Ibanez BTB405QM

BTB405QM trans black passive soapbar pickups active EQ indipenent string sattle bridge bolt on neck 1 volume, bass boost/cut, trebel boost/cut, EQ,and mid sweep

this is where the problem is with this bass bought this bass at guitar center and sounded great when I first played it and the frist few times after I played it at home, the frist time i played it with my band it fell flat on its face. played fine for about 4 songs than the tone seemed to start change on its own, and seemed to get worse every song, after an hour of playing i had lost all most all tone and volume, thinking the batterys where bad we called it a night the next day i put in brand new $12 each lithium batterys it and it sounded fine again. that night we jamed again and with in an hour the same problem was right back. took the bass to a known good guitar tech, after replaceing all electronics and both pickups over the next 6 mounths with nothing seeming to work i finnly sold the bass. after selling it i started to here that 6 other people in my area had the same problem with diffent ibenez basses. if your looking at an ibenez I would srongly suggest you dont wast your money unless you like stopping in the middle of a set to change batterys!

dont get me wrong this seems to be a very well built bass, ther just seems to be a problem with the electronics. IBENEZ, if your listing this seems to be a big problem im hereing for a lot of people! if not for this problem this bass sounds very good and tons of head room with the active EQ

WOULD NOT PLAY GIGS WITH THIS BASS due to loss of tone over a short period time

been playing for 8 years playing gigs 3-5 times a month, have been playing a fender jass speical great sounding bass. bought the ibenez for playing heaver muisc than ive been playing {blues-classic rock}iuse only mesa-boogie 1 15" cab/and powerhouseJr 1-12"-4-8" cab and mesa 400+ all tube head and a sansamp Di, the best sounding combo ive heard! replaced the ibenez with a dean rapsbury {ive have now found my dream set up!} tone to die for!

- was made in Korea 2003;
- 24 frets (last only for D & G strings);5 strings (Elixir equipped from NANO Series, B string is I think 130);
- Rosewood finger board with beautiful groovs on it; basswood w/quilted maple top. In Ibanez catalog it was bright blue, but in reality it's bright blue + green (you should see it - marvellous);
- 5 knobs -->Volume, bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut, balance, mid boost/cut, mid frequency (in Ibanez catalog or www site when you see electronics it's (from top) volume, bass, balance, terble, mid, frequency - but in mine bass the treble boost/cut knob is change with bass boost/cut knob.
- two passive Ibanez DFR (Dynamix Full Range - medium output passive pickups with quick attack and superior dynamics) pickups, humbuckings
- Vari-mid 3B 3-band eq, active
- THIS IS COOL SHIT - Mono Rail bridges for each string (you can bang the strings for hours and they will be tune!!!!)
- 35" neck scale (this is also very gut specially for slapping), medium frets
- I bought this guitar (535 euro for guitar) with a case (only 25 euro!!!! - That's what I call THE OPPORTUNITY)

I play over 3 years and I use mostlly slap & pop technique, and I must tell - THIS BASS IS PERFECT FOR THAT TYPE OF MUSIC. I play on Ashdown ABM-C210h-500 evo + Digitech BP 200. What you can get out of this guitar it's just incredible. I have my own band and we play almost everything (from jazz, funk to metal) and BTB 405QM is gut BUT NOT PERFECT WHY?. I noticed that knobs are getting dirty very fast (offcourse when you use your gitar every day for at least 4 to 5 hours) and this cause sound problem, because turning the knob brings (in most cases loud) creak!!! But like I said you have to torture your guitar very hard. Active Eq it's gut and when you add knob possibility it's just pleasure to play on it. You can even hear the WHA-WHA sound turnig mid frequency (18 volt circuitry). When you play only with your fingers the bass sound gut (it's very soft, warm), but when you go on slap (during the same volume arrangement) IT WILL KILL YOU!!! Treble are beautiful on this machine!!!

And this is the part which I was afraid of. When I bought my beautiful guitar it been all over fill with fingerprints - some one just can't resist not to touch my guitar. What is more there was scratch unger neck pickup (I suspect that someone play on it during trip from Korea to Poland), but all the top layer is scratching very fast - I don't care. All I care is sound, and it is perfect.

Like I said the top layer is scratching very fast, but the varnish which was used to paint is very bear, so it looks like a new all the time. I'm sure it'll hold on.

12 month warranty. I was back in the company to grease the knobs and they were very helpful and friendly - I got from them new fender strings for free (pure nickel roundwound Original bass). They even found for my request diagram of eq electronic.

I have been playing for over 3 years. I compare this bass with warwick, fender and yamaha and to be honest with you it's the best deal in Europe for that money. If it were stolen or lost I would buy another - no doubt. It sound great, it looks beautifully - is there anything you need more? Buy it or just try out and you will know what to do.

2003 - Korean made
24 fret @ G & D strings
18V active EQ - bass, treble & mid cut/boost + vari mid shaping
2 Ibanez HB DFR-N5 @ neck DFR-B5 @ bridge
passive PU's
Basswood w/Quilted Maple top Body, 5pc. Maple/ Walnut Neck Material
Transparant black finish
Mono- Rail II bridge (unconnected saddles for each string)
35" scale neck 5pc. Maple/ Walnut medium frets
I got a used Ibanez case in good condition for $35, but I have found that my standard SBK bass case fits as well (will probably use the SBK since it will probably provide better protection)

I am in a rock/metal band and I like a very warm, punchy, articulate sound - this bass delivers! It is currently being run through an Ampeg BA 210SP 230W combo, which works great with it. I was thoroughly impressed with the variety of tone it was capable of producing - if you wanted a nice standard Jazz bass sound - you got it. You want a nice HiFi slap & pop sound - it's there. If you want to really get crazy, you can move the pickup balance neckward and shape the mids to the lower frequency and get a slap tone that will bring down buildings. Because of this feature, I have found my presence has increased 10 fold since I have been playing it which keeps me from sayin' "Hey soundguy! more bass in the monitors!) I haven't had the opportunity to use it in the studio as of yet, but the PU's are quiet, which will be nice. The only thing that takes getting used to is the weight of the instrument and the width of the neck - a small price to pay for the tone you will receive.

Everything was set up beautifully - not a scratch on it, action was great - suprisingly low (you would think the B string would be rattling against the frets like a jackhammer as on most lower cost basses.) The articulation was fantastic! you can hear the detail of every note you hit with no 'off coloration' from other strings. The longer scale neck keeps the lower strings (especially the low b) from 'farting'

I just got the bass within the last few months, so I'm not 100% sure, but I can tell you the moment you will see and play this instrument, you will know it's quality. The strap buttons are pretty solid (I use a locking strap, and it hasn't fallen on me yet.) I am a firm believer in having a backup no matter what - Strings will snap, straps will give out - it's much quicker to retire your wounded bass and pick up the spare than it is to rectify the problem right in the middle of a show.

Haven't had to contact them yet.

I have been playing bass 5yrs (1 1/2 yrs in a band.) I own an Ampeg BA210 SP amp, the BTB and a vintage '82 Ibanez X series bass. If it were stolen, I would buy it again. The thing I love about the BTB405 is the surprising quality this instrument posesses at such a low cost - I played Warwicks, G&L's, and Musicman Stingrays, and didn't see the same quality or tonal variety. If it has a more narrow neck and went on a diet, it would be perfect.
Oh and if you've mad it this far...check out www.chaptersend.com, listen to some tracks, and download a free screensaver or winamp skins if you wish. There is also a message board if want to add your 2 cents. Hope to hear from y'all - peace!

I just got this bass, and to be honest with you. IT ROCKS! I got it brand new on a Christmas sale from guitar center for $600 marked down from $800. It was made in Korea, and has a different number of frets for each string. The 35" neck is perfect for the five string (there's no flopping around on the b)It has 6 different controls: volume, bass boost, treble boost, mid boost, mid frequency, and a balance. It has two standard ibanez soapbar pickups, but I'm going to get bartolini pickups pit in professionaly. I got it in transparent black over the quilted maple top. Two things that really sold me on the bass was the neutrik locking jack and the monorail two bridge, with individual saddels. The bass also has a huge neck that really works out your fingers. It also came with a hardshell case. One thing to know is this bass is fairly heavy.

I play everything from punk and grunge to worship and jazz, and this bass does it all. I play through a big hartke combo and a giant peavy sub, and its amazing how much tonal variety I can get out of it. See what I did was went out and tried all the really expencive "high end" basses and compared them to the ibanez, and found out that the warwick's sound and the musicman's sound can be almost perfectly duplicated by the BTB. So the Ibanez is definetly the best bass for the money. It will be even better when I get Bartolini pickups. The only thing about the tone I don't like is, too many control nobs. Because if your playing a fast bass riff and need somthing changed I always accidently turn the wrong nob and it gets really bad.

The bass came from the factory with perfect action (though dramaticly out of tune) and sounded great. One problem was it fingerprints all over it, like someone in the factory just couldn't help but get therre greasy paws all over my beautiful new bass! The hardware is a cool frosted silver which I believe they call platinum. The finish is beautiful and flawless.

I have not had enough time with the bass to answere alot of these questions. The strap buttons are getting replaced very soon with schaller strap locks, and is so far very dependible. No I would never gig without a back-up, that's just plain stupidity!

Nope, I think the warranty is limited lifetime (don't quote me on that)

I have been playing a little over two years now and have owned a Dean and a Yamaha. If anyone stole my bass I would hunt them down, shoot them in the knee caps, place them in a burlap bag, and beat them with reeds! As I said I compared this to all the "high end" basses like: MM, Warwick, Fender, Gibson, and Schector Dimond series and have decided on this bass because of tonal flexibility and the overall price. This Bass Rocks!

Okay - the features: 2002 - Made in Korea. 35" Scale - 23-1/2 Jumbo Frets - 5-string. Transparent Black, Quilted Maple top (with a lacquer finish) - looks good. Controls: Volume, Pan/Balance, EQ-Bass, EQ-Treble, EQ-Mid, Mid-frequency. Pickups: Ibanez Soap bar style passive pickups with 18v Vari-Mid 3B EQ. Neck: 5-piece laminate, bolt-on.

Sound is thin when compared to Ibanez BTB1005E. Has a decent amount of growl and bottom end.

Action was way too high from the factory so I tried to adjust it. I couldn't get the bass set up in with the same setup as my BTB1005E. It would always rattle on the 11th fret of the A string - very bizarre.

Tuning machine-heads needed to be tightened. Knob screws needed tightening as well.

Neck does not feel "silky" as with BTB1005E.

Questionable, but I wouldn't know - it got returned to the store after only a week.

Overall, I would rank the bass as a dissapointment given the quality of the BTB1005E, I would have expected more from the BTB405QM. Might make a good starter-to-intermediate bass for someone who likes high action.

Spend the extra money and upgrade to a BTB made by Ibanez's Prestige builders.

- made: 2001 Japan
- 5 strings, on 24 (medium/large )fretts (only the D & G string has 24 fretts)
- Solid top -> Quilted maple... very nice with the transparant finish
- Controls => I like basses with this setup: 1 master vol. and 1 balance to mix the to pup signals.
- pickups: 2 Ibanez humbuckers. passive, very dynamic
- Electronic: ACIVE -> this is very good on this bass. What you can tweak on this baby is jus unbelievable. If you alter the mid frequenties fast jyou even hear a WAH sound! So big are the diffrences you can create!!! Well it's very logic because it's a 18 volts circuitry. This reminds me: BUY 2 good guaranteed not to leak 9 volts batterys with it, theone they put in are not that good!!!
- Neck: material = ???. it's a neck for 35' scale. This makes the tention on the string very tight even on the low B!
+ 1 nice detail. the headstock matches the color of the body!
- Finish: Great idea to use transparant finish on the quilted maple. Mine is trans. black, when it'ds dark it looks purple, on pictures it's more brown and real it's black and gray. Looks very thick, so I think it will last.
- Body: made of walnut, basswood and maple. An unusual shape. The upper horn points to the neck, very cool. The curves are like the ESP LTD series... It's not a heavy body allthough it's pretty big. The balance is good, even if you play it on your knee.
- Bridge: good point: MONO BRIDGES!!! What an invention. Better tuning then ever! This also isolates the vibration of the strings! 1 negaticve thing... if you like to slap & pop alot and your hands are not that big you may have some trouble cause the string spacing is very wide...
- Tuners: standard tuners. The same color as the bridges and knobs; cosmo white. It's very hard to turn them, so they must be good!
- jackplug, Nice shit, mad by neutrik. It locks, never lose you cable again!!!
- Another point..> It's a bolt-on. The connection is made with 5 screws on smart positions. No metal plate like Music man or Fenfer. This way it's much better. Conklin makes basses with 7 strings and use only 3 bolts! It's not how much but where you put them is more important!!!

Ok read carefully, because sound is objective...

I like the sounds. The 18 volts circuitry allows you to change it all. But, all the sounds gives you that lil' fuzz. Like the *roar* of a Jazz bass. his is what I like. Compare it with the sound of Jason Newstead on The black album (Metallica).
If you want round, ore agresive, lots of lows, lots of highs, fuzzy mids, warm, bright, dark..... just a matter of tweaking the knobs. The balance knob for the Humbuckers are also very important in the process in finding the sound that you want.

This is my first bass with Humbuckers and I really like how quite they are. I have to play a note to notice of my amp is on. When you use enormous loads of high then you'll hear some noise...

studio/on stage.... I think it will do a great job on both.

Likes: the variety of tones and the pure bass sound. The sounds stays pure because of the passive pups, and with the 18 v. eletronics they are enormously tweakable .

I heard a BTB with Baronilli pups and it sounds better than this one, so I onlly give a 9.

The only remark I have is that it was not tuned sharp when I got it out of the box...

seriously; everything was good. The action is very low, and no buzz at all!

The finish looks like a brick wall. Try to cut into it and you'll break your knife...

Finish is great.
Bridges will last, tuners too.

Looks like it's been made for playing live.

1 remark: The strap buttons are not that tight. I think it's time to buy strap locks. <- lowers te rating to 8 because straps are so important for live performance!!

Feedback is in Holland the biggest music store. Their price was very sharp. Nice guys, at least on a normal working day. In the weekends and friday evening they turn into beasts. All they think about is: busy...got to sell...no time for info for bass...busy...sell stuff...

I bought this bass on a saturday. The guy had no time to look for a Ibanez box, so he gave it in a Yamaha box... Bad idea.

I like to talk with the guys when it is not so busy. I knew more of the BTB before I bought it than them, but I forgive them. I know I'll get a great service when I have troubles...

1 year warranty...
an 8 for the Yamaha box...

For me this is the best bass I could get. Why....?
I live in Europe. There are not so many good progressive basses like this one available here. I looked for a schecter stiletto, but it would cost me $1000!!! In Europe this is the best deal you can have for an (allmost) high-end bass.

I like to play rock and metal. I'm recently looking for a new metal band. I thin this bass will do great in a lot of music styles. Remember what I said in the features about string spacing!!!

I want to play it though an Ampeg SVT. I have a Korg AX1b multi effect. I use the compression on it and a lil bit' of chorus and I get the most fantastic tone out of it.

When it got stolen? I'd kill the bastard who stole it. Lost it? I'll buy another one. No doubt!!!

I compared this one with others. The Schechter was way to expensive and the Dean Q5 just doesn't feel right to me (I heard more people has this with Dean basses).I would never compare this bass with a Fenfer 5 or a music man Stringray. Way to diffrent! I'd never buy them either, alltought I would like to have another Jazz bass! (4 strings).

1 of my oher basses is the Soundgear 300dx. This is a way diffrent approach to bass than the BTB! Nice to have 2 whole diffrent basses.

on the whole:
10... 'nuff said

Well well... let's see now... the finish is excellent - looks a lot more expensive than it is... transparent blue.. although it feels as though it wont look that nice forever; I've already imprinted some scratches on it while slapping wildly, but hey.. I don't care... the bridge is actually five mono rails - recognize ;) Without doubt one of the most beautiful basses I've ever seen... m-hmm It looks like a spaceship with a hard-on... you're the man on the stage with this one... the active EQ is first class too: you just gotta love the ability to make wah-wah-sounds without any boxes... cool... the supplied gigbag is just plain rubbish though... throw it away immediately 'cause it wont protect your bass at all...

It's almost as if it was made for me, and only me.... totally right on the money... it's got a deep sucking sound...marvellous.. but ye can get almost any other sounds out of it too... just turn those knobbles till yer pleased...nice attack too

The only string I needed to adjust was the low B...other than that they did a first class job at the factory... nothing to complain about

Only one month has passed since I bought it, which makes it hard to predict for how long it will last, but I'm betting it will sound great for a long, long time...the only thing to worry about is the finish which probably will be full of scratches within a year from now...but as I said, I don't care about that...I'm happy as long as it sounds good... it feels solid enough to use as a woodchopper though

haven't had any reason to talk with them yet

I've played guitar for about 9 years now, and this spring I felt like playing bass for a while. Normally I act as a lead guitar player in my bands (I'm currently involved in two bands as a bassplayer). My bands frequently perform live and the BTB 405QM feels solid enough to be used without any backup. Just as my Gibson Les Paul does. Nice. I'd probably buy an identical bass if it was stolen. The thing is that you can't get any more bass for the price you'll have to pay...it's cheap as hell considering the sounds you can get out of it

Made in year 2001in Japan. 24 frets. Is a 5 stinged bass. Solid top.
Pierzo. Madeout of pure Maple wood. Is a dark wine/purple in color. The wood is visible through the color. Can be played with any piece of music. Was cleaned every week. Was used for only a month. For sale for I bought another bass. Is really comfortable to play. Is in a really good shape.
For a large image go to:
http://img.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/51/519445.jpg

I played Jazz and metal with it but can be played with mostly any kin d of music. It can ajusted very well and is quite simple to use.Makes some extrodinary sounds that are heared in many musical groups.

The picks are well ajusted and not too tight for they will not use quickly. The wood is well, it can be cleaned very easily, without leaving any undisireble marks.

It will stand a long time for i used it for a month only and its strings were chaged several times. The strap is not sold with the bass.

Was bought from 'La boite a musique', they were very friendly.

I've been playing for around 2 years and a half now. I own a music man ernie ball. If it were stolen i would get something else. I love the color, the feeling of the wood, its sound and its weight(quite light).
Was bought unused. Is foe sale for ONLY $750!!