New Ibanez Headless basses

[therealting]

The Super P is, to me, as close to the perfect bass as I’ve found. I’ve had a Sadowsky pre put into it and it is a super versatile tone monster now... and it almost plays itself. 

[therealting]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

But the combustion I had really did sound like that first video, it was very lifeless.

I was always hoping that the other dingwalls sounded different to the combustions. I loved the neck on the combustion but couldn't live with the tone, never had a chance to listen to one of the canadian ones in the flesh. Maybe these ibbys will have a more combustion like neck (the SR805s didn't).

The Combustion I had had EMGs in it, and IMO they are the weak spot in that bass (they were also in the Shuker Singlecut I got last year, a swap to Nordstrands sorted that out). I had mulled pickup or preamp swaps before the opportunity to trade for a Super J came up. 

[Al Krow]

11 minutes ago, therealting said:

The Super P is, to me, as close to the perfect bass as I’ve found. I’ve had a Sadowsky pre put into it and it is a super versatile tone monster now... and it almost plays itself. 

So are you now a bass GAS-free zone? 

[fretmeister]

50 minutes ago, therealting said:

The Super P is, to me, as close to the perfect bass as I’ve found. I’ve had a Sadowsky pre put into it and it is a super versatile tone monster now... and it almost plays itself. 

I wish you’d bought that round as well as the lovely strat! 

[therealting]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

So are you now a bass GAS-free zone? 

If I were, why would I still be here?

😬

If I had a second one to string up with rounds, I could probably legitimately call it a day. 

[CameronJ]

1 minute ago, therealting said:

If I were, why would I still be here?

😬

If I had a second one to string up with rounds, I could probably legitimately call it a day. 

I’m in this position. Two Super P5s - the idea being one strung with rounds and one strung with flats - but now I have GAS for a Super J! And I’m sure after that I’ll be GASing for a D-Roc.

It never ends...

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Funny thing about Andertons: I saw a you tube clip of the captain and chappers totally slagging off headless guitars and  basses . They went through various players and just said that the majority went back to headed as nobody really plays headless as they just don't look right .  Interesting to see how many they get in stock or shift 

Those Ibanez basses do look good..second thoughts after looking on the Andertons website I'm not too keen on them . 

I have a Washburn status ( wine red) . If I were to get another headless it would be a  proper status . 
 

After 

Edited January 5, 2020 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[Woodinblack]

6 hours ago, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

Funny thing about Andertons: I saw a you tube clip of the captain and chappers totally slagging off headless guitars and  basses . They went through various players and just said that the majority went back to headed as nobody really plays headless as they just don't look right .  Interesting to see how many they get in stock or shift 

As many as they think they will shift. Not too keen on their videos, but the bass guys were pretty positive on the same day on the same subject. Mind you, they normally are. Also their videos are mainly about the look.. maybe they weren't blue denim enough for them

The more I look at them (the basses, not the anderton people), the more I want one, so I hope they don't turn out to be disappointing.

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

The more I look at them (the basses, not the anderton people), the more I want one, so I hope they don't turn out to be disappointing.

+1 ^^

I'm particularly attracted to having a consistent string 18mm spacing across all my 5 string basses, in an Ibanez that also has Nord pups. 

Whilst I undoubtedly find 16.5mm very comfortable to play (but I appreciate that's not true for everyone); from a muscle memory perspective, for me, having a more uniform string spacing will be welcome. 

[Kiwi]

Ibanez have consistently put together great designs and well specified instruments on paper. But I've tended to be a bit disappointed by how the through-necked Soundgear range sounded.

[Wilco]

4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I'm particularly attracted to having a consistent string 18mm spacing across all my 5 string basses, in an Ibanez that also has Nord pups. 

Whilst I undoubtedly find 16.5mm very comfortable to play (but I appreciate that's not true for everyone); from a muscle memory perspective, for me, having a more uniform string spacing will be welcome. 

I’m in the same dilemma. Three of my basses have 19mm string spacing whilst my 1805 has 16.5mm. Makes the 1805 a little harder for me to play when I initially pick it up, especially for my plucking hand.

As these EHB’s have 18mm (+ they look fantastic imo), that might be more comfortable as would be an SR2405.

The dilemma being my 1805 is such a great bass in all other ways, I’m a little reluctant to part with it....

Perseverance might be in order first!!

[Woodinblack]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Whilst I undoubtedly find 16.5mm very comfortable to play (but I appreciate that's not true for everyone); from a muscle memory perspective, for me, having a more uniform string spacing will be welcome. 

That's the only downside with me. I see I can get the spacing down to 17.5 and I hope that will be enough, although it seems wide. 16.5 is the standard for me. 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Wilco said:

I’m in the same dilemma. Three of my basses have 19mm string spacing whilst my 1805 has 16.5mm. Makes the 1805 a little harder for me to play when I initially pick it up, especially for my plucking hand.

As these EHB’s have 18mm (+ they look fantastic imo), that might be more comfortable as would be an SR2405.

The dilemma being my 1805 is such a great bass in all other ways, I’m a little reluctant to part with it....

Perseverance might be in order first!!

You've summarised the position very well Paul, although it's more a left hand issue for me.

In my case I've an 1825 which I will be tentatively looking to move on / trade up to the EHB 1505. Short clip from AMS; reason for sharing is that although it on has about 15 seconds of bass playing on it you can immediately hear the Nord growl which reflects what I get on my 1825 and is very much the Ibanez "sound" I'm after.

@Woodinblack are you mainly just playing Ibanez SRs?

[Woodinblack]

38 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

You've summarised the position very well Paul, although it's more a left hand issue for me.

In my case I've an 1825 which I will be tentatively looking to move on / trade up to the EHB 1505. Short clip from AMS; reason for sharing is that although it on has about 15 seconds of bass playing on it you can immediately hear the Nord growl which reflects what I get on my 1825 and is very much the Ibanez "sound" I'm after.

@Woodinblack are you mainly just playing Ibanez SRs?

My main basses are my SRs and my Maruszczyk, but that also has 16.5mm spacing, in fact the neck is modelled on the SR1605 neck, it has the same dimensions (feels a little different because of the materials). my only other 5 strings are the G&L which I am not using much so will probably sell, a chinese one that I will probably give away and my hohner cricket bat which is only ever a backup.

If you have a problem with the 16.5, how do you get on with the 14mm of the GWB?

[Al Krow]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

My main basses are my SRs and my Maruszczyk, but that also has 16.5mm spacing, in fact the neck is modelled on the SR1605 neck, it has the same dimensions (feels a little different because of the materials). my only other 5 strings are the G&L which I am not using much so will probably sell, a chinese one that I will probably give away and my hohner cricket bat which is only ever a backup.

If you have a problem with the 16.5, how do you get on with the 14mm of the GWB?

I don't mind the 16.5mm at all per se (in fact it's very comfortable); it's more the transition from 18mm on the most of my herd to my Ibbys.

The GWB is a very different animal and also what I am using it for. For a start it's a 6 string and secondly the string spacing does not taper in the same way as a normal bass from bridge to nut; there is a much gentler taper. This makes it ideal for my intended use which is as a Bass VI for chordal playing and classical pieces. 

[Woodinblack]

I know it didn't taper, that was my issue with it. Other than that (and the fact it had a confusing string stuck at the end, and its bass control was the wrong end), I really liked it.

[dannybuoy]

Which colour would you go for @Al Krow, Tropical Seafloor, or Pacific Blue Burst?!

I quite like the Tropical Seafloor one, shame the colour does not spread to the back though unlike the blue:

[AndyTravis]

Is the 4 available in that blue...

oh wait...that head...

[dannybuoy]

Also they are the most protusive straplocks I have ever seen - does anyone else think they stick out a bit too far?!

[AndyTravis]

7 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

Also they are the most protusive straplocks I have ever seen - does anyone else think they stick out a bit too far?!

Schaller types do. I don’t like them.

[Al Krow]

I'll probably wait until they do a boring non-burst finish for the 1505 (or its successor) range! Besides I'm on the wagon for 2020 - hehe!

(And it'll be the normal fret version not fan fret - leave that sort of fan-cy stuff for the dingbats and Dingwalls of this world!)

Edited January 6, 2020 by Al Krow

[Woodinblack]

Oh yes fan fret, if it is a fraction of a Dingwall neck it will be great, without the crazy stretch on the b

[Al Krow]

I've just checked the string spacing on all my basses and 18mm seems to be the widest. The one that took me a little by surprise (as I'd not bothered to previously check) was my Spector Euro 5LX which has a 17mm string spacing - narrower than I was expecting, particularly as it's a 35" scale.

So if you're a fan of narrower string spacing, Woody, then maybe worth checking out a Spector at some point, if you've not done already: they're a great bass! - particularly the Euro range.

Are fan fret a pain in the derriere to play on the low B string? Another good reason, other than a whole different set of muscle memory, for me to avoid then!

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

So if you're a fan of narrower string spacing, Woody, then maybe worth checking out a Spector at some point, if you've not done already: they're a great bass! - particularly the Euro range.

I did, I had a spector and didn't like the neck, it was too clubby for me, didn't get on with it at all. Shame as I wanted to like it, and the sound wasn't bad. 

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Are fan fret a pain in the derriere to play on the low B string? Another good reason, other than a whole different set of muscle memory, for me to avoid then!

Not specifically fan frets, but the dingwall is 34" to 37" on the B, which is a bit of a stretch at the low end for me. I would be happy with less of a stretch. No, it takes no time to get used to the fan fret, in fact the odd thing about it is just how normal it feels, and in general is less effort on the wrist. 

The Ibanez is 33-35, so not much of a stretch and not that much of a fan really (32-35 would be better), so it sounds pretty promising. 

Frankly I am hoping that a EHB1505MS can be a replacement for my other basses, and if I end up with the Maruszczyk, the 1605, the 1505 and my SR1000, I could live with that (maybe the gretsch too, just to keep a short scale around). 

[dannybuoy]

The design of the bass will make a difference too - some 34" scales like a Thunderbird are a longer reach to the 1st fret than some modern 35" scale basses, it depends on the position of the strap buttons and bridge.

The bridge piece on the low B on the Dingwall is about as close to the bottom edge of the body as it can go, whereas the Ibanez looks to be at least an inch further forward due to the extra room taken up by the tuning peg. So it might not feel like a 2" difference once it's all strapped on!