New Ibanez Headless basses

[dave_bass5]

2 hours 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!

I was handed a Dingwall at a gig a few years ago, and played a whole set with it. First time id ever played one. No difference at all, other than the bass felt easier to pay than my Fender P. Its just a natural thing, you dont even have to think about it. I didnt notice the extra long neck, although i wasn't aware it was longer at the time. Ive played 3 other Dingwall's since, and all played like this. None appealed to me sonically at all though. They all seemed to lack character.

 

[dave_bass5]

I think the B sounds pretty good in this video

 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, dannybuoy said:

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!

Its not a how far out it goes, it is a 'how big the step on the first few frets are' issue. 

So I would rather have the high strings go shorter than the low strings go longer.

22 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I didnt notice the extra long neck, although i wasn't aware it was longer at the time. Ive played 3 other Dingwall's since, and all played like this. None appealed to me sonically at all though. They all seemed to lack character.

That is exactly how I feel. I really like the dingwall neck, a shorter dingwall neck on on something that sounds good would be my ideal bass. I am hoping this would be it.

[dannybuoy]

23 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I think the B sounds pretty good in this video

 

I think I've worked out what it is I don't like about Bartolinis, they make rounds sound like flats!

[krispn]

Dingwall Super P and J both have the 35” scale and aren’t as ‘clinical’ as some of the other models. The necks on the Super’s  feel great so if Ibanez can match that good on them.

[dave_bass5]

25 minutes ago, krispn said:

Dingwall Super P and J both have the 35” scale and aren’t as ‘clinical’ as some of the other models. The necks on the Super’s  feel great so if Ibanez can match that good on them.

I'm not sure of the models i tried, other than one was a ABZ. Definitely not a P of any kind though. All played like a dream though. 

[therealting]

The “medium scale” (32-35”) Super P and Super J are obviously based on the two Fender models, all the others are 34-37” scale. 

[visog]

Back to the OP, these do look good but I'm keen to try one sitting down. Part of the obviously 'Strandberg' ergonomics is the ability to play in a classical position - i.e. bass on left knee (for rightys) but the jack socket position may proove problematic. Will try one out - hopefully at the UK Bass Guitar show in a few weeks. Similarly, need to feel that 17mm spacing on the six... sounds tight to me.

Anyone had a go on one yet? Playability thoughts and impressions welcome?

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, visog said:

Similarly, need to feel that 17mm spacing on the six... sounds tight to me.

Anyone had a go on one yet? Playability thoughts and impressions welcome?

I haven't had a go yet, nowhere near me has any released yet (andertons claims today, although they aren't near). They are supposed to be optimised for sitting, so hopefully they have thought of that.

The spacing of 17.5 on the 5 is a bit wide for me, so I want to try it before actually buying one, I am hoping PMT will have some thing month.

[therealting]

@visog All a matter of taste and hands - I find 19mm spacing great for four string and five, but prefer slightly narrowed for six (and much narrower spacing closer to the nut).

[Graham]

I really like the look of these, hope to get my hands on one soon

[Muzz]

I put a split coil 'P-Type' pickup and a John East U-Retro in my ABZ4, and it'll do all sorts of tones now. It's still the most resonant, 'alive' bass I've ever played unplugged. The neck profile is a bit too chunky for me these days, tho, since I had my Shukers all made with super-skinny necks...

Quite like these Ibanez ones, though they're a solution to a problem I haven't got, but it's nice to see a big manufacturer pushing the boundaries a bit...

[visog]

On 16/01/2020 at 10:19, Woodinblack said:

I haven't had a go yet, nowhere near me has any released yet (andertons claims today, although they aren't near). They are supposed to be optimised for sitting, so hopefully they have thought of that.

Good... stoke my GAS...

[Raslee]

I will probably be in the market for a lightweight 5 later this year and the EHB1505 in blue is really peaking my interest. Has anyone got any information on the weight of these per chance?

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by Raslee

[visog]

On 02/01/2020 at 19:37, AngelDeVille said:

I'm holding out for the fanned fretless.

 

[Woodinblack]

I looked for the stats and found this video I hadn't seen before which has a lot of detail

 

[Al Krow]

@Raslee - had a quick listen to the video Woody has posted but couldn't see anything mentioned about the weight?

My Ibby SR1825 is 8.6lbs. Lose the headstock and tuners and add in the benefit of the chambered body and I'm guessing this new range will be 7.5lbs or possibly less.

 

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

@Raslee - had a quick listen to the video Woody has posted but couldn't see anything mentioned about the weight?

No I didn't. I meant I was looking for info about weight, and didn't find any, but in the process I found that video!

[Al Krow]

On 06/01/2020 at 03:38, 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. 

On 06/01/2020 at 08:20, 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!!

On 06/01/2020 at 10:21, Woodinblack said:

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. 

Been giving the whole string spacing a bit more thought. 

@Wilco agree that perseverance may be the order of the day - kinda feeling a fair bit of this may be "all in the mind" particularly if 16.5 mm is comfortable in the first place.

What's done it for me is checking and finding that my Spector is 17.0 mm i.e. also narrow but also comfortable to play as are the 18.0 mm on my Yammys and KS. So I think it's going to just be a case of making a mental adjustment and warming up beforehand to re-familiarise the muscle memory. I guess particularly so should I ever venture down the fan fret route.

Looks like my SR 1825 is going to survive in the Krow herd for a while yet.

[Raslee]

28 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@Raslee - had a quick listen to the video Woody has posted but couldn't see anything mentioned about the weight?

My Ibby SR1825 is 8.6lbs. Lose the headstock and tuners and add in the benefit of the chambered body and I'm guessing this new range will be 7.5lbs or possibly less.

 

Cheers mate. I’ve emailed the UK distributors to see if they can shed any light on the weight. 

[Wilco]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Been giving the whole string spacing a bit more thought. 

@Wilco agree that perseverance may be the order of the day - kinda feeling a fair bit of this may be "all in the mind" particularly if 16.5 mm is comfortable in the first place.

Looks like my SR 1825 is going to survive in the Krow herd for a while yet.

What I’ve been doing when rehearsing is giving each bass a similar amount of playing time. Or even alternating on songs with my two fivers. Eventually hoping a kind of muscle memory thing will kick in.
I really want to hold on to my 1805!

[visog]

On 19/01/2020 at 12:50, Al Krow said:

 

Looks like my SR 1825 is going to survive in the Krow herd for a while yet.

It's a 'murder', not 'herd'...

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, visog said:

It's a 'murder', not 'herd'...

What you get up to with your basses is entirely up to you... 😄 

My collection of basses will continue to be referred to as a 'herd' (by me anyway).

Edited January 21, 2020 by Al Krow

[bnt]

 New video review of the EHB1005, Standard and Multiscale: has some answers to the question about weight. No numbers, but “freakin’ light” and “the neck weighs more than the body”. It is chambered basswood, so I’m not surprised. The reviewer, once he settles down, plays it through an unspecified but good amp, and it sounds huge, I have to say.

Edited January 23, 2020 by bnt

[dave_bass5]

Slightly off topic, i was playing a Dingwall at the weekend. Ive never found them any different to play compared to my usual basses, and its so easy to play. What surprised me was i tried to play the middle bit in Alright Now, and for the life of me couldn't find those top notes. I gave up lol.