What you actually hear for the low notes (ca. E and below) is more the harmonics than the base frequencies. The base frequencies are both hard to reproduce (depending on your sound system), but also hard for our ears to hear. So, the harmonic contents (overtones) is mainly what we hear here.
Also, these very low frequencies (especially since we barely hear them anyway) should be high-passed out in order to make “life” easier for your loudspeakers and remove “mud” from your mix.
1 Like
Ha, that’s the explanation! So all good with my EQ, as I configured high pass…
1 Like
Here’s the ramp I went with (for Nordstram pickups) - Ibanez Bass Finger Ramp for EHB1005MS/1505MS/1265MS With NORDSTRAND PICKUPS - Etsy
and here’s one for Bartolini pickups: Ibanez Bass Finger Ramp for EHB1005MS/1505MS/1265MS With BARTOLINI PICKUPS - Etsy
A bit pricey, but the aesthetics alone are worth it!
2 Likes
I have to say that’s a lot for what it is. I’m figuring on making some ramps from wood either painted or oiled. Get a nice piece of wood and they should be perfectly aesthetically pleasing.
1 Like
I hear ya, it is costly for what it is. But, at least it fit perfectly and required no effort on my part. Didn’t really cost me anything either, as I bought it with a pre-paid credit card from work (corp puts money on there for various services I sell - don’t get a ton, but 5 bucks here, 10 bucks there, 2 bucks here, adds up over time, and then it becomes my “funny money” fund).
1 Like
Day 3 of playing the EHB1005SMS:
- Today I will tackle the perceived distortion. Hopefully it is just a gain issue or a matter of high pass adjustment on my amp. I will listen through my Austrian Audio Hi-x60 to analyze the issue, as they are quite neutral and have an excellent ferquency response.
- I had the straps falling of a few times now. Good thing, I’m sitting. Will install the included Schaller S-Locks strap pins now.
- I cannot find a good plucking position. That worries me very much and in fact, this might be a reason to return the bass. I created a new topic, just for that: Am I a T-Rex? (Cannot find good plucking position with Ibanez EHB1005SMS)
1 Like
Was your previous bass purely passive? As this one has an active preamp the output is likely a little higher. Have you tried turning off the active preamp? My Ampeg has a -15db input which I believe is intended for exactly that situation. But turning down the gain should achieve the same.
1 Like
No, both other basses are active!
Appearantly, the EHB allows for a “+6db” mod (just need to replug something). As my EHB is B-stock, possibly the previous owner has done just that.
I did a first preliminairy test and it sounded kind of ok. Will test some more later and give feedback…
1 Like
Listened for through monitoring headphones. Gain is optimal now.
Strange thing is: especially the B string sounds very “muddy”, but also the E string is not very “precise”.
My ESP sounds much more precise and even the Blackstar tuned on Drop D sounds less muddled (but has other restrictions).
I read somewhere that EHB has the habit of sometimes exchanging the pickups wrongly. Could that be the issue??!
I understand that I have the 1P-01 version and that there is an 1P-02 version out. Difference: a changed preamp.
Maybe this is the cause of the issue, as one guy on Bassic had the same problems with the “growling” sound and had to change quite a lot of EQ to clean it up…
EDIT Playing with “onboard” EQ did not reduce the muddy growl…
Have you tried lowering the bass side of the pickup at all?
1 Like
Yes!
I tried a) optimizing gain on the audio interface b) changing EQ on the many many knobs on the bass c) changing EQ via VST in the DAW and d) changing pickup height.
There was some improvement, but when I listened via headphone the sound was still muddy. I kind of hoped that it was due to the frequency range of my PA, but that’s not it
When I play the original tracks on my PA or via headphone, everything sounds clean … a good indication that there is something wrong with the bass.
Or is it??!
I would be quite confident there’s a high pass filter on the bass in any mixed track. I’d expect high passing bass to make it sound less muddy. I guess the other question is how does it sound if you solo the bridge pickup?
1 Like
I have tried all combinations now. But honestly can’t remember how the bridge pickup sounded. One of them was cleaner, the other muddy.
Let me retest after I havekicked my sandbag to relax a little ^^
Highpass is activated on my PA, but my headphones should show any weakness of the bass. Which it does 
100%, the first thing I do to any bass track (and this is really common) is trim away the mud below ~40-50Hz. Makes the whole mix sound much better.
This is a very typical bass EQ curve when mixing:
I like that guy’s diagram. I think others do too as it is usually the top google hit. But this kind of curve is what more or less all mixing and sound engineering sites recommend.
I don’t actually add the kick drum notch; I add some proportional EQ there. If I wanted to be spiffy I would sidechain it to the drum track (and Neutron can do this automatically) but usually I just leave it proportional to the bass.
I also don’t generally boost at 4-6k but if I were doing something where I wanted more of a Darkglass style clank I would. DG pedals do boost a bit there.
6 Likes
Fodera has similar flat ramps on some of their bases.
I wouldn’t be too quick to blame the designer, sales/marketing are usually the ones who set the requirements for something. That’s not exactly a complex part… you’re talking 2 or 3 minutes extra to make it radiused vs flat and better integrate the design into the 2 pups. It was probably more expensive for tooling and/or injection molding and someone was like “eh, it’ll be fine, nobody cares about a bass ramp anyway”. I didn’t even know the EHB1005 had a ramp, i’ve never noticed one in any of the photos before 
I don’t even think it’s that useful between the pickups, it’s better between the neck and neck pup.
On a GW bass you have a long way between the pup by the bridge and the neck (it’s about 120mm) so it makes a lot more sense.
1 Like
That’s really interesting - but that means that all those discussions about bass amps are kind of superfluous, right, as everything below 40-50Hz will not survive the mix anyway??!
I will revisit my EQ filters based on your infos. Thanks!!!
EDIT @howard - you don’t happen to have a target curve I can use in REW?
Just read this article: Bass Guitar EQ Guide to Perfect it Every Time - Music Guy Mixing
Interesting!
In terms of recording amps are superfluous full stop. No reason to use one for recording, and in fact if you do, it is much less convenient.
I don’t have a canned EQ curve; it’s not hard so I just do it every time based on the mix.
2 Likes
2 Likes
BREAKING NEWS
After having tested and rejected the Ibanez EHB1005SMS and the Ibanez TMB35 Talman, I have now decided for a Sire Marcus Miller U5 - the V2/2023 version, that is only available in “mint”.
My girlfriend complained that the colour is not very heterosexual, but hey, I’m woke so I don’t care about the sexuality of my bass. It can pee sitting or standing up - that’s none of my business 
Also I like the colour because it reminds me of my favourite TV commercial of all time:
It’s a bad copy from a Dutch 80s commercial, but the “Minti-minti-mint” always gets me to ROFL hard!
If I had to name my bass (which I don’t), it would be “Minti” (with a Russian accent!).
Also, I had some good discussions with @Wombat-metal about the other remaining alternative, the Squier Paranormal Rascal. I do love humbuckers … a lot!
I like the “British Racing Green” version, because: Jaguar (the car)!
Fortunately you cannot get that in Europe currently, so I had some time to think, rethink and think again.
The Rascal makes no sense to me, as the geometry of the bass contradicts the idea of a short scale, except for tonality. And boy, does the Rascal sound great!
But for me, size is important: smaller is better (only for basses ^^).
Still thinking about getting something cheap with Humbuckers though, but that’s another story…
1 Like