Electrify Your Upright Armature
Combining premium materials with a stellar amplification system, the Ibanez Bass Workshop UB804 represents the commitment Ibanez and its all-star luthiers have made to designing and delivering an electric upright bass of the utmost quality and character. Its fretless jatoba fingerboard sits atop a 5-piece maple/walnut neck, with a 34-inch scale length that makes for a smooth transition from an electric bass guitar. Its custom-built AeroSilk MR5 bridge and integrated piezo-pickup system allow you to switch seamlessly between playing with fingers and playing with a bow, supporting pliable, prismatic performance possibilities. Sweetwater’s gigging bassists have reported from the stage that the UB804 is as reliable as a road-ready instrument needs to be, and when you add in the included TAMA Roadpro stand, the Ibanez Bass Workshop UB804 is ready for practically any gig right from the start.
Crafted for diverse, dedicated playing support
The multimodality of the Ibanez Bass Workshop UB804 reinforces the importance of a robust foundation for pro-tier performance. The neck-through construction places maple wings alongside a 5-piece maple and walnut neck and core, while a jatoba fretboard completes the instrument’s tonewood triumvirate.
Sonically, maple is celebrated for its vibrance, clarity, and luminous timbre, as well as its natural note-separating capabilities that ensure every note — whether picked, plucked, strummed, or slapped — is voiced with precision. Walnut shares the singing bell-like transparency of maple, while possessing attributes common to rosewood, such as its darker crystalline presence, spectrum-spanning warmth, and uncolored yet rich depth, with hearty midrange overtones and robust resonance in tow. The jatoba fretboard echoes walnut’s maple-rosewood fusion profile, favored by luthiers for its density and dimensional stability, which is passed on to you, dear player, as the key to mitigating risks of twisting or warping — the same is true for the neck’s 5-piece construction!
AeroSilk piezo: unrivaled sonic innovation
As is the spirit of the Ibanez Bass Workshop, the UB804 features an innovative suite of electronics. Through relentless R&D, the Bass Workshop’s pioneering minds crafted a custom-built, all-in-one bridge and piezo pickup system, with a singular purpose: capturing the airiness and presence that are integral to the sound of the upright bass. With the AeroSilk system, Ibanez has succeeded. The custom AeroSilk MR5 bridge features individual saddles that were uniquely designed to explicitly support the use of piezo pickups. This meticulous craftsmanship not only captures the nuances and the presence of the essential upright-bass sound, but it also means the UB804 is expertly equipped to accommodate finger and bow playing styles without sacrificing definition or sonic identity. Side-mounted tone controls keep you equipped for flexible yet focused sonic shaping, while rear-mounted trim pots let you refine the AeroSilk piezo’s gain values to suit your sound. And to ensure full performance support, every UB804 upright bass ships with both a gig bag and a TAMA Roadpro stand.
Ibanez Bass Workshop UB804 Features:
- Fretless, electric upright bass allows for pro-tier performances in myriad unplugged and electrified configurations
- Maple wings, jatoba fingerboard, and maple/walnut neck and core provide a foundation of rich, articulate tones that are teeming with warmth and clarity
- Innovative AeroSilk piezo and MR5 bridge form an integrated system uniquely engineered for piezo-powered playing that captures the characteristic presence of an upright bass
- Master Volume and Tone controls are discretely placed to prevent accidental interaction without sacrificing the flexibility of onboard sound shaping
- Trim pots for piezo gain ensure your sound can be effortlessly refined to match your performance and playing preferences
- Conical compound fingerboard radius for smooth playability all the way down the neck
- 5-piece neck construction means increased dimensional stability and resistance to warping and twisting
- Versatile AeroSilk piezo accommodations include seamless transitions between finger- and bow-playing styles without altering pickup settings
- Included TAMA Roadpro stand and Ibanez gig bag mean you’re ready to gig, right on arrival
