Double Bass Ibanez Upswing goes Five String UB805

[Les Fret]

The sound on YouTube sounds very upright to me. Not Paul chambers old-school upright...more like Eddie Gomez lots of clean treble. I have poor attack for piezo, but this instrument seems way better than ibanez' first attempt at EUB.

What do you mean by Ibanez’ first attempt at EUB? Which bass are you referring to in the first sentence?

 

[Les Fret]

Is the 5 string version exactly the same as the 4 string version? Besides the extra string and neck dimension. Or did they make other improvements as well?

 

[Lance Bunyon]

What do you mean by Ibanez’ first attempt at EUB? Which bass are you referring to in the first sentence?

I'm getting old. I was probably thinking of the Dean Pace and inadvertently forgot that it's from a different manufacturer.

 

[Les Fret]

I'm getting old. I was probably thinking of the Dean Pace and inadvertently forgot that it's from a different manufacturer.

I am still confused. So you are saying you like the Dean Pace better than the Ibanez?

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I am still confused. So you are saying you like the Dean Pace better than the Ibanez?

The opposite. I think Dean Pace was an engineering mistake. Fingerboard too flat.

 

[Matt Ides]

Omni Bass Strings, they're not that expensive & they're made more like Upright Bass Strings so those ought to do the trick so you could theoretically use this as an alternative to the Double Bass or Electric Bass in Concert Band. It could be the Cool All-In-One Bass

I pulled the trigger on the 5 string. Will most likely change the strings so will report back once I have had it for a while.

 

[Les Fret]

The opposite. I think Dean Pace was an engineering mistake. Fingerboard too flat.

Ok, it’s clear now. Thanks.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Ok, it’s clear now. Thanks.

The Ibanez UB805 however has a Compound Radius Fingerboard so you can also use a Bow like a Traditional Acoustic Double Bass.

 

[Matt Ides]

Can report beefy neck and bows just fine.

 

[Doug Parent]

Looking into an 805, although was first considering a 804. I'm an electric 5 string player, would the 805 with the narrower string spacing be a better fit for me?

 

[ClusterFlux]

Looking into an 805, although was first considering a 804. I'm an electric 5 string player, would the 805 with the narrower string spacing be a better fit for me?

Vertical instruments are very different than horizontal. E.g. the neck on the Ibanez EUBs is significantly thicker, which is going to throw off your normal feel and preferences.

I'd make the decision based on whether you prefer 4 or 5 strings.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Looking into an 805, although was first considering a 804. I'm an electric 5 string player, would the 805 with the narrower string spacing be a better fit for me?

The neck on the UB805 is like a normal 5 string Bass & it's the same string spacing so no issues here

 

[Oscar Stern]

I like it more than the 4 string, because it has 5 strings.

It's slightly trickier to bow single notes because of the reduced distance between strings, but that's partially made up for by the radius. Conversely it's easier to double-stop or strum.

I've also restrung mine with D'Addario NYXL45125 roundwounds, which are harder to bow than the chrome flatwounds it comes with but sound beautiful (to me). More bite.

To bow Round Wounds, use super sticky rosin & synthetic bow hair.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Vertical instruments are very different than horizontal. E.g. the neck on the Ibanez EUBs is significantly thicker, which is going to throw off your normal feel and preferences.

I'd make the decision based on whether you prefer 4 or 5 strings.

The 5 strings for more versatility.