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NBD – Ibanez BTB1406 Premium


biro
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Ok, I went home, that is, back to Italy for a few days and I happened to find a shop selling this beauty at a slightly discounted price. I wish I could say I put a lot of effort in controlling myself, but I am not sure I can. In fact, I pulled the trigger quite quickly!

I had owned a BTB705DX ([url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6S8pmgfg38"]this one[/url], specifically) in the past, and I am still convinced it was an exceptional instrument. For my taste, however, it lacked a bit of sustain and had the unforgivable flaw of having five strings only. I had been thinking of going back to a sixer, and I did with an Ibanez SR506 that a BC member kindly delivered to my small London flat.

Now, I would simply lie if I said that instrument, [s]currently for sale [/s]SOLD on the BC market, couldn't satisfy my needs. It was a wonderful warwick-y beast of a bass. However, not unlike a Blue Norwegian pining for the fjords, I missed the 35" scale and few other things, such as the BTB shape, which is -- for those of you who haven't tried it -- the single most comfortable shape I've laid my paws on.

I ordered the bass and immediately started worrying: the idea of a six string bass with a single truss rod made me extremely uncomfortable, as some bad memories from the past still haunt my dreams; neck-through basses have rarely been my thing lately. But in the end, the delivery guy knocked.

First of all, the truss rod worked a tad too well. In fact, if anything, I had to loosen it. It moves extremely easily and is extremely effective, with plenty of room for adjustment in either way. Also of immediate relevance, you get an extremely nice case and what I would like to christen the [url="http://static.bax-shop.nl/images/resized/167/1352903/450x450/Ibanez_RG921_BK_Premium_elektrische_gitaar_Black_case_tool.jpg"]Multitool of Destiny[/url]. (I am a sucker for these things, but the moment I saw it, i was completely sold.)

Good: time to focus on the rest of the bass.

Well, it is absolutely stunning:



The bass is exceptionally comfortable, not at all heavy for a six string and has a reasonably thin neck. The bridge is easy to adjust and is airtight when locked: a screw allows to raise the saddle, a domed one presses the saddle down. I revel in the thought that this has some real world consequences, but I really have no idea. Fretwork is ace and it has Gotoh tuners.

Playing it: straight in my soundcard and Logic, I find this BTB has quite a lot of attack, clarity and sustain to it. The stock strings are Elixir, which I like, although I am not particularly big on tapered B strings. (I know the theory, I just don't think they work well for me.)

In three (actually four + commas) words, I would say it is loud, tight and articulate.

The Nordstrands are the single biggest (no pun intended) surprise I had in recent years. They play very much like single coils, but with balls, which I personally think is a plus. The preamp -- mid frequency selector and all -- works well, but I am not big on onboard preamps. It follows that I absolutely love the second switch, which bypasses the EQ (not the preamp, AFAIK).

I will endeavour to make a couple of samples in the next few days. For the time being, I would just say that I have tried more or less any 6 string bass in this price range and cannot, for the life of me, understand why this one does not cost twice as much.

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A short sample to demonstrate the incredible clarity of the low end on this bass, alongside with timing, which has become deplorable.

https://soundcloud.com/ballpointmusic/ibanez-btb1406-premium

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  • 5 months later...

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