Recently joined the BTB ranks with the purchase of this beauty, a fretless 1999 Ibanez Prestige BTB 1005. 1999 was the first year for the BTB model, and from what I can find, the bolt-on fretless is a rarity. This is my first Ibanez bass and my second fretless. I keep one at the church (where I play Sundays), so I wanted another one stationed at home for practicing.
It’s easily in 9.8 condition. I mean, the plastic placard that tells what the controls are for is still on it! The only thing keeping it from being pristine is fretboard wear. The strings it came with were Thomastik-Infeld JR345, and those things are pretty aggressive. Be warned, probably not the best choice for fretless, especially if you do string-bending vibrato.
The hardshell case is pristine, looks like it never came out of the closet. Obviously, this bass left the house seldom if ever in the last 25 years. Yet, the fretboard is gouged up so bad from those horrible strings, I have to have it resurfaced.
What’s it like? I’ll start with the negatives, so I can end on the positive.
For starters, it sounds really dull for a fretless – indeed, it sounds more like a regular bass than a fretless. Doesn’t have much of that fretless “mwah.” The best way to get the “mwah” is panning to the bridge pickup, but then it just sounds thin and nasally. My other fretless didn’t sound that great when I got it either, but adjusting the pickup height and putting on some DR Sunbeams brought it to life. Didn’t work this time.
In addition, the sustain is nothing to write home about.
Absolutely hated the Neutrik locking jack. I found a Youtube video with directions on how to de-activate the locking mechanism. But I must have done something wrong, because it got me an intermittent connection afterwards. I ended up replacing the whole thing with a Switchcraft plate and standard female barrel jack.
On the positive side, it just looks great. The fit and finish are excellent, on par with my Pedulla and Tobias basses. The sweepable midrange control is a great feature. The balance is fabulous, with no neck dive – probably the best of any bass I currently have. And, the neck is wonderful, my favorite type – 19mm string spacing with a shallow, asymmetrical profile, ala Tobias. Those “monorail” bridge saddles are awesome – only kind I’ve ever seen where the string stays in place while you’re trying to change them.
All in all, it’s a keeper. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it a lot once I get the fretboard issues dealt with.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
Ecclesia: Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Official Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly
My Basses
It’s easily in 9.8 condition. I mean, the plastic placard that tells what the controls are for is still on it! The only thing keeping it from being pristine is fretboard wear. The strings it came with were Thomastik-Infeld JR345, and those things are pretty aggressive. Be warned, probably not the best choice for fretless, especially if you do string-bending vibrato.
The hardshell case is pristine, looks like it never came out of the closet. Obviously, this bass left the house seldom if ever in the last 25 years. Yet, the fretboard is gouged up so bad from those horrible strings, I have to have it resurfaced.
What’s it like? I’ll start with the negatives, so I can end on the positive.
For starters, it sounds really dull for a fretless – indeed, it sounds more like a regular bass than a fretless. Doesn’t have much of that fretless “mwah.” The best way to get the “mwah” is panning to the bridge pickup, but then it just sounds thin and nasally. My other fretless didn’t sound that great when I got it either, but adjusting the pickup height and putting on some DR Sunbeams brought it to life. Didn’t work this time.
In addition, the sustain is nothing to write home about.
Absolutely hated the Neutrik locking jack. I found a Youtube video with directions on how to de-activate the locking mechanism. But I must have done something wrong, because it got me an intermittent connection afterwards. I ended up replacing the whole thing with a Switchcraft plate and standard female barrel jack.
On the positive side, it just looks great. The fit and finish are excellent, on par with my Pedulla and Tobias basses. The sweepable midrange control is a great feature. The balance is fabulous, with no neck dive – probably the best of any bass I currently have. And, the neck is wonderful, my favorite type – 19mm string spacing with a shallow, asymmetrical profile, ala Tobias. Those “monorail” bridge saddles are awesome – only kind I’ve ever seen where the string stays in place while you’re trying to change them.
All in all, it’s a keeper. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it a lot once I get the fretboard issues dealt with.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
Ecclesia: Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Official Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly
My Basses
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