Ibanez EHB1005MS-SFM

Both pickups sound great and it's really easy to dial in a whole range of bass tones with the onboard EQ. I absolutely love the Mid frequency controls, that allow you to chose a specific mid range frequency and boost it or cut it. With that manage to dial in everything from vintage P-bass like tone through a modern hum bucker sound to a jazz bass single coil type sound using only the bridge pickup.

The neck is comfortable and fast. It took me a very short time to adjust to the fanned frets, even though I never played a bass with them before. It just felt very natural from the start. The B-string sounds clear and well defined. It's the best sounding B string of all of my basses.

At just around 3,5kg it is the lightest of all of my basses and by far the most comfortable to play. Its ergonomic qualities really come to light after it has been strapped to my neck for a couple of hours.

The hardware is top quality, tuner/bridge modules work like a charm are sturdy and easy to handle.

When I compare this bass to my Sandberg VT or to my Sire V7 I have to say that the build quality could be a bit better. Especially since this is a +1000 euro bass. It's not bad, but is a bit rough in places and perhaps lacks some final touches and polish. For instance, the holes drilled into the body to fit the EQ's knobs are not perfectly round. The same can be said for the fretwork, especially when I compare it to my Sandberg. It is true though that Sandberg really seem to have nailed their necks and fretting. However with "only" a 300 euro price difference between the two basses I expected Ibanez to do better.

Overall I'm really happy with the bass. It will be a lot easier to transport between Brasil and Europe and will be able to take care of most musical situations I find myself in.

I love the bass and highly recommend it to those who want to try something new, but don't want to jeopardise tone, low and and great looks :)

I love the look of this bass. Color, shape - all perfect. Sound is also very good and versatile. It is very light and comfortable. Overall build quality is very good too.

But the quality of the fretwork is abysmal: there are a lot of deep file cuts all over the neck (around frets and even between them), nut was over cut for A string and refilled with super glue...

I really wanted to love this bass but now it is just sitting there and collecting dust.