Ibanez BTB406QM 6-String

I've had this for about 3 years now.
24 frets (on the G and C)
35" scale length: should keep the strings tight and add to the punch......we'll get to that..
Semi parametric EQ for the 2 big soap bars
Locking jack plug

I play most things; straight rock, blues, metal, ambient stype stuff and the bass sounds thin on it's own.
Baring in mind this is a review of the bass on delivery and used over 3 years (I've not had any changes made to it because I never got round to it).
For straight recording get a decent tube compressor and EQ to warm it up.
The EQ onboard is best set flat and let your amp/ outboard do the eqing.
I found the mid sweep only useful as a gimick hand powered wah effect, it seems only to accentuate the bad sound or make it too trumpetty to be useful, don't get me wrong the bass will cut through the mix, but in a bad way.

Used live it's not a good sound either, I've ran this through an AMpeg SVT into an 8x10, an Eden Nemesis combo and a Hartke 3500.
It still sounds thin!!
It hisses like hell.
The control cavity is a mess as far as shielding goes.
If you use a noise suppressor then you'll probably end up loosing a lot of sound on this and if you use overdrive or distortion, forget it.
Played at low levels though a small combo you can get a decent jazz growl but don't expect big clear meaty bass balls here.

But as pointed out in earlier reviews it is a "budget" 6 string so replacing the stocks with Bartolinis or EMGs would probably help alot

The bass feels good.
The necks flat and wide as you'd expect and it's a heavy beast too, but that's because it's massive.

No flaws on the finish, it looks amazing.

Jack plug is a cheap and cheerful "neutrik" connector. i.e. it locks you in so you don't pop out.
It also locks you in with no sound sometimes. :)

The tuners and hardware finish is corroded now (lovely speckled rust) but this is cheap parts to fit the budget and doesn't hold up to a 3 hour rock covers set in a sweaty hell hole :)

The neck hasn't moved since I got it and the action is still really sweet. I just wish it sounded better.

I wouldn't rely on it 100%, always keep a back up.

No tried them, read all the articles and accept it's a cheapy.

It's cheap, it looks good, it sounds like crap at loud volumes, the preamp eats batteries if you boost the eq (and it takes 2*9vs).
I still go back to my Yammy 5 String for gigs.

Buy it if you fancy upgrading the pickups and doing some work on it (nut fix would be a good idea).
Otherwise save more and buy a Yamaha 6.

Most fatures are already listed, so I won't labour these again.

If there were any features I'd have liked, EMG or similar fully active pickups and a less involved on-board EQ would have been top of the list, shortly followed by 24 complete frets and better access to use them!

Aside from weak pickups, it was a well specified bass for the money.

Here's the problem - I couldn't get the sound I wanted out of this bass.

Ok, so maybe I got the wrong instrument, but one fact makes me think otherwise; at the same time as I bought this bass, I also bought an Ibanez BTB405QM (exactly the same but with 5 strings) and it sounds like a totally different beast. Unless the difference in colour changes the tone, I'd say there was something not quite right with this one!

For reference, I play quite a few styles from accompanying an acoustic playing singer-songwriter friend of mine, through jamming cheesy 80s rock, right up to playing Children of Bodom style melodic metal with my band. This bass could cover all styles, but lacked any real character, but as I said before, its nearly-identical 5 string twin can do it all. Go figure!

In its favour, it came fairly well set up and had no obvious flaws in the finish. A couple of the higher frets were a bit rough on the underside of the neck, but not terrible.

Because of the sound, I never really took this bass out to play all that much. All I can say is that the 405QM has exactly the same hardware and presumably finish, and it's survived weekly carting round and playing for the last couple of years with no obvious signs of wear and tear. Ok, I look after my gear well, but if you don't, it doesn't return you the favour, does it?!

Only issue to note is that some cables, especially Planet Waves ones with the little springs, don't engage all that well with the jack socket. I mainly use Klotz cables, and they've never been a problem with this style of jack.

Never dealt with them.

As my comments in the past tense indicate, I don't own this bass any more. I got rid of it about 3 days ago, so just thought I'd fill in my experiences on here.

To answer the guide questions, I've been playing about 10 years and have owned and moved on a lot of gear. I object to paying too much for gear, because there comes a point at which the sound relies more on your ability to play than the quality of the instrument, so I always stay round the 400 to 600 quid (UK Pounds Sterling) mark. In this range, I currently own the Ibanez BTB405QM, a Warwick RockBass Vampyre-5 and a Yamaha BB405. If the 406 had sounded like any of these (especially the one that's nearly the same!) I'd have been fine with it, but it just sounded flat and disappointing.

I'm slowly headed towards another Warwick Vampyre - they're excellent instruments to play, and look the part too. I don't think there's a 6 string version of it, but I'd really urge you to have a look at any 6 stringers in the Warwick RockBass range before buying one of these.

Well mine is a 2003 model made in korea. It has all the features already known: the rosewood finger board with 24 frets wich I consider 23n half because de 24th fret isn't a complete fret, quilted maple top but the nice efects on the wood are just for show because the rest of the body is basswood.It has a 5 piece maple n wallnut neck, the mono rail II bridge ,2 passive soapbars made by ibanez and a vari mid III active eq. it also came equipped with elixir strings.

I play some good variety of styles that go from metal and hard rock to blues, jazz and some bossa nova and the sound of this bass is not suitable for all of them. the poor quality of the pick ups come up as soon as you plug this one, the noise is normal in passive PU's but that much noise is not normal at all, the lack of punch in the low frequencies is notable and the mid and high frequencies just sound weird, with all that variety of controls this bass should deliver a good range of sounds but in the end its not that wide.
Also the eq is a mess in theory looks great but in pratice it's really terrible, if you boost the bass the B and E strings will get to much muddy and some kind of distortion and not that deep warm sound that you'll find in a warwick or a similar, the other boosts only over power their respective frequencies making a horrible sound, the tone control it's useless you can turn it in every position possible but in the end there's only a muddy tone or a high metalic one

the factory set up was awfull,typical ibanez style.The controls came loose and the strings too, also the neck had been a bit twisted and the worst the pick ups seemed to be pushed against the body, but the guys at the store were i bought the bass did a wonderfull setup to my bass with that low action that i like and solved the problem.
I've inspected every millimeter of my bass and i didn't find any major flaw in the finish no rusted hardware or paint flaws , finally something good in so many bad things or maybe i just got lucky.
The bass body has a good size and for a 6 string bass and doens't weight too much but i just hate the fact that only the top is made of maple and the rest is crappy basswood. i like how the neck feels, i have small hands but i can play in it fairly fast because of the thin neck but like the woods for the body this bass would be better with some maple/bubinga neck than with that wallnut. My rating for this category is in great part for the awsome setup the guys from the shop made that's why its a 7.

This is in my opinion one of the most important categories to evaluate an instrument.the durability/reliability of this bass is very questionable...
i only have this bass for a year and a few months and it have a huge amount of scratches but this is not the worst the neutrik jack lock is just more crap from ibanez, it looks good but works bad, the cable simply slide out breaking the connection or making nasty noises, i tried some solutions but none of them worked the cable simply continued to slide out also the connection piece inside the jack oxidated too many times. other thing that bothers me is the fact that the controls are getting loose shortly after i tight em, the strap button near the bridge is also getting loose from time to time and i fear that some day it snaps and the bass will fall on the ground. the monorail bridge its another crappy feature from the ibanez crap'o'rama, the ideia of an individual bridge for each string is that the strings don't vibrate by sympathy and you'll not ear harmonics or noises from other strings when playing, so why the hell this feature doesn't work in this bass? I also had an EDA and the monorail system actually works good and in the TRB that my teacher have the mono rails work damn good so why in this bass it doesn't work?
I only had 1 gig with this bass but i used to play a lot with it in rehearsals and at practice and sincerely i would only use this as a backup for some other bass

And now the great dilema...in one hand i have the awsome support from the shop were i bought the bass, those guys answered every question and doubts I had about the bass , and the pro setup was a must also they are very nice people always ready to solve any problem i have with one of my basses even those that i bought somewhere else.
In the other hand i have the no support at all from ibanez those guys really like to please their costumers...Not
Before i bought the bass i send them an email with some questions and the answer i got was just the same information they have in their website.... wowwww thank you guys now i can continue with the same doubts i had... it's unbelieveble.
When the neutrik started to give me some headaches I send another email to Ibanez asking how i can get a new piece and if they can send me one or what the hell i had to do to get the problem fixed,even send them the warranty document an until now no answer at all. The guys at the shop also tried to contact them and nothing...
hellooo ibanez customer support... is someone there???
Once again my rating is for the shop support, keep the good work guys

The final sentence for this instrument...tantantantan
I've only been playing for 5 years but in this few years I had the chance to try many other basses from fenders to yamahas and warwicks.Just one point don't go off comparing Ibanez to Fenders or even worst Warwicks , MusicMan ,Gibson n Rickenbacker, those are in the senior league while Ibanez is only on the juniors league.
This model was a complete delusion to me, in the begining it seems a fairly nice bass with some good features for a low/mid priced instrument but with the time the problems and the low quality started to show .Even my first bass also from Ibanez an SR300dx sounds better and never gave me any problem.
I'm not saying this is the worst 6string ever,but if it had more atention to detail and quality from Ibanez part it would be a better bass. If it were stolen i would feel sorry for the morron who stole it like i feel a real morron for not buying another bass to get my first steps in the 6string world.

Jap make, 22-24 frets (depends on which string you're playing), 35 inch scale, trans-black finish, basswood body w/ maple cap, 2 passive soapbar-style pickups (ibanez), 18 volt Vari-Mid III preamp, Mono-Rail Bridge, GB7 tuners, standard Ibanez thin profile neck w/ rosewood board and (i think) bubinga reinforcement stringers

When evaluating the sound of this bass, you HAVE to keep in mind that this is a $600-$700 6 string bass. That means that it isn't going to sound like a high end Spector/Modulus/Warwick/etc. Take it for what it is, a relatively inexpensive entry into the 6 string category. If you can pony up the cash for a high end 6, then by all means do so. However, this bass is a great buy for the money, despite any of it's limitations

The pickups and preamp aren't bad, but they aren't great either. While testing this bass out I went through several amplifiers and noticed that while the amps were set is similar as possible, the sound of the bass changed greatly from amp to amp. (Tested through SWR LA10, Ampeg 350H & SVT610, GK 400RB, and SWR 350X & Goliath III) At this point I'm looking into replacing the preamp and pickups with a set of Basslines ASB6's and replacing the preamp with a Basslines STC-3. If anyone has experience with either or both of these, I'd like to hear your opinions of them as there aren't many postings here on HC. (rickter75@yahoo.com)

The bridge really affects the sound too though. One of the key features of this bass is the Mono-Rail II bridge which is supposed to isolate/reduce sympothetic string vibration. First of all, the pieces of this bridge seem to be very lightweight, thereby killing an resonance. A heavier metal in the bridge would have been nice, but again, this is not a high-end bass. The Mono-Rail II bridge is really my main complaint about this instrument as it is supposed to REDUCE or ISOLATE sympathetic string vibration. It doesn't seem to do this at all. In fact, it seems to make it worse. I will say that my technique probably isn't the best, so I'll leave room for some human error here. However, when I contrast the fact that I didn't have this problem on my cheap OLP Stingray replica, nor on the other basses I test drove (Ibanez SR506, Geddy Lee Jazz, Aerodyne Jazz or Spector ReBop) it really makes me question the bridge as to being the culprit. I've been looking into replacing the bridge with a hipshot A-style bridge. If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear your opinions on this as well. (rickter75@yahoo.com)

Set up was typical Ibanez. Low action, good overall setup. I didn't see any obvious finish flaws so quality control was apparently good. Hardware was in good shape, knobs were on tightly and remain so.

My only gripe was with the strings that came on the bass. I absolutely DISPISE Elixir strings. I have tried and highly reccomend the DR and Rotosound 6 string sets.

Has any one else noticed that Ibanez low-end instruments usually comes from the factory with a better setup than their high-end instruments??

I haven't tested this bass in a live scenario yet, but it seems like it would hold up well.

Use it on a gig without a backup?! I wouldn't do that no matter how good any instrument is. Things can go wrong, be prepared.

Never had to use Ibanez customer support. I've had 3 Ibanez guitars and now an Ibanez bass and I've never had any need whatsoever to contact them.

I've only been playing bass a short time (about a year) but I've played guitar for 17 years. I would definitely buy this bass again, considering that it is an entry-level/mid-level 6 string. Get used to playing on a 6, move up to something of higher quality. I would reccomend this instrument without a doubt to someone trying to learn how to play a 6 string bass. For the money it's hard to beat.

This is an update of my earlier review. I've re-evaluated the Ibanez
electronics.Mine developed a "crackling" sound in the preamp(?) which
I couldnt overlook. Didnt notice it until cranked at volume. Not the
"hiss" you'd expect with the treble up full, but more like bacon frying(?) Returned to the dealer and replacement no problem. So I
traded up to the 1206 Prestige with USA Bartolonis. Dead quiet.

Sounds good except for the noise. Also some high string overtones I
couldnt adjust out but that may be technique(?) If coming from
the MonoRail bridge, that would be surprising since it's supposed to
isolate the strings. Adjusted pickups too, didnt help much.

Again, problem developed in the elecs if that applies here(?)

Well mine either soon developed a problem or I didnt notice it (un-
likely) initially. But again, the Dealer was great about everything
and said Hoshino (Ibanez' parent Co.) was one of the best about cus-
tomer service/satisfaction. Still leaves a bad taste.

See above.

Seemed terrific at first but then a couple issues came up. Don't know
if this is characteristic as Dealer said few if any problems with this model. Still...I bit the bullet and traded up.

Mine is a 2004. I've had it for 9 months now. Bought it brand new.
At first glance it seems like this bass had everything. I was very pleased that this was a 35" scale bass. It's what I've played on for years now. The 5 piece neck was a plus, as well. The idea behind the individual bridge sadles seemed like it was going to be a nice feature. But what really got my attention was the tone controls. Low, Mid, High, and a shaping dial. "What sound can't you get out of this thing?" I thought. I only gave this a 7 because I would have prefered a neck-thru, but for the price you definately can't complain. That and I didn't like the finish they put on the hardware.

I'll give it a 5. Though I'm really thinking somewhere between a 3 and 4. My Mesa amp helps save the sound some. By itself... Horrible.
The mids are too over powering and if you try to adjust the tone controls to balance it out, it just gets deep and muddy or you lose your low-end completely. Want to record?? Forget it. This thing has one of the worst recorded sounds I've ever experienced. Unless you have over $5000 worth of rack effects and processors dedicated for recording you're going to have a dry, no character, empty, tingy, sound with NO low end. Try as I might, nothing could get this bass to stand out in the mix. It vanished behind the guitar and drums.

Straight out of the box it needed some work. I hate Elixer strings. They feel and sound plastic to me. Lots of fret buzz, which shouldn't have been happening considering how high the action was. After LOTS of adjusting everything finaly fell into place. Once you, or someone else, does a pro-setup on it it's really nice, which is why I gave it an 8. Since the initial setup was done I haven't had to mess with anything yet, neck/action/intonation wise.

I wasn't able to get the action set right with straight end strings. You have to get tapered strings for it. You just can't get the action low enough with straight ends.

And as I said before, I never liked the finish on the hardware. I saw nothing but bad things coming from it.

This is where my experience with this bass hits rock bottom.

Just as I thought. Within 4 months the finish on the hardware started wearing and looking REALLY ragged. Now?! The hardware looks 10 years old, and because it's a cheap, 4th rate finish job you can't polish or buff out the corrosion and wear. It's like it was done with bargain brand spray paint!

The control knobs constantly need to be tightened down, and the stacked knob is so loose I think it could fall off if shaken to hard.

The bridge is worthless. The claim behind the bridge on this thing is that by isolating each string you don't get string to string vibration. WRONG! If anything, there's more string to string noise, overtones, and vibration harmonics on this bass than any other I've ever played.

The idea behind the locking cable jack seemed handy at first.
Until it got to loose and the cable wouldn't make a solid connection.
I gave it the benifit of the doubt this time. Jacks go bad. Period. I'll just have it replaced and the problem will be solved. WRONG AGAIN! The second jack went out in just a month or two as well. Replaced it and IT WENT BAD TOO!!! I finaly just gave up on replacing it with the same jack type and got a normal one and threw it in. Which now makes it look bad because there's a big worn spot where that giant sqaure one used to be.

This thing quikly went from my main bass, to my backup, to "I'm ashamed to admit I even still have it" bass.

After the first time the jack went out they were helpful. SLOW, but helpful. It took three and a half weeks to get it straightened out.
When the Second one went bad.. They may as well have hung up on me. Their service was about as good as this bass is. I finaly gave up and just bought the second and THIRD! jack out of my own pocket.

I've been playing bass for 16 years. Professionaly playing for the last 10. I have to say that this thing is one of the worst bass experiences I've ever had the displeasure of owning. I own two Warwicks, an MTD U.S.A 535, American Fender Jazz, and a Zon fretless. I bought this because it was my first 6 string. It's now sitting in my closet awaiting the day when I get around to turning it into camp fire kindling. I bought a Schecter Stilleto Studio 6 and have to say it's 1000 times nicer than this Ibanez. But that's for a different review.

Bottom line... I wouldn't want my worst enemy to be cursed with playing this thing on a daily basis. Save your money and buy ANYTHING else. It's going to be better.

Ibanez' claim that's it's as good as a hand-made botique bass is as far from the truth as any lie I've ever heard.

Stay Away From This Bass!! I know that sometimes you just get a bad apple right? Well I've spoken to at least 6 other BTB owners and at least half of them have had pretty much the same experience with this thing. Just... Don't! Buy it!!

2005, Korean. 35" scale, 24 frets, 6 string Bass. Quilted maple top on a basswood body. Ibanez pups, 18v active EQ with Vari-MidIII (sweepable). Maple neck with dual trussrods, rosewood board. I've heard the body shape described as "scarab beatle", that's pretty good. Mono rail II bridge, Gotoh style tuners, Neutrik locking input jack. Comes with Elixir strings (a plus).

Here's where it really shines. I was working a trade at a local store and was able to compare several others of this style. Peavey
Cirrus 5...very dissapointed with fit/finish and sound for the price. Peavey gear is an old friend but..? Ibanez BTB Prestige 5...beautiful, well-made but honestly the USA Barts (or was it the EQ) just didnt sound much better than the BTB. Ibanez SR506...nice,
easy feeling neck but 34" scale and Korean Barts/EQ a little dull to my ears. I just kept going back to the BTB 6 and bought it.

A tiny bit of paint on the natural finish but better than the sloppy
work on the Cirrus (can't get over that). Serial decal (back of headstock) flaked off! Truss rod cover could be better. You can barely feel the seams on the two skunk stripes back of neck. One of the EQ knobs a little queaky (WD40 fixed).Overall a good looking bass, I'm very picky.

Don't know about the rigors of the road (hard to beat a Fender for
durability) but this bass will be just fine for studio/recording or
normal playing. Hardware lightweight (again, compared to Fender etc).
I think you have to rate this as more of a specialty bass than an
everyday player, but it's solidly made. Always have a backup.

Never used 'em, but the local store is an authorized dealer and they
are great. They are really high on Ibanez and they're also authorized
Fender, Yamaha, Peavey etc. Get your hands on the BIG Ibanez catalog.
They go into great detail on everything they make.

Been playing since I was a teen (I'm a geezer now). I've been through lots of gear over the years. I was mainly going for an active, Hi-Fi type sound for recording. Also looking for 35" scale
to tighten up that low B. I've got a passive Fender American JazzV , so went for the 6. These Ibanez necks are really slim and the elecs
sound really good too. It's Korean but the quality is apparent and
better than some that cost more. Good way to move up to a sixer and
not break the bank. Professional quality soundwise and pretty, but I
wouldnt subject it to alot of abuse. Should be a keeper.

Basswood body, quilted maple top perfectly laminated and blended in. 5 piece maple/walnut bolt on 24/23 fret neck. 6-string with Ibanez hardware in Cosmo White (a flat silver that matches the color of most strings). Mono-rail bridge system - individual bridges for each string keep them from affecting each other's vibrations. Passive pickups with 18VDC active electronics (Volume, Pickup Balance, Bass Boost/Cut, Treble Boost Cut, Sweepable Mid Boost/Cut) for more headroom. Thin Ibanez neck, deep cutaways and special shaped neck heel make it easy to play even in upper registers in spite of the neck being wide to accomodate 6 strings. Neutrix locking jack keeps instrument cable from being knocked loose during a performance. Boutique looks and features at a bargain price!

I play Gospel songs at church, so perhaps this bass is overkill, but I am drawn to boutique style basses and this gives me lots of options with a very comfortable feel. I also like the 6 strings because I do throw some things in on the songs that sound great in those expanded registers. But the fun happens at home when I like to get funky and explore on the bass. That's where this thing really shines and makes my day after working hard on the job! The sound on this thing can be bland, or it can be distinct, or it can be anything in between or outside the box. The basswood and maple give it a wide range to breathe out tone and the active electronics with sweepable mids make the tone range endless! And speaking of the sweepable mids, you can pan the frequency pot back and forth and get a great-sounding wah effect that keeps up with a Crybaby or Morley! I love playing around with the tone and pickup settings to imitate my favorite artists' tones. Who needs a Line 6 Variax? My BTB answers the call quite nicely.

This bass came setup very well, but I did have to tweek the neck and the bridge for the setup to be its best, but that's because I had switched out the strings. It comes with Elixers, which feel great but sound dead due to the coating. I put on a set of Marcus Miller DRs for 5 string and added a DR High Beam C string and the tone came alive with that Marcus Miller magic! I'm still going to experiment with some other sets because the DRs are abit too expensive, especially for feeding a 6-string bass. As for the finish, I have seen several BTB's and none have grabbed me quite like the one I chose. Mine has a beautiful quilt top in transparent black that looks so much like the old Paul Reed Smith Grey-Black finish that just grabs the stage lights and makes the bass take on majestic purples or beautiful blue hues - it's that gorgeous! The shape reminds me of a Modulus, but a little more exaggerated in the curves. The beautifully shaped headstock is matched in shape by the end of the fingerboard. Everything lines up well and plays even better. It's an eye-catcher as well as total ear candy! I'm picky about neck shape and this is my absolute favorite, even if it is a bit unconventional. A 6-string is a wide fingerboard, but Ibanez is famous for their thin neck thickness and it really works well in this 6-string situation!

Very well built, very solid, stays in tune all the time. I added Straplock buttons, but the Ibanez pins are nice and wide and solidly screwed into the body. I just won't trust anything short of Straplocks, besides, then I can use one strap with both of my basses (my other bass is a Dean Edge 4-string fretless). This is my trusty warhorse. Too beautiful to take to gigs, but too beautiful not to! I paly it at church and even though it is a heavier bass, it sits comfortably when strapped on and I don't notice any fatigue from it. I use it all the time without a backup, but I don't go wild playing old gospel songs. I am confident it would hold up to any gig though.

N/A

If this were lost or stolen I don't know wht I'd do because I have not seen another BTB406 that equals the beauty of mine. Then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you may find one that hits the spot with you. The 6-string only comes in the one color, so it is the quality of the grain in the quilted maple top that makes the difference. On my lunch breaks, I often go to Guitar Center or Bass Place and play around on the various basses to kill time, but very few feel at home with me like my Ibanez BTB. When I get home, it is a dream to play on my prize. Nothing to hate, everything to love, but be warned, if you have small hands, any 6-string will be a challenge. They are fat and heavy, but that's how bass should be!

6 string model. Made in Korea, 35" scale neck, 24 frets, active mid EQ (18v), bass/treble, volume, pickup selector. Comes with Ibanez factory pickups. 3 piece neck i believe, features individual bridge saddles, locking tuners, neutrik locking jack. For the price i paid, this is good.

My routes are in metal, black/thrash/doom etc, but im also into fusion, drum and bass and such. This bass delivers such a huge sound range thanks to the sweepable midrange. suprisingly, the factory pickups are good enough, some people i know have shunned the idea of replacing these with bartollini's. As a preference, i cut the mids and put bass and treble on full, not cool when your in your own home- do that somewhere where you dont mind everything being destroyed. I run it through a Behringer BX600 at home, and this provides me with a MASSIVE amount of tonal control and variation.

I bought this bass second hand. A spring was missing from a bridge saddle; apparently the bass 'came like it', but putting 2 and 2 together, I can't really blame that on ibanez ;) Action was obviously set to the previous owners preference; easy to adjust. Very few flaws in the finish, metalwork was slightly tarnished, however I know that new models come with MATT FINISH anyway, so don't be fooled. Brasso metal polish dealt with that n/p. Pickup selector pot slightly loose. But considering the previous owner had good use out of it for 3 years, it was in excellent condition.

It will withstand being run over. The only problem is that the metalwork tarnishes fairly easily, but brasso once a month or something will deal with that. Strap buttons are solid, and will withstand kepur straps easily without coming loose. The truss rod was adjusted slightly for my liking, but as far as i know it had never been before.

N/A, although i know that my dealer gets parts from ibanez very quickly and efficiently.

This bass, especially for the money paid (brand new), or used (in good condition), is awesome. I also own a Dean Edge, which is cool, and was considering getting the Dean Edge 6 QM. Compared to the ibanez, it just didnt feel right. although im sure both basses are equally good (the Dean has EMG's :p). Mine came with a hardcase, worth at least #80. so the deal was excellent. Asthetically this bass is gorgeous, soundwise even better. \m/^-_-^\m/

2004,korean, as same as others below, just got it for a 30 days

before i purchase i read the reviews here and was disappointed, that the bass was not sounded good as some mention here. Maybe DR string might changed is tone, surprising is very quite but the low note are no good, not clear and muddy. that is the A, E, B

setup by factory was good, finishing not very good as might have defects in the 13 fret, some deep scratched, i have asked the dealer to exchange and they agree.

unable to tell but i think it should last for a some years
i must said for 700.00 canadian is the cheapest bass with the vari-pot, however if you have 4,5 string that are high end, stay away from this as i learn my lesson, go for better made. i should had bought a Roscoe or a Yamaha trbjp, but for budget i think should be ok for starter just like me this is my first 6 string,
i have a streamer Lx4,stringray5 and a peavey fretless 5, eden 2x10xlt and 1x10 with SWr 400sm head

no conment

6 string bass with passive pickups, 18-volt active 3-band electronics with stacked mid with selectable frequency (you may even dial into some kind of funk-wah tone) and a "mono-rail" bridge system which has individual saddles for each strings and actually is very easy to work with when changing the strings. This bass comes with a Neutrik cable plug (locks the cable in - thats' a plus point). Finish was Translucent Blue, headstock and body color matching.

This bass, for the price, sounds GIGANTIC - especially the B-String (kinda like the voice of God!), great high and low frequency dial, added with the VariMid pot (where I did mention some kind of funk-wah tone can be produced =D). It's very easy to adjust your sound wherever and however you play and you'll always be able to cut through the whole band, what more it even cuts thru' small amps like a Fender Bassman 60.....

The set-up was already great when I was trying it out in the shop, what more I did not feel as much of left palm strain dealing with a 6-stringer like BTB406, and in fact, taking its string spacing (17.5mm on the bridge, something like Yamaha's latest BB Series' 5-stringers) into account, I would say that for a 6-string spaced like this, it fit my left hand JUST NICE and EXCELLENT, even for slapping, it generally feels more roomy compared to the Soundgear 5's and 6's....I have played thumped full 19mm spacing 6-stringers like the old Yamaha TRB6 and 6P and after a while, its neck width can tire my hands a wee bit, but I've learnt to get over that hitch over the years.....

Please take GOOD n' PRECIOUS care of this babe and it will surely rock on age to age........if I were to trade off my current 4 and 5-stringers, and if the BTB406 is ever available in Malaysia, I'd go for it....but even if only the 5-string version is available, I may still go for it........

N/c - Bentley Music's generally OK

I have been playing 4, 5 and 6 string basses for nearly 13 years now, and when it was first launched, I think in 2002, I had been pining hard for that model to arrive on Malaysian shores for a long time....comparing this bass with its peers like the Yamaha RBX775, I STRONGLY BELIEVE that soundwise, this BTB will sure emerge victorious - HANDS DOWN! Practically, any type of sound ranging from midrangy funk to boomy, thumping and balladic lows can be dialled quite easily - what more lesser hassle regarding the input jack - Neutrik's a great answer indeed!

Not sure of the year, but i traded for this bass recently. Basswood body, quilt maple top, active pickups, 24 frets, 35" scale, yadda yadda, same as the other ones listed here. 5 pc. Maple/Walnut bolt on neck, 2 soapbar p-ups.. etc.. The only thing i'm not hip on is the finish. very thin, cracked slightly when i accidentally dropped my super light tuner on it. Really dig the neutrik locking cable jack, helps for a stage nomad like me. The neck is perfect; it's wide but feels more than comfortable (how many people really play the 22nd fret on the B string anyway??), level frets, might change the nut out for a brass one. Knobs feel kinda flimsy, but whatever... no case, but i have an extra.. It's a solid 8..

TONS of tonal varieties. 18 volt preamp, bass/treble cut & boost, sweepable mid function. took me a while to get it dialed (I'm a Fender player for 18 years, this was my first active bass), but it's awesome. I run through a GK 800RB w/ ampeg SVT410E, it really helps cut through two LOUD rock guitarists. wish it had a passive option, might have one added. sounds very big, the bass boost is room shaking (i was dubbed "BassZilla" by the sound guy at the last show)... Haven't tried recording with it yet, i will soon.

Not sure of factory set-up, but i needed to adjust the action slightly after the trade. The truss-rod held solid on the trip from Philly to me in San Diego. Again, the finish is my only real gripe. Definitely the only real sign it's a "budget-bass". Everything else is solid, might switch out the plastic nut to a brass nut to increase sustain. Just for giggles i might try a Warmoth 6 string body and switch out the neck, hardware, and electronics.. just a thought... give it a 7 for the weak finish and dent-sensitive body

So far so good. 3 live shows and no neck movement, Hardware seems solid enough. One strap button has already stripped after the 3 gigs (remember it was a used bass when i got it), so i gotta get that changed up. Haven't needed a backup at all. Again, the finish is my gripe. give it a 7 again for finish and damn stripped strap button...

nope.. not yet...

I know i threw out some 7's here, but overall the bass is an 8. Don;t know if i would buy the same model, but it's a GREAT 6'er for someone who wants to break into the world of "the six". The wide spacing is very familiar and the weight is more than comfortable.

First, I need to say that I bought this bass from an individual that had it defretted. So my opinion may not be "paralelled" to the others here.

6 string bass, passive pickups, active electronics with a stacked mid with selectable frequence (very nice) and a "mono-rail" bridge system which has individual saddles for each strings and actually is very easy to work with when changing the strings. Neutrik cable plug (locks the cable in). Very handy if, like me, you always forget to hook the jack in your strap.

This bass, for the price, sounds like a ton of bricks. Especially with the VariMid pod. It's very easy to adjust your sound wherever you play and you'll always be able to cut through the whole band. The bass had been defretted so, I can say that the sound is pretty warm and round. For the price, I just think you can't get anything better. Anything. I just can't wait to have enough $$$ to buy a fretted one.

Since it was defretted, the action was probably improved a lot since the strings don't have to get in contact with any frets. And that's what the seller told me too. But so far, the paint looks good and the neck doesn't bend that much with the changing of seasons we have here in Canada. I even made a little knit on the bass on my drummer's hardware and the paint stayed. Usually, when you've got cheap paint on an instrument, if you make a bump in the wood, the paint tends to lift. But the finish looks pretty good and sticks to the bass. The pickups sound even through all the strings and I didn't see any dead spots so far.

This bass looks like it's as solid as steel. It fell off the back of the stage, banged on my drummer's stands multiple times and my 8 years old son even made it fall of it's stand and still lives.

Never had to deal with them at all.

I've got 6 basses. And I consider that one in my bunch of top end basses (Including my $2500 custom hand made). I never do a gig without it. I never go to the studio without it. I'm very curious about how the higher quality BTB1006 sounds like compared to that one. If you want to get into the 6 stringed bass world and you don't know which one to buy, this is one you should consider. You get more than what you pay for (even new at $875 CAD).

it has 24 frets, lonf scale i think, and a kinda blacky blue finish to it. but you get the general idea of features from the other reviews

the guy who said he couldnt tell the differenve between a more expensive 6 string has hit the nail on the head! with a new set of strings on this, it'l sound as good a anything really, the eq knob gives alot of deep end, and the bass boost and treble boost give a lot of control! in fact if u turn the outer knob on the eq thing while playin, you get a cool wah wah sort of sound! useless, but always a cool thing to lighten the mood in a heavy practice! :-p

the action is really low, and allows u to shred on this thing! the strings are a bit close together for slappin (my opinion) but thats qhy iv got a 4 string! the finish seems to be good but the neck is abit rough, and the nut is plastic, and dosnt the most sturdy of things, might get that replaced, but overall the thing looks great, and feels sturdy. the knobs are plastic too i think, and might get replaced too

iv played this with many gigs, and its always withstood anything iv put it through! I'd have not problems with not bringing a spare, but i always have a 4string for slapping songs anyway!

never need to use it

over all i think this is a smashing bass for the cash, sounds great, feels great, looks great! and even if you dont wanna play a 6 string, ou should get one of these, just to look cool!

Crafted in Korea, transparent blue finish; and everything else is the same as other users have stated or as described on the Ibanez website.

Some points I wish to add:

1. The EQ controls are indeed as good as others have said.

2. The 24th fret only works properly on the C string; awkward to play on the G string and is almost useless on the D string. However, I doubt that this will cause any major problem for me or anyone.

3. The back of the neck is not very nicely made. There's no oil finish and the feels pretty rough. In this particular respect the instrument does present itself as a budget instrument. But hey, you can't ask for everything if you've only paid such an incredibly low price for a 6 string.

The music I play on the bass spans from Rock to Extreme Metal to Jazz to Classical, and I doubt that there's anything this bass can't handle.

Before I bought it I'd also tried out Yamaha TRB6 II, and even though the TRB did feel like a 'more expensive' instrument (you can tell the difference by the look, the controllers, the tuning nuts, etc.), the sound of the two was, surprisingly, not that different. In fact, I tried out both on the same day and couldn't tell any difference between the two as far as the sound goes. Moreover, the EQ controls on this bass does allow you to get a huge variety of tones out of it.

Great sound; both slappable and tappable. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this bass plays like a dream, but it's not that far from it.

The set-up was already great when I was trying it out in the shop. The low B is pretty tight and doesn't rattle a lot as long as you don't play it too hard.

Not many flaws to be found except for the slightly 'cheap' quality of the neck.

The transparent finish is beautiful.

Can't make any useful comments here, because I've only owned it for 2 days!!

The reason for my rushed review is given below in the 'Overall Rating' section.

1 year warranty and 1 year free set-up from the shop.

Firstly, I'd just like to explain why I write this product review when I've only owned it for 2 days. I'd been doing quite a lot of research on the net before I bought this bass. With as low a budget as 800 pounds and a strong desire for a six string, the Ibanez turned out to be the best choice at the time. However, after phoning, emailing, as well as visiting at three major bass retailers in the UK and a not as big local shop, I realised that this bass is quite difficult to get hold of in the country: I've even heard from the small shop that Ibanez had discontinued this model! At first I wanted to get the black one, but none of the retailers could get hold of one and only one of them had this 6-string model in stock (which is the shop I bought this bass from). Hence I think if anyone in the UK is in the same kind of situation as I was, I'd urge him/her to buy this bass if he/she sees one!

I've been playing for five years. Apart from the 4 string Squire Precision which I bought (and paid 285 pounds for) when I started on the bass, I own no other bass and have never laid my hands on any real high-end instruments (the Yamaha TRB6 II I tried out before buying this bass is probably the most expensive bass I've ever played!) The Squire is my first love, and I still love it. But the number of frets (19) and the neck-bending problem it's been having, plus the urge and the feel of a real need for a six string, made me decide it's time to get myself a second bass. And so far I'm most glad that I bought this bass: it is really fantastic value for the money paid and the best thing I can ask for.

If it were stolen or lost, I wouldn't buy it again but would lock my self in my room and cry, because I don't have the money. However, if were asked to choose again which 6 string to buy, I'd stick with this one for sure!

Passive single coil pickups, 18v circuit, 35" scale, monorail bridge, basswood bosy with a thin flame maple top

Out of the boox, the major problem with this bass is the slapdash approach to the electronics. The preamp has been poorly wired and the control cavity has no shielding whatsoever. The hollow plastic nut doesn't help either. However, #100 will fixc all of the above problems - get a decent nut fitted, copper foil in the control cavity and a decent setup and it's a very different beast.

The stock strings are awful, the intonation is usually out and the action poor. Still, this is what I'd expect on any budget instrument. As I said #100 will sort this out.

This bass is very well put together. I haven't owned it that long - 7 months - but it has been carted round parts of Europe in a gig bag without problems.

N/A. I've never had a problem with Ibanez basses and if I did, I'd take them back to the store

This is a good bass. It's quite an impressive looking instrument with an attractive finish.

i like it, smaller people may not enjoy this though as its a very large bass to handle.

i cant find a single flaw in this guitar.

cant argue. i did have to get my own strings before it was perfect though, but the default set are never good so i cant hold anything against it.

mine was in perfect condition when i got it BUT thats probably just because of the music store i got it from. they had already adjusted it so i really cant say that its perfect from the start.

in my opinion its a 10 from the moment i got it, for everyone else it might be a bit different.

ive already put this thing through a torture test and its holding up well. not a single scratch on it. its hit a few walls, amps, doors etc etc and i cant find a single dent. i do keep extra batteries around though, as that sort of thing just happens and there is nothing you can do about it.

im not sure as i have a outstanding music store that has done a great job keeping it in prime condition and tweaking it to the most minor details so im happy.

FOR THE PRICE this bass, in my mind, is perfect. im not saying its the greatest bass ever and everyone should play one, but for the price i paid i must say its an excellent bass.

the only thing i dislike about this bass is the bridge, the mono-rail bridge. its supposed to stop strings vibration from interferring with other strings but it doesnt really help that much i find.

NOTE: i do realize that i gave it all 10s, for the $835 i payed for it its a perfect 10. im simply judging by its value vs the price

Korean made 6 strings bass, basswood body with flamed maple top, transluscent dark blue color and matching headstock. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 35" lenght, 24 frets on C,G,D strings, 23 on A,E,B strings, large string spacing (very close to a 4 strings, the same as my Yamaha basses. Controls are pickup blend, volume, low, high, mid + frequency pot. 2 9V batteries needed, and a screwdriver to open the batteries compartiment :-( . Locking output jack.

Can I ask for more?? I'd love it with an ebony fingerboard.

I have to admit I'm disapointed by the sound. Maybe I should adjust the pickups or check the batteries, But It doesn't sound as good as the 4 strings and the 6 strings I tried in another shop. The sound is a bit "muddy". The high contrl is too high to clean the sound, and the bass control is more "low-mid" than "bass". The parametric mid control helps to get "The" sound. My Yamaha RBX765A bass is more versatile. Gotta check those pickups. I play different kind of music, from funk to blues and hard/prog rock. My amps are Hartke 1400 in a 4*10" cab, Trace Elliot SMX 250W with 15" speaker, or the practise amp trace elliot boxer65. I feel like something is missing in the sound when I play alone, but the bass sounds great with the band (Guitar+drums). Sounds great in slap, and the string spacing is big enough to play a lot!

Great action!! The right string height for the neck. The neck is quite wide, and long (35" scale). No adjustement needed. Plays like a dream (and yes, I have big hands). I'll have to adjust the pickups because I don't like the sound I have now. And move the pickup blend pot and the volume pot. I use the blend pot a lot and it's the one in the middle, where you can't get it easily.
The finish is almost perfect. The plastic nut was not cleanly cut, the power wires in the electronic compartment are not well isolated, but the rest is great.

Still not tried to play live, I got to get used to that 6th string before... The finish on the body doesn't seem to be very hard, and there are already a few fingernail scratches above the pickups! The strap buttons are large enough to hold the bass when you (try to) jump on stage. Seems to be built for a thousand years.

No contact, and hope I'll never have to ;-)
1 Year warranty.

I'm playing bass for 8 years now. I own an old ibanez 4 strings (with new Basslines pickups), Yamaha RBX765A 5 strings (my main fretted bass. The best, I only whish it had a 35" scale...) Yamaha TRB5FII (5 strings fretless, 35" scale) Status Energy 4 strings (The slap&tap bass). I also have a warwick quadruplet tube preamp and an old boss me8B multi effect. I wanted to go to 6 strings for some songs. I tried Hohner B-Bass, Cort, Yamaha TRB6, Yamaha RBX6 John Myung, Aria, Washburn. I love the 35" scale, so, no hohner, no cort, no aria, no washburn. The TRB was too expensive at the time. The best was the Yamaha Jong Myung (AAAAAAAAhhh the ebony fingerboard) but weight too heavy!! Then I tried the Ibanez BTB6 in a shop in Germany. Not very light but not as much as the RBX6JM! I just wish the one I bought here in Belgium had the same sound as the one I tried in Germany.
In summary, great 6 strings bass, but not recommended to small hands!

This bass has a basswood body with a lamined top (flamed maple), and maple neck. It has passive Ibanez pickups but active eq (two 9V batteries needed !). There are five controls: vol/balance and bass/treble/mid(semi-parametric). The finish is transpartent dark blue. The bridge is a mono-rail model (great!). 23 frets on B/E/A/D and 24 on G/C.

I mostly play jazz-fusion and progressive rock: this bass sounds great! Very good bottom - warm sound a lots of punch, treble clear but not agressive. With the active eq you can really get every kind of sound (the mids control is awsome). The lows can be very very lows but stay "tight". I play it through a GK 800RB with Hartke XL-410 cab or in smaller gigs trough a Carvin probass 200 combo: easy to get a good tone quickly! In any case I can get "the" sound. I now set eq flat on the amp, and I adjust the sound on my bass! With a DI-box: very good to (for the same reason: the built-in preamp is great!) I've just used it in studio: the lows are again very impressive!

When I bought it I've adjusted the setup by myself to my needs, but it was quite good, fret works great too. Nothing else to say: great features!

The hardware looks serious, the bridge is very well-build. The finish of the body is beautifull BUT seems very very "fragile"... . I wonder how long it will last, I'm not very confident with it.

I use it without on stage without a backup, no probem (but I always have two backup 9v batteries!)

I play bass for 14years. I also own a G&L 2000, a Warwick Corvette five strings frteless, an Heartfield DR5C and a Steinberger 4 strings. The BTB is the most versatile bass I own... the G&L is a very good instrument but definitively not the same "philosophy" than the BTB. I mostly use the Ibanez on stage and in the studio (exept for fretless parts of course), because... I like it! It's beautifull (to my taste) sounds great, it's polyvalent, it's easy to play, very very god eq: it's definitivelly a very good instrument for the price, i've tried lots a gear and I don't remenber such a good quality/price rate! If it was stolen I'd buy it again for sure!

This was made in 2001 and it has a quilted maple top and basswood body. A very sleek/professional transparent black finish. Its got 24 frets and this is a 6 string bass. I have no idea if this is a laminated top or whatever but I doubt it. Passive p/u's, active eq, GO TO THE IBANEZ SITE to look up specific features on this model. The EQ is incredible.

I was very skeptical about the BTB series. I never dug Ibanez basses. I own a Warwick Thumb 5 and its been my fave and only bass I use. I wanted to get the range of a 6 string (anything more like that Conklin junk 7 string is excessive) so I decided to test out a BTB series. I was very surprised to say the least. I tested this bass at 8 different music stores. All through different heads. They all had the same BTB406QM in transparent black. All of them sounded good. I was able to get LOTS of tones. I mean I was shocked. This is definitly an improved Ibanez bass. I hated the SR series and the rest of the line but just had to give this a chance and I am glad I did. Bottom line is the tone of this bass is very very good. I'm still in awe at what I can do with this BTB 6 string. It suits my style for sure! I'm a progressive fusion player/alternative rock (where I mainly use the Warwick, BUT...).

I bought the BTB from AMS(my theory was hoping that the bass had never been played and that it was in 100% condition) and received it by UPS. Opened up the box - extreamly excited - like a boy on XMAS day - and the bass was 100%. It played EXACTLY like the other 8 I tested at various stores. I felt the strings were crappy and the action needed to be adjusted a tad, plus the truss rod just a tad. I had a tech do it for me. I HIGHLY SUGGEST putting on DR strings on the BTB and have it set up by a tech (unless u know how to do it). The set up was decent but it needed to be tweaked to be 100% for me.

The BTB seems like it can withstand live playing. The only thing is the lacker, i bet it can scratch very easy and/or nick easy. So got to be careful on that end. As far with everything else - its strong.

Who knows...

For the price this is a great value. 6 strings, quilted maple top, nice pro transparent black finish, locking jack input, passive pu's, active eq (which is impressive for sure!), MR2 bridge (which is ingenious!) with individual saddles, this is really an awesome bass. Granted its no Warwick or as strong as a Warwick bass but in a funny way it comes close. Trust me when I say you can dail in any tone. For a 6 string I was impressed with the sounds that came out of this bass (And I use to HATE Ibanez). I find myself using the BTB more than my Thumb. Very very weird! I compared this to the Spector 6 string, Dean, and that junk Conklin. The BTB is by far the best value and sounding 6 string bass. Quality is up there but I don't think its top notch. Still, you can't go wrong with this bass.