Ibanez UB805

About the Ibanez UB805

Built on a 34-inch scale with a neck-through five-piece maple/walnut neck and a maple body wing (finished in a mahogany oil burst look), the UB805 pairs a fretless Jatoba fingerboard with white dot inlays and a compound-radius profile. Its five strings tune down to a low B (1G, 2D, 3A, 4E, 5B), strung with D'Addario ECB81-5 strings from .045 to .132 gauge, spaced 23.5mm apart across five individual AeroSilk MR5 mono-rail bridges. The Ibanez AeroSilk piezo system runs on a single 9V battery and gives each string its own gain control alongside overall volume and tone - electronics built specifically to approximate an acoustic upright's resonance rather than sounding like a conventional bass guitar pickup. At 27.5 lbs and 1170mm long, it ships with a custom Tama stand and a gig bag. Introduced in 2023, the UB805 extends the Upswing concept Ibanez launched in 2018 with the four-string UB804, adding the low-B range players increasingly expect from modern bass setups.

Where to buy

• Reverb Ibanez Bass Workshop UB805-MOB Upswing Mahogany Oil Burst - Electric Upright Bass 1.099 EUR Best price View details

No platform selected – pick at least one above.

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Sound character of the Ibanez UB805

The AeroSilk piezo system is built to deliver an airy brightness on top of a robust, fundamental low end, blending acoustic-style resonance with electric-bass versatility rather than the tighter, more compressed punch of a conventional bass guitar pickup.

What owners of the Ibanez UB805 say

Feedback leans positive and practical rather than purist: players describe it as a genuine game-changer for recording and cramped gig spaces, with a tone they call hybrid - bouncy and plump rather than the hard, compressed block of sound a standard bass guitar produces. The one recurring reservation is that the acoustic character comes from electronic emulation rather than real wood resonance, which honest reviewers flag as something purists chasing a true double bass sound will still notice, alongside the minor inconvenience of battery dependency on the active electronics.

Playability & handling of the Ibanez UB805

The whole Upswing concept exists to solve one specific problem: an electric bassist who wants upright tone and feel without relearning an entirely different instrument size and posture. At 27.5 lbs with a compact, balanced body flare, the UB805 is built to be played standing without a stool, which reviewers credit with reducing fatigue over a long gig and keeping better eye contact with an audience than a full-size traditional upright allows. Owner feedback describes it as genuinely practical for recording and cramped stages, with a hybrid tone that lands somewhere between an electric bass guitar and an acoustic upright - more bouncy and plump than the tight, compressed punch of a standard bass guitar. The honest trade-off, flagged by at least one reviewer, is that the piezo electronics are approximating acoustic resonance rather than generating it from real wood vibration, so purists chasing a genuine double bass sound may still notice the difference, and the battery dependency of the active system is a minor practical downside to plan around.

Recommended accessories & strings for the Ibanez UB805

A custom Tama stand and a gig bag are included, covering transport and stage setup without extra purchases. Since the AeroSilk pickup system is active, a spare 9V battery is worth keeping on hand at all times - the instrument simply won't produce sound through the electronics without one.

Technical data for the Ibanez UB805

The history of the Ibanez UB805

Ibanez's UB805 extends the UB804's folding upright bass design with a fifth low B string for extended range.

About Ibanez as a manufacturer

Ibanez's parent company, Hoshino Gakki, began in 1908 as a Tokyo bookstore called Hoshino Shoten, selling books and sheet music before gradually moving into importing musical instruments. From 1929, Hoshino imported Spanish guitars made by Salvador Ibáñez e Hijos of Valencia, and by 1935 had started building its own stringed instruments under the name "Ibanez Salvador," later shortened to simply "Ibanez." When the Spanish workshop was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and the original guitars became unavailable, Hoshino bought the rights to the Ibanez name outright and continued building guitars under it independently - meaning the brand survives today because a Japanese bookseller preserved a Spanish luthier's name after his own workshop was lost. The modern Ibanez Guitars brand was formally established in Nagoya in 1957, and by 2024 was outsold only by Gibson, Fender and PRS among guitar makers. The Upswing line, launched in 2018 with the four-string UB804, represents Ibanez's first serious entry into electric upright basses - a relatively recent addition built on that much longer stringed-instrument history.