New Ibanez Headless basses

[bnt]

I've been hearing rumours about these for a while, and the embargo was lifted today, it appears. The details are on their EHB page. These are going up against Strandberg, Kiesel & others of that ilk, at what I guesstimate will be about half the price for the top range (1500 series), less for the 1000 range. The multiscale 6-string looks particularly nice to me, though its 32.5 - 35 inch scale won't satisfy folks looking at drop tunings below B, I think. The 5-string is 33 - 35 inch scale.

Edited January 1, 2020 by bnt

[TheGreek]

Nice idea..

Slanted body back

The top half of the back of the body is slanted which allows the bass to rest slight closer to the player’s body for better control and a more ergonomic feel.

[Woodinblack]

I was just coming here to post this. Oh dear, this is supposed to be my year of cutting down on basses. Looks like that resolution may be failing at the first hurdle!

Luckily they are all listed as pre-order so I guess they won't turn up for a while.

[TheGreek]

There are some really nice features on these....chambered body to get the weight down, Lumo inlays, individual mono rails bridges and a locking jack socket. Many of the features you only expect to see on high end custom basses (my Overwater and ACG had the locking jack).

I couldn't see any indication of prices but I'd be interested to give one a try.

[bnt]

Andertons has them listed for order, from £899 for the 4-string to £1499 for the 6-string multiscale.

[Woodinblack]

Hmm.. Problem is, all my basses are on hangers - where do I hang this one?

[BassApprentice]

Ibanez designs have never really done much for me but these look interesting. 

I really appreciate that they haven't just lopped the head off the standard design 

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, bnt said:

Andertons has them listed for order, from £899 for the 4-string to £1499 for the 6-string multiscale.

I thought, not too bad, you can get one less than 1k. But no, not with BH2 pickups.

Seems that some people will be happier though, the string spacing is very wide (18mm). I think I might need to try one of these first.

[bnt]

Thomann aren't wasting any time either, they already have a video up with the new models Ibanez released today, including the EHB1005MS. (The caption says EHB1000MS, and it's a white model, but it is a 5-string.)

 

 

[ambient]

39 minutes ago, bnt said:

I've been hearing rumours about these for a while, and the embargo was lifted today, it appears. The details are on their EHB page. These are going up against Strandberg, Kiesel & others of that ilk, at what I guesstimate will be about half the price for the top range (1500 series), less for the 1000 range. The multiscale 6-string looks particularly nice to me, though its 32.5 - 35 inch scale won't satisfy folks looking at drop tunings below B, I think. The 5-string is 33 - 35 inch scale.

I quite like that. Multi scale instruments don’t suit me though unfortunately, playing chords is difficult on them. A regular fretted one would be very interesting.

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, ambient said:

I quite like that. Multi scale instruments don’t suit me though unfortunately, playing chords is difficult on them. A regular fretted one would be very interesting.

They do non multiscales of the 4s and 5s, but no 6. They also don't have that finish on anything but the 6.

[pete.young]

24 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Seems that some people will be happier though, the string spacing is very wide (18mm). I think I might need to try one of these first.

String spacing on the 6-stringer is listed as 17 mm .  " ... and the saddles are adjustable for string spacing +/-1.5mm ... "

Not sure what that means in practice - I guess you could take the 5 string down to 17.25, which I'd say was on the narrow side of medium.

Fabulous design ideas, about the only way they could have pushed it further would be to make a single-cut neck-through.

I will keep an eye on the second-hand market in 6 months time.

[Woodinblack]

13 minutes ago, pete.young said:

String spacing on the 6-stringer is listed as 17 mm .  " ... and the saddles are adjustable for string spacing +/-1.5mm ... "

Not sure what that means in practice - I guess you could take the 5 string down to 17.25, which I'd say was on the narrow side of medium.

Excellent - I hadn't noticed that, gets the string spacing down to closer to what is normal for me, certainly close enough. 

I like the jack at the bottom too. Makes it easier to put a wireless in. Wouldn't have chosen locking myself but as I don't use a cable it is not too much of an issue.

 

[HazBeen]

Very interesting!

[Woodinblack]

49 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I thought, not too bad, you can get one less than 1k. But no, not with BH2 pickups.

On second thoughts, if the same body is sold with nordstrands, these must be a standard size, so other pickups should go straight in. I already have one big split pickup.

[therealting]

Really hope the necks aren’t super skinny - has to sell my multi scale Ibanez because it gave my fretting hand cramps. Would quite like that headless six.

[Defo]

Are they all Dingwall-like?

[bnt]

I don't think so: shorter scales, headless, more Strandberg-like.

Best I can tell, the Nordstrands are slightly wider than the BH2 shape: 1.27" (32.2 mm) vs 1.15" (29.2mm) = 3mm difference.

[Defo]

Just now, bnt said:

I don't think so: shorter scales, headless, more Strandberg-like.

Best I can tell, the Nordstrands are slightly wider than the BH2 shape: 1.27" (32.2 mm) vs 1.15" (29.2mm) = 3mm difference.

It's the fanned frets I mean, are any non-fanned?

[bnt]

We can compare the stated neck dimensions with the previous multiscale model using the information on the website:

SRMS805:

•     Scale : 901.7mm/35.5" - 864.0mm/34.0"
•     a : Width 45mm at NUT
•     b : Width 68mm at 24F
•     c : Thickness 19.5mm at 1F
•     d : Thickness 23mmat 12F
•     Radius : 305mmR

EHB1505MS:

•     Scale : 889mm - 838mm
•     a : Width 45mm at NUT
•     b : Width 74mm at 24F
•     c : Thickness 19.5mm at 1F
•     d : Thickness 21.5mm at 12F
•     Radius : 500mmR

The new 5-string neck is the same at the nut, but higher up it's wider, thinner and has a flatter radius.

[therealting]

2 minutes ago, Defo said:

It's the fanned frets I mean, are any non-fanned?

 

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

They do non multiscales of the 4s and 5s, but no 6. They also don't have that finish on anything but the 6.

 

[Defo]

Just now, therealting said:

 

 

Thanks, I only play 4 so will check out

[bnt]

3 minutes ago, Defo said:

It's the fanned frets I mean, are any non-fanned?

Yep, you can see all the models behind the link I included up top.

[Woodinblack]

7 minutes ago, Defo said:

Thanks, I only play 4 so will check out

Well, you are in luck then, there are no 4 string multiscales

 

[BassApprentice]

This is probably my favourite variation. 

Shame that the most basic ones are only available on White 4 string or Black 5 String.