I purchased this bass guitar new from Guitar Center on 3/24/26. Having played this bass for nearly two months, I realized that I am no longer able to play a long-scale bass due to my arthritic wrists/thumbs. There is nothing wrong with this bass, and there is virtually no evidence of it having been played (e.g., there is no pick guard, but there is also no wear in the area of the pickups where I normally rest my thumb). The original D'Addario EXL165 strings were okay, but I prefer flatwound strings over roundwound. So I replaced them with Ernie Ball flatwound group 2.5 bass strings, 45 - 105 gauge (they look, sound and feel great). I saved the original strings, as they were never played and are like new (included in the package).


From Ibanez Bass Workshop:

The rounded body edge contributes to playing-comfort and sophisticated look. The EHB’s headless construction and specially designed body enable the player to maintain a similar playing position whether seated or standing. The top half of the back of the body is slanted which allows the bass to rest slightly closer to the player’s body for better control and a more ergonomic feel.

Rugged yet light-weight Ibanez custom headpieces enable strings to be easily set and released by a hex wrench from the back side. The MR5HS bridge is designed especially for the EHB basses and features wide intonation range. Each bridge piece is independently and securely attached to the body for maximum vibration transfer, and the saddles are adjustable for string spacing +/-1.5mm, answering every bassist’s individual string spacing demands, no matter what playing style. PTFE washers are used on each tuner for a smooth tuning action.

α1 pickups deliver ultimate tonal clarity and openness with abundant mids and lows, popular characteristics among modern bass tones. The Ibanez Custom Electronics 3-band EQ is our latest refinement on the concept of simple, straightforward, no-nonsense EQ control. The Boost and Cut for the Mid Control are each centered on slightly different frequencies, an innovation that delivers a preset range of the most favorable bass tones. The EQ bypass control offers precision tonal adjustments, including a switch to choose passive-only operation. When the EQ bypass is activated, the treble tone control knob becomes the global tone control for the passive circuit.