Ibanez UB805-MOB

I bought this bass in March 2023, having moved from a rock band to an orchestra. I have previously played an Ibanez roadstar 1981 vintage fretless since 1981 and whilst it was fine in an orchestra, obviously not bowable.
So, the Ibanez UB805. Lovely piece of kit and beautiful to look at. The stand is pretty heavy and cumbersome. Sometimes difficult to get your feet around. Great sounding, although the strings it is supplied with are not correct for bowing. I am yet to fit bowable strings. Great sustain and individual eq on the pickups is a good idea. The curvature will need some bridge adjustment to make bowing easier, I think.
Be careful, the active circuitry is activated by plugging in the lead, so do not leave plugged in, or the battery will drain. The jack socket is very stiff.
Big problem so far is that the volume control has a bit of a mind of its own. I need to contact Thomann to see if they can sort it out and I can see that in the middle of a concert it could go into gamble mode which would not be good. I think it must be a loose connection, but do not want to get into the circuitry for fear of invalidating warranty.
All in all, and so far, a great looking and sounding machine. Will report further when I have learnt to bow and have the correct strings on.

So, for me this is the first time I've played an upright since I was a teenager (long time ago now). I have fairly small hands, so the 34" scale length and narrow nut suit me well. It was a fairly easy transition from electric bass (I'm already used to playing fretless) and I'm already playing the thing in tune, after a few days.

I've had to tweak my technique, but not by much - flatter finger position, slightly more wrist angle. If you're wondering (I was), the marker dots are exactly where the notes are, not where they are on many fretless electrics (in the middle of the 'frets' - as on a fretted bass). The compound radius is quite extreme, meaning you have to play more horizontally, and the B string is quite tricky to access up the board. This might just be my unfamiliarity with the instrument, I'm still getting comfortable with it.

Electronics are great - easy to adjust the tone and volume and the addition of individual adjustment for each piezo is a great addition. Knobs feel solid and are silent. Jack socket is a bit stiff, and the easy access battery compartment is a nice add. It has a nice tone, but even when adjusted full bass it lacks the punch of a double bass at the low end. The sustain is unbelievable, way more than a double bass and more than most of my electric basses. It has a most satisfying growl, reminiscent of an electric fretless... mwahhh...

There's a few details on the finish that aren't perfect - some visible glue residue where the fingerboard is over the body and quite a few rough areas of finish - notably on the lower body, around the bridge and on the back. For this sort of money, I expected it to be at least sanded smooth and the finish to be perfect.

The stand is heavy and sturdy, which is nice, but it does mean carrying the whole shebang in the case is quite heavy. Case is of nice quality, which is good as I doubt you've be able to find a replacement should the zips go.

Overall I'm happy with it, a nice addition to my armoury and accessible for an electric player with small hands. I'm quite fluent with it just after a few days of practice. If you can overlook the combined weight of instrument + stand and the questionable finish, you'll be glad you bought it.