Ibanez BTB Club, Part 2!

[Tenberge]

My 1605 has the Nordstrand big singles. The narrowness or position doesn't phase me. You find a new comfortable position, and within 5 minutes you forgot it was different from what ever it was you just came off. I came off a P bass, running the typical split pickups. I mainly finger pluck. I used to rest my thumb on the setscrew for the bottom pickup. I adjusted by now doing the same thing on the bridge pickup, or on the B string. Sitting on the B string then allows me to adjust my pluck position up and down between the neck and the bridge, giving me different tones, and i find plucking down the bridge end brings speed and clarity.
I tend to be pretty flexible to what i play. Give me a broom stick and a few strings, Ii'll give that a go.
As Dan Bass said, the body cut is the same throughout the BTB range. Different woods, neck glue ups etc. Pickups, neck, graphite rods etc depends if it is premium or not.
I love my 1605. If it wasn't available, i would have gone straight for the 1405. Gorgeous looking axe! I think in that respect I'm lucky the 1405 wasn't in stock. It would have been damn hard to decide which one to take!

 

[PersonalTraynor]

I just picked up this beauty 2 days ago. View attachment 588557

Where did you find THAT? I owned the 4 string version of that very same bass but mine was the red colour. Looked everywhere for the v but never found it! Inbox me if you ever get tired of it!

 

[aproud1]

All the neckthru BTB's have the same body's. There natural wood, I would sand around the edges and smooth it out a little and then just put a couple of coats of tung oil finish back on it. Problem solved and it's fun to work on your Bass guitars too.

Thanks! That definitely helps. I don't mind working on my basses but since I'm mainly looking at the Deep ocean blue model I would need to match the finish.

 

[Dan Bass]

Finally upgraded from my Mexican P bass to a BTB. This is the BTB 1605 Premium. Beautiful to play, gorgeous to look at. Looks heavy, but suprisingly not. It has great clarity, speaks very easy. I'm running it through my old Roland Studio-100 cab. I stretched out the funds to go the premium, because i knew i would kick myself later if i just bummed out on a standard, even though they are still nice. I was thinking of changing out the controls to gold to match the tuners & bridges, but thought it could be hard to get the same colour gold. On the other hand, the black sorta blends in as tho they are knots in the burl.
Only complaint, i wish the battery box wasn't stuck in the middle of the neck, taking away from its "thru-ness". Why didn't they plan it better and stick it in the wing, or in the EQ compartment.

Not top quality pics, but you get the idea.


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Thanks! That definitely helps. I don't mind working on my basses but since I'm mainly looking at the Deep ocean blue model I would need to match the finish.

True, I like the natural wood looking basses, but that BTB 1405 with deep red stain looked pretty cool.

 

[Dan Bass]

True, I like the natural wood looking basses, but that BTB 1405 with deep red stain looked pretty cool.

Here is the BTB Deep Red Bass.

 

[Dan Bass]

Thanks! That definitely helps. I don't mind working on my basses but since I'm mainly looking at the Deep ocean blue model I would need to match the finish.

Check out the Deep Red.

 

[gjbassist]

So I picked this up last night in a trade! Only had a little time to play on it but I'm loving what I hear so far! From the serial number it appears to be a 2005 400QM made in Korea. It's in great shape. My first BTB!

 

[datsaxguy]

This is where they lost me, the neck profile. If this bass had a neck shape more like a MTD KZ6 and less like a Spector legend 6 it would be fantastic. The neck is not a baseball bat at all but its nothing like most of their other 6 strings which have a thinner profile. If u like a little meat on your neck this is a good choice. If u were willing to have the neck altered by a Luthier you might have something special.............
if I found one used for a steal I might get one in the future. At the right price point it would then be worth sinking some money into.

Years later I found a BTB 676 used and wanted to set the record straight about the neck from my previous post. This neck is waaaay thinner and waaaay more comfy than a MTD KZ6. This is a great choice for a 6 string less than 1k.

 

[skeeler]

What are you BTB owners using for hard cases? I've read that the case Ibanez suggests (the ATK100C) is pretty flimsy and doesn't even fit that well. Is there a SKB or other hard case that fits BTBs well? If it matters, the BTB33 is the model of interest to me. Thanks.

 

[skeeler]

So I picked this up last night in a trade! Only had a little time to play on it but I'm loving what I hear so far! From the serial number it appears to be a 2005 400QM made in Korea. It's in great shape. My first BTB!

I love that blue. Congratulations.

 

[Rico_2212]

Where did you find THAT? I owned the 4 string version of that very same bass but mine was the red colour. Looked everywhere for the v but never found it! Inbox me if you ever get tired of it!

I literally lucked into it. I just sold my upright and was going to order a Traben. I decided to check local onlin classifieds and came across this. 2 1/2 hours later I had it in my car for €40 less than the Traben. They're kind of scarce with this configuration (nech-thru, EMG's) But the tone and playability are amazing. I hardly ever touch my Yamaha anymore. Ya just gotta keep looking, 'caus mine ain't going nowhere...

 

[gjbassist]

I love that blue. Congratulations.

Thanks! It's hard to see but it has a quilted maple top too.
I took it to rehearsal today and wow! Sounded fantastic! The drummer made several comments about how good it sounded too.

 

[OnThaCouch]

What are you BTB owners using for hard cases? I've read that the case Ibanez suggests (the ATK100C) is pretty flimsy and doesn't even fit that well. Is there a SKB or other hard case that fits BTBs well? If it matters, the BTB33 is the model of interest to me. Thanks.

I can't help on a suggestion for a hardcase but do have feedback on the stock Ibby case.

Do NOT buy the Ibanez hardcase . I received one with my BTB7e purchase and it is worthless. Whatever foam they use to shape the inside of the case doesn't stand up to having the bass inside. It crushes up and lets the bass slide around (I've only had the bass maybe a month). I have a Mono gigbag on order and it can't get here soon enough .

 

[novak7]

Just got 2 new BTBs today to add to the one i already had can someone help me identify the 2 on the left?

 

[skeeler]

Do any of you BTB enthusiasts know why Ibanez doesn't offer 4-string BTBs anymore?

 

[Max Blasto]

Do any of you BTB enthusiasts know why Ibanez doesn't offer 4-string BTBs anymore?

Sales.

 

[Thomas Kievit]

The BTB 5 and 6 string basses were more popular than the 4 string BTB's, so Ibanez decided to focus on 5, 6 and 7 string BTB's instead.

Do any of you BTB enthusiasts know why Ibanez doesn't offer 4-string BTBs anymore?

 

[skeeler]

Yeah, I figured that the 4-strings must not have sold too well. Ibanez is a business after all. So that makes me wonder why the 4-strings weren't more popular. Perhaps the 35-inch scale was the problem.

 

[Thomas Kievit]

5 and 6 strings = more possibilities. Also, 5 and 6 string basses are more popular than ever.

Yeah, I figured that the 4-strings must not have sold too well. Ibanez is a business after all. So that makes me wonder why the 4-strings weren't more popular. Perhaps the 35-inch scale was the problem.

 

[skeeler]

Agreed, but 4-strings are still the standard, and the vast majority of bass models are 4-string, at least according to the numbers reported by the search function at Sweetwater and Musician's Friend. Seems like a market too big to ignore.