow as well as the strings the bass came fitted with. I also tried tweaking the string height, and found that they didn't "feel" right when set slightly higher. So after a little pondering, I re-fitted the original strings.
I must say, I definitely prefer the original strings (D'Addario flats). I'm now going to set the string height just a tad higher again, and if I do that incrementally, I might just get used to the higher action - it definitely sounds a bit more DB-like with increased string height.

I'm still loving the Upswing

[Oscar Sterns]

There's actually a 5 String Version too called "UB805". This has Piezo Pickups & the Compound Radius means you can use a Bow. The sound of this instrument falls in between an Upright Bass & an Electric Bass so I describe the sound of it as being "SPICY", great for that Latin Rock Vibe.

[JimmyN2]

On 03/02/2023 at 18:49, Oscar Sterns said:

There's actually a 5 String Version too called "UB805". This has Piezo Pickups & the Compound Radius means you can use a Bow. The sound of this instrument falls in between an Upright Bass & an Electric Bass so I describe the sound of it as being "SPICY", great for that Latin Rock Vibe.

Just seen your post Oscar, didn’t know about the 5. Still happy with my 804. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before but I’ve found that a good compressor improves the sound further and you can really get that ‘recorded’ sound in a live session. 
 

[Marc S]

Which compressor is it @JimmyN2?

Always interested in improving the sound from my Upswing.

[JimmyN2]

24 minutes ago, Marc S said:

Which compressor is it @JimmyN2?

Always interested in improving the sound from my Upswing.

I was recommended the Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Bass. I’ve found that it’s most like the type used in professional desks. It runs on 9-18v and is very silent in use. 

[Linus27]

Just to say that I've just picked up an 804 and I am thrilled to bits with it. I'm a fretless bass player but my band who are quite acoustic sounding already will be doing some gigs this year where we are stripping back even more and the 804 will be perfect for this.

 

Transitioning from a fretless Fender Jazz/Precision wasn't as bad as I thought, however my right hand technique really needs the most attention. When I try and play with the side of my index finger like Ray Brown, then it's a bit hit or miss but playing with my fingertips with my wrist 90 degrees to the strings worked really well. So something to work on and I'll be watching lots of double bass videos on YouTube to improve. I'm also a very melodic player and do play a lot of runs and parts high up on the neck. I'm finding this is a little tricky but moving to stand facing the fretboard of the 804 has made it a bit easier. Again lots to learn and work on.

 

One other thing, mine came with strings that have red silks whereas pictures I've seen seem to have them with blue silks. Do the original D'Addario ECB81 strings come with blue silks? I've no idea what strings mine have but I think Rotosound as the ends are multicoloured like Rotosound strings. They don't feel smooth like flats nor do they feel rough like rounds, sort of half way.

 

Anyway, loving the 804 so far and if anyone has any tips and advice then I'd really appreciate it.

[AndyTravis]

I foresee one of these in my future 🫣

[JPJ]

From my experience with my NS NXT, strings maketh the bass. I changed from the stock NS Contemporary to NS Traditional strings and it made a noticeable difference to the acoustic double bassiness. Also, I find a tickle of reverb helps my NXT sound fuller, and more acoustic DB like, especially in the upper registers. 

[tinyd]

I haven't managed to find any videos online of people playing them with (and I realise this isn't a tight definition) DB technique, with the kind of right hand technique in particular that @Linus27 identifies above. If anyone can point me to anything like this (or record it themselves) that wouild be very helpful, thanks!

[philparker]

This clip doesn't really show the right hand, but gives a good indication of the sound/tone.