Ibanez BTB1005 5-String

Japan (Fujigen) 1999. (Newer BTBs are made in Korea.) It is a full 24-fret except the top fret is only on the D & G strings, leaving more room at the neck to slap the B, E, A strings. Volume, pickup blend, bass, treble, double-stack mid freq. & gain. Passive Ibanez soapbar humbucking pickups, active preamp w/ 2 9-Volt batteries. Rosewood fretboard (pearl dots and glow-in-the-dark dots on top), Maple top, Mahogany body, Maple back. Oiled finish (very interesting brown-on-brown tiger stripe). Styled as a monster mother to a soundgear, with a very curved and pronounced upper horn, very fat wood width at bridge, quite thick too, and heavy. Neck is quite wide and not very thick. Ibanez tuners 2 on top 3 on the bottom, nice location so strings are not bent at the nut. Neutrik locking jack--wonderful.

This bass was meant to be 5-string. I bought it because I needed a bass that didn't have a muddy B, and this one was great. I used to enjoy large string tension; now I prefer less... so I think 35" is really only good for thin strings or detuned (flat, drop, flat-drop, ADGCF, GCGCF etc.)

This bass feels very serious, not "cheap" like a soundgear.

Sound is pretty growly and great on the B & E & A strings. Even as a bolt-on, there is incredible sustain, partly due to the monorail II bridge and the excellent wood. D string always sounded weak, G string also--very little high end due to humbuckers. The mid boost can really pump up the D string and a treble boost will make pops sound good. Output is very clean. Neck pickup is quite boomy, a blend sounds killer. This bass will cut through nu-metal guitars and has a lot of color.

I have reset the bass several times, I can't remember how they are when sold. The bridge is wonderful to adjust, and the strings are held tight. There are two truss rods, they work perfectly, I like to adjust them especially when I chose to keep the bass in lower tuning. I have a lot of trouble keeping the intonation set on the D & G strings at the octave level, which is essential.

The dark finish gets eaten by your fingernails very easily--your thumb will cut out holes right above the pickups and your index finger will cut into the wood below the G string. The thumb holes expose a light color making the damaged bass look quite unattractive--not a problem if you play at home, but on stage it's bad and it's terrible for resale.

Also, the 6th fret on the B string developed a buzz very early on, and several other locations on the bass also buzz.

That being said, I did abuse the bass quite a bit, I never wipe it, I play very aggressively, I leave it out in the cold, change tunings quickly, let the case fall sideways onto concrete, and let a kid stand on the neck.

It is quite reliable, I never even considered having a backup. I have had it for 7 years.

Overall, it's an incredible bass, I should have taken better care of it but i'm not sure if the buzzing & cutting into the wood could be avoided. Apparently the Bartolini pickups give a better sound on newer models. I paid way too much for it hence the 8 rating... but these were quite rare and impressive back in '99. One of these Japanese BTBs in Mahogany would be a great deal used on eBay for $500-$600, and I plan to buy a BTB w/ Bartolinis to add to my collection. It is always fun to see the BTB in action--the bassist in the Santana DVD uses one... a few guys around the Boston area play one, but usually the cheaper-looking (not tri-wood body) ones.

I got this bass for a good price. Was not looking for a new 5 string, but I'm a happy guy since I got it anyway!
It's one of the first out of the 1005 series. It has the mid sweep pots instead of the switch. The neck is made of 1 piece instead of the now available 5 pieces.
The bass has a great body. Nicely flamed maple and good finish. The bass is very well balanced and not really heavy (in my humble opinion). Very good tuning mechanisms. The only trouble is the bridge: installing new strings can be a tad tough. Try that before buying this bass!

18V electronics! So this bass has some headroom! The sound can be very dark, especially with the bridge pickup soloed. Both pickups on gives you a nicely balanced bass sound. Soloing the neck pickup makes it quite boomy. But anyway, the bass is extremely versatile because of the electronics. I love the mid sweep pot!
Beware though: this bass produces modern sounds. You could compare it to Warwick style basses. I could not dial in Fender like sounds. But I also have a Fender, so I don't complain about that :o)

Action is quite low on my bass. There is some string rattle though. Installing fresh new strings fixes most of that. In my opinion, this bass should be played softly (because of the headroom). Do not dig in too much (even though you could). This bass is stable, sturdy and overall great.
The batteries (2x 9V) are tucked away behind a separate compartiment that is (unfortunately) locked with 4 screws! So you cannot change batteries on stage quickly. Keep that in mind!

Yes, this bass will do a nice job on stage. It has no laquer finish, so stay away from excessive dirt, swat and beer. Proper maintenance is a requirement! Too bad the bass does not have a passive option (in case you run out of batteries). So please take a backup with you when playing seriously :o)
If Ibanez had included that passive option, there would also be a 9 here.

I really hope I will enjoy this bass for a long time without need for help. Ibanez have a good website. Dunno about their support.

Need a good five string with lots of good sounds on board, great looks and great playability? Look no further and get this! Too expensive? Seriously consider the 405 series then. I owned lots of different basses but this one stands its ground. Purchasing a bass is always a matter of personal taste but this one gets my highest recommendations!

Mine is a 1999 1005FL.
Laminated three piece body with a fancy top, 2 octave neck (three piece maple) rosewood fretboard, abalone fret markers, very large neck for an Ibanez, rosewood truss rod cover (a nice classy touch), bolt on neck (boo) and other features same as others have listed.
Being a 1999 mine didn't ocme with Bartolinis, I had them installed though as they are necessary on this bass.

The sweepable mid knob is great!

With the stock pickups and strings the BTB was a fairly muddy instrument. Too much low end and not enough high end without hissing. Better strings and pups have made the bass better. This bass is made loud with the efforts of an SWR SM-400s and Triad cabinet. The low end is great, the high end is still a little fake sounding and the mids are just there more or less. I've played this bass through other people's setups and it seems to be a consistent issue.

I needed to do a pretty large overhaul of the instrument after I got it. New pups, strings, setup, etc... After doing all that I became pretty familiar with the BTB, and they are well made for the money.

The fancy top is quite fancy, but it doesn't look very real. I think Ibanez may have embellished these tops a bit. If not, they wouldn't be able to selel these basses at a profit for under $1,600.

I had a thumb hole getting worn in above the neck pup within five months. This usually takes me a year or so to do. The hardware is great, after replacing the electronics at least.
I do believe that I could depend on this bass, but I don't have to. The BTB is actually my backup bass.
I've had to do many a neck adjustment, the neck seems to be alive.

Never had to deal with Ibanez on this bass, but on other products I've had a pretty rough time with it.

The BTB1005 was the best bass I could find in it's price range at the time. They look and feel pretty good, but it is an Ibanez afterall. If stolen or lost I would claim the insurance, then put the money towards another bass like the one I am using now (sukop). The BTB originally replaced my SR405, it was a great transition.
I'm somewhat torn on the BTB on the whole though. It is a nice instrument in and of itself, definitely nicer than most in a +/- $350 range, but there are so many things that could have been better on it. I don't think a person should a get a bolt on neck from a bass costing more than a grand, and the sound quality seems a bit low at the price too.

All in all it is a slightly better than average bass from Ibanez.

A 1999 Ibanez BTB1005, 5 string bass with 24 frets.

Two passive humbuckers coupled with active electronics consisting of a Master Volume, a Pickup Fader (all left = neck, all right = bridge, and any combo inbetween with a position in center for both pickups full on), a +/-15db Bass Boost/Cut, a +/-15db Treble Boost/Cut, and a +/-12db Mid Boost/Cut that has a selectable frequency range of 100Hz to 5kHz (with a center click position of 450Hz. All this is collectively known as a Vari-Mid 3 band EQ or VM-III for short . . . It is a 18v cicuit (needs two 9v batteries in back). The battery cavity has brass machine screw fittings so no worries about stripping screws ever . . . Controls are accessed from the rear. The control cavity is fully shielded with conductive paint and very clean.

Bass has a Ibanez double cutaway style Mahogany body with a flame maple top and a maple back. the neck is 3 piece maple with a rosewood fretboard and abalone dot markers. The entire bass is all natural finish with oil and no paint or varnish anywhere. The flamed maple top is gorgeous and actually "moves" as you view it from different angles becoming more or less striking depending on your viewing angle.

The bridge is a Monorail II which basically means that each string has it's own separate bridge! Each string has it's own bridge and you can see the flamed maple top inbetween each bridge saddle . . . Very cool! But this alos means that each string resonates with the body on it's own without interference from the other strings, very cool too! Also, very easy to change the strings . . .

Non-Locking tuners . . . Don't know the exact make, but they are very nice! No drop tuner . . . Would'nt want one on a 5 string bass anyway.

Neck is a asymetrical, off-center-line shape that makes the upper neck very easy to play. A rosewood fretboad radius of 305mm (don;t know what that is in inches) and a 35" scale make playing this bass very nice. The longer scale makes the strings alittle tighter, but this is nice because you get slightly lower action without buzzing, and no "floppy" b strings . . .

I play this bass through a Ampeg SP-115 amp and it sounds great! No noise at all no matter what the settings . . . Gets rich full sound, that can be warm or bright or dark as you please . . . The VM-III active electronics really give you alot of EQ on the bass itself, and coupled with a nice amp, you really can dial in whatever tone you are looking for!

Setup was just fine, actually the action was a little lower than I am used to playing (I also have a Fender P-Bass Special) but I am not having any problems . . .

Finish is superb, very nice! No flaws whatsoever!

This bass withstands live playing just fine, only concerns are flying beer bottles denting the flamed maple, but other than that, no problems. Hardware holds up just fine, it also has a Neutrik locking jack which is very nice.

I can depend on this bass and have not had to adjust the truss rod at all so far . . .

I would gig with this and no backup no problem.

Never needed any support from Ibanez, so I would not know . . . Have not tried to get it repaired and I do not know about the warranty.

I have been playing long enough thatnk you!

I compared this with a Fender Jazz 5 string and a Carvin 5 string as well as Warwicks and Modulus's this one was the best one by far.

5 string, flame maple/mahogany/maple laminated body, maple neck.
Two humbuckers, 35" scale. Threeband EQ, Mono-rail bridge system. Neutrik locking jack.

It covers a lot of ground for me. the active electronics are very versatile and dead silent even with a lot of distorsion. The 35" scale makes the B-string almost as tight as an E-string.
The only thing it lacks is that single coil slap sound I like so a split coil option would've been nice.

It held up well for a bass in this pricerange however there were some fretboard shrinkage, easily cured though.

It's stable alright.

I've been playing for 20 years, 12 years professionally. I use this bass and a BTB 505 exclusively. That pretty much says it all.