Ibanez BTB 455QM

The BTB's are Made in Korea, like the Ergodyne 605 I used to have but was not really thrilled with the string spacing adn tone when placed up against an India Produced Jackson Concert (4).

Got Spoiled on A Warrior Studio 5 so the EDB605 had to go.

I had to surrender so ego on the not having a full 24 frets as the lower 3 of this 5 String only go to the 23rd. All BTB's are designed that way.

The body is Book Matched Quilted Maple, on Black Transparent Finish, basswood body to keep the weight managable. With the overall size of the body the tone is preserved by the larger mass. Not thrilled about the other color and the limited colors over all.

The Controls are V, Mix, active T, B, Mid with viraible freq.knob, 18v Preamp with 2 Bartolini Mk-1 Pickups B/N. Bart says these are Korean Contract Production. I notice that they are Not as shimmering and sound compressed in comparison to the BTB405QM Product a couple of years before.

Uses a Neutrik Connecter. Nice touch

Neck is Maple 3 piece divided by Walnut Stringers,35" scale, wide for 19mm string spacing at the bridge, Rosewood Fretboard w/ medium frets, and flat flat. (my Japanese Built BTB 1006E Fretless is bubinga. Dual truss rods, Keys are 2 High and 3 Low on the Head with Quilted Maple top.

Body Style is much like the Fenders but slimmer and sexier horns bearing sculpted sloping curves.

Bridge is Ibanez's mono Rail system (aluminum), each string is independent and latches into the underside of the bridge in the face of the guitar. THe Machine Heads have a brushed aluminum feel to them. On an older instrument I had they do not seem to age very gracefully, this included the knobs.

No Accessories come with this instrument


Wish it had an angled edge on the upper part of the Body for the Right arm to reach the strings like the Warrior (now I play really low so it does not matter).

String through the body would be nice for the B and E strings!

Ugh!...Drop Dead Gorgeous. I never need treble over -7db, and I am Geddy Lee Tone Clone. (Still after 17 years not listening). Lean a little to the Bridge pup, Bass at +5db, Mids at +3db and place the freq. at 7o'clock from the operator's position pointing at the nearest corner of the Bridge pup.

This shimmers like the Warrior if I wanted it to. It does everything. (It is my replacement for the $4K Warrior as I did not want to be owned by that Bass as great as it was, like the Fodera, Ken Smith, and Specters that I have tried. I also did not like the man who made the bass and the way he does business. Will not be seen dead with his product.) The tone is so exciting and perfect, I could not resist the instrument at less than a 1/8 of a Boutique instrument.

I have 4 of them now, the 456, 405, and the 1006E Fretless.

I have no problem finding the Tony Levin Stingray to round Jaco, ro just slamming Contemptuous Metal. Even make it sound like a Jaw Harp by using the Bridge pup and the BP-8 Wah.

Amp used is a Genz Benz NeoX400 112T with an external NeoX112T External Speaker.

I Use Boss SYB-5 Synth, PS Pitch Shifter, OD-20 Distortion, EQ-2 to help the distortion regain lows and compensate for signals from Bass to Bass depending on the age of strings, PH-2 Phaser, BF2 Flanger, CE-20 Chorus, and DD-20 Giga Delay, and a Digitech BP-2 that was the basis for my tone on F42, now duplicated by the EQ-20 and the Tube preamp on the Genz. (Yes, it gets busy where I work)

No Noise.

I gave up on Neck through basses when I met up again with my old friend/aquaintence Adam Nitti and played his bolt on Warrior. He said Bolt ons were for Punch v. Sustain. So I made up my mind.

The guys in the last band loved the Warrior, but I will not hesitate gigging with this Bass, even without chicken wire, and it is replaceable.

I got spoiled gang. Factory crap will never do after meeting up with my old friend Adam Nitti. I could nto play his bass the action was so low.

All of my basses are set up by Rik at Rick's Music in Glamourous KnoxVegas! I rode the poor man to get these instruments down to under 1mm at the 12th fret. The neck is shimmed 1-2mm to get the position needed for the demanded spacing. Thus with the 18v preamp, I breathe on the strings to make the instrument sound. If I move off the Bridge pup the fret noise sounds like I am using a hammer on them.

The action is so low, if you lay down the frets buzz and dampen out the strings.

Pickups adjust with no problems right up to the strings. I learned 1/4" at the neck and no less than 1/8" at the bridge, but I could not handle the lack of sustain and backed them both out to 1/4". THe magnets must be super strong.

For the insane demands I have on an instrument Fret dressing was necessary, Ibanez does not glue their frets in, so I have learned the wooden dowel and brass mallet trick for tapping them down.

It's an Ibanez.

I have my doubts as to the Finish, but I have seen the early 80's Handmade B.C.Rich Bass Bridges disintegrate in 6 years. I hope there will be something similar available when it starts looking cruddy.

I replaced the strap buttons with Shallers, great design, but playing low leaves a bruise when placing the end on your knee. (Adreneline is flowing, you don't feel it.)

I have not need an adjustment on this, my oldest BTB.

Backups are not necessary. I use this and the 456 as some songs need only 5 Strings. In such songs one might want to hammer 2 octave pentatonic chords at the brings with the length of ones thumb. But who that person would be is beyond me.

Never dealt with the Co.

I have had 11 basses in my life. Taking stock this moment I just realized that 7 of them have been Ibanez, and I never really gave it much thought. I never needed help with them, except when I lived with Fernando Villareal who built a guitar for Phil Keagy that was in Guitar Player Magazine in 1986. I had him put black dot position markers on my Ibanez MC9212 or 9220 (Thin body, contured back like a SPecter, 4 String Fretless.) Should heve never sold that......

Warranty One year like everything.

I have been playing, as of Fall of 07, 32 years.

Something I would have asked?... Can I borrow a 6 String 456 for a month and a half before I buy a 5?

I would not buy this Bass again if it were stolen. I would buy a 456, Have Rick to the set up at his custom guitar shop, and refinish the headstock and Body to another color. (Use 3 different Basses for 3 different Tunings) Seems I am a reticulative Bassist, if you give me strings, I will use them, especially in Original Work, (funny I do the same thing with watts).

Love the: 35" Scale, Dual Stringers, Dual Truss Rods, 18v Active PRe-amp, Barts, String Spacing, Book Matched Quilted Maple Top, thinness of the neck, the harmonics, the Tone, the Tone, the Tone!!!

Hates: Suspicious of the Hardware finish, that it does not come in any actual color variety.

Wish it had the Right arm tapering for playing it high. String through the Body edge for the B and E strings, maybe even the A.

I had a Bernie Rico Rich for 82', Fender, played Tobias, Warwick, Bongo, Stingray, Warrior, post B.C. Rich, M.V. Pedulla, Fodera, Specter, Steinberger, Even two Basses Made by Mr. Gaddis Tippett in his back yard wood shop which was just as fine as the Fodera and the Warrior (can that guy remount a headstock on a Specter or what!), and this Ibanez is really it.

It is as Modern as the Tool should be, of the quality one needs, and a realistic price that does not own you.

If you would like to have 9 GREAT working Basses as opposed to 1 piece of Art that you are afraid to gig with because it cannot be replaced in an orderly timely fashion, there is no otehr option.

This 5-string BTB was made in Korea, in 2006. It features a 35" scale, 24 medium frets, passive Bartolini MK-1's (2 of them), 18 volt active pre-amp, Gotoh-style tuners and Ibanez's Mono-Rail bridge. Color is translucent black over a quilted maple top and a basswood body. Neck is a set 5 piece of maple and walnut, quite flat, with dual truss rods. Well featured for the money. No accessories were included in the purchase.

First off, the pots are very quiet. I found that the range of sounds available more than suits my playing capabilities. I am able to dial in a thick metal bottom end or clear and plucky high end tones. Vintage tones are tricky and this bass does not sound like a P or a Jazz bass, no matter what you do. Fundamentally, it excells in modern, crunchy tones. If you seek warm or growly sounds, buy a Stingray.
I mainly play at home at this time and have not recorded with the BTB, but again, based on the sounds it can produce, I would use it live or in the studio.
I do dislike the noise that seeps in when you dial in the treble control. You really cannot move much past the 'neutral' setting without encountering much signal noise.
I currently play it through an Eden Nemesis combo with a Zoom effects player and the amp handles it fairly well, but the B string would really respond with more headroom.

From the store the action was slightly too high for my tastes and the intonation was askew. The shop offered to set the bass up but I prefer to tackle that myself. P'up height was fine. Cosmetically, there was a blob of glue on the neck that I carefully sanded off. Frets aren't too sharp and the body cavities are shielded, with electrical wiring neatly tied up. Kudos to Ibanez.
I also tightened every screw, nut and bolt on the bass when I purchased it, a precautionary measure, as many were loose.

As noted above, I have not played live with this bass to date. I don't think it would be problematic when used in a live venue, as it is heavily built and seems sturdy. It is too early to comment on the durability of the finish at this point. Hardware appears solid, but I do not expect the strap buttons to remain intact very long. I adjusted the neck at time of purchase and it has stayed straight since (one month). I have never gigged with a backup bass and am confident that for the occasional live playing I do, the BTB would not leave me.

The shop I bought from has a one year warranty. I have never dealt with Ibanez personally, so cannot comment.

I have been plunking away on a bass for 18 years. I am not a gear head in any way, as this is my second bass in 14 years (my 4 string is also an Ibanez, bought new in 1992). I have been wanting to try a 5-string for a couple of years and the BTB feels great to me. I played many basses over a several month period before deciding on this one. Honestly, if money was not a primary consideration I would have purchased a Spector or a Dingwall, but at the $800 mark, you can have alot of bass with a BTB. Further, the more I play, the more I like it, so I suspect if it was stolen or badly damaged I'd seek out another BTB, likely a Prestige 5. I love the neck, speedy and smooth. I wish the p'ups were active and will likely upgrade them in the future. I give it a tentative '9' overall, hoping it ages well.