Well never mind that, my offer for a BTB505 got accepted on ebay. Was not expecting that lol. Hopefully its a good one.
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I had to go back to see what you did to your bass. There are a few things that I would like to do with my BTB1825 but don't want to do as much work as you did. My main gripes are, of course, the hard edge (what was Ibanez thinking?). My BTB675 had a beautiful contour. I also want a flatter finish. I don't really like the gloss finish and preferred the natural satin of my 675. Why did I switch? The 675 was going to need some repairs and it was better sold instead. But I missed it and bought the 1825, thinking I'd like the cosmetics as much. I don't in that regard, but it plays like a beast; better than my 675. I did take down the gloss of the neck with a green scotchbrite. Much better now.For anyone who saw my post from before, the rebuild of my BTB20TH5 is complete. Here's a sneak peek. It's late, so I'll write up more about the process and results later. New tuners, pickups, preamp, a different 3-way switch, new knobs, rounded off the sharp edge, and knocked the gloss finish down to matte on the body and satin on the neck. This is now my perfect bass
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Can you recommend a way to take down the obnoxious gloss without having to remove all the electronics and still get a decent job? For the time being, on that hard body edge I did go over it with scotchbrite and getting rid of the "stiction" helped. That ridge reminds me to keep my elbow forward
.I wasn't familiar with that model. I learned it was discontinued in 2000, so it's an oldie.. A goodie? Fingers crossed. I think the BTB's are a great platform across the board.
The only thing I can think of is to tape off the sensitive areas, like the pickups and bridge, and use some Scotchbrite. This was the first step I took before I sprayed the matte clear coat. It did get a lot less glossy BUT it leaves micro scratches in the finish. From 5' away, it looked great. Up close, though, it looked like a badly swirled clear coat on a car.
I had to go back to see what you did to your bass. There are a few things that I would like to do with my BTB1825 but don't want to do as much work as you did. My main gripes are, of course, the hard edge (what was Ibanez thinking?). My BTB675 had a beautiful contour. I also want a flatter finish. I don't really like the gloss finish and preferred the natural satin of my 675. Why did I switch? The 675 was going to need some repairs and it was better sold instead. But I missed it and bought the 1825, thinking I'd like the cosmetics as much. I don't in that regard, but it plays like a beast; better than my 675. I did take down the gloss of the neck with a green scotchbrite. Much better now.
Can you recommend a way to take down the obnoxious gloss without having to remove all the electronics and still get a decent job? For the time being, on that hard body edge I did go over it with scotchbrite and getting rid of the "stiction" helped. That ridge reminds me to keep my elbow forward
I wasn't familiar with that model. I learned it was discontinued in 2000, so it's an oldie.. A goodie? Fingers crossed. I think the BTB's are a great platform across the board.
Without removing parts, and with whatever technique you use (rub-out in a variety of ways, or re-coat), you'll essentially "paint yourself into a corner" with respect to the details, particularly where finished surface and parts create those pesky intersections. Preparing the existing finish for a re-coat can be more extensive than a scuffing to get good results, and this depends on what coating you use as well. And verify compatibility with the existing finish. Good finishing is mostly preparation, which also tends to make for longer lasting results.
I agree with this. I wouldn't attempt a refinish unless you're serious about tearing it all down and doing the appropriate prep work. I should have prefaced with that in my previous comment
Thanks. I think I'm going to leave it alone.
What I did do was scotchbrited the ridge which seems to help as it reduces the "stiction" and a long sleeve shirt improves the feel even further. I'm not sure why Ibanez did that to all the latter BTB's, but the my BTB675 was much more comfortable where the right arm and bass come together. I also scotchbrited the neck and took down that gloss. And while there is texture in the wood I can get up and down the neck just fine.
What do you want to know? I absolutely love mine. It has made me a believer in both single cut and neck through...I doubt I'll ever buy another bass without those features (and the 865SC has cured me of all GAS...other than every now and then thinking about getting one of those 18-20" basses just for portability sake).
For perspective, I love my 865SC enough that not only did my Dingwall NG sit unused, I went so far as to sell it.
My dude, you can't come into a thread full of addicts and ask our help to avoid the addiction!
YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY GET IT!
As long as you're not neglecting food, medicine or the needs of children, you should buy it.
Life is too short.
Mike
Alright, so the BTB806MS, what's a good street price for it? MAP seems to be $1,499, is that haggleable?
I picked up a Silver Blizzard BTB at a local store (it's uglier in person than in pictures) and I actually found the neck... Too thin? Are all the BTB necks the same? People who own or have owned multiple, can you chime in on your experience with the necks?
I've only owned two, but both had super thin necks (front to back). That's one of my favorite parts about them! I prefer a neck that is wider in width to accommodate 18-19mm string spacing, but then thin front-to-back. I suspect this is a characteristic of all BTBs.
"Too thin" is relative I suppose. I imagine I could get used to it. There's a used BTB at the Guitar Center near me. I can try it out too and see how it feels.
The Ibanez web site has the neck dimensions, including thickness, for all the BTBs...
Give it time. Mine was thinner than I was expecting and had an asymmetric neck carve (fatter on the bass side). I didn't like it initially; I really liked it pretty soon afterwards.
