4000 Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Just been looking at some YouTube stuff of these. I know theyāre discontinued, but anyone got/had one? Very interesting, although Iām not sure how Iād get on with that body carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storky Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 2 hours ago, 4000 said: Just been looking at some YouTube stuff of these. I know theyāre discontinued, but anyone got/had one? Very interesting, although Iām not sure how Iād get on with that body carve. Yes, I had one about a year ago. Nice, easy to play. I found the sound a bit generic and nothing special. I didnāt really find much use for the high C although I enjoyed the shorter scale. I also thoughtĀ it a little on the small side (Iām 6ā7). I loved the look and the through neck design and had no issues with the body carve. If I got another Iād consider changing the pickups and/or the preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) Discontinued yes but replaced with slightly fancier version:Ā https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/btb845v_01.html Ā Ā Edited December 24, 2018 by visog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 Yep, I had a Volo for a couple of years. Lovely thing, really easy to play. I had grand plans of becoming the next JanekĀ Gwizdala and learning a load of chordal theory to put that high C string to good use...which obviously never happened. I bought mine used and it came upgraded with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp installedĀ soĀ I have no ideaĀ what the original preamp was like. The build quality was great as seems to be the case with all Ibanez basses. Dual truss rods which I really liked too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 14 hours ago, Storky said: Yes, I had one about a year ago. Nice, easy to play. I found the sound a bit generic and nothing special. I didnāt really find much use for the high C although I enjoyed the shorter scale. I also thoughtĀ it a little on the small side (Iām 6ā7). I loved the look and the through neck design and had no issues with the body carve. If I got another Iād consider changing the pickups and/or the preamp. To be honest I find this is the problem with many actives on the market, that they tend to be a bit generic. There areĀ ways round that though, as you say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 4 hours ago, visog said: Discontinued yes but replaced with slightly fancier version:Ā https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/btb845v_01.html Ā Ā Hmm, interesting. Although not sure I don't prefer the aesthetic of the original. Still, worth a look.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 3 hours ago, CameronJ said: Yep, I had a Volo for a couple of years. Lovely thing, really easy to play. I had grand plans of becoming the next JanekĀ Gwizdala and learning a load of chordal theory to put that high C string to good use...which obviously never happened. I bought mine used and it came upgraded with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp installedĀ soĀ I have no ideaĀ what the original preamp was like. The build quality was great as seems to be the case with all Ibanez basses. Dual truss rods which I really liked too. Ha, went throughĀ a similar thingĀ with my custom-built Sei 6. I like the fact that it's 17mm spacing and 33" scale, I like the variable mid (I like the SRs with the same control) and maybe I'd get on with the BTB shape where I struggle a little with the SR (I suspect I'd have to try before I buy though). Not sure how much I'd use the C these days but, hey, it's there if you need it. In 2 minds about the Barts as I'm not generally a fan, but it's not as if they're not easy to replace and it's a lot of bass for the money. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 1 hour ago, 4000 said: Ha, went throughĀ a similar thingĀ with my custom-built Sei 6. I like the fact that it's 17mm spacing and 33" scale, I like the variable mid (I like the SRs with the same control) and maybe I'd get on with the BTB shape where I struggle a little with the SR (I suspect I'd have to try before I buy though). Not sure how much I'd use the C these days but, hey, it's there if you need it. In 2 minds about the Barts as I'm not generally a fan, but it's not as if they're not easy to replace and it's a lot of bass for the money. Ā True, the pickups on the Volo are a non-standard size so replacements arenāt easy to source. I much prefer the BTB shape to the SR shape though, sits so much better on the knee as it has a flat bottom edge cut rather than the super rounded edges on the SR series which are an absolute pain in the donkey to play with seated. I actually did use the C a fair amount in riffs and in some looping stuff where I wanted to emulate guitar parts etc. It definitely had its uses. I had a Drop D tuner on my E string too which was cool though rarely used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 I tried an original Volo out in Andertons. The plain finish was pretty basic but the rest was nice. Especially the ramp for me. Lovely bass for the money although didn't give me much more that my normal Fiver TBH. I thought the shorter scale would give it less tension like the Alembic Stanley I tried in the Bass Gallery but the Volo's 33" on the high 'C' didn't feel much different to the 35" 'G' on my Spitfire fiver, other than being up a forth in pitch.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 I have to agree re: scale length and tension. It never felt floppy or loose at all with any of the string sets I used on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 I had a 33ā scale 4 string Sei and that didnāt really feel much different than a 34ā tension-wise, but the neck was ultra-slim so Iād expect that.Ā With regards to pickups, Iām sure there are plenty of people who could do a custom wind in the same shell, assuming it was necessary.Ā Yeah, the seated thing is a big issue as I play seated most of the time now. Itās amazing how many basses donāt sit well seated. My old Sei Flamboyant (not the 33ā scale one, although that would have been the same) was always a struggle and just used to disappear off to the right all the time, which aggravated my shoulder problems.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 6 hours ago, visog said: I tried an original Volo out in Andertons. The plain finish was pretty basic but the rest was nice. Especially the ramp for me. Lovely bass for the money although didn't give me much more that my normal Fiver TBH. I thought the shorter scale would give it less tension like the Alembic Stanley I tried in the Bass Gallery but the Volo's 33" on the high 'C' didn't feel much different to the 35" 'G' on my Spitfire fiver, other than being up a forth in pitch.Ā Thing is, a Stanley is 30ā scale. Thatās considerably shorter. I had one once, tremendous bass but balanced like a bowl of soup going round a corner at high speed. š Whatās the weight like on the Volo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 18 minutes ago, 4000 said: Whatāsļ»æ the weight liļ»æke on the Volo? I donāt know if I ever weighed mine but I always thought of it as being ālight enough to be comfortable but solid enough to eliminate any suspicion of frailtyā Make of that what you will... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 25, 2018 Author Share Posted December 25, 2018 (edited) Sounds good!š Having spent some time checking new and old out online, I definitely prefer the look of the original. I just need to try and find a BTB to see what that body contour is like. Edited December 25, 2018 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 On 24/12/2018 at 08:21, visog said: Discontinued yes but replaced with slightly fancier version:Ā https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/btb845v_01.html Ā Ā Just stumbled across this video apropos this thread... Ā 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 And now some thoughts on pick-up upgrades... albeit on the sixer.. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 !!! Someone's going to get a bargain! Ā Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) Well I played a couple of BTBs in The Gallery the other day, and unfortunately I didn't get on with either the body contour or the flat radius, so I'll have to pass on a Volo. Edited February 7, 2019 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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