First the bad bit. A Neutrix (sp) locking jack. Pita to remove the jack when you’re done.
Everything else is good, fabulous neck, great fret work (which are stainless steel wires), chambered body and so light, good preamp, tuners are so precise, really a joy to play.
As has been posted they do make a 4 string version which is not multi fret, otherwise the same; but if you want to get into a 5, this is the way to go, I would not go 30" on a B string. The EHBs are super instruments. I have two
The angled frets take surprisingly little time to adjust to. Like minutes. They feel very natural.
Another bad bit possibly is the side dots are hard to see - not a lot of contrast with the roasted neck. Doesn’t bother me, but full disclosure. And easy workarounds
The preamp is nice, easy to dial in a good tone. It has a mid sweep, which is really good. So the preamp is hi, lo, mids with a sweep. Active/passive switch so you can bypass the preamp if you want.
The pickups are Bartolini BH2, a good humbucker, a little darker in tone than most but no means dark, sounds really good. The size of the pickups is a bit unusual, they have the form factor of a six string, so if you want to replace them it’s narrows the field a bit. Fortunately, the ones you are most likely to pick, Aguilar and Nordstrand, both have options that fit. I am a modder by nature, and have no desire to swap these out. So the pups are fine.
The body is light, comfortable, around 7 pounds I’d like to say, being American I have no grasp of this kilo thing. The back of the neck is super smooth, the shape is comfortable.
It comes with straplocks from the factory. Fit and finish is perfect. Just a great, comfortable bass to play. No neck dive of course. Spoils me for my other basses as the tuners are so precise i want that on all my basses (and can’t have of course).
I find both the 4 and 5 string totally ugly. In black it would be OK, but this is one spacy design.
Nevertheless, especially the 5 string gives me a good feeling somehow.
It’s a long way from the original idea! Dub king), but the Ibanez makes sense somehow…
Very very cool! This is the most helpful answer I got up to now. It makes me want to ignore the sheer ugliness.
I might even wear a wig, lipstick and striped spandex tights when playing!
I would not go less than 0.135 on a 5 string that was under 34"; YMMV though. .130/.135 is my preference even on 34"; smaller than that just feels loose and floppy to me.
When I ordered the bass I went out and ordered a set of D’Addario EXLs with a heavier B, never swapped them as the string felt fine when I got the bass. Will put them on when it’s time to change strings.
I have the 6 string version. Everything is great except for the nut. It bugs me a bit when I play first fret in either B or E strings. The nut is set pretty high and it’s not cut to accommodate the index finger laying across it. It’s a common issue with multi scale bass but my Space bass has no issues with that. It’s rather comfortable.
