Ibanez Bass Workshop EHB1005MS Review

Super light, well made and great sounding.

I wanted to love this bass. It was perfect but for one issue. I can't see the position markers. The ones on the neck are covered by the B string, the ones on the side are invisible in the dark. I had to return it due to this one issue. As usual Sweetwater service was stellar.

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MMMMMM

I took a weekend and made a trip to Fort Wayne IN, to try out some basses. first I want to say how freaking amazing the people at Sweetwater are. super accommodating, I was able to bring my amp and pedal board to test some basses on and they let me borrow a cab and set up in one of the many demo rooms. I spent a couple hours playing several basses from 4 to six string across a few… read more different brands, then I landed on this one. The Ibanez EHB1005MS, I love the Feel of the neck, the body is super comfortable, and its light weight. this thing sounds amazing through my orange terror bass amp, smooth fat bass tones and if you play with the nifty EQ knobs you can dial in a really nice mix of high and lows, whatever you fancy. bottom line is I'm super glad I bought the EHB1005MS and I CANNOT put it down. shout out to the sales engineer that helped me while I was there I believe it was Michael, he was super helpful and friendly.

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Amazing bass

The neck on this thing is incredible. I've hardly scratched the surface on EQ options, but it is built extremely well, has a premium feel and almost zero fret buzz. Very very good bass

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Happy Customer

This Bass is great, the pick-ups sound amazing, it's so light I thought maybe something went wrong with shipping when I picked up the box. *Spoiler Alert* Nothing was wrong! This is literally the most comfortable Bass I have ever played. I couldn't put it down for over 4 hours. I decided to write this review cause I need to give my fingers a break.

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Love the bass, but can't see the inlays

Tone shaping, ergonomics, fretboard facility, all great. But I can't see the side dots or fretboard inlays 90% of the time because they are "luminescent," and the luminescence only lasts a few minutes. Then you have to charge them with a some light source for a few minutes. I'm often in dimmed studios, and they are literally invisible unless I put a light to them, then I've got… read more about 2-3 minutes of light. "Hold on guys, I need to shine a flashlight on my side dots, give me a few minutes." Apparently they used their own stuff, like a cheap powder version, instead of Luminlays (which frankly aren't that much better, but better). I'm surprised that every single bass in this line uses this useless gimmick, and that they don't offer an option. I like it enough that I may take it to a luthier to see how much it would cost to put real side dots in. Or just return it. Shame, because I really like this form factor.

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Literally Replaced All My Basses!

Let me preface this by saying I am a big Fender fanboy. I've played bass for half my life, and all were P and J style basses. I had a collection of Fender basses all ranging from standard MIM, high-end MIM, and MIA. Some Squiers and Sterling by Music Man, too. Recently I thinned the ENTIRE herd and decided to not go Fender with my next bass. I fell in love with the EHB1005MS the… read more moment I saw it being announced after last year's Winter NAMM (before the pandemic hit the US). So I pulled the trigger. THIS THING IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. And it rips. Incredible worksmanship, from body finish to fretwork. The neck is BEAUTIFUL. Flamed birdseye maple is all you need. Changing strings is now effectively twice as fast for me (YMMV). The weight and balance is superb- I can now use my guitar straps again. The 3-band onboard preamp with a mid-frequency sweep is INCREDIBLY VERSATILE. The headless system is pretty flawless. Easy to adjust action, intonation, and tuning it up is much easier than you would think. You just gotta keep your hex tools handy. This thing is so easy to setup with low action, too. There are only 2 cons to this instrument: -the Bartolini BH2 pickups sound bland and meh. Too bassy and mellow for my liking. I'm planning to swap mine out with some Nordstrands. Easy fix. -the fretboard abalone fret markers are hard to see. They are obstructed by the E string from the player's POV. It also doesn't help that the "Luminlay" (not actually Luminlay brand) side dots aren't as good as actual Luminlay. They're pretty dark and don't charge enough UV light. Aside from those two cons, literally everything else is perfect.

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The One.

I own and play about a dozen bass guitars. Mostly P Style, but there's a J and a bunch of others in steady gigging and recording rotation. Just received the Ibanez EHB1005MS a week ago, after a long wait for it to appear in stock. After playing a long jam session, covering classic and progressive rock songs from Beatles, to ELP, to some more modern favorites—then subbing in… read more a country band for a set— then playing a worship set last Sunday—I'm left wondering if I will ever pick up another bass again! This is an incredible instrument. The Bartolini pickups and preamp allow tremendous versatility. It is articulate and huge sounding all at once. The light weight is a blessing on a long gig. Build quality is extraordinary. Looks are killer. The only "cons" I can cite are the locking Neutrik output jack, which is a pain in the neck and dubious value, and the tuners, which are fairly stiff and a little notchy. But they probably will smooth out when broken in. All in all, incredibly happy with this instrument and with Sweetwater service.

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Great Bass!

I've been looking to upgrade to a lighter headless model and the EHB is perfect for my needs. The unit arrived last week in double-boxing which I appreciate, and the bass was set up and ready to play. It took me an hour or so to dial in the tone with my stage rig, but MAN does this baby sing. Only problem I've encountered so far is breaking my habit of reaching to the headstock… read more to tune it!

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