Ibanez EHB1005MS-BKF

Where do I start.

If I'm honest I found this bass to be a little underwhelming. (Soundwise). More on that later.

With the strap on I give this bass 3/10 for ergonomics. This is because I think the placement of the rear strap pin is very poorly placed. In its native position it makes the bass tilt into your body so much that it's uncomfortable to finger the fretboard. Very annoying. This can be rectified by added another strap pin closer to the bottom of the bass (near the jack input) which has the perfect effect of making the instrument sit flatter against your body (similar to the angle you get when sitting). With this modification I now give it 10/10 for ergonomics.

The bass is ridiculously light and very compact!! This is probably my most favorite thing about this product. I love how comfortable it is to 'wear'.
Can't beat a headless bass for compactness!

Access to the higher frets is very easy due to the deep cut-outs and I like the depth of the neck. Quite comfortable for me to play.

Build-wise I was a bit disappointed with some of the frets being a bit rough. One of my knobs worked itself loose after a few months and I had to retighten it myself. Never had to do this on any bass I've ever owned.

I would not expect these quality 'issues' at this price.

The sound is probably the biggest disappointment. Passive mode sounds fine but in Active it does take me a while to get anywhere near the kind of sound I'm looking for. Not a very 'funky' sounding bass in my opinion and I kind of regret buying it.

Initially was debating holding off and getter the pricier version with the Nordstrand pickups. Only problem is they were constantly out-of-stock and the wait time was incredibly long so I ended up buying this one with the Bartolini picks. Wish I waited now.

I guess I can always change the pickups later on but again, at this price I really wasn't expecting to.

I ignored my better judgment to immediately return the bass and get something else. I told myself to get used to it. By the time I came to my senses my return period had expired so I had no choice but to keep it.

I enjoy playing this bass but overall am not happy with the sound & think the quality should be much better for the price.

If aske whether I would buy this again I would have to say no.

If you have the opportunity I suggest going and playing one yourself so you can make a proper judgement.

I bought this bass because I have a chronic illness and it was becoming very difficult to play my Spector NS Pulse II due to its weight, size & ergonomics. (I mention this in case it is useful to anyone in a similar situation).

I was looking for a lightweight, ergonomic instrument and the ones that kept coming up in my search were the Strandberg and this Ibanez. The Strandberg is out of my price range so I decided to try out this EHB.

The construction, finish and setup were great out of the box. The sound takes a bit of dialling in, but one of the strengths of this bass is that it has a huge range of tonal possibilities. The neck is fantastic and plays great, the fan frets were easy to get accustomed to, even for someone like me with small hands.

The tuners are very good and the instrument has great tuning stability. The strap locks are a nice extra, as are the case and the pickup ramp (which I haven't used).

However this bass has one major issue and that is the fret markers, which are pretty useless. Those on the neck are covered by the B string when playing, and the side inlays are almost impossible to see due to the colour except in bright light. They are luminlays, so of course need charging, so maybe they are fine on a blacked out stage but can't be seen in any other circumstance. This instrument has been around for a long time now and the internet is full of people complaining about this, so really Ibanez need to sort it out.

Apart from this issue this bass is a great instrument and has been perfect for my needs - it's really lightweight, incredibly ergonomic, sits great in a perfect playing position, very balanced, and is a dream to play. It looks fabulous as well. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars in all departments is down to the fret marker problem. I would totally recommend it though and want the fretless version too!