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Ibanez BTB805MS - A radical bass guitar

Les BeeBee

Les BeeBee

Oct 29, 2020
61
149
#1
I just got this bass - the Ibanez BTB805MS - and it's a beautiful thing.

Maybe I should have titled this post NBD, but there was a bit of a delay before I could post.

Here are a few points why this bass differs from a standard bass:
  • 5-String
  • Extra long 37" neck (a P-bass is 34", Hofner violin bass is 31")
  • Multiscale featuring fan fret layout
PXL_A.jpg

I love the tone. I always thought humbucker pickups were muddy, and initially thought I'd get a bass with single-coil pickups. But these T1 pickups are humbuckers that sound bright. BassTheWorld did a demo on YouTube.

I know of other people who have struggled with multiscale basses. Personally I had no trouble. After 2 minutes of playing it in the store, I felt comfortable with the fan frets. It has a low action, so now I find I can play twice as fast as in the past.

I think multiscale is the way forward for 5-string basses, as it tightens up that low B string. Going multiscale is all for tone.

This bass kind of looks cool too :)
PXL_B.jpg
 
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#5
The only difference between the 805 and the 605 is the tonewood and aesthetic finish.

I played both in the store, and couldn't notice the difference. So the 605, with its cheaper wood, is also a fine bass guitar, and you save a few hundred dollars with that one.

The more expensive tonewood of the 805 is slightly heavier. Possibly that might offer a bit more sustain, but if there's a difference it is marginal.

Buy the one you like the look of.
 
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#6
Les BeeBee said:
The only difference between the 805 and the 605 is the tonewood and aesthetic finish.

I played both in the store, and couldn't notice the difference. So the 605, with its cheaper wood, is also a fine bass guitar, and you save a few hundred dollars with that one.

The more expensive tonewood of the 805 is slightly heavier. Possibly that might offer a bit more sustain, but if there's a difference it is marginal.

Buy the one you like the look of.
Click to expand...
Did you have maybe oportunity to try 806?

Btw - well, in my case colour was the detail that prevailed. :roflmao: But no regrats soundwise!
 
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#8
I like the finish on yours MUCH more than the blue one.

I never considered MSB in the past, but the Dingwall stuff I came across got me interested and now Ibanez doing one has REALLY stoked my interest. The only thing I shudder at is the string options diminishing big time. I hope the options become more numerous though, as I see a lot of advantages going towards the MSB-FF design for basses (especially 5'ers)
 
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#9
Dingwall is the company that takes the credit for popularising the multiscale bass.

But with Dingwall, you pay much more for a musical instrument that was crafted in the Canadian wilderness!

There are YouTube videos of legendary bassist Leland Sklar (Link) talking about his switch to Dingwall multiscale basses. Worth watching that if you're curious about multiscale.

Ibanez BTB805 weight: 4.7 kg. /. 10.3 lbs.

I haven't tried the BTB806 - the 6 string version of this bass. But there are plenty of videos demonstrating it.
 
#13
Nice, congrats!

I don't see this as "radical" so much as "progressively evolutionary". Multiscale brings several benefits, only one of which is tone - it's also more ergonomic (for some people), and it evens the trade-offs between tone and tension. It's the future for many bassists, and I will be adding more to my stable in the coming years. Extra-long scale strings should suffice.
 
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#14
Novax Guitars started the multi-scale thing. Charles Novak -- In 1989. I think the patent expired. Not sure when Dingwall started. So it has been available for a while but not adated enough to kill the parallel design. But revolutionary started with Charles, 33 years ago (actually he started in 1979) . I have a Novax bass+guitar 2 output , also he made them 30+ years ago.

The single bridge per string was also from Charles Novak and Novax guitars

History: Novax Guitars: Fanned-Fret®, Multi-Scale Guitars, Basses, Custom-Built
 
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#18
ctmullins said:
Nice, congrats!

I don't see this as "radical" so much as "progressively evolutionary". Multiscale brings several benefits, only one of which is tone - it's also more ergonomic (for some people), and it evens the trade-offs between tone and tension. It's the future for many bassists, and I will be adding more to my stable in the coming years. Extra-long scale strings should suffice.
Click to expand...
I'm interested into hearing which aspects of MS would make the bass more ergonomic to some.
 

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