Ibanez BTB 1205 -- Anyone playing one of these?

For that price i'd get a cirrus.

 

In a way, I agree with WayTooDeep03. For that price, you'd probably be better off taking it a step up to a MM or a Cirrus or something. If you want to keep the price slightly lower than even a grand, go for a standard BTB. I own one, and so far, its my love. Great for anything. So you can take the price up around 1000-1200 and get a USA Cirrus or a MM or something, or you can pay around 600-700 for a new/used BTB thats almost as good. You decide.

 

Got my btb1206 yesterday. Best thousand bucks i've ever spent. There's a HUGE difference between the 120x and the 50x series. She's beautiful, and the neck is a little slimmer on the 6.
My Advice: special order it from your local shop, and go for it. You won't regret it.

 

I have one BTB1205.
Made in Korea. Good looking. Nice sound. A little heavy.
Use it in a speed/thrash metal band.
By adjusting the active EQ I get many different sound.
I think the output of the Bartolini pickups are higher than other Ibanez SR basses.
I like it a lot!!

 

A idea that I experimented myself...strip off the 3 band eq...put on passive correction. Sounds very classic , with a clear and bright sound.

Here is a sample for each option, active eq (one with full boost and one with 0 for all) and passive correction on BTB 1205

Please excuse de playing, I was nervous about stripping an active eq on a brand new bass...but in the end...

 

Sorry, but I can't attach a thing...don't know why. Click here:

full eq: http://www.xbass.ro/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2717&d=1229370664

eq on 0: http://www.xbass.ro/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2721&d=1229375609

passive correction:http://www.xbass.ro/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2736&d=1229461804

 

So many BTB threads, I wasn't sure which one to bump!


OK, so I borrowed a BTB1205 and spent the last few hours playing it. It's a Korean model with "Prestige" branding.

Here's the breakdown of my first impressions :


LOVE :
1) Long 35" scale. Even though the G string sounds a little twangy, it's more than made up for by the fantastically fat-toned and responsive lower strings. I'm permanently sold on long-scale as a result. Far easier for me to play at this string tension.
2) Wide string spacing and neck! I didn't measure, but the spacing is somewhat wider than my J-bass, and the fretboard is quite wide indeed. A real dream to play, plenty of room to move on this bass.
3) Neck profile. The neck is quite thin, which I like, and nonetheless feels quite stable
4) Nice satin finish looks and feels better than typical gloss gloop.
5) Very, very good fretwork. Possibly the best I've seen on a Korean bass. Makes playing the thing a lot of fun.
6) Thoughtful construction touches, like a beefy volute behind the headstock.
7) An extremely fun bass to play in any style

Lukewarm / iffy :
1) Electronics. The pickups are Bartolinis of some kind, but don't sound like most other Bartolinis I've played. It's hard to get the articulate yet powerful sound I'm after with these, and the mid control on the preamp (which goes from woofy to thin way too quickly) isn't good enough to compensate.
2) Resonance isn't great. The low notes sound sound and feel great, but higher notes seem not to ring out like they should. I wonder if this has anything to do with the
3) Excessively many body laminations. This bass has a total of five layers in the body, which seems like a hella lot. I speculate that having too many pancake laminations deadens resonance.
4) Workmanship in the wood is 'very good,' but attention to detail (especially in sanding) could be a bit better. In particular, the neck laminations are palpable after the neck meets the body.


Dislike:
1) Noisy! Electronics buzz is bad, a lot worse than hum from my J-bass.
2) No hinged battery compartments = hassle


Overall, a very cool bass with a lot of welcome features. I'm looking forward to playing it all this month.

 

I have an early model. A BTB505. MIJ at the Ibanez custom shop. I bought it new sometime around 1999. It has been my main bass ever since. I've had other basses, but always go back to the BTB. I never plan to get rid of it unless I find myself unable to play bass anymore. I can't speak of the model you're looking at, but I'm sure glad I bought mine 13 years ago. It's a great bass.

 

Agree on the BTB1200 Prestige series. No comparison with the 50x or even the new ones for the most part. Worse bass decision of my life was selling my 1205e Prestige. I played the Cirrus and many others before buying my 1205e. Everyone has different tastes. For me the Ibby excelled over the others.

Question to Drake Kennedy - Did you buy your 1206 new? Ibanez hasn't made those for some time. I don't think you can special order one.

 

I just picked up a 1206:

 

Ssswwweeeeett !!!!!

 

It is. Incredible action, nearly a match for the Warrior 6 I played last week. Nice consistent sound qcross the entire playing range. The Polyweb strings sound very muted & mellow. Eventually I will get Nanowebs or something more lively, likely sooner than later.