Ibanez BTB multiscales…sheesh

[PJ Muzikmansky]

There are people in the Dingwall club here, and in several other Dingwall groups on the net that I check out, who regularly put the NG2/3 to use on everything from worship to classic rock to all kinds of jazz. I doubt the BTB can be said to be more marketed/perceived as aimed at prog/metal than the NG series. I have no doubt the BTB multi scale will be similarly flexible.

Thanks man, that's what I wanted to hear

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

There are people in the Dingwall club here, and in several other Dingwall groups on the net that I check out, who regularly put the NG2/3 to use on everything from worship to classic rock to all kinds of jazz. I doubt the BTB can be said to be more marketed/perceived as aimed at prog/metal than the NG series. I have no doubt the BTB multi scale will be similarly flexible.

Thankyou

 

[TheOriginalName]

I have a naive question.

I don't have success playing multiscale, so don't know the standards.

There are a bunch of coments about 37" scale here, and I'm unclear if they are pro or con comments mostly, as it is just about 37" and how the marketing hides that, and how some people thing they hid 37" on purpose.

I mean, in a regular bass, 37" scale is huge. too long for most of us. but in multiscale, is that still true?

are people commenting that the 37" is something remarkable because it is longer than you would expect from ibanez? or shorter? or what?

sorry for ignorant comment - please educate me.

37 inch scale is on the long side, yes, however the plus is greater string tension, which is better for people who like to tune down a lot, or for those who like a clearer B string. The multiscale design helps with ergonomics in that the ENTIRE bass isn’t designed to that 37 inch specification. Still, in the 5 string, your shortest string (G) is a 35, and on the 6, the C is a 34.5. So it’ll still probably feel a bit more lengthy than maybe some are used to.

 

[MrVentures]

Here’s another look at the new basses:

 

[Nashrakh]

Great... And I just bought my last new bass in a while. Or so I thought.

 

[doran.dragic]

I understand these basses are probably marketed towards prog rock / metal players, but I wonder how they'd handle more conventional styles like latin jazz ?

Do you mean the BTB series or the multiscale basses in general? I played the other Ibanez multiscale bass (SR) and it'd make a terrific bass to play timba on in my opinion.

 

[cdef]

Ibanez, admittedly, knows on which side their bread is buttered, and is comparatively quick to react to trends without compromising on quality. No Yamaha, or even Sire, multiscales in the offing yet? Fender will take another few years.

 

[Les Fret]

Here’s another look at the new basses:

I think they should hire better bass players to do these demos. This doesn’t do these basses any justice....

 

[edthebass]

I think they should hire better bass players to do these demos. This doesn’t do these basses any justice....

At first I thought you were just being a d-bag about the playing and then I actually watched it...but there will be plenty more demos. Hard to really tell what the T1s actually sound like so far. The obligatory djent tappy tap video doesn't really help either.

 

[el murdoque]

Okay, I want one.
The thing is: I have sold my BTB 6 because I never played it after getting a high end 6.
Still, they tickle my GAS.

 

[Nuage420]

Hahaha posted an hour ago. Fan fret isn't just for metal.

 

[MrVentures]

I think they should hire better bass players to do these demos. This doesn’t do these basses any justice....

I agree, but with the dearth of videos on these basses at the moment, thought I’d share.

 

[dkelley]

37 inch scale is on the long side, yes, however the plus is greater string tension, which is better for people who like to tune down a lot, or for those who like a clearer B string. The multiscale design helps with ergonomics in that the ENTIRE bass isn’t designed to that 37 inch specification. Still, in the 5 string, your shortest string (G) is a 35, and on the 6, the C is a 34.5. So it’ll still probably feel a bit more lengthy than maybe some are used to.

ah! thank you!

See, I'd rather have the C string be less than 34", because a 34" C is ok, but longer really is an obvious feel change and becomes rapidly less playable imho. 35" C really is dramatically harder to play than a 34" C, and a 32" C or less would be amazing. For me, the B string has always sounded amazing on 34" instruments that were properly setup, even cheap ones. I've never heard a notable difference in a 35" B over a 34" B, and I've heard shorter scale B strings that sounded amazing too... but the shorter the scale, the lighter you have to keep the B string gauge.

So much excellent information here - I really appreciate the detailed answers, thanks so much!

I know I'm one of the weird folks... I feel a huge difference in scale length, but I don't hear much if any difference in an inch or two in scale length on electric bass as long as both instruments are well setup with appropriate string gauges for each. The laws of physics that tell use to use thicker gauges on shorter scales actually work against you in many ways, and I found long ago that I actually prefer light gauges strings for the B string on 34" basses - and that solves most of the issues of tone and playability up the neck on the B without having to go to a multiscale.

HOWEVER, that being said, I WOULD imagine that a 37" B string is a big enough difference that it would sound notably better than a 34" scale B string, but that's just so far out of my hand size that it would be a crazy amount of extra effort to play, when my B strings currently sound excellent. If you ARE built to play the 37" B, or just willing to do it for the sound, I bet that is an impressive experience!

For me though, the really skin C string is horrible at more than 34" in feel, and less is better for the C if you want to do vibrato on it etc.


Ok, thanks so much for the info. I couldn't care less about longer B strings, my B string sounds like a grand piano and is 34" on my 6 string bass, but I'd love to have a shorter scale C, and potentially G, if I did want to try a multiscale.

 

[Skygoneblue]

interesting! I always though it was elegant, and showed that they don't care about designing for convenience of build, but for the design appearance. extra effort always gets an A+ from me

I'm not sure what you mean. They intentionally did less effort (using the same fretboard and headstock as non-fanned fret models), and didn't design specifically for appearance (they left it as-is and just angled the nut).

If you like how it looks, more power to you. I just don't follow your reasoning here.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

Do you mean the BTB series or the multiscale basses in general? I played the other Ibanez multiscale bass (SR) and it'd make a terrific bass to play timba on in my opinion.

Doran, thank you.

This BTB specifically, but in general as well.

I always loved the way Anthony Jackson's contrabass sounded for jazz and was wondering if this BTB would give similar results. I think it might. The low B with the 37" scale has tremendous presence.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

I think they should hire better bass players to do these demos. This doesn’t do these basses any justice....

Les, I agree. The sounds of the bass were choked by poor technique. Listening actually put me off.

No doubt there are some good tones in there somewhere, but they need showcasing by someone having a better command of the instrument, preferably accompanied by an instrumental backing track, so prospective buyers can hear what the bass might sound like in a live mix.

 

[Koshchei]

Interested to try one of these!

 

[castlev]

I used to string my BTB-455 F#BEAD, the top load bridge made it so easy to string.. it was Korean made and well done.
Since then I sold it, but down the line have had several indonesian guitars, all failures, including the Ibanez STM-1 blue dragon force guitar. The neck on that thing bent like bamboo.
I saw the indo label on the back of the blue multi scale, my favorite one. Hopefully quality has improved.

 

[Nuage420]

I think they should hire better bass players to do these demos. This doesn’t do these basses any justice....

I agree but be patient. There's at least 3 active TB/ youtubers that will most likely get them soon. Bass the world gets Ibanez a lot, Nathan Navvaro, @IvanBassist... there will be demos.

 

[Nuage420]

At the end of the day folks... based on Ibanez's history of not putting out duds. Short of some odd aesthetic choices most likely due to cost efficiency I'll bet it is a fantastic instrument.