# Woo! New bass on the way



## Drew (May 3, 2005)

http://www.americanmusical.com/images--i-IBA-EDA905-SVF.html

Ibanez Ergodyne EDA905 5-string. Darren spotted these on closeout at american musical supply for $459, and this is a bass I'd actually kinda wanted to check out but decided it was out of my price range. 

5 strings, badass body shape (one of the slightly less sculped varieties was the most comfortable bass I've ever played (but alas a 4), so I've got high hopes for this), single bridge humbucker, peizo pickups, and a flat silver finish. Dead sexy. It should ship either tomorrow by UPS ground or, depending on if they hold shipment so it comes with a case (which I ordered- figured at this price I could swing another $99 without sweating much) on the 10th. I'm pretty psyched.  

So, one bass down, one computer to go and I'm back in business.  

-D


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## dpm (May 3, 2005)

Dude - you said 9-string  

Have you played a 'Luthite' instrument?


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## dpm (May 3, 2005)

My bad - you have played them. I find they lack real bottom end.


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## Drew (May 3, 2005)

fixed.  

Yeah. the 4-string sounded fine, and luthite's the stuff they use for the JS-10 Chrome Boys, right? A buddy of mine had one - sounded good to me. Then again, I wasn't tuned to a B below standard for a bass, now was I?  

If it doesn't work out for me, I can just trade it off for something else, but as this is going to be mostly a recording bass, and I usually find myself slightly tightening up the low end a little, maybe it'll work out pretty well. 

anyway, it LOOKS badass.  

-D


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## dpm (May 3, 2005)

Looks is the important thing in the studio  
If you've been tightening the lows it could work fine.
Unforunately basses with great low B's tend to weigh roughly 19 tons


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## Allen Garrow (May 3, 2005)

Right on ! congrats dude! I just picked up a Yamaha Attitude II for wife to learn on for 225 bucks! It's in great shape, and sounds awesome. I would have rathered snagged a 5 string, but this was too good to pass up. Besides I thought if I could get her started and diggin' this stuff,,, it won't be to long until she will start see what all the hype is in getting new gear! Insert evil grin here...lol. To celebrate her new bass we bought a Carvin PB100 bass amp,,, very cool,,,very loud little amp!

~A


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## darren (May 4, 2005)

The big reason why Ibanez put piezos in that bass was to improve clarity and low-end. Notice that it doesn't have a split magnetic/piezo output... the two pickups can be blended, but they only go to a mono output.

You'll have to tell me how it is, Drew... i've been drooling over those for a few months, but i had a big tax bill to cover this year, so i've held off most big purchases. The other bass i've been looking at is the Peavey Grind 6-string.


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## Drew (May 4, 2005)

6-string = damned cool. 

Yeah, I noticed that. I was half considering having it modded with a split output, less for the ability to seperate the two signals in real-time and more for additional mixing options in my "home studio" (my roommate calls it my bedroom - silly women :eyeroll: ), but I'd imagine Luthite ain't the easiest stuff to route  

Either way, it'll probably be nice for a little added impact on the low B, and besides, as DP pointed out, looks are EASILY the most important thing in the studio. 

I've heard that some of the Ergodynes are prone to dead spots on the neck, but Im not sure if it's the entire series or just one model. Either way, for $459, I'm not too worried. I'll post a full review when it arrives. 

-D


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## eleven59 (May 5, 2005)

A guy in my class had one of these, sounded amazing. He had the black/blue burst finish which I hated when I saw it on the site, but was beautiful in person. Unfortunately, his neck warped and bowed somehow and when he sent it in for repairs, they said the neck would have to be replaced, and then they told him it had been discontinued and they couldn't get a new neck, so they gave him his money back. 

Hopefully this isn't a problem with the series though, and has more to do with his living in Residence at the school on the top floor, where it's constantly either way too hot or way too cold.


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## Drew (May 5, 2005)

eleven59 said:


> where it's constantly either way too hot or way too cold.



Yikes, sounds like New England. 

-D


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## dpm (May 5, 2005)

Actually Drew luthite is really easy to route. It's a bit like softer MDF. No grain to worry about, screw holes strip pretty easy. I had a read of the patent and it actually covers different mixes to achieve densities of particular woods.
I assume the stuff they use on the Ibanez is meant to replicate basswood.
The dust from it probably isn't too healthy.

I had an Ergodyne guitar (!) in here a while back. Apparently they were a euro market product only.


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## Drew (May 5, 2005)

You learn something new every day. 

Those were sweet looking guitars (yep, euro only, I'm just a big enough gear dork that I've seen pics). How'd it play/sound?

-D


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## dpm (May 5, 2005)

Drew said:


> How'd it play/sound?
> 
> -D



Pretty damn crap.


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## Drew (May 6, 2005)

Oh well. 

They need to release a prestige version of that one stateside - hell, for the $400 or so the korean would go for over here, I might even grab one for the hell of it. Especially if they did a 7.


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## Vince (May 10, 2005)

Drew, the best rock bass I ever heard was an Ibanez Ergodyne. An old bassist of mine had one, and that coupled with an Ampeg SVT3 and a Mesa 2x15 rocked the fucking house hard.

Great buy, and good job of sticking with the all-Ibanez guitars


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## darren (May 10, 2005)

There was also a wood version of the EDA bass a few years back called the AFR series.

http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a104.htm
http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a104f.htm
http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a105.htm
http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a204.htm
http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a304.htm
http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/basses/afr/gal-a305.htm

Pretty damn sweet. The neck goes halfway through the body, which is more contoured than the luthite EDA basses.

I may have to seek one of these out.

BTW, the designer of that original series is Rolf Spuler of Switzerland.

http://rolfspuler.com/


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## Metal Ken (May 10, 2005)

The Ergodynes are badass. I actually like the BTB Basses more, but Ergodynes are metal \m/


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## eleven59 (May 10, 2005)

Darren, those AFRs are just plain amazing looking  I always wondered what a wood version of the Ergodyne series guitars/basses would be like...too bad there aren't more of these


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## Drew (May 10, 2005)

That's hot, darren. You should look for one of those.


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## Drew (May 10, 2005)

HOT! the tracking number says my bass got delivered a bit after 11 this morning, and I should be out of work early tonight for once. 

I've got an interview up in Burlington, VT tomorrow, so no thoughts and pics from work, but Thursday i'll post a review. 

-D


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## Metal Ken (May 10, 2005)

If its anything like the ergodyne that my old bass player had, you'll dig it a lot.


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## grimmchaos (May 10, 2005)

Good luck with the interview tomorrow!


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## Jason (May 10, 2005)

screw all those name brand over priced basses and guitars i can get a 6 string BRAND NEW with these specs
Please allow 2 weeks for delivery 
Ash body, styled and contoured for hours of playing comfort 
Dual, deep cutaways allow access to the entire 24 fret neck 
Hard Maple neck with adjustable truss rod 
Rosewood fretboard with jumbo frets 
Two bass style humbucker pickups 
Volume and two band EQ controls tailor you sound 
Adjustable BB-006 bridge 
Die Cast tuners 
Gold tone hardware 
Satin Natural finish lets the beauty of the Ash wood show through 
Width of the neck at the nut: 1 11/16" 
Overall length 45"; Scale length: 34" 
Width at the widest point: 13" 
Actual Weight is only 8.5 lbs 


For $179 BITCHESSSSS hahah i have found the jackpot

..and yes they are kick ass quality and play and sound good too


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## Metal Ken (May 10, 2005)

Hrm, sounds fishy . I dunno if i'd dig that...


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## keithb (May 10, 2005)

xtranscendedx said:


> screw all those name brand over priced basses and guitars i can get a 6 string BRAND NEW with these specs
> Please allow 2 weeks for delivery
> Ash body, styled and contoured for hours of playing comfort
> Dual, deep cutaways allow access to the entire 24 fret neck
> ...



rondomusic.net?

Supposedly some of their guitars are OK, never played one though.


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## Drew (May 10, 2005)

Damn it, still at work, and I am about to miss the 6:20 train. That means I won't be able to play the thing till like 8:30. 

Bah. Cruel, cruel world.

-D


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## Jason (May 11, 2005)

Well im not a rep for them and i dont own them lol.AND there is no Supposedly There good they kick ass nothing fishy about it i own one of there fretless jazz basses and one of the les pauls friggin bad ass   If you get one and there is anything wrong with it send it back the refund your shipping and they send you a new one.


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## Leon (May 11, 2005)

keithb said:


> rondomusic.net?
> 
> Supposedly some of their guitars are OK, never played one though.


no, it's www.la-la-land.com


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## Drew (May 12, 2005)

Got the bass Wednesday night (late wednesday night, I ended up going out for drinks after work. Long story condensed- we got a new girl at work a few weeks back, this adorable little asian who's, sadly, married. However, on the plus side, she's really nice and now all the other adorable little asians on the floor are coming over to visit all the time, so I've gotten to know a bunch of them pretty well recently. I missed my train, mentioned it to one of them, and she was like, "well, let's go out for drinks" ...which is weird, as she doesn't drink ) and the case last night. 

Short review - the thing looks fuckin' evil, is SURPRISINGLY resonant, like almost unnaturally so, and while the B doesn't quite have the impact the higher strings do, that could be the string guage, and it still sounds pretty damned good (shipped with Elixers, too, which was a plus - literally, it'll probably be like a year before I change 'em, lol, as I still haven't changed the strings on my shitty old Squier that my dad now has). 

Also, while the peizos don't make it sound like an acoustic bass (something Ibanez never claimed), if you mix the peizos in with the magnetics at about 70%, it sounds massive. 

Pics and more details later.


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## jim777 (May 12, 2005)

How's the neck, and the playability? Can you Myung on it? (You know what I mean, if you could Myung on anything, could you do it on this?  ) At this price....did it come with a case or bag?

thanks Drew

jim


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## Drew (May 12, 2005)

Well, the factory setup blew, but it's quite a bit better now. It's still a little higher than I'd like and the saddles are adjusted all the way down, but I'm wondering if 1.) The saddles are shimmed (as one of 'em will go quite a bit lower than the others), and 2.) I think a simple neck shim would fix this, as the neck itself is straight, so I think maybe simply tweaking the neck angle a bit should bring me into perfect playability. I'm not crazy enough to expect an Ibanez being cleared out of a warehouse to play perfectly right off the bat. 

I can't Myung on anything, but it plays quite well - worlds better than my old Squire, and my hacked attampts at slap bass seem to work a bit better on this one. Add a perfect setup, and it should be looking pretty good. 

It didn't come cased (although the cardboard box it shipped in was surprisingly bombproof - it was a case-sized box, with a triangular insert in the center that the bass went inside. I was impressed by the design, and would feel quite comfortable ordering another packed in this manner. However, the appropriate case is aanother $99, so all told it's $548 cased, with free shipping. I'd recommend grabbing the case - it's much like a UV - as finding a case tha's perfectly molded for this body shape just isn't going to happen.


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## Shawn (May 12, 2005)

Congrats on your new bass and that married asian cutie. 
Maybe she'll get divorced.

So the bass plays real well? I have a Soundgear thats nothing too special and I have always loved the Ergodynes. Cant wait to hear how it sounds on your new future recordings.


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## Drew (May 12, 2005)

No, she's nice, I couldn't wish that on her.


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## Shawn (May 13, 2005)

Yeah, you're right and since she sees that your a nice guy, I think it's cool that
shes willing to hang out with you and be friends.

I always seem to like the ones that are taken. LOL It sucks sometimes.
Chalk it up to bad timing.


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## darren (May 14, 2005)

Speak of the devil...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4713&item=7322696555

Too bad it's a four-string... and it looks extremely well-played. I think the seller is asking WAY too much considering the instrument's condition.


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## Shawn (May 15, 2005)

Gotta have that 5th string.


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## Jeff (May 16, 2005)

The EDA905 is one f'd up looking bass.....I like it!! I played the 4 string version, and it seemed fine to me.


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## Drew (May 17, 2005)

It's just evil - I feel like I shoul;d be in Orgy whenever I pick it up, lol. Yet, playability is great, it's a comfortable body, and upper access is quite good. So, it works. 

I still owe you guys a full review - maybe tonight or tomorrow.


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