Ibanez expands its high-end BTB series of bass guitars with a new six-string model, the BTB1406.
As part of the Ibanez Premium Series, this bass features quality components and boutique like craftsmanship, at a relatively affordable price tag.
Being a six-string bass, the Ibanez BTB1406 has to be sturdy enough to handle the added strain that the extra strings produce. To ensure stability, Ibanez went for a neck-through construction with a mahogany wing and flamed maple top. Aside from being sturdy, the body is also designed with comfort and playability in mind, crafted into an exaggerated double cutaway shape for easier access to the upper frets.
Just like the body, the neck has to withstand the added pressure, so Ibanez crafted a 7pc Maple/Bubinga/Walnut neck that goes through the body. For added strength, the neck is fitted with Graphite reinforcement rods. For playability, the fretboard used on this bass is Rosewood, it has 24 frets with off-set Abalone dot inlays to guide your fretting hand.
The BTB1406 comes equipped with Mono-Rail bridge, designed to provide string-to-string isolation. This means that each string vibrates optimally with minimal bleed-in from the others. At the other end of the instrument are Gotoh machineads and a Black Tusq XL nut.
Capturing its tone are Nordstrand Big Single pickups, it is meant to provide the clarity of single coil pickups while being big enough to produce aggressive tones when needed. Tone shaping is also one of the specialties of this bass, featuring a 3-band EQ with Mid Frequency switch. Rounding up the features is a Neutrik locking output jack, which secures the jack in place to prevent accidental disconnects while performing.
The BTB1406 Premium is currently priced at around $1,690, a 5-string version (BTB1405) is also available for $1,560. For more information, you can visit Ibanez.
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