Ibanez BTB405QM Transparent Black 2002
Ibanez BTB405QM, black, made in Korea 2002. It's a lot of bass for your face. The BTB series aimed at taking some of the specs and aesthetic of boutique handmade basses and make them available on a production model instrument. As such, you get the super strong five-ply neck with the generous string spacing up high, a quilted maple top with the cool carved edges, the fancy 'mono-rail' bridge and a fancy active preamp system with huge range at your fingertips. This is an early example, made in South Korea before the switch to Indonesia on the series, and the woodwork is very tight and tidy; it feels awesome. The tone is mammoth: natural sustain aplenty, thumping low end, crisp highs... it will a bunch of genres from metal to gospel to funk with options and oomph to burn. The brushed chrome and quilted maple has a definite 00s flavour to it, but it's classy and well executed, it looks cool. So hey, all in all: a lot of bass for your face indeed.
Model: Ibanez BTB405QM
Made: Korea, 2002
Serial: WZ20397
Finish: transparent black
Body: basswood, quilted maple top
Neck: 5-piece maple/walnut, rosewood fretboard, 35" scale, 47mm nut, 16" radius
Weight: 4.6kg
Mods: jack replaced
Pickups: Ibanez DFR-N5 passive soapbar single coil x2, active 3-band EQ pre-amp
Accessories: none
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end and both edges and some scuffs and surface scratches on the front and back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, although there's a bunch of minor dimples and rub wear on the back. The back has surface scratches on the horns, scuffs and dimples in the middle of the body, dimples and rub wear in the elbow area and back edge and some dimples and scuffs around the control cavity. The sides have dimples on the top horn, some small dents and scuffs in the elbow area and back edge, some dents and dimples near the jack and some scuffs on the bottom horn. The front has some scuffs on the horns and around the knobs, dimples around the bridge and elbow area and some play wear around the strings and pickups.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing 45/130 DR strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only