Ibanez EHB1135MS 5-String Multi Scale Electric Bass
The Bass Workshop equates to something of a sandbox for Ibanez, a company continuing its rich tradition of pioneering low-frequency machines, driving ingenuity and innovation via untethered experimentation and imagination. The Bass Workshop EHB1135MS is a 5-string multi-scale bass that’s booming with craftsmanship, creativity, and character that has more than earned its namesake categorization. Luthiers at Ibanez spared no effort in taking the exploratory spirit of the Bass Workshop to its outer reaches with this EHB1135MS bass, and low-end theorists are in deft agreement: its ash-topped okoume body is joined to a nine-piece neck, comprising panga and walnut, with a matching panga fretboard. Moreover, its multi-scale moxie is brought to life by an electrifying array of Bartolini pickups and active Vari-Mid preamp that supercharge your onboard sonic sculpting. Headless, hard-hitting, and hardly an all-arounder, the Ibanez EHB1135MS wields its Bass Workshop title with unabashed panache, succeeding precisely because it embodies the Ibanez Bass Workshop ethos — these basses are not for everyone, which is exactly what makes it perfect for you.
Four degrees of foundational firepower
In true Bass Workshop fashion, Ibanez pulled no punches in forging a formidable foundation with this EHB1135MS’s tetrad of tonewoods. An ash-topped okoume body serves as the 5-string’s aural anchor, keeping sounds well-balanced, focused, fundamental-strong, and full of projection. Its nine-piece — yes, really — neck weaves walnut and panga panga into a menagerie of musicality, as the panga panga’s physical makeup pairs well with ash, amplifying resonance and sustain. Meanwhile, the walnut imparts shades of shimmering harmonic-rich voicing. Up top, a complementary, bound panga panga fretboard brings out its rosewood-like qualities, completing the EHB1135MS’s tonal quadrumvirate with a crystalline veneer that lets mids, trebles, and basses shine and sing with power, presence, and precision.
Booming Bartolini bass sonics and active Ibanez preamp power
Considering the aural assemblage at its base, the EHB1135MS required the proper electronics to activate its latent sonic potential, and the Ibanez Bass Workshop knew precisely where to turn: Bartolini. Continuing their ongoing collaboration, Ibanez tapped Bartolini for a scorching set of BH2 soapbar pickups, augmenting them with Ibanez’s own Vari-Mid active preamp. The Bass, Middle, and Treble knobs let you attenuate the 3-band EQ, in addition to a Balancer knob and an EQ-bypass switch. Plus, with the pickups angled toward the bass end of the bridge, your prismatic sonic-contouring capabilities are near-infinitely multiplied, with dimensions of scale, tuning, timbre, and tone endlessly adjustable to suit your style.
Strategically weight reduced and poised for performance
Producing a bass that looks and sounds amazing is one thing, but that doesn’t mean much if it’s a burden to bear, right? Fortunately, the Bass Workshop’s wizardry took care of that, deploying their exacting craftsmanship to create a rich, balanced bass that you won’t be able to put down. Opting for a 9-piece neck was key to ensuring the EHB1135MS would be an ideal road warrior, as this not only increases the instrument’s harmonic depth, but also maximizes its structural stability while making it possible for the Bass Workshop to include graphite reinforcement rods, reducing weight and increasing resilience to environmental wear and tear. Moreover, building the body with a separate top meant Ibanez could strategically chamber the body, further reducing weight and augmenting its resonant faculties. Its multi-scale 33–35-inch spread is adorned by 24 stainless steel frets, while a 19.685-inch fretboard radius caps Ibanez’s EHB5 neck profile. Taken alongside its comfort-focused beveling and immense treble-side cutaway, accessibility for players of the most-ambitious persuasions is available with speed in spades. With rock-solid Ibanez hardware bookending this headless haymaker, the Ibanez Bass Workshop EHB1135MS is teeming with tone-crafting tenacity, supporting a kaleidoscope of dropped-tuning, technical-minded, and virtuosic playstyles that advance the Ibanez Bass Workshop’s mission: summitting the uncharted peaks of bass-guitar design and unearthing exciting new ways to play.
Ibanez: a brief history
Ibanez began its life in 1908 as the Hoshino Gakki company in Nagoya, Japan. However, the company didn’t get into the guitar business until 1929, when it started importing Salvador Ibanez guitars from Spain. In 1935, Hoshino Gakki began building Spanish acoustic guitars under the “Ibanez Salvador” name, which was later shortened to Ibanez. Although Ibanez began manufacturing electric guitars in 1957, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the 1960s, when it started producing guitars based on American designs. By the late 1970s, Ibanez stopped producing derivative instruments and began manufacturing the innovative original guitar and bass designs that the company is now known for. Ibanez is also famous for its effect pedals, most notably the Tube Screamer.
Ibanez Bass Workshop EHB1135MS Features:
- Crafted in the Ibanez Bass Workshop to deliver an innovative, exploratory design that challenges bass-guitar norms and offers players a new take on a classic instrument
- Ash-topped okoume body provides a tonal anchor of balanced resonance and precise projection
- 9-piece panga panga and walnut neck elicits bright, warm tones and full-spectrum articulation
- Panga panga fretboard conjures crystalline character and powerful presence
- Dual Bartolini BH2 soapbar pickups, Ibanez Vari-Mid 3-band EQ system, EQ-bypass switch, Balancer control, and per-band frequency knobs ensure unrivaled tone-crafting potential
- Multi-scale 33–35-in. design ensures multitudes of conventional and experimental tuning or performance configurations are superbly supported
- Methodical body contouring, EHB5 neck profile, and 19.685-in. (500mm) fretboard radius collectively provide unbridled access to all 24 hard-wearing, stainless steel frets
- Strategic weight reduction via chambered body, headless design, and graphite reinforcement rods guarantees balanced and fatigue-free playing, for all-night studio and stage performance
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