• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

NBD (pre-owned) Ibanez BTB300 (MIK)

Killed_by_Death

Snaggletooth
Inactive
Jan 2, 2015
24,890
61,257
14 Megameters from Groong Tehp
TL/DR - I got a used bass & new Rumble 40 today
and I wish I'd bought an active bass & a Rumble 40 from day 1

full story -

A BTB very similar to this one appeared in the same pawn shop at least a year ago, possibly two.
I rejected it when I found out it was Active. How ignorant, stubborn, and downright stupid I was!

So, this one turns up & I had just been jonesing for an Ibanez SR300E or SR400EQM.
Ibanez boasts that the bare pole pieces on their new Power Span pickups are what makes the SR300E so defined in the higher frequencies.

I tend to believe it, because SR models I've tried with the blackout pickups don't sound as good to me.

Low and behold, I came across this one in the pawn shop & thought the highs were just as pronounced as the SR300E
So I bought it and took it straight to the Ibanez dealer to compare.

The SR300E has more EQ (mids), it's lighter, thinner neck, and even has a three position switch for coil tapping.
All of that and I still decided to keep the BTB, as it's just a better bass overall. better bridge, locking output jack. I just wish I knew more about it, besides that it was made in Korea.

The Ibanez dealer is also the Fender, D'Addario, & V-Picks dealer, so I picked up a Rumble 40 (my very first new amp purchase)
a peg winder (D'Addario)
and a Screamer V-Pick for Motörhead songs

IMG_20170325_205939536-TB.jpg
IMG_20170325_191308301-TB.jpg


I got it all home, plugged in & my jaw dropped in disbelief!
not because it sounded so great, but because it sounded so meh :bored:

For a bit I sat there fooling with the EQ & it wasn't really getting any better, so I gave up and had dinner. I hadn't eaten anything all day, unless you call pounding almost 200 fl. oz. of diet Mt. Dew eating :eek:

Came back to it after some fine Thai scran, and found out I am SO glad I opted for the 40 with the 4-band EQ, because I dig bumping up the high mids. What a difference the timbre makes in the fun (or lack thereof) in playing.

I messed up pretty bad along the way, and in the end of 2016 I was just making things worse for myself, and my timbre was suffering and my mood to play right along with it.

I'm planning to put Cobalt Flats on it ASAP, but will do some research first to see if I can get that old Terence (Geezer) Butler sound with those.
I sat here for days trying to accomplish that sound on my Quilter Tone Block with a passive Yamaha, D'Addario Chrome Flats, & a Rumble 112. Oh, I also threw a Aguilar Tone Hammer pedal at it & almost got there, bumping the mids.
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking when, and only when, the mad scientist emerges from his dark, cavernous lab, will his sound present itself, the sound which has been ringing in his head for what seems days, and a few minutes, the result of much experimentation, a pinch of goose knuckle from Mount Dewshay, and some unrelated shenanigans with his sheleighleigh...

... and then...

images.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
Congrats, KBD! Awesome setup. I have a Rumble 200 combo (same preamp and controls as the 40) and find I can dial in any tone I want with it.
As we have talked about previously when you were considering it, I went ahead and ordered the SR300E. I am with you in amazement about the "modern" active basses. The tone variations on this thing is incredible. Don't know why I did not do this sooner. I have not touched another bass since this one arrived. Now I am getting curious about the higher level SR series. Not good, need to be happy with this for now ;)
Have fun with the new rig and the new playing style, hopefully the pain issue won't come back.
 
TL/DR - I got a used bass & new Rumble 40 today
and I wish I'd bought an active bass & a Rumble 40 from day 1

full story -

A BTB very similar to this one appeared in the same pawn shop at least a year ago, possibly two.
I rejected it when I found out it was Active. How ignorant, stubborn, and downright stupid I was!

So, this one turns up & I had just been jonesing for an Ibanez SR300E or SR400EQM.
Ibanez boasts that the bare pole pieces on their new Power Span pickups are what makes the SR300E so defined in the higher frequencies.

I tend to believe it, because SR models I've tried with the blackout pickups don't sound as good to me.

Low and behold, I came across this one in the pawn shop & thought the highs were just as pronounced as the SR300E
So I bought it and took it straight to the Ibanez dealer to compare.

The SR300E has more EQ (mids), it's lighter, thinner neck, and even has a three position switch for coil tapping.
All of that and I still decided to keep the BTB, as it's just a better bass overall. better bridge, locking output jack. I just wish I knew more about it, besides that it was made in Korea.

The Ibanez dealer is also the Fender, D'Addario, & V-Picks dealer, so I picked up a Rumble 40 (my very first new amp purchase)
a peg winder (D'Addario)
and a Screamer V-Pick for Motörhead songs

View attachment 1089801 View attachment 1089804

I got it all home, plugged in & my jaw dropped in disbelief!
not because it sounded so great, but because it sounded so meh :bored:

For a bit I sat there fooling with the EQ & it wasn't really getting any better, so I gave up and had dinner. I hadn't eaten anything all day, unless you call pounding almost 200 fl. oz. of diet Mt. Dew eating :eek:

Came back to it after some fine Thai scran, and found out I am SO glad I opted for the 40 with the 4-band EQ, because I dig bumping up the high mids. What a difference the timbre makes in the fun (or lack thereof) in playing.

I messed up pretty bad along the way, and in the end of 2016 I was just making things worse for myself, and my timbre was suffering and my mood to play right along with it.

I'm planning to put Cobalt Flats on it ASAP, but will do some research first to see if I can get that old Terence (Geezer) Butler sound with those.
I sat here for days trying to accomplish that sound on my Quilter Tone Block with a passive Yamaha, D'Addario Chrome Flats, & a Rumble 112. Oh, I also threw a Aguilar Tone Hammer pedal at it & almost got there, bumping the mids.
That's a nice looking bass - congrats! And take care of yourself - that diet Mt Dew is not doing you any good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
It's better for me than the Michelob I'm swilling right now :smug:

This bass is some sort of enigma, can't find it in the EU or Asian catalogs.

upload_2017-3-26_16-47-14.png

too many knobs, different pickups, same bridge, same neck

upload_2017-3-26_16-48-37.png

same finish, same amount of knobs, different pickups, bridge & neck

I'll see if I can't find a U.S. catalog archive someplace.

add:

same thing on U.S. catalogs, nothing matches
looking at the knobs, I think the preamp control is aftermarket, doesn't match the others
Maybe someone took a BTB200 & changed the pickups & put in a preamp, but that doesn't explain the neck & bridge.
The pickups fit perfectly too, so I think they're original.
 
Last edited: