Ibanez BTB400QM

2001 Ibanez BTB400QMTR...made in Korea...volume, pickup balance, bass boost, treble boost, sweeping mid...passive pickups with active electronics, basswood back with quilted maple top, 35" neck (best feature), I've had it one year

The sound is okay I suppose, could be better. I slap sometimes, it sounds horrible while slapping. I play a lot of Tool, this bass sounds great playing that (even though I use my Fender Jazz for that). It is extremely quiet. No humming at all. I currently run it through a Fender Bassman 200. Great picking bass. You can get just about any sound with this bass, from Jazz bass to a Warwick Thumb.

The action was a little tight when I first got it. Fixed it right away. The pickups were good. It buzzes on the 11 to 15 frets on the D string and 12 to 14 frets on the E. I can't seem to get rid of it.

This bass can withstand live playing. The Neutrik locking jack is a pain in the ass, if you barely touch the cable it has a poppy/crackly tantrum. The bridge is disintegrating despite great care. Good finish. I have my Fender Jazz in Drop D flat, my Ibanez in C, and my Schecter 5 string in F# (REAL low). So I don't really have a backup, but I would definitely use one.

I've only dealt with Ibanez because of my old SR405. The pickups were horrible. The warranty lasted a year. You definitely need it.

I've been playing guitar for 3 years and bass for 2. Other basses I own are a Fender 60's Jazz Bass and a Schecter Deluxe 5 String. If this was stolen, I wouldn't buy another one. I would probably get an ESP or Fernandes to replace it. This isn't a very good bass, and the best feature is the 35" neck. It provides good tension while detuned. If you are absolutely desperate, and your last resort is buying this bass, don't.

a and e strings have 23 frets and d and g have 24
Pickup selector and 18volt pre amp + full eq
nice wide neck

Mine came with a really, really low action and the frets buzzed quite a bit particularily on the a string. The eq and pre amp sound really good altough the extremes seem to be the best way to go with it. Overall sound is great almost just as good quality as a 1200$ jazz bass.

5 minutes with the truss rod fixed the buzzing. I figure pick so most buzzing isnt picked up as much so others might have to work longer on it. Even before adjusting the rod, the pickups seem not to pick up the buzzing much, it was really only noticable when i was playing at low volumes. Action is nice, easy to use if adjusting is needed.

I've only had mine for about 4 or 5 months now, no problems so far save for the 1 tone nob for the preamp was lose, nothing 5 minutes and an allen wrench didnt fix though. I've had to adjust the action or truss rod since i got it. It has survived a few gigs and many, many hours of jamming and practicing. Finish seems to be holing up fine.

none needed so far

I have been playing for only about 3 years, but im a quick learning at anything musical. I like to jam on rush song so that should prove my ability. Compared to the average bass today that runs about 4-600 it simply destroys them. It even destroys some of the more expensive jazz basses and warwicks. it is unmatched for its price and quality. I would feel confident going on stage without a back up. Sounds great on my Gk 1001rb.

Korean-made, red quilted maple top. I like the control layout - master volume, pickup fader, bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut, sweepable mid w/ boost/cut. Locking Nuetrix jack is okay - I always loop my cord over the endpin so if I step on it I won't unplug myself! 35" scale is great for me - I play with a pick, and pretty hard. Never any flopping of strings. Tuners were loose when I got it.

Surprisingly good sound - I wasn't expecting much. Good variety of sounds available within what I use. 18v circuit seems pretty quiet. It's well balanced, not too heavy, and I like it a lot more than I ever expected to.

The finish seems a little bit "thick", common with imported instruments. The neck is wide and thick - combined with the extended scale, probably not good for those with small hands. Setup was acceptable when I got it, but since I got it used I can't say how the factory delivered it.

I bought this bass to take the place of my '71 Rickenbacker 4001 that had one of the original tuners disintegrate. It took me months to find the original Grovers for the Ricky, and I played this bass nonstop for many months - indoors, outdoors, hot, cold. No problems ever. No adjustments required, just tune it and play. I wouldn't do any gig anywhere without a backup, no matter what I was playing.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing since 1969. Also own '71 and '72 Rickenbacker 4001s, Steinberger XL2, '83 Fender Precision, Dean Rhapsody 8 string. I liked this one so much I just bought a 5 string version off EBay as well. Haven't received it yet though. I really like the extra string tension as a result of the extended scale - sometimes my Ricky suffers from "string flop" if I'm playing hard - this one doesn't.

2002 model, transparent red quilt top over basswood, satin chrome hardware, dual soapbar pickups (humbuckers?), 35" scale. The body has a nice shape, and feels pretty well balanced. Don't know what strings came stock on it, but I didn't like them at all.

The EQ helps to get a wide range of sounds, most of them I liked. The frets buzzed like a chainsaw (see next section). Playing on a 35" scale took some getting used to, and in the end I hated the extended scale.

The action was very high, and even once I lowered the bridge saddles, it was still high. After adjusting the truss rod, the action improved but the strings buzzed like crazy. The treble tone knob fell off unexpectedly and had to be tightened back down. The finish was real nice, the hardware was pretty decent, and the frets were finished well.

It should be reliable once you tighten down every screw and knob.

Didn't have to call them.

The things I liked most about this bass was the finish and the monorail bridge. The things I liked least was the 35" scale and the fret buzz. An extended scale bass should not buzz as bad as this one does. Not a bad sounding bass, but nothing spectacular about it either. Play one before buying one!

2001 made ibanez with 24 frets i belive flame maple to volume pickup selector bass treble and active bass and active treble controls bartolini pictups fat at the nect and i dont know what the back one is i dont like it so i dont play with it on active electronics maple neck transparent red finish monorail bridge system gotoh tuners extra jumbo frets

I play slap and this bass is absolutely horrific for it infac no matter what Im playing Im very disappointed with the sound it is somewhat noisy but I am under the impression that soapbar pickups are all this crappy this is really only good for the ballad bassist which I absolutely dispise. I must say that i dont like anything about the sound

I got it with super high action which i dont like but then i lowered it and it got extreme fret buzz to the point where my tuner couldnt tell what not it was. the finish is about the only thing i like about this guitar i love the finish which is probobly why i bought the guitar (the dumbest thing to do when bying a guitar) also the pickups are extremely high on this guitar

depending on how much abuse you give it it will last the hardware is not strong at all in fact i was playing suck my kiss and part of the tuner snapped off I wouldnt use at a gig without a back up

very crappy the tuner was under warrantee and it took them 4 months to decide to replace there was a one year parts warrantee thats it

I have been playing two years almost I wish i would has ask question you should ask whenm buing something I probobly wouldnt have gotten a straight answer anyway i hate this guitar I campared it to the olp stingray and i wish i would have bought that

-2001 BTB400, made in Korea.
-24 frets, 35" scale
-One volume knob, one pick-up blend knob, 3 eq knobs one is a stacked knob.
-Two Ibanez humbucking "soapbar" style pick-ups
-Passive pick-ups, 18v active electronics
-Basswood body w/ quilted maple top, laminated maple/rosewood neck (m/r/m/r/m), rosewood fretboard.
-Transparent red finish.
-Mono-rail 2 bridge w/ separate bridge saddles for each string.
-Gotoh style tuners
-Fat neck (similar to P-bass, only wider) jumbo frets.
-My purchase included Ibanez Case ($100 value), Levy's leather strap ($19 value) and new stings ($17 value). Included with bass was the two allen wrenches needed for making adjustments on this bass (1.5mm & 5mm) and a cheap instrument cable.

Amount and quality of features are slightly above average for this price-point.

The key to the BTB's sound is the 18v active EQ. This allows the bass to evoke a large variety of tones and settings. I personally use a nice mellow sound with a little bit of mid-range bite, but it's capable of any sound with the right settings.

The basic sound of the bass is nice and clear and the maple top helps brighten the high tones of the bass while the basswood body creates warm lows. The bass is nice and quiet running to my amp or direct into a mixer. In live applications I have been quite happy with this bass and cannot wait to get it into the studio. I am quite satisfied with its sound

The bass required some adjustments before I took it out of the shop. the action was a little low and the blend knob had been loose for the entire time I'd been looking at this particular bass (about 3 months). Beyond those two adjustments, the bass was in excellent condition. Great factory fretwork; the neck action is nice and smooth with no dead spots.

The quilted maple under the transparent red finish is absolutely beautiful under stage lights. It looks like a million bucks! The finish does look a little thin and I could see how it would be quite easy for a "belt buckle mark" to form on the back. It does show finger prints well, but frequently wiping it down (like you should do on any bass) will help keep it looking bright and new.

Overall, all these options are exactly what I'd expect for the price, but well done, none the less.

I purchased this bass specifically for live application with secondary purpose of studio work. While I'll have no apprehension in taking it to live gigs, I will of course treat it with care. It will definitly stand up to live performances.

The finish, it seems, will show average wear for average play; meaning it's not going to wear any differently than any other bass might. I have another Ibanez with a transparent finish that I've played into the ground and it's only now showing minor clouding of the finish where I rest my thumb and where my fingers scoop under the strings on occasion. I expect this bass' finish to perform likewise.

I replaced the strap buttons immediately with Schaller strap locks, but the stock buttons were quite solid and wider than average.

I will have 1 or 2 additional basses at gigs with me, mostly because I use 2 different tunings and the other is fretless, but the other fretted bass can serve as a back up. I will never gig without a back-up bass, but only because as a semi-pro you cannot afford to have a technical problem keep you from finishing a gig. If I were not in the situation I'm in though, I'd gig this bass w/out a back-up.

I expect this bass to last as long as I'm playing bass and I have no intent to quit...

1 year limited warranty from Ibanez.

The company's support has been helpful any time I've dealt with them before, but not above average.

I've been playing quite seriously for nearly 5 years and have been performing as a semi-pro for nearly 2 years. My other basses include an Ibanez SR800 four string and an Essex fretless jazz copy. This will be my #1 bass. I shopped for about 6 months before buying this bass and quite honestly, it fit all my requirements better than anything else I played (Warwick, Spector, Fender, G&L, MusicMan, Yamaha, Lakland, Sadowsky). But, to each his own. The feature that put it above the rest was the 35" scale. The added string tension was exactly what I was looking for in a new bass. None of the others, with their 34" scales could compete with the feel of the 35" BTB.

In a year or so I may drop some extra cash and have Bartolini pick-ups installed, but other than that and the addition of strap-locks, this bass will stay as-is for as long as I own it.

I love it!

2001 Ibanez 400QM, 4-string, 24 frets, 35' scale, Quilted Mable Top, Basswood back, Transparent Red. Bass, Treble, and variable Mid range. Two Soapbar syle pickups. Passive pickups with active EQ. 18 volt electronics (takes 2 9-volt batteries). Rosewood finger board. Mono rail brigde.

Sounds like an ibanez (which is good or bad, depending on the player). I like the sound a lot, it's tough to get a good sound with the veriable mid though, but you get use to it. The 35' scale is very noticable. Also the width of the neck at the nut is bigger then most four string basss, which is also strange at first, but you get use to it. Good smooth frets, i haven't found any that buzz (yet).

All of this was set very well by the factory. I jus thad to loosen up the neck a little bit, but other than that everything was perfect. The action was nice and low. I had to raise the neck pickup also, but that was just to adjust to my playing style, it also made the bass sound deeper. The paint job is fantastic. The quilted maple looks beautiful under the transparent red finish. All the hard wear is silver and looks great. The Mono rail bridges are great too. Because they are separate from each other then don't cause the other string to vibrate (which was one of the purposes of the design). On my old bass when i played any string the others would lightly vibrate with it. But with the Mono Rail bridge i don't have this problem.

The Bolt-on neck has five strews holding in on tight. No problem there. The strap buttons are really nice too. They're a little bit over sized which ensures the strap will stay on. oh yeah, you really need to keep the finish clean and looking new, otherwise the bass just looks older than it is.

it's a beautiful bass, but it takes some time getting use to. when you get it down though your set for life with this baby.

24 jumbo frets, 4 string, red quilted maple top, 18 volt active electronics, Rosewood fretboard, bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut sweepable mid, locking tuners, two soapbar pickups, mono rail bridge.

This thing gets a great veriety of sounds. With the eq it has you squeeze out just about anything for from classical to jazz, from funk to punk. The lo E string is noticably quieter than the rest of the strings however, this can get very annoying when playing with your band.

This is where I was not impressed. The neck is way to wide (almost like a 5-string)and frets buzz way to much. It's not a very comfortable bass, in fact I don't like it much at all because of these problems. For this price ($650) you want something thats gonna play better than most.

Very very sturdy

Don't buy this bass unless your just in love with because it's playability really sucks. Yes it does have a nice sound but I've played 200 dollar guitars that I like more.

Quilted maple top tranperent red color. 24 medium frets, 4 strings, a master volume, 18 volt active pickups, Bass boost/cut knob, Mid boost/cut, hi boost/cut, and sweepable midrange knobs. Wider neck, not in thickness but in width of fret board. Locking tuners chrome hardware. String thru bridge and two very nice pickups.

Sounds amazing. You can get any sound out of this thing at any time...it's beautiful. The E string is a teensy bit quieter than the other strings , but humming...there is no hum, their is no shitty GSR 200 muffled notes, only clear well defined sound.

Action was a little low, fixed it, frets buzz sometimes, not too badly. Not like the shitness of the GSR 200. Everything else was perfect even came in tune.

Very sturdy. I would use it at a gig w/o a backup. Solid strap buttons, finish is thick, the harware is very durable.

I've been playing for 2 years, I also own a GSR 200, and a DEAN Edge Q4 and I must say that this bass is 100% better than both, well maybe 10000000% better than the GSR 200, but I am extremely pleased with the sound cpabilities and lack of other not so pleasant sounds. Defintely a bass to use in studio and on stage as well. Only other bass that compares from Ibanez in the same price range is the EDB 600, but this beats it in sound range, but if you DONT like bigger necks, don't buy this, get the EDB 600 or 690(very sweet looking bass)
giving up the active electronics, it still has 3 band eq though and has a verythin neck.