I have a BTB700DX with the mr2 monorails. Has anybody successfully swapped the bridge for either a hardtail or better monorails? They are long and weirdly shaped.
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Interesting!
I have a BTB1205E, which I love.
It’s active, but I’m thinking about getting a defeat switch added, so that I can have the pickups passive.
1.) Can this be done?
2.) Has anyone done this?
Thanks, Mike
One possibility, if you've got the cash, would be to replace that preamp with an [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. With the EQ flat you get the passive tone of your pickups, the blend is active so you get a true blend of the pickups (unlike most blend pots which act more like a 3-way switch), and the EQ points are very well chosen. You'd be out $129.
Thanks for the idea, fourstringbliss, but I don’t want to trade one preamp for another; I want to hear the pickups that are in the bass without a preamp.
I also have an Ibanez Musician.
It sounds great using the preamp, but it came with a defeat switch, so you can bypass the on board electronics.
Now, I never use this bass actively.
In my opinion, it sounds much better going straight into the amp or going through my Empress para EQ.
I imagine this can be done.
Thanks again for the idea.
Mike
I loved the first BTB I picked up in the Nirthern Boulevard GC back in the day when they came out.
But the spacing and flatness of the fretboard put me off a few that I tried later.
I’m an SR and vintage Ibanez fan but finally bought a BTB. First new Ibanez I’ve bought m, interestingly. The rest have come to me used.
It is so much easier to play and natiral feeling than I expected! My hands took to it immediately in a way that I do not always experience with a 5 or 6 string.
I usually defend the budget Bartolinis from detractors but they (or the pre) are the weak point of a very nice feeling and playing bass.
I did not expect to like the bass enough to warrant investing in an upgrade. But I may be tempted! This bass is likely to be in my hands more often than I expected.
With this BTB747, I guess I’ve dived into the deep end of the BTB pool. Glad I did.
What's wrong with your MR II bridges? My BTB685SC came with MR II bridges and they've been just fine in the 8 years I use the bass.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
My question exactly. What is a different bridge going to give you? I have a BTB745 and I could change/upgrade a lot of things, but the bridge might be the last thing on the list.
The pickups on my new BTB747 are growing on me. I usually like a fat low mid vintage but articulate sound, as on my RB850.
The Barts aren't that. They do have a scoop to them. But this works for chording and melodic playing up higher.
The real improvement came when I brought them closer to the strings with a turn of the height screws. More attack and bloom to the notes the way I like a bass to respond under my fairly heavy RH touch.
I recommend raising the pickups to anyone who'd like to change up their stock BTB tone.
The Barts aren't that. They do have a scoop to them. But this works for chording and melodic playing up higher.
The real improvement came when I brought them closer to the strings with a turn of the height screws. More attack and bloom to the notes the way I like a bass to respond under my fairly heavy RH touch.
I recommend raising the pickups to anyone who'd like to change up their stock BTB tone.
I'm replacing the preamp on my BTB745 - here's the old one for sale in the classifieds if you're interested.
I got my first BTB this weekend...a new BTB865SC. I wasn't planning on buying anything but it won me over in the store. The sound, the feel, and my god the sustain! So much quality for the price. I was blown away, and now I'm thinking about selling my other basses.
If I have any complaints, they're about the locking jack (I hate them) and the lack of a preamp bypass switch. I'd like to have the ability to bypass the preamp in an emergency. Neither of these are really big deals though. I figure when the jack craps out I'll replace it with a normal one (hopefully that won't be for a while), and I'll just keep an extra battery on hand for the preamp.
Other than those two very slight concerns, it is a killer instrument.
If I have any complaints, they're about the locking jack (I hate them) and the lack of a preamp bypass switch. I'd like to have the ability to bypass the preamp in an emergency. Neither of these are really big deals though. I figure when the jack craps out I'll replace it with a normal one (hopefully that won't be for a while), and I'll just keep an extra battery on hand for the preamp.
Other than those two very slight concerns, it is a killer instrument.
It's easily made non-locking. Search Nuage420's posts in the EHB thread for pics. It's a Neutrik so it'll last for a very long time.
1:Unscrew the two main screws and gently pull the jack out. There will be enough cable to pull it just clear of the body.
2: you will see a small screw attaching the silver part to the black plastic. Unscrew it and gently slide the silver piece down and away from the black.
3: now you will see the whole length of the red plastic piece that locks it. Remove the red plastic piece and the spring and the very small white plastic square/rectangle at the bottom of the red plastic. That’s the actual lock. If you do not remove it once you put it back together it can come loose and cause a problem.
4: slide the silver back up, screw the small screw back in, put it back in the body, screw the body screw in and all done. It takes like a minute. And just keep the mechanism aside if you ever want to reverse the disabling process.
Question for BTB users:
I just tried a BTB675. Pretty much loved everything except the edge of the body where my right arm was resting : it felt sharp.
I’m looking for a 6 string and there’s a BTB1306 in the local ads. Do all BTB bodies have a sharp edge like the 675 or have they rounded up the edges of some models?
I just tried a BTB675. Pretty much loved everything except the edge of the body where my right arm was resting : it felt sharp.
I’m looking for a 6 string and there’s a BTB1306 in the local ads. Do all BTB bodies have a sharp edge like the 675 or have they rounded up the edges of some models?
