Ibanez EDB500 Ergodyne Bass

When I saw the picture I knew one day I would have this! It had it all: 24 frets, curved front and back, scooped body for popping, active eq, much cheaper than a Warwick and a metallic silver colour. It looked like something from the space age!

When I bought one, the colour is darker than in the photos and the scopped front is negligible. Nevertheless, it plays really well. When purchasing I was deciding between this and a Ibanez BTB. This is a better bass (though slightly more expensive).

I remoeved the back plate to find what Luthite was. It is a heavy plastic. The sound is warm and pleasant with a rich sustain and fooled me at first. I do not really use the PHAT control except when I'm told to turn the bass down I know I have the power to turn it back up!

My bass had a high action with the bridge action adjusters all the way down. Hence I had to remove the neck and put a few cardboard slices to raise the neck.

I'm sure this will last for a very long time. I have used it at many gigs and the distribution about the body could not be better.

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I would recommend this one to anyone who fancies slapping, popping and those who want a Warwick-style bass but can not afford one. Although it was immediately eye-catching it has now become a faithful servant to me. Believe it or not, I bought it new for two hundred and fifty pounds!

Made in korea, late 90's or early 2000's. 24 frets. 34" scale. Two pickups, tone and volume control for both pickups. The body is made from material called "Luthite". Very nice features, very easy to play.

This is where the problem is: The bass is very muddy and mushy sounding. There is absolutely no way to get decent sound out from this. No clarity or punch whatsoever. I think this problem derives from the Luthite body.

It's a solid build. I've no found faults concerning appearance or functionality.

The jack is not very good. Have to tighten it up pretty regularly. Otherwise great.

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This would be very decent bass compared to the price if it would sound better. I've heard that newer Ergodyne models are made from real wood, so that might fix the problem, at least partially. The pickups could be bad too... I cannot recommend the ones made from Luthite to anyone.

Nice luthite body grey puter finish. Double bar pick up system provides a nice sound and the cut away alows for great picking. The active bass boost is great but i have had problems with sum amps which can cope with it well. Thin necks and 24 frets allows for versatility.

i play funk, ska, and punk an it does the job well, but can be a littlew ovelwhelming sumtimes whe playing with guiatars. good on stage and sounds sweet when you crack of a little solo.

When i got it the bridge was set up so the string were very far from the neck i enjoy playin this wasy as it otughens the arms but lowering then can make it easier to play. but everything esle was fine.

This bass is pretty damn tough and has taken a few nck in my time a bounced back, whithout any problems. The stap pins are pretty damn annoying and i would advise geting sum new ones casue the strap always comes off. I would take a back up ata gig but i would take a set of batteries for the active bass bosst casue it eats them up when on full.

warrenty for a uyear i think other than that ive had no problems.

Ive been playing for two years now and its my second bass the first being a tanglewood. thsi one is a definately a step up.i would probably buy it again but i might look around for others. sounds brilliant with a peddle so i would get one with it. generally a mean, stylish looking bass with everything i need.

This was my second bass. It offers pretty much all I need from a bass. Active electronics with seperate pick-up volume controls, and treble cut and bass boost. 24 jumbo frets and thin neck. It came with hardshell case. All top notch

I play mainly Jazz and funk/R&B and this works fine. The controls on the bass can be easily adjusted for any style. I've never got feedback or anything from this. It gives a nice bright sound, very resonant. It seems to fit both studio and stage situations fine, I've never had a problem. I use an SWR Workingman's 15" Combo with my ibanez. I only wish that I could find a fretless model. Other than that it has a very nice sound.

The action was actually a bit low and I got horrible fretbuzz but that was easily solved. The intonation was also a bit off which is a bit more of a pain to fix but still no problem. The pick-ups were setup just fine.

This bass can withstand live playing. I've only need the neck adjusted once, that was because of the condition I got it in(used) but I highly suggest replacing all the strap options. Get a nice strap lock system and new screws. I was rehearsing for a gig and the screw snapped and the bass dropped a few feet. A nice big chunk came out of the bass which angers me so. Because of the luthite body it has been very difficult trying to get this fixed or filled in without hurting the bass even more. I might need a new body for it if I can find one. If you have good strap locks and all though this should be no problem. the good thing though was that even after "the drop" it still worked just as good. NO back up is needed

since i got it used there was no warranty. I tried getting in touch with ibanez to get a replacement body but they kind of gave me the run around.

This is overall a nice bass. Nice price tag. If it were stolen I would get a new one if it was fretless or had a nice price similar to what i got it for. My only problem was the body durability. Not solid like wood but that just means be even more careful. I give it a thumbs up

I got it fresh out of the box (2001 Korea), still smelled like the factory (bad smell, kinda like new plastic, but it wore off in about a week). 2 Ergo Dynamix humbuckers that give it a nice, clearm and crisp sound. It has active electronics so you have to change the 9V in the back now and then. It has a Luthite body (Don't know) it's kinda like plastic and graphite, so It's heavy and solid, but I got used to it. Thin neck, jumbo frets, rosewood fretboard w/ dot inlays. I might update the bridge later on, but it's good for now.

I play mostly 80's metal like Metallica, and it suits it very well. The two Ergo's make the sound very rich and quiet. It has an active PHAT bass boost that raises the sound 30 dB, don't know why they have it though. I use a peavey microbass, and it sounds good w/ it.

The action and pickups are great so far, but I might need to raise the neck pickup a little bit just for comfort. everthing else is just how I wanted it.

This bass was made to be around for along time. The neck and all seem straight to me, and may not need to be adjusted as long as you take care of it. If I were to use it on gigs, I would play it primarly, but I would either have a backup or another 9V just incase the batteries ran out. It is very dependable all and all.

Haven't talked to them, but it has a 1 year warrenty, but I don't know what good that will do.

I've been playing for 2 years and this is my second Ibanez. I choose this one because it looked like a bass made to last, and my neighbor had a Ergodyne, and I liked it. It's had to dink up or scratch, but I'm sure you could if you were wreckless w/ it (it's my baby, so I don't even scratch it). My next bass is going to be a Rickenbacker probably, but I will keep this one as long as I can.

I bought this bass from a dealer in Iowa. It has 24 frets, 4 strings, and it is made out of luthite, so it contours to your body, which makes this bass very unique.

It has 2 hummbucking pickups, so it has a deep rich sound, and it has an incredible range, unlike the Fender basses.

It has a bolt on neck, in which I am not a real fan of. the pickups sit low, so there is hardly any room to put your thumb on them and play comfortably, so I raised to first pickup.

The truss rod is terrible, and the neck as well. The body is solid. It is a good all around bass when it comes to durability.

They were not friendly or helpful. I didn't even hear about a warranty.

I do have an Ibanez sr 400, and a Gibson Thunderbird-4, the ergodyne doesn't even come close to these bases.

New bottom-of-the-line Ergodyne model for 1998. Made in Korea out of an Ibanez proprietary composite material called "Luthite". The use of this "plastic" allows the bass to be sculpted like a fine boutique instrument but at a fraction of the cost. Manufacturer claims that this plastic is specially formulated for electric instruments (the top-of-the-line JS chrome guitar is made of the same stuff). In truth, it sounds just like any other bass made out of wood.
Mine is a metallic matte finish in dark grey (pewter). It's also available in purple and grey glossy finishes. I would recommend the matte finish to anyone who gigs with their instrument as it completely hides all smudges, and surface imperfections. It sucks up the lights for a pretty cool effect on stage (especially with a magenta gel). This finish nicely complements the modernistic "Batman" look of the styling.
24 frets for a double octave range on a 34" scale and 305mm radius. The neck is a bolt-on with four screws. The double horn body cutaway allows easy access to the very top of the fingerboard. Frets are medium jumbo size. The fingerboard is made of rosewood with white dot inlays at the usual positions. The neck and body have no binding. There is a graphite nut.
This neck is incredibly thin and fast but rock stable with the usual truss rod adjustable. The matte finish of the plastic gives it a really nice feel and aids in fast playing. The Ibanez die-cast tuning gears (chromed) hold tight and the intonation is perfect right up to the double octave. This would be a good rig for a death metal bassist tuning down a step or two.
Pickups are Ibanez *new* DHX passive ceramic magnet soapbars at the neck and bridge positions. Controls on this model are 2 volume, 1 master tone (high cut), and 1 active electronic bass boost (Phat EQ). Knobs are knurled chromed metal.
The bridge is the standard stamped metal Ibanez cheapy (EB-5), but the mount is recessed into the body of the guitar for incredibly low action. The string saddles are also cheap, but they work fine and as I said the bass can be set up for low, fast, accurate tuning very easily.
The contour of this instrument melds with your body no matter where you have it, off your hip, down to your thighs, tucked up under your chin, etc. It is an extremely comfortable bass and the plastic construction is surprisingly hefty. The controls are very easy to access while playing. It feels equally good using a pick, your fingers, slapping, plucking, etc.
The controls are somewhat limited for this model, no balance control being the most blatant and the "Phat EQ" would be better served by a good quality stomp box. I would have preferred a 3-band EQ, but that's why they have the EDB600.

I play mostly blues (SRV), blues-rock (Cream, Robin Trower) and electronica (Curve)styles. Even with the low end of the model line, this bass has an incredible sound. I can easily dial up crystal clean, power blues or phat bass without using outboard equipment. Although, to be quite frank, the result is somewhat less than I can can achieve without using the built-in Phat EQ and just play dry into an effects loop. The active electronics in the bass are somewhat hissy, especially when you stop playing and remove your grounding by not touching the strings. This is easily solved by a noise gate or just bypass the onboard EQ.
Straight dry sounds out of the bass are very good with a warmth that's surprising given the plastic construction. The sounds are a little skewed toward the bright end, but are easily compensated by rolling off some treble using the tone control (wired to both pickups simultaneously). All four strings are picked up at the same volume and there don't appear to be any dead spots.
I would have preferred the bridge set up on the top-of-the-line EDC700 where you can either string it through the body (preferred) or just attach the strings to the bridge. A balance control would also help, although you can achieve the same thing with a little more fuss with the two volume controls.

I bought this bass used and I had to adjust the truss rod to remove some buzz and bowing of the neck. The former owner had it tuned down to D (and sometimes C) and had screwed around with it to compensate. Even with the uncertainties of "inheiriting" past abuses, this instrument is extremely well made and could pass for like new condition. The plastic composite construction is the key to the whole thing. Ibanez has designed this instrument from the ground up to take advantage of the manufacturing techniques. The neck is as iron-clad as you can get without going to carbon fiber. The body becomes part of you when you play it. The controls seem to exert ESP guidance to your fingers. I could play this thing for days!
The matte finish will remain unchanged (I hope) for years and the whole guitar looks like it was sculpted out of a single piece of material. The neck (a bolt-on)smoothly fades into the body at the top and has an incredibly smooth and comfortable feel. The styling is distinctive and "expensive-looking". Not what you would expect in this price range.

I have used this guitar at gigs and it appears that it will wear like iron for years. The tuners grip tight and don't go out of tune. The knobs have a heavy industrial feel and the pots don't wiggle. The input jack is angled to prevent popouts and connects with a solid click. The strap pins were replaced with strap locks. The matte finish on my guitar seems like it is part of the plastic and not painted on, so it should remain unchanged for the life of the guitar. The whole bass just exudes solidity but the design is kind of elegant and fluid at the same time. Of course, time will tell.

For the price I had budgeted, I can't imagine being able to find another bass to replace this one. I searched the internet want ads, guitar stores, etc. for months and tried out 20 or 30 guitars before I found this one. I am more pleased with this guitar than with others I tried (new and used) costing a couple of hundred more.
If I could have found a used EDB600 for a little more, I probably would have gone that route. It has a better bridge and a 3-band EQ with black hardware, but I couldn't justify a new one at hundreds more for these small improvements.
I will own this guitar for many many years to come. It now has a permanent place beside my '72 Les Paul Professional and '97 Lone Star Strat.