New Ibanez Headless basses

[visog]

On 13/12/2021 at 20:08, visog said:

Anyone know if Ibanez are expanding the range for 2022? They seem to have gone down well - not sure how well they've sold? Wondering if they might introduce more options, colours or finishes?

 

Yes - Mikey D's covered them here: 

 

[Mikey D]

53 minutes ago, Rick05 said:

I think I would still prefer the EHB model with the nordstrand pickups but I’ll be interested to see the prices of the BH models. 
 

think the finish on the EHBs still looks better too in the blue 

Agree on the pickups. Andertons have prices up now.

[Rick05]

7 hours ago, Mikey D said:

Agree on the pickups. Andertons have prices up now.

£1,189 isn’t bad but I think If I take the plunge on an Ibanez headless it will still be the EHB 1505MS

[Old Horse Murphy]

I just picked up a 1505MS yesterday (my last purchase of 2021 before a completely dry 2022- hopefully!)

 

I much prefer the multi scale length to the Dingwall's longer scale but there are some QC issues in finishing as pointed out by a few owners. Nothing that would make me return it because it plays so well. Still, you'd expect it to be pretty-much perfect at the price point these things are at. 

[Rick05]

15 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I just picked up a 1505MS yesterday (my last purchase of 2021 before a completely dry 2022- hopefully!)

 

I much prefer the multi scale length to the Dingwall's longer scale but there are some QC issues in finishing as pointed out by a few owners. Nothing that would make me return it because it plays so well. Still, you'd expect it to be pretty-much perfect at the price point these things are at. 

Looks really lovely. Congratulations on the purchase. If you don’t mind me asking what are the QC issues? I was going to buy one online but I think I’d be best finding one in person 

[Old Horse Murphy]

13 minutes ago, Rick05 said:

Looks really lovely. Congratulations on the purchase. If you don’t mind me asking what are the QC issues? I was going to buy one online but I think I’d be best finding one in person 

One of the Schaller buttons won't lock properly with the strap end, the paint finish is a bit rubbish around the volume pot (photo added) and there's a very small, shallow chip on the fingerboard near the 12th fret which doesn't affect playability at all and is hardly noticeable but is one of those things that I think for a new bass over £1,300 you'd expect to be perfect. I know panga panga is quite porous and understand it can be quite hard to work with. 

 

I've contacted the retailer and they said they could possibly get a replacement for me in around 6 weeks (they seem to be on order everywhere at the moment) but in honesty if they offered me a partial refund I'd be happy. 
 

Compared to some of the issues I've heard people have with these Indonesian Ibanezes mine are pretty minor. It's still disappointing though. 
 

All that said, it's plays really really well and sounds fabulous. 
 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Old Horse Murphy

[Kev]

They seem to have maintained their standard of build, albeit with fancier woods and hardware, and tripled the price in some instances.  Hopefully the 2022 models are better.

[Rick05]

25 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

One of the Schaller buttons won't lock properly with the strap end, the paint finish is a bit rubbish around the volume pot (photo added) and there's a very small, shallow chip on the fingerboard near the 12th fret which doesn't affect playability at all and is hardly noticeable but is one of those things that I think for a new bass over £1,300 you'd expect to be perfect. I know panga panga is quite porous and understand it can be quite hard to work with. 

 

I've contacted the retailer and they said they could possibly get a replacement for me in around 6 weeks (they seem to be on order everywhere at the moment) but in honesty if they offered me a partial refund I'd be happy. 
 

Compared to some of the issues I've heard people have with these Indonesian Ibanezes mine are pretty minor. It's still disappointing though. 
 

All that said, it's plays really really well and sounds fabulous. 
 

 

Thanks so much, a real shame that your not completely happy with it, but at least it doesn’t affect the playability. 
 

I think I’m definitely going to try and find one in person rather than risk ordering online. 

[Old Horse Murphy]

1 minute ago, Rick05 said:

Thanks so much, a real shame that your not completely happy with it, but at least it doesn’t affect the playability. 
 

I think I’m definitely going to try and find one in person rather than risk ordering online. 

Thanks. I went in to it with my eyes open somewhat, knowing some of the QC issues others had with these. The playability has blown me away and I am happy with it overall. 
 

Compared to some top notch US-made guitars I've owned, the flaws are minor (well, I call them minor flaws but YMMV) and after a few rehearsals and gigs I'm likely to do worse to the bass anyway!

 

I bought a Martin OM21 last year and when I opened the case I almost felt like crying as it had that many blemishes and issues with the finish. The same was true with a Les Paul I bought. Both went back to the retailer sharpish. 

[CameronJ]

2 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks. I went in to it with my eyes open somewhat, knowing some of the QC issues others had with these. The playability has blown me away and I am happy with it overall. 
 

Compared to some top notch US-made guitars I've owned, the flaws are minor (well, I call them minor flaws but YMMV) and after a few rehearsals and gigs I'm likely to do worse to the bass anyway!

 

I bought a Martin OM21 last year and when I opened the case I almost felt like crying as it had that many blemishes and issues with the finish. The same was true with a Les Paul I bought. Both went back to the retailer sharpish. 

Bloody hell. You’d expect better from the likes of Martin and (perhaps to a lesser extent) Gibson. I’d be pretty devastated in your position with those instruments too!

[Old Horse Murphy]

20 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Bloody hell. You’d expect better from the likes of Martin and (perhaps to a lesser extent) Gibson. I’d be pretty devastated in your position with those instruments too!

The Martin was a real shock. The Gibson less so 😂

[Old Horse Murphy]

Well, I came to an equitable arrangement with the retailer and have decided to keep the EHB1505MS. 
 

As a dyed in the wool Fender-style bass fan (Fender, Misic Man, G&L etc.) I must say, I fallen a little bit in love with it. It's so different from what I'd usually be drawn to but it plays wonderfully  and sounds brilliant. Ergonomically it's spot on too and incredibly comfortable (and light!)

 

I'd definitely suggest you try them out if you can and minor cosmetic issues aside, they really good instruments. 

[Woodinblack]

43 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

As a dyed in the wool Fender-style bass fan (Fender, Misic Man, G&L etc.) I must say, I fallen a little bit in love with it. It's so different from what I'd usually be drawn to but it plays wonderfully  and sounds brilliant. Ergonomically it's spot on too and incredibly comfortable (and light!)

 

I'd definitely suggest you try them out if you can and minor cosmetic issues aside, they really good instruments. 

 

The wood is very soft and very easy to dent, I have dented mine in a few places, but to be fair it gets a lot more playing out than any of the others, so that isn't surprising.

[Rick05]

4 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Well, I came to an equitable arrangement with the retailer and have decided to keep the EHB1505MS. 
 

As a dyed in the wool Fender-style bass fan (Fender, Misic Man, G&L etc.) I must say, I fallen a little bit in love with it. It's so different from what I'd usually be drawn to but it plays wonderfully  and sounds brilliant. Ergonomically it's spot on too and incredibly comfortable (and light!)

 

I'd definitely suggest you try them out if you can and minor cosmetic issues aside, they really good instruments. 

Glad you got it sorted. I’m in the market for a headless bass and I almost got the ibanez but the one I found in store was sold before I could get round to trying it.

 

After looking around I’m thinking about getting one an custom one from the link below and I’m really excited by it.

 

https://www.overloadguitars.com/products/achilles-multiscale

[visog]

New vid on the 2022 EHBs

 

 

[Mikey D]

Should be happy new bass day after wanting one of these since they were announced. Instead a call back to vendor to have this one collected and a new one sent which is going to be likely over a week end to end. 

 

Damaged paint on front and covered in dirty fingerprints. Why don't they just leave them sealed if they are in the warehouse?

[visog]

Oh dear Mikey... bad QA there.

 

So EHB'ers please can you advise about the ramp. The pics I've seen suggest that it's a non-adjustable block? Can you raise the height? 

[Mikey D]

The original QA was likely fine. Someone opened the box and has had their hands on this and resealed 

 

It's my 2nd ehb and the ramp is fixed width and fairly shallow. On my 1506 I used doubled sided tape that was foam in middle rather than just thin tape to get extra height and it worked ok. 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, visog said:

So EHB'ers please can you advise about the ramp. The pics I've seen suggest that it's a non-adjustable block? Can you raise the height? 

 

Its a block of wood. Which on the multiscales doesn't quite fit between the pickups

[Dazed]

49 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Its a block of wood. Which on the multiscales doesn't quite fit between the pickups

That seems a bit pointless?

[Woodinblack]

11 hours ago, Dazed said:

That seems a bit pointless?

 

Well, it does work as a ramp fine, it just annoyed me that it couldn't be parallel with both pickups. Its not far out but not right.

It has a bit of double sided tape on the back

 

[Fil1ip]

15 hours ago, Mikey D said:

Should be happy new bass day after wanting one of these since they were announced. Instead a call back to vendor to have this one collected and a new one sent which is going to be likely over a week end to end. 

 

Damaged paint on front and covered in dirty fingerprints. Why don't they just leave them sealed if they are in the warehouse?

The last few instruments i bought new have arrived similar to this. The excuse has been they are so busy etc. My last one came hanging out of the box 

[Rick05]

1 hour ago, Fil1ip said:

The last few instruments i bought new have arrived similar to this. The excuse has been they are so busy etc. My last one came hanging out of the box 

Are these issues with the seller and not Ibanez itself? Real shame they are coming to the customer like this 

[visog]

22 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Well, it does work as a ramp fine, it just annoyed me that it couldn't be parallel with both pickups. Its not far out but not right.

It has a bit of double sided tape on the back

 

But not height adjustable by the looki of it? What's the gap between the ramp and the strings?

[bnt]

What Ibanez is doing with the T1 pickups is something I've thought about before: to me it makes total sense for multiscales to have two humbucker coils in separate housings for flexibility in mounting. Standard housings look awkward to me and custom pickup housings add to the cost. So the EHB1006MS could become my first six string bass.