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Value-packed, Boutique-grade 5-string Multi-scale Bass





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If you’re a bassist looking for a boutique-grade multi-scale 5-string bass that doesn’t cost a fortune, Sweetwater has your axe. Featuring an ultra-stable 5-piece maple/walnut through neck and okoume body wings, the Ibanez BTB Bass Workshop multi-scale 5-string’s unique tonewood combination is a recipe for complex harmonics and epic sustain. Your fingers will fly on the ergonomic multi-scale flamed maple fretboard with stainless steel frets and abalone dot inlays. The body and neck heel are sleekly sculpted for sumptuous playing comfort and unfettered access to all frets. And spec’d with two T1 dual-coil pickups and 3-band EQ, the BTB multi-scale pumps out fat, growling tone by the boatload. Boasting advanced electronics and an eye-popping finish, the Ibanez BTB Bass Workshop multi-scale 5-string electric bass is one of those instruments that demands to be played in front of an audience.





Better comfort, tension, and tone





Multi-scale fretboards are an exciting trend in high-end bass guitar design. With a longer scale on the bass side of the instrument and a shorter scale on the treble side, multi-scale instruments offer you better intonation and more consistent tension and attack from string to string. And while getting used to them may seem to be quite an undertaking, bassists at Sweetwater cite the benefits and report that it's a very natural transition from conventionally fretted basses. Once you’re used to a multi-scale fretboard, you’ll find that it improves overall playability and facilitates the execution of fast technical passages.





Neck-through design ensures exceptional sustain





Descended from the upright bass, electric bass guitars traditionally sported four strings. Then, along came extended-range basses with five and six strings. Adding more strings makes the neck contend with higher tension that can lead to warping. The BTB Bass Workshop multi-scale 5-string solves that issue with its 5-piece maple/walnut through neck. The multi-piece, graphite-reinforced, neck-through design guarantees the neck’s stability. Tuning machines, the nut, pickups, and the bridge are connected directly to the neck, ensuring optimal vibrational transfer and optimized sustain. Thus, the neck comprises, effectively, the entire instrument: the sleekly sculpted body wings are only affixed for playing comfort (and killer looks). Pick up an Ibanez BTB multi-scale 5-string, and you’ll experience everything neck-through construction has to offer.





It’s all in the details





Ibanez’s obsessive attention to detail has made the company a global guitar and bass powerhouse. That same detail-oriented construction is one of the many things that helped the BTB multi-scale bass make such a splash at Sweetwater. It comes with stainless steel frets that will last through years of hard touring. The zero fret lets the bass achieve exceptionally low action for silky-smooth playability. What’s more, the MR5S bridge/tailpiece enables you to customize the string spacing to fit your evolving needs as a player. And like all Ibanez basses, the BTB multi-scale 5-string includes high-quality tuning machines for rock-solid tuning stability. Add it all up, and you’ve got a boutique-grade instrument. The Ibanez BTB Bass Workshop multi-scale 5-string electric bass has what it takes to propel you to the top of your game.





Ibanez BTB Bass Workshop Features:


Ultra-stable 5-piece maple/walnut through neck with graphite reinforcement rods, satin polyurethane finish


Sleekly sculpted okoume body wings for playing comfort


Flamed maple multi-scale fretboard with 24 ( zero fret) medium stainless steel frets and abalone dot inlays


2 T1 dual-coil pickups


Active electronics with Volume, Balance, Bass, Middle, and Treble controls plus 3-way Mid-frequency switch and EQ bypass


MR5S bridge/tailpiece with adjustable string spacing


Ibanez tuning machines