History of the Ibanez Iceman Bass

[Chris P.]

Thanks for searching. The Iceman was developed by Greco and Ibanez. It was called Mirage in Japan and Iceman overseas. There was also a Mirage bass in the nineties.

[Aussie Mark]

The first Iceman basses were made in Japan - the reissues in Korea.

[uwe]

No Iceman basses before the nineties - I would know, I would have killed for one. And I don't think the set neck ICB 500 was the first one either, but rather the bolt-on ICB 300. The 500 only came a few years later and had a slightly smaller body which some people identify as it being chiefly aimed at the Japanese market.

Both models were deleted in the nineties and the first Iceman reissue only took place well after the millenium: The US only passive ICB 200 (with bolt-on neck and mini buckers), Steve Dude Barr was good enough to get one for me and liked it for the money. The mini buckers created issues with the string eveness - some people said, no issues on mine though - so they were enlarged in later models. Both the mini and larger pup versions are now deleted.

Later, there was also an active bolt-on ICB 300 EX with Musicman Stingray pup look (albeit smaller) with large large pole pieces and an ICB 200 EX with simplified "bass boost only"-electronics and cheaper pups.



Also meanwhile both deleted.

The ICB08-Ltd Flag Candy Apple was a limited edition in trademark Rick Nielsen chequered look, I suspect that had an alder rather than a maho body (like all other Icemen) from the sound.

Next in line was the Sharlee Signature model which has the ICB 300 EX pups and electronics plus a neck thru structure, a massive, heavy bass, no doubt due to the fact that it is strung B E A D from the factory (Germany distrubution nevertheless tuned mine E A D G, it speaks for the bass that the neck still had relatively little forward bow!).   That is what you have the new version of, Chris, I believe. You'll have to grunt while playing ot.

A couple of years ago they brought out a 5 string, but that didn't last long, I think it was the 5 string version of the ICB 300 EX.




I have six Icemen.


Ibanez Iceman ICB 300 (90s model, 300 pictured far-right, 500 far-left, it looks a bit more petite)



Ibanez Iceman ICB 500 (90s model)



Ibanez Iceman ICB 200 (mid-noughties)



Ibanez Iceman ICB 300 EX



Ibanez Iceman ICB08-Ltd Flag Candy Apple (notice how the pups have grown in comparison to the ICB 200)



Ibanez SDB1 Sharlee D'Angelo Signature Iceman



Folklore has it that the name Iceman is a pun on a well-known Love Gun-toting rhythm guitarist from the Bronx who played Iceman shaped guitars for much of his career even though he was adamant not to refer to them as Icemans in gear interviews. His name was Stanley Eisen and if you pronounce Eisen in its original German then it sounds like Ice-Zen, jawohl.

Chris, I am gravely offended that you would not contact me first regarding Iceman basses!!! I hope you have a good apology for your hurtful ignorance of myself (like a failed radio transmission or something similar ...). My memory can be very long.  

[Chris P.]

What can I say:( I'm very sorry. I know you have the red chequered one, but I didn't knew you had so much Icemen... Thanks! Some of your info was already clear to me, but you told me some new things! So: Vielen dank und entschuldigung!!!

[Chris P.]

BTW: Ich liebe the brown burst one with the minihumbuckers!

[uwe]

Funnily enough, I like the looks of that one best too. Black is a boring color on instruments.

[Dave W]

I think the appeal of the Iceman guitars had gone down by the nineties, when more conventional looking designs came back. That also probably explains why the basses never caught on as well as the guitars had done so many years before.

[godofthunder]

 Well I stand corrected! I can't believe I was that far off.

[Chris P.]

Most Icemen are a bit too much for me. Black, Iron Crosses, soapbars... But the brown one with the mini-'buckers is lovely. I wouldn't be ashamed to play that in my band, besides my Thunderbird.

Well, I do have a black Buzzard with soapbars, so I guess I'm not the one to judge them;)

[gearHed289]

I've been very tempted to buy one of those sunburst/mini bucker models...

I doubt the Stanley Eisen connection with the name, considering the Iceman was around for at least 2 years before he started playing one. First guy I knew of with one was Steve Miller.

http://vintageibanez.tripod.com/iceman.html

[uwe]

Yeah, the brownie looks like a regular instrument, not some hard rock or metal axe, kind of like you can play a sunburst TB in pretty much any band without wry looks being exchanged. I always thought the Iceman shape elegant in a timeless manner. And it was the first Ibanez creation with the later on classic "swan beak" headstock, which I also liked well.

They are comfortable to play and balance well (the Sharlee Signature not so much due to its heavy neck). Soundwise, most of them sound like you would expect an instrument with a maho body and bolt on maple neck expect to sound, i.e. Fenderbirdish. The ICB 500 sounds like a middish TBird, it has a maho, not a maple neck. And the Sharlee Signature fits the "TB on streroids"-mold with its mighty (not so much hifi, but rather bass-brutish) active electronics. I've strung mine EADG rather than BEAD, but the bass certainly has the structure and sound to project BEAD convincingly.

[Chris P.]

I have the same thoughts about the SDB.

The normal brown ones are very Thunderbird-ish, but also 4001-ish.

[Nocturnal]

I did some Googleing to try to find the line of 80's Ibanez basses I was thinking of. I found some examples, but they were guitars    The metallic blue Iceman that I found was a guitar. I'm going to chalk this up to A) too much partying in the 80's and B) I'm getting old 

[Chris P.]

Maybe it's the same with the '80s, as it is with the '60s: If you can remember it, you weren't there.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

BTW: Ich liebe the brown burst one with the minihumbuckers!

Those things were plentiful until recently and very inexpensive. I never bit because as good as they look, they're way too light, and it felt like a toy that I would break if I played hard. I probably tried over a dozen and they were all the same. I kept hoping for an oddwad with a heavier body, but they were all incredibly consistent. The tone matched the light body, too. I saw them for under $300 new, but couple the hassle of finding a case that fit and didn't exceed the cost of the bass with just an average sonic performance and I never took one home. I've always had a soft spot for Iceman basses and they don't crop up used locally very often, and those few that do have usually been destroyed by wannabe metal posers. IME, the 90's models look, feel and sound better, but I've seen many more of them than the reissued 500's.