Ibanez BTB675

5-string (BEADG) active bass made in Indonesia 2008. 35" scale length (889mm, also known as Extra Long or Super Long Scale, as opposed to Standard/Long Scale), 5-piece maple/bubinga neck-thru-body. Nut width: 47mm, width at last fret: 76mm, Thickness at 1st fret: 20mm, thickness at 12th fre: 22mm, 24 frets for the G and D-strings, 23 frets for the B, E and A-strings, rosewood fretboard, mother-of-pearl dot inlays, 15.7" fretboard radius (400mm), the wings of the body is made of light ash with a walnut top. Bartolini MK2 soapbar pickups and Bartolini MK2 18 volt active 3-band equalizer, Ibanez MR2 Monorail bridge w. 19mm string spacing, ibanez diecast closed tuners, locking Neutrik jack socket, cosmo black hardware. Ibanez gigbag/backpack included. Usually I always replace the strings that come on a guitar from the factory ASAP, but in this case, they seem very good, so I'm gonna keep them. They are roundwounds, but quite smooth (compared to, say, Rotosounds) and with a tapered B-string.

I'm giving it a 9 for features since the equalizer makes it a very versatile instrument and all the components are quality stuff. It would have been nice if it had come with a hardcase, especially because it won't fit many standard bass-cases. (The included gigbag/backpack is of good quality, though). Also it's a shame that an instrument of such otherwise high allround quality has such a cheap-looking plastic nut. To get a ten, I would have also liked a decent battery-compartment with a lid; as it is, you'll have to screw the plate off when you change batteries, so the threading is bound to wear down over time (but at least the battery-compartment is separate from the rest of the electronics, which is nice).

I play it through my pedalboard into a 1x15 100W Trace Elliott Commando combo amp. I play both rock, jazz (with chording, etc.) and electronica-inspired music. Sometimes I play clean, sometimes with a lot of effects. This bass works great for every genre I play.

The sound is extremely warm and 'musical', meaning the natural sound of the instrument without equalization or effects is vibrant and chords sound beautiful on it. The lower (BEA) strings have this amazing sound that I can only compare to the deep strings of a grand piano; the 35" scale length really does alter the sound of the instruments, perhaps due to different overtones being emphasized.

By adjusting the equalizer, you can get a wide variety of useful sounds from it, from very aggressive to mellow. However, it sounds much better with either PU soloed; somehow the blended sound of both pickups sounds a bit 'weaker', for lack of a better word, so I mostly use the PUs soloed.

There is no noise whatsoever from the electronics, which is great.

Intonation and string height was pretty good straight from the factory, so I only had to make small adjustments.

Tuners work smoothly yet firmly.

The fretwork seems solid, nothing to cut your fingers on here. There is some buzzing on the lower strings that can't be entirely adjusted away, but it is only audible when playing unplugged, and, I would think, only what is unavoidable on a fretted instrument.

The overall impression of the finish is very good. When that is said, I have to mention a few very minor 'rough spots' in the finishing: the edges around the PUs not being entirely smoothened and some minor scratches in one place of the fretboard (nothing that affects function, though) and the plastic nut is cut rather ugly, although it functions well.

The wood used for the instrument is definately very nicely selected, interesting-looking pieces: fretboard is a piece of rosewood with deep red colours that change into dark reddish-brown, almost black, in places (looks gorgeous with the MOP-inlays); the ash used for the wings of the body is almost zebra-wood like with its very pronounced stripes; the walnut top changes from patches of light brown into deep chocolate. The walnut does have some very deep pores, though, and there seems to be a bit of a light substance (perhaps sawdust, I'm not sure) stuck in these pores, which detracts very slightly from the overall impressions.

Mind you, this is nitpicking, and the overall impression is that of a well-made instrument.

Everything seems solid. I don't gig at the moment (too busy with work), but I wouldn't hesitate to gig with this bass. I put some Dunlop straplocks on it, though; I've used straplocks ever since I dropped my J-bass back in '94.

I bought this bass from a good shop, and they supply a very nice 2-year guarantee and a free setup (which I won't be using, though, since I like to do my own), so I don't know about any guarantees from Ibanez.

I was a bit miffed, though, that I bought a case for this bass from Ibanez that said "fits all BTB-series basses", but guess what: it didn't fit this bass very well; it just barely fit inside and I had to change the moulded piece that holds the neck before the neck would fit in the case.

This is only my third bass, but I also own several guitars, medium-priced as well as expensive, so I know a bit about good and bad instruments. My main bass before I bought this was a fretless J-bass which I've played for years.

This bass is such a joy to play and sounds so great that it draws me into practicing 'just one more time', which is the best recommendation I can give an instrument. The neck feels great and the strings (B-string included) are tight; no floppy B here.

There are a few things I dislike about it, though, but nothing that alters my general love for this bass: I would have liked more of a forearm-contour; as it is, I have to adjust the way I hold the bass to allow for my plucking hand to pluck without resting against the relatively hard edge of the bass' body. I actually also dislike the locking jack-socket (although some would consider it a plus), because it takes two hands to unplug the chord, which is a hazzle. Lastly, this bass is VERY heavy; it doesn't cause me shoulder pain or anything, but I will recommend that you invest in a very good strap if you plan on buying this bass.

Korean made, 'modern style' 5-string active bass. Maple/Bubinga neck through construction with a Walnut veneered Ash body. Only available in a 'natural flat' finish with visible grain, which definitely looks 'pro' or 'boutique' and I'm still surprised by the number of non-muso people coming up to me at gigs asking about the woods. No lightweight but with a suitably wide strap it is comfortable for long gigs and is very well balanced.

Was bought in early 2008 so I'll assume it's a 2007 model.

Hardware is a dark-bronze nickel which looks the ducks guts. Tuners are smooth and stable. The individual saddle-style 'mono rail' bridge looks trick and works well, though getting the string to grab properly takes a little practice.

The pickups are active Bartolini MK2s, with 3 band EQ, balancer and volume controls. The 9V battery is access through a screw-hatch on the back, which I guess is very secure though not quite as easy-access as some kind of hinged unit for quick battery changes - which you'll be doing if you forget to unplug the cable and thus leave the preamp powered. The socket, by the way, is a neat locking Neutrik connector, which arguably all instruments should have.

The neck has what I'm guessing is a Rosewood fingerboard, 23/24 frets and has a long 35" scale. I don't find reaching the 1st fret an issue but it could be a stretch for some. The fretwork is excellent and as you'd expect the upper-access around the neck-thru body and deep cutaways is sublime. The neck is neither particularly fat nor thin, simply comfortably chunky and for a 5 string is very easy to get around; I have pretty small hands and have no problems.

It comes standard with Elixer strings which apparently are very expensive, but I didn't think much of them; the coating got all chewed up within a few weeks and after about 4 months one of the strings broke (during a gig) which was unexpected. Replaced them which a standard set of Ernie Balls - great tone and feel, and cheaper too.

All in all a very striking piece of kit. For the price (or indeed any price) I can't think what more a bass would need feature-wise. Except maybe a case or gigbag... it comes with neither, just a couple of allen keys and a cheap crappy 1/4" cable you wouldn't use in a fit.

Gets a 9 simply because of the lack of a case

I play many many genres but this bass is primarily used live with a cover band I play in. We do a wide variety of music - rock, pop, blues, jazz, etc. ranging from the 40s to current contemporary stuff. So I needed a very versatile bass. I play fingerstyle mostly (occasional slap, or plectrum when my fingers get chewed up), no effects at the moment, just straight through an Ibanez tuner pedal and into a Marshall BassState 150 1x15" combo.

The big speaker and lack of horn driver means my tone is deep, mellow and smooth, which suits the bulk of our music really well. The low-B is handled nicely... I think the 35" scale is a big factor in keeping such low notes tight and articulate - they're not at all flabby. The balance of tone, volume and presence across the strings and fretboard is excellent. The pickups are have basically every tone you'd want in them, and are dead quiet. The 3 band EQ is very powerful and musical, though ironically I find myself running the bass mostly flat, usually with just a little extra hi end and mid boost to get some definition and upper harmonics though. Though I reckon this is more because of the limitations of my amp rather than the bass itself.

Though I don't use the bass as such I don't doubt it would make a great instrument for heavier, distorted styles, slap funk, etc.

Other than replace the standard strap pins for locking units, I haven't touched a thing. The neck and bridge were perfect straight out of the bag, intonation spot on and the action is low and easy. Can't ask for more than that. I'm yet to find anything out of sorts on the bass... which I can't say for my Gibson Melody Maker (which cost around the same amount)

I wouldn't gig without a backup regardless of how good or expensive a guitar was, because you never know when a string will break or the preamp battery will cark out. That said, the only things I could ever see going wrong with the Ibanez are string breaks and dead batteries. It's a confidence inspiring package that I plan on using for a loooong time.

As mentioned no adjustments have been made to the neck during my ownership. Ibanez appear to have gotten this one bang on first time round

The matt finish appears thin but solid and in nearly a year of gigging I haven't managed to mar it in any visible way. And being matt neither scratches or fingerprints show up anyway ;-)

Never dealt with the company other than look at their website. The user manual is available for download which is always a good point. I assume there was some kind of warranty but nothing about the bass has ever worried me enough to go and check. In the event of any issue I'm sure my boys at our local store would look after me regardless.

I've been playing guitar and piano for about 14 years but really only have concentrated music time on bass for the last 3 to fill in a slot in a working cover band. My other/previous bass is a 14 year old Yamaha RBX 4 string, which is about as basic as a bass gets. That served me well for a long time and with a Seymour Duncan Basslines Hot SPB-2 and flatwounds sounded pretty good for blues and old pop tubes. I could never get the neck the way I wanted and the action was always pretty, er, manly. The BTB675 is world's apart. The versatility of the low-B aside, the BTB's sonic range, pro features and excellent build quality make it such a pleasurable instrument to play. And remember, this is not a $5000 boutique bass... AU$1200ish doesn't get you out of Mexican Fender or Epiphone territory these days, yet for around the same you can get a well built, totally professional 5 string bass. The BTBs are considered to be the best-value, reasonably priced basses on the market at the moment, and it is not hard to see/hear why. Highly recommended.