Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I'm so very glad my 675 appears to have 5-string pickups!
Congrats! I guess Ibanez got some of them right.
I got my 675 off ebay and was a bass newbie at the time so I didn't know any better. It wasn't until about a year in that I realized the bass was defective.
In considering only future costs, I figured it was more cost effective to mod the existing bass - especially since I liked the quality of the build and the looks - rather than spend another $800-1K for a new bass. The Mk2 preamp is well suited for this bass IMHO so I didn't see a need to swap that out.
I just put some new elixirs on the bass, I'll post back about the live sound once the strings have had time to settle and once I get a couple of live performances with the new strings and pickups under my belt. I've found that I can't judge the quality of the sound just from playing in my basement. Notes below the A don't seem to travel well - it's a whole different experience hearing the bass in the sanctuary of my church.
Just got my 675 back from the shop with the Aguilar OBP3 installed.........
No need to change these pups for me, they are just fine. Clear and articulate. This bass can hang with anything out there. .
I was A/B'ing this bass today with:
F Bass BN6
Pedulla thunderbolt
MTD 535
Lakand 5594 (Bart's)
Nordy VJ5
Best mod I've done and I've done way too many. Aguilar OBP3 is highly recommended.
No need to change these pups for me, they are just fine. Clear and articulate. This bass can hang with anything out there. .
I was A/B'ing this bass today with:
F Bass BN6
Pedulla thunderbolt
MTD 535
Lakand 5594 (Bart's)
Nordy VJ5
Best mod I've done and I've done way too many. Aguilar OBP3 is highly recommended.
The new pickups and strings still sound great but I've noticed a huge roll-off in the fundamental at and below the low E. I'm going to replace the preamp as well with an NTMB. Should be here before the end of the week. Lucky for me bestbassgear is in the next state so things mailed get here quickly.
From Friday's show opening for Kill Devil Hill in Tempe, AZ. Got my 575 handling my 5 string needs 
I finished up installing the Bart NTMB preamp tonight. The install went smoothly - the only difficult part was trying to figure out where to connect all the ground wires from the individual bridge pieces and the two cavity grounds. I had to widen the hole for the midrange because my NTMB has a push/pull switch for the mids which needs a larger hole. All the other pots fit nicely and all the stock knobs fit the new pots. I used the stock 18v battery harness that came with the BTB
The bass is definitely clearer - better highs and less muddy lows - but not "night and day" over the stock preamp. Some of this might be because both the stock preamp and the NTMB are designed by Bartolini. Also, the NTMB has a lower output than the Mk 2 preamp but nothing that a little twist of the gain knob couldn't fix.
Now that it's all done, I'll make the following recommendation - if you're only trying to correct the bad sounding A string but are otherwise generally satisfied with the bass, call Ibanez and get the proper version of the stock pickups. There's a lot less to the install and no hogging out the pickup cavities.
If you want to really upgrade the sound, reshape the cavities to fit the size you want, install new pickups and preamp. You can use the black putty to easily fill the end gaps (note that I put a piece of polyethylene sheet between the putty and the pickup so the pickup didn't get glued into the bass). It's not a bad job and you will hear a noticeable difference over the stock setup.
The bass is definitely clearer - better highs and less muddy lows - but not "night and day" over the stock preamp. Some of this might be because both the stock preamp and the NTMB are designed by Bartolini. Also, the NTMB has a lower output than the Mk 2 preamp but nothing that a little twist of the gain knob couldn't fix.
Now that it's all done, I'll make the following recommendation - if you're only trying to correct the bad sounding A string but are otherwise generally satisfied with the bass, call Ibanez and get the proper version of the stock pickups. There's a lot less to the install and no hogging out the pickup cavities.
If you want to really upgrade the sound, reshape the cavities to fit the size you want, install new pickups and preamp. You can use the black putty to easily fill the end gaps (note that I put a piece of polyethylene sheet between the putty and the pickup so the pickup didn't get glued into the bass). It's not a bad job and you will hear a noticeable difference over the stock setup.
Along those same lines, if u like the bass but u just want a better version of what u already hear, change the preamp and u should be happy. If u want to create a real BouTiqueBass change the pups and preamp. The bass is worth modding to me. Custom pups are probably on order when some extra cash pops up. Roland Guerin has got me thinking wood covers on custom Big Splits might be the ticket.
The specs are all the same like the 676, so with ash for the body, I think the weight will be alright.
Single cut!!!! Can't wait. I ran into datsaxguy at a GC today and he was messing with the high end 6 string BTB there. We got talking about our toys and we both dropped the single cut BTB at the same time in conversation. I would love one. Good to meet the guy!
Here I am playing with my main band "Sputnik" a Fusion Jazz sort of band I suppose.
We are also releasing videos from that evening... If you feel like hearing what that BTB sounds like Check it out!
Invalid Link Removed
We are also releasing videos from that evening... If you feel like hearing what that BTB sounds like Check it out!
Invalid Link Removed
Bumped into a cool TB'r today while checking out a ibanez BTB 1406e.
Nice picture mate!! 
Here I am playing with my main band "Sputnik" a Fusion Jazz sort of band I suppose.
We are also releasing videos from that evening... If you feel like hearing what that BTB sounds like Check it out!
Invalid Link Removed
