Give your opinions on these Ibanez basses for death metal

[Kevin mifsud]

Hi everybody,
So I'm torn between 2 (technically 3) basses so far:
Ibanez EHB1005MS (black /w maple board)
EHB1005MS | EHB | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars (Multi-scale)
https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/ehb1005_1p_01.html (Standard)
Ibanez SRSC805 (Deep Twilight /w purpleheart board)
SRSC805 | SR | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

These have really struck me as weird and unique basses, in terms of appearance at least. Unfortunately I have no access to playing them locally any time soon, and have watched probably every possible review on youtube but would still like to hear what others have to say about them when compared back to back.

So far I have always used clean tones with the band but it never gave me that tonal satisfaction so I have been dabbling in distorted tones (parallax at home and behringer bass Vamp pro at the garage) which I have been much happier with. No experience with a multi-scale or even a headless for that matter either but am more than willing to give it a shot and have heard it is much more comfortable once you get used to it.

These basses are polar opposites of each other but either one I pick will be intended for fast, rather technical high gain death metal so fire away your opinions!

 

[A9X]

I like both but have played neither. Apart from sound, is the appearance going to be an issue with the rest of the band?
I'd suggest posting this in both the Soundgear Club, and the EHB club as I think some members have either owned or played both. @Aidil I'm fairly certain has owned both EHB and SRMS models.

 

[hvymetallurgist]

My EHB1000 sounds great playing death metal, just add some compression and let it rip. I have a B7K as well but honestly the Barts in the EHB1000 with some compression sits super nice in everything from tech stuff to old school. I just add the B7K in for grind when the mood strikes. To me, the Nordy’s in the EHB15xx basses sound (much) better solo but I love the Barts in a band setting - of course your mileage my vary.

 

[Aidil]

@Kevin mifsud,
Most likely EHB1505MS fits the description you seek. It has brighter pickups than the 1005MS which might respond better with distorted effects you use.

Not that the EHB1005MS couldn't. AAMOF, it's the one I own and I use distortion also, although not all times. More depending on the song.

I wouldn't suggest the EHB1005 (parallel fret) and SRSC805. These are all 34" scale. The kind of music you play needs tighter and faster respond lows. Not that these also couldn't. You can always compensate with the strings (gauge and types). But, 35"-34.5" lower string scales of the MS would certainly be tighter and relatively perform better for such genre.

For a non headless model, I'd suggest one of BTB models.

@A9X,
I don't have an SRMS (nor the SRSC asked). Although, I do own an SRFF, the 6 string version, which technically is the same as the SRMS, but with lighter woods, different finish, and darker tone pickups.

 

[Clark Westfield]

Ibanez good for metal.

Ibanez good for death metal too.

 

[A9X]

@A9X,
I don't have an SRMS (nor the SRSC asked). Although, I do own an SRFF, the 6 string version, which technically is the same as the SRMS, but with lighter woods, different finish, and darker tone pickups.

Apologies, in my memory, you did.

 

[Aidil]

Apologies, in my memory, you did.

Actually, I kinda wish I did. I hadn't had any interest in getting the SRMS nor the SRSC when these were first offered by Indonesian distributor. At the times, I thought I had similar basses as I had already gotten the Terra Firma BTB685SC when the Cerro SRSC805 was being offered and I had already owned the Fanned Fret SRFF806 when they first brought in the Multi Scale SRMS805.

Later, I realized having the Cerro would get me an easier to play (lighter weight and 34" scale) bass than my behemoth Terra Firma 5, while still able to keep the unique Single Cut theme and relatively wide string spacing (though 18mm as opposed to 19mm of the Terra Firma). And in the case of having a multi-scale bass, I realized a 5 string multi-scale would get more play times than the 6 string multi-scale I already had as I'm more of a 5 string player. But, these basses have gone into the markets and all have been taken. Indonesian distributor has never since brought in another Cerro, and as for the SRMS, I was hoping to buy the Deep Twilight finish one, but don't know why our local distributor seems to like the Brown Topaz Burst finish so much that they've brought in so many SRMS805's with this finish whereas only once with the Deep Twilight finish.

Fortunately, came the EHB series. Having an EHB1005MS has able to cure my GAS of not getting the SRSC and the SRMS, as it is a multi-scale bass and it has relatively wide 18mm string spacing.

I'd still buy the Cerro had they brought another in, though.

 

[El_Charro]

Hi everybody,
So I'm torn between 2 (technically 3) basses so far:
Ibanez EHB1005MS (black /w maple board)
EHB1005MS | EHB | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars (Multi-scale)
EHB1005 | EHB | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars (Standard)
Ibanez SRSC805 (Deep Twilight /w purpleheart board)
SRSC805 | SR | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

These have really struck me as weird and unique basses, in terms of appearance at least. Unfortunately I have no access to playing them locally any time soon, and have watched probably every possible review on youtube but would still like to hear what others have to say about them when compared back to back.

So far I have always used clean tones with the band but it never gave me that tonal satisfaction so I have been dabbling in distorted tones (parallax at home and behringer bass Vamp pro at the garage) which I have been much happier with. No experience with a multi-scale or even a headless for that matter either but am more than willing to give it a shot and have heard it is much more comfortable once you get used to it.

These basses are polar opposites of each other but either one I pick will be intended for fast, rather technical high gain death metal so fire away your opinions!

————————————————————
I haven’t played any of those (unfortunately), but I almost pulled the trigger on an Ibanez Fanned Fret Bass online…

The only thing that stopped me was not caring for the color and being a beginner I didn’t want to get something that wasn’t “standard” and ultimately I decided that I wanted a normal fretboard to learn on for my first bass…

Of the three of them I would say the EHB1005MS looks the most aggressive…

I’m sure the 805 is a great instrument, but I would think it would look a bit out of water in a Metal band…

Also-(For me personally)-I think that body type is kinda weird…

I almost bought an ESP/LTD Stream, but having the body extend that high up over the fretboard made it feel a bit awkward to play even when I wasn’t in that vicinity (no idea if the 805 would feel the same, but I personally would be a bit hesitant to buy that body style again as I felt like it made the bass more likely to have neck dive)…

Speaking of ESP/LTD (and to play a bit of Devil’s Advocate here)-Have you looked at the F series???

The F-1005 looks pretty sweet (assume you are after a 5 string, but they also make fours): F-1005

I tried the F-104 out (the cheaper model under $1000) and really liked it…

Still might grab one at some point (those basses are 35” scale length just as an FYI)…

I have an ESP/LTD AP-4 w/ active EMGs and it sounds sufficiently Metal IMO…

And before someone jumps my case on looks…

Yes, you “can” use ANY bass to play Metal, but I think your image does matter somewhat in the genre especially if you are playing Death Metal…

I know a lot of threads on TB like to give MetalHeads a hard time about caring about looks in addition to tone, but if you’re gonna be in a Metal band you might as well look the part…

The EHB looks good too, but I feel like the fanned frets look better on that particular body type especially with a headless finish…

Also-I thought (???) one of the points of fanned frets was increase ergonomic comfort (and by extension that “should” theoretically assist you with playing at higher speeds)…

Follow up question-Do you have any recordings of your band that you’d be willing to post here???

Curious bc I’m always on the lookout for new music…

Best of luck whatever you decide on (lol-Also please give us an update on what you decide because now I feel like I need closure on which one you land on)…

Thanks! \m/

Edit: ESP/LTD also makes a Fanned Fret bass…It doesn’t look as fierce as the F Series, but still looks like a nice instrument: B-1005 MULTI-SCALE

 

[A9X]

and ultimately I decided that I wanted a normal fretboard to learn on for my first bass

Probably a good move. All the Ibbys are great, but anything above the 300 series are quite exceptional for what they are.

My first bass was a Blazer, basically a P, and was very nicely made and has kept me a fan of the brand ever since. My most played basses are all Ibanez 6s.

 

[Kevin mifsud]

I am overwhelmed by the amount of replies... Thanks so much to whoever contributed! So basically this is how I'm going to tackle this. My local guitar shop is ordering an srm805 in a week's time. I don't particularly like the gloss finish on it and the nut area on the fretboard looks very badly made IMO so it doesn't interest me but I it will be the judge of whether I like multiscale or not.

So far I have leaned more towards the ehb1005ms. The bh2s have been praised more for metal Than the mk1s. The longer scale length is superior for low tunings (B Standard) . It also looks more metal which is important to me (it can cost 5k with the ultimate specs, if you don't like the look it will suck!). With that being said, the SRSC is still in my sights despite the negative comments against it, something just draws me to its unique shape and finish and I have a feeling If I go for the EHB now, I will end up with an SRSC in the collection later on anyway and if the EHBMS is not for me then by default I will opt for the SRSC. A pickup upgrade is always an option in the future for either bass too. I have looked at corts, Warwicks, spectors, dingwalls, esps, but the majority of them don't strike me at all and the models I like are out of my budget (spector ns dimension 5 being one of them).

For those asking about my band, we are Bound to Prevail from Malta. Our 5 song ep has been out since 2017 (I contributed nothing to it) but we're currently in the studio recording our 1st full length. It will sound drastically different (and better). Both guitarists and bassist changed since then and I will be laying the bass lines down using distortion and a pick as opposed to clean tone with finger style. It will be seriously groovy stuff so stay tuned!