BTB series

Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

look awesome. I've never played one, but the upper end models look well made and ultra-classy. Anyone have any experience?

2slick4u · Big Hamster Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 97

the upper end are very nice, very classy, and fun to play. i love the independant bridge thing. at first its jsut something you over look, but you really start to notice how you dont buzz other strings. it gota unique bass sound. jsut a solid sounding bass. not grinding or twangy, somewhere in between.
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Neil Gray · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 6:12 pm Post subject:

Yup. Proud owner of a BTB 406QM.
Brilliant instrument. The independent bridge, as mentioned earlier, is a great asset (in other words you can get as sloppy or as excited as you like) and other string vibration isn't an issue.
They have great punch and awesome growl as well. The upper end of the BTB range is really a fine instrument, and I don't think I'll ever need to look elsewhere for my needs. If Ibanez keep making the BTB, I'll keep playing them. I have tried the 900(?? I think it was a 900), and didn't find it to be any better than the 400 - 406 range. But all in all, if you get anything above a 300, then you've got a professional intsrument in your hands... A bold statement, I know, but I'm talking from experience, not out of my *Horse's Patoot*.
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Yamabass · Newbie Alert Joined: 27 Nov 2003 Posts: 2

Great to see a Ibanez thread. Ok i wont lie i never liked most anything Ibz put out unless it was the upper line stuff which i dont need and cant afford. I had a YamahaBB 405 but i couldnt find a home for that B. My first bass ever was a Ibz srg 200 and it was ok but not good. So back to GC with the Yama looked by all the Ibz and looked at a BB404 Yama and thought it was junk although it was marked down to $199.00. GC here in Ohio have a new line out of Cali called Brawley and i picked one up and WHOA>>> it had so much punch and had mother of pearl inlays all for $275 had a real sweet neck and passive pups but great growl and tone. this company is new and makes a good bass including some high end ones. So here i go out the door i thought with the Brawley and in the front by the reduced hoppus fenders ($319 )was this awsome looking bass Trans red and looking fine so i thought whoa look at the tag. It was a BTB 400 and was getting blown out for $299! The guy waiting on me said that is the last one here and we are trying to get it out of here but it is a steal reg price $519. I saw the trans red finish the curly maple top the indy bridges and found it it is a 18v eq on board...so to the amps i go...plugged in and man it was sweet so many tones to choose from and it sang like a bird. I never thought i would own for the money i payed a bass with so many higher end features. The poor gal was a GC *One Who Practices the World's Oldest Profession* thou.. she has fine scrathes from pick and fingernails around the pups but no other marks, chips etc. I held her close and wispered you are safe now and you are going home with me. She is in my case wiped down daily and played with love.. I LOVE THIS BASS...even thou its basswood it has a ton of tone and features for the money even if i would of paid top price. I never knew this model was out and am lucky to of found her at reduced price. One question thou what strings have you guys tried and liked on the BTBs...so happy i found her. Very Happy

JazzX · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 4:30 am Post subject:

I have a BTB405 and I think it's great. I was a bit concerned about the tone coming from the basswood body, but those fears were laid to rest the moment I plugged it in. I was disappointed to find out it doesn't have a single truss rod...in fact, it has two.

jaybird · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2003 7:46 pm Post subject:

I, too, am a proud owner of an Ibanez BTB. A 405QM, I believe. There's a picture of it on the POST YOUR BASS topic. Personally, I've grown quite fond of it, and come to depend on the features offered. The MonoRail bridges are the best, I think we're all in agreement there. And the active EQ is just fantastic...dial between sounds such as Precision-bass thunder or Jazz-Bass-bridge-position, and every other tonal possibility you can imagine. And need I say anything about the 35" scale neck? Ooh, that extra inch makes all the difference, especially when you got that low B string flapping. It just don't sound the same on a lesser bass. And believe me, I had my eye on a Modulus, a MusicMan, and a SoundGear (a high-end model). But once I played that BTB (Beautiful Terrific Bass? ), I knew I couldn't leave the store without her in my arms. It was a year ago on December thirteenth, a Friday at that! Who says Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day!?
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Getter · Tadpole Joined: 20 Jan 2004 Posts: 29 Location: nj

Jaybird, I been lookin at a musicman and a thumb bass...but the Ibanez kills them in price. How do you think the tone matches up???
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tEchNOviLLaN · Posted: Tue May 04, 2004 9:21 pm Post subject:

ok, I have owned the following basses:
1.) Ibanez SR800 (sold it)
2.) Warwick Thumb Bolt on 5 String(sold!)
3.) just got a Ibanez BTB405 (for $300 none the less... (evil laughter!))

I had the SR800 as my first bass, very clicky when i played, probably cuz' i was a n00b at bass and could't play too well and when irecorded the active pickups were an issue at the crappy studio we recorded at. poor finger tapping sounds and tone too. anyways,

the Warwick was huge! so heavy and it was like fretting a sacoya tree trunk... good sound it does have that warwick sound... you hear it on all records with warwick owners... Thumb is the way to go or streamer stage 2... i did notice that the lows overpowered the mids on mine... no matter what i did frequency wise and EQ / compression wise it didn't help.

i put the BTB on and it was great... passive pickus(boo) but active EQ (yay) it played so well. little wider than the other 5 strings but hey, i had a warwick so i had the hands to work with it. this bass did very good fingertapping too.

I like the BTB more people should use them... Wish it had smoking pickups though but for $300 all i can say is, who cares?

Im sure Billy Sheehan or Stu Hamm could grab one of those cheap starter package basses and make them scream so it doesn't matter too much. However, i feel the better the quality, the more it ENHANCES your playability... you get more confident and the sounds you can achieve are insane... Play what feels good but try everything out first
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