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Ibanez BTB owners - show your BTB's
- Thread starter fourstringbliss
- Start date
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I get that it's a preference, but it's quoted often as though it's a universal truth.
I lusted after a BTB1826 for a long time, and may pick up one later if I can still find one. I think they're beautiful.
Thanks. I initially didn't like the poplar burl facing, but it's grown on my over the months I've owned it.
The 845v, like the earlier BTB33 comes ex factory strung E-C.
I'm the opposite, I love wood finishes and except in rare cases, dislike pained ones. Somehere in the middle is perfect with my SR706 having a flame maple top with a black stain. The flame shows in the camera flash well, and in sunlight, but on stage it would look to most punters to be black.
As for a coffee table bass at the lake house, mine will be just that by Christmas.
The way I see it, the BTB846V is more suited for high-F, just as Roland Guerin setup his E to F.
I find the factory .020p high-F string on my BTB7 is too twangy. Swapping it to a .018p tame the twangy sound a little bit, which means the high-F would benefit from lower tension. Reducing the scale from 35" to 33" has a similar effect.
On my BTB7E, I have .023 guage D'addario round wound string for the F. A slightly thicker round wound string, makes it blend and balance better on the bass.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I love the natural finish on my BTB740 including the open pores on the back.
PS: I play rock/hard rock. Think AC/DC, Black Sabbath, The Who, Judas Priest and Cheap Trick.
All sorts.
No.
Odd questions. Would you ask these of someone who plays FSOs exclusively?
Whilst I think my 846v is fine B-C, I've been thinking about making one of the 6s E-F, and I might make that the 846 and leave the SR, B-C.
What string sets would you recommend for the 846v then?
I've never bought a straight 7 string set for my BTB7. They've always been constructed from lesser number of strings set as the base, and 1-3 additional single strings. Even the factory strings were D'Addario 6 string EXL170-6 set and its single .020p plain string.
For the following, I put on Ken Smith Compressor CRXL Extra Light 4 string set, two single strings of C125T low-B and C028 high-C from the same series, and combined them with his single .020p plain string (just for the sake of having the same purple silk on the headstock from all 7 strings, despite I could actually keep on using the factory .020p plain string, since plain strings are pretty much the same).
Next, I put on GHS Pressurewounds, which were also constructed from a 4 string set, a single .128 low-B and a single .028 high-C from the series. But, this time there was no plain string for the high-F with the same black silk on the headstock. So, I kept on using Ken Smith's high-F.
After that, I put on Elixir NPS Nanoweb, which again, were constructed from 4 string set of 45-105, a single low-B .130tw and a single high-C .032 from the series. For the high-F, I reverted to the original D'Addario plain .020p single, since it didn't have any silk, just as the Elixir.
And currently, I have Dunlop Super Bright Nickel on. They are from a 6 string set of 30-130 and I kept on using D'Addario .020p from the previous. But later, I swapped the .020p with a .018p, which is not only easier on the fretting fingers, it's surprisingly, as mentioned on previous post, less twangy.
So, if you want to tune your 846V E to F, then my suggestion is to get any of the 4 string sets that you like for that bass, add a single .032, .030, or .028 high-C from the series, and purchase any single .020p or .018p plain string for the high-F.
^^ Thank you for the detailed reply Aidil. I'm building a string order at the moment; I prefer to buy many sets at a time as shipping a single set from O/S can cost more than the strings themselves. Local store are often lucky to have more then 4s and 5s B-G sets.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
Yeah, actually I saw this cat on YouTube the other day playing some straight up metal on a BTB. I love Geezer Butler, by the way. That swimmy neck pickup sound is so good.
Another thing to consider is whether you'd like to have the high-F as a wound string, as opposed to a plain steel string. If so, not much of a single .020w wound string is available from whole string manufacturers. Less likely available in the market. I have one, from the Ken Smith Burner series, which I haven't used despite purchased it like 5 years ago from BSO. The reason is that it would be used on a 35" scale BTB7 which would make it prone to break. But, had it be used on a 33" scale like the 846V, probably would be far less likely to break.
In accordance to the thread title, I think these should be shown here:
Though I must confess I no longer own the center one.
Though I must confess I no longer own the center one.
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Here are my photos. The third bass is my custom made 26 fret, Buckeye Burl 6 string MG Bass made Mauricio Costa. The 2 pictured BTB 6 string basses are both modified.
The flamed Maple BTB1406E has been defretted. Pickups were replaced with Bartolinis. The preamp was replaced with Audere Z Mode 4 band and gold metal knobs are added. It is a great fretless bass.
The Poplar Burl BTB1606E pickups were replaced with Bartolinis. The preamp was replaced with the Mike Pope Flexcore, 4 band and gold metal knobs are added. This BTB1606E remains my number one bass.
You may notice from the side photos of the 1606E and 1406E, that forearm cuts were cut, sanded and stained into both basses because I could not stand the sharp corner under my right forearm. I would wake up the morning after every gig with a bruised forearm. I actually called Ibanez about this issue. It's such an obvious problem. The forearm cuts turned out great through, thanks to my tech guy.
I also own the BTB7E but it is not pictured.
The flamed Maple BTB1406E has been defretted. Pickups were replaced with Bartolinis. The preamp was replaced with Audere Z Mode 4 band and gold metal knobs are added. It is a great fretless bass.
The Poplar Burl BTB1606E pickups were replaced with Bartolinis. The preamp was replaced with the Mike Pope Flexcore, 4 band and gold metal knobs are added. This BTB1606E remains my number one bass.
You may notice from the side photos of the 1606E and 1406E, that forearm cuts were cut, sanded and stained into both basses because I could not stand the sharp corner under my right forearm. I would wake up the morning after every gig with a bruised forearm. I actually called Ibanez about this issue. It's such an obvious problem. The forearm cuts turned out great through, thanks to my tech guy.
I also own the BTB7E but it is not pictured.
Attachments
I very much like that BTB1606. Had mine was a BTB1606, not a BTB1406 instead, most likely I wouldn't have sold it.
