Ibanez BTB1005EOL oder BTB1205EOL??

[Wouter]

Hello! I'm from Holland and my German is not too good, so I hope you don't mind that I'll talk English here.. I think I finally found an active forum with people who own a BTB..

Maybe one of you can help me out:

I own an Ibanez BTB400QMTK and a Yamaha BBG5S. I am a huge fan of the Ibanez BTB series and I'm thinking of getting myself a BTB prestige.. This will be either the BTB 1005EOL or the BTB 1205EOL.

A nearby shop has a BTB 1005 for sale for ?1275,- It can also sell me a BTB 1205 for ?1119,-, but it must be ordered. So, unfortunately, I cannot try it..

The BTB 1005 at the nearby shop is (for as I know) the latest version of the 1005, so it has Bartolini pickups en electronics. So, it is exactly this model: http://home.student.utwente.nl/w.nieuwerth/digipictures/forumplaatjes/BTB1005EOL-00-01groot.jpg

The BTB 1005 is out of the running here and is replaced by the BTB 1205. This bass has the same woods, electronics, pickups and so on, but through-neck construction and a newer version of the bridge (MR4 instead of MR2 I believe). It looks like this: http://www.musik-produktiv.de/bilder2/10/00/18/100018403xl.jpg

This would make one believe that the BTB1205 must be more expensive then the 1005, but it is NOT. Actually, the BTB1005 at the nearby shop originally costed allmost ?1700, while the newer model costs only 1119,-!!! I managed to get a large discount on the BTB1005 because of the newer model (the 1205).

The salesperson is realizing he has an 'outdated' model at his shop, but (unfortunately for me) he also knows that the 1005 originates from Japan, while the 1205 is made in Korea.

Here comes the actual question: (sorry for the long story )
I was told that the Japanese prestige BTB's are better than those from Korea and that this is where the price-difference comes from. I wonder if this price difference is also hearable: Is the BTB1005 better than the newer 1205??

I realize that now the Japanese factory does not make BTB's anymore, this will be perhaps the last opportunity to aquire a Japanese prestige BTB.. [ooo]

Ow, you can answer in German if you prefer!

 

[caruso]

I'd opt for the BTB 1005. I'm very picky if it concerns neck through instruments. The BTB 1005 seems to be the better option as it is the first intent into the realm of high-end basses of Ibanez since the 80's and I suppose they paid a lot of attention to detail. Only thing I know is: the thing is darn heavy. For more info refer to harmony-central/user reviews/browse by manufacturer-BTB 1005. Good luck taking your decision. Ah, before I forget: Never, ever buy a piece of gear without giving it a thorough check!

And finally: Welcome to the community, Wouter.

Cheers
C.

 

[Wouter]

Hey!

Thank you very much for your opinion!! I posted this message on different forums across the world and you are the first to answer.. And on some forums I posted more then two weeks ago! Thanks to you I found the first comparison between the 1005 and the 1205 on the internet!

And I would never buy a new instrument without trying/checking it first..

Oh, and even the Ibanez-importer for Holland (because that's where I live) did not answer my email I sent them two weeks ago! [**/] Shame on you, Serlui! (= the importer)

 

[Speedy]

Ok - so if it is really the newest version of the 1005 - go for this one. I played it once in a store and was really covinced of this instsrument. The older version had really bad PUs. The sustain was really good, so I would not see any reason for getting a Korean.....

 

[energy]

hey!

did anyone of you guys ever compare the new BTB555 to the 1005 or 1205?
i'm asking because i own a 555, and i really love the sound. it's great.
i wonder if the prestige models are really worth the extra money...??!

 

[Wouter]

Okay, I just got an answer on my mail to the Ibanez-importer for Holland! It took a while for them to answer my mail.. (3 weeks)

Anyway for all people who can read Dutch:

Zitat:
Beste Wouter,

Sorry dat je email niet eerder beantwoord is maar dat heeft te maken met een capaciteits probleem. We zijn een te klein bedrijf om elke email tijdig te kunnen beantwoorden en tegenwoordig sturen mensen zelfs al een email om te vragen hoeveel snaren een gitaar eigenlijk heeft.
Anyway, de verwarring die je aanduidt is inderdaad te begrijpen. De BTB1005EOL was zelfs bruto advies 1999,- zonder case en de BTB1205 is 1399,- incl case.
Zoals jij al aangeeft heeft de 1205 een neck van 3 delen maple en 2 delen walnut plus de vernieuwde monorail MR4 bridge. Alle prestigebassen worden sinds 2005 geproduceerd in Korea om het simpele feit dat het daar goedkoper is er één te maken . Waarom nu pas zou je zeggen? Dat heeft te maken dat Ibanez nu ook dezelfde kwaliteit kan garanderen van een high end prestigebas die in Korea gemaakt is , voorheen was deze kwaliteit voor hen alleen te controleren als de bas in de Japanse fabriek vervaardigd werd. Je kan dus niet zeggen dat de kwaliteit van de ene bas beter is dan van de andere ook al is er een degelijk prijsverschil maar het kan best zo zijn dat je door de verschillende specificaties de ene bas beter bij jezelf vindt passen dan de andere.
Over de BTB1005EOL , er staat er één bij Dirk Witte Muziekhandel te Amsterdam. In overleg met hun kunnen we misschien zorgen dat de 1205 ook uit te proberen is.

met vriendelijke groet,

Rick / Serlui

And for all the people who can't read Dutch a short translation:

Sorry, we took so long to answer your email bladiebladiebla.
All prestige basses have been manufactured in Korea since 2005, because it is cheaper to produce it there. They did not do this before, because they could not guarantee the same high quality as the Japanese factory. So, the 1005 is not better than the 1205 and the other way around.

 

[Speedy]

You did not really expect them to tell you that a model no longer available was better than the one which is presently on the market? Did you?
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[caruso]

Off course the BTB 1005 is better. Why? First of all, the Hoshino plant which is where all Prestige instruments were build, has a very good name in musicians circles. There are, of course, very good instrumentbuilders in Korea (the Jazzbass Copy ESP sells is handmade
by a very, very small family business) but the larger plants up to now can't compare to the Japanese plants. It is not even that the material used can be considered inferior, it's the attention to detail that makes the difference. The BTB is a very, very fine bass, just ask Benny Rietvield of Santana fame.

benny@bennyworld.com

Good luck, mate.
Cheers
C.

 

[Rhino]

Hi Wouter,
welchen hast Du jetzt gewählt? Der BTB 1205E ist in der aktuellen Gitarre&Bass (12/05) als "schmucker Edel-Bass von bester Qualität" bezeichnet worden.

Übrigens: nette Bilder-Austellung auf Deiner Homepage.

 

[Wouter]

Okay, I was asked to post my choice in this topic, so here I am again! I've just got home from a studytour to the USA, so my jetlag might cause some spelling mistakes. Sorry for that.

Anyway, I chose the BTB1005EOL and I am very, very happy with it! I even played a gig with it a few weeks ago, all going very well.

And now the reason why I chose the 1005 over the 1205:
Unfortunately there is no shop here in the Netherlands (at least not that I know of) that has both basses. So I whent to Germany with my own BTB400 and my ampifier, and played and compared the 1205 to my 400 at Musik Produktiv. I noticed that the 1205 has a very clear and articulate sound, especially in the higher notes and higher strings. The B-string was a bit flat to my opinion, I like it to growl more. All in all, I really liked the bass, but was not completely convinced.
Then I drove back to the Netherlands to try and compare the 1005. Allthough the high notes might have sounded a bit less clear and articulate it was still very good to my opinion. But the B-string growled a lot more then on the 1205. That gave the the 1005 the advantage over the 1205 for me. Also the finishing of the 1005 was a bit better/smoother feeling.

I do agree that the 1005 is a very heavy thing to play, but if I am tyred of standing, I just sit down resting the guitar on my knee. No problem for me. I think that the heavy wood contributes to the solid sound it produces.

Perhaps I should note that the sound differences between the 1005 and the 1205 might also be caused by the through neck construction of the 1205 that the 1005 does not have. Allthough sustain on the 1005 is certainly good enough for me on the 1005 it might be a bit better on the 1205. I believe that the bolt-on neck that the 1005 has contributes to the attack and the growl in the lower notes, which I like.

And to energy about the 555: I can imagine the 555 sounds good, I own an older 400 myself which I played for several years. The difference is mainly in the pick-ups and if you would compare the 555 to a 1205 or a 1005 you would find that the bartolini PU's provide a very clear, distinguished tone. The PU's really pick up everything the string does without flattening it out a bit like the cheaper Ibanez PU's do. I really can hear the differce.

 

[energy]

Zitat:Original erstellt von: Wouter

And to energy about the 555: I can imagine the 555 sounds good, I own an older 400 myself which I played for several years. The difference is mainly in the pick-ups and if you would compare the 555 to a 1205 or a 1005 you would find that the bartolini PU's provide a very clear, distinguished tone. The PU's really pick up everything the string does without flattening it out a bit like the cheaper Ibanez PU's do. I really can hear the differce.

hi wouter!
thanks for your report and congratulations to your choice!
you took the effort and tested both basses, directly comparing to your own btb400, and even using your own amp. i wish everybody would do so instead of posting the usual "which-bass-should-i-buy" crap here on the board.

but never mind.

i agree with you about the sound of the bartolinis. they deliver a lot of detail. but for my taste, they sound a bit too clean and "handsome", good for jazz and pop, but i'm more into the rock styles.

what you mentioned about the growl - especially of the b-string - that is produced by the btb1005 holds also true for the btb555, which has a bolt-on neck as well.

i think we both made the right decision, since i never intended to spend 1000+ euros for a bass. []