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Ibanez BTB Club, Part 2!

#1,201
while I cannot speak to the dimensions of the neck of the newer BTBs (haven't studied the spec diagrams), the string spacing on the newer ones (for sure 6 strings) is NOT as wide as the earlier BTBs. Not sure about the 5 strings, although worth investigating.

The BTB neck may be wide, but it is NOT chunky front to back.
 
#1,203
Cute photo! My dog is an Italian Water dog.
Something to consider- I set my Pitchfactor to the baritone preset to use it as a traditional 5 string. The low B sounds better than my modded sr655. Now I have a dual function 5 stringer that's light and easy to play.
Just tried the 33 with the MEL9 to play some cello pieces -wow. Very authentic. I find the Volo works well with pitch shifting pedals, no glitches.

skeeler said:
gadgetgirl, that's a good idea. I will ask him if no one here has what I need. Edit: I just recalled that Sweetwater doesn't have any BTB33s in stock; I'm having my sales rep hold the next one for me.

My BTB33 is probably my favorite, so I'm considering whether to get another to string BEADG--several people have reported good luck doing so with that bass or other 33-inch instruments--or to go for a BTB1605. I'm intimidated by the wider and longer neck on the "big-boy" BTB 5-strings, though. If the body is bigger, that would also be a strike against the full-size instrument.

By the way, is that a bichon in your avatar?

20140215_NAG_GMG_1_recolor_resize_zps1431a49c.png


Note: The paint was chosen by the previous owner.
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#1,204
Thanks for the suggestion of the pitchfactor. I've used an octave pedal before, but not a pedal with arbitrary pitch-shifting. Is it odd to play just a fourth away from where the output is, rather than an entire octave?

By the way, that MEL9 pedal is rather amazing. It's almost cheating. I've played cello parts with the 33, but they didn't sound that cello-ish. I think the choir sounds are the most fascinating. Thanks for pointing that out. Does it play at the same pitch as the instrument going in, or does it pitch-shift in the process of producing the faux instrument sounds?
 
#1,205
The Pitchfactor baritone setting (I think you need to activate it with an expression pedal (I'll need to double check) just shifts everything over and you leave it. So if you have ever played a B-G 5 string bass- it feels the same and sounds great.
The Mel9 is the same pitch as your bass. I am running a Bearfoot FX Sea Blue EQ into the Mel9 to enhance the signal. I get a nice vibrato and overall very nice cello sound particularly on the A-C strings.
I also have used my Mooer Tender Octaver with it and it sounds better with some of the other settings.
 
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#1,207
BEADG69 said:
Bought this BTB 575fm back around 07-08. Been my main bass since. But now i've got a bad vol pot. Can't seem to find many solutions to replacing it. It's loaded with the Bart mk2 pups.Any help or links to find one would be greatly appreciated.
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Looks like you have a 20K audio pot which is hard to find. You can make one from a 100k pot by soldering a 25k resistor in parallel or a 50k pot with a 50k resistor. You could order from Ibanez through a store but t that will likely take a couple of weeks and cost a lot. Or you could look on eBay.
 
#1,208
Rob22315 said:
Looks like you have a 20K audio pot which is hard to find. You can make one from a 100k pot by soldering a 25k resistor in parallel or a 50k pot with a 50k resistor. You could order from Ibanez through a store but t that will likely take a couple of weeks and cost a lot. Or you could look on eBay.
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Appreciate the info...guess ill have to see what i can manage...electronics are not my fave thing...n they got that cavity packed tight.
 
#1,210
#1,212
BEADG69 said:
Bought this BTB 575fm back around 07-08. Been my main bass since. But now i've got a bad vol pot. Can't seem to find many solutions to replacing it. It's loaded with the Bart mk2 pups.Any help or links to find one would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

BEADG69 said:
View attachment 844298 found this schematic on another BTB post. Not sure if this is accurate to the Mk2 Barts (18v), but if im seeing thru the somewhat fuzzy text, it shows a 500k(?) Vol pot. Is that correct?
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This is a good point so I did some additional checking. Turns out the vol pot for a BTB575FM is 500K ohms linear taper and is Ibanez part number 3VR1V5001.

You can navigate to the vol pot for your model here:

Invalid Link Removed

You can order it direct from Ibanez through their online parts ordering, a local Ibanez dealer or try to find a replacement through ebay or another on-line source. IIRC, Ibanez uses mini pots (I own a BTB675 from that era) and you have to get the shaft size correct if you want to keep your stock knobs.

If you have solid shaft, Ibanez shows this one for sale for bass guitars:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#1,215
Thanks guys...after a crap load of searching electronics parts sites somehow i ended up back on the Ibanez site and found the one mentioned...must have been feakin blind to have missed the damn thing...what a diff in prices for those...i saw from .55 cents to over 10$ and of course Ibanez wants 12$ ...lol...crazy. sorry for wasting anyones time, but i appreciate the info ya all gave me...had me headed in the right direction. Now to see if i can solder worth a crap. ;)
 

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