7-String Bass Demo - Ibanez BTB7 Seven String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 25th May 2021

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7-String Bass Demo - Ibanez BTB7 Seven String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 25th May 2021
This week I played a 7-string bass for the first time in nearly seven years. I used to play 7-string bass a lot in my 20's and I owned two, one fretted and one fretless. I decided to sell them because I had stopped using them. When I put them both on eBay, the fretless sold straight away but the fretted bass didn't. So I made a video demo to try and sell the fretted bass as well. That video was uploaded in the summer of 2014 and that was the last time I played a 7-string bass before this week.
7-String Bass Pro's and Con's
I think the reason for putting more strings on a bass is simple, more range. It takes the instrument into the realm of an instrument that can do anything, melody, chords, bass lines etc. But there are down sides to adding more and more strings. Weight is an obvious one and balance is an even bigger one. More strings means a bigger neck and a bigger neck unbalances the instrument, especially when you carry it on a strap.
I remember playing my seven string basses in my early 20's with weights stuck onto the strap with electrical tape. The weights were there to counter balance the neck and prevent it from diving towards the floor. It worked in preventing the neck dive. But as you can imagine, the combination of 7-string bass plus weights made an unbelievable amount of weight to carry on my shoulder. I can't imagine doing that now.
Another issue that I found with 7-string basses was string spacing. As you cram more strings onto a bass neck, you need to make the spaces between the strings smaller. Otherwise the neck becomes too big to play. It's certainly possible to adapt to a narrower string spacing, but at the time I sold my 7-string basses I was preferring a wider spacing and so that contributed to me not playing them as much.
Ibanez BTB 7 String Bass
So why did I decide to play a 7-string bass again now? Back in the days when I was playing 7-string basses (approx 2005-2011). 7-string basses weren't made by mainstream guitar manufacturers. Both of my basses back then were made by builders that you would never have heard of. When I got my Warwick endorsement back in 2010, Warwick had just made their first 7-string bass. But it was an expensive custom shop bass costing thousands.
However, a few years after that, around the time I was thinking of selling my 7-string basses. Ibanez came out with this, the BTB7. Ibanez are one of the biggest guitar and bass manufacturers in the world. Not only was it unusual for a major manufacturer to make a line of 7-string basses, but the prices were incredibly cheap. I've always wanted to try one to see what they're like, but I never wanted to buy one because they came out at a time when I was stopping playing 7-string basses.
I finally got my chance to play one this week and I think it's very impressive for the money. It plays really well and balances far better than either of my old 7-string basses thanks to the long horn on the upper cutaway. It is still very heavy, but if you can cope with the weight then it's hard to find any other fault with it.
I believe that the one I played was made in 2013. However, the most remarkable thing is that Ibanez are still making affordable 7-string basses today in 2021. Their current model is called the BTB747 and it looks very similar to the BTB7. I would like to congratulate Ibanez for showing that level of commitment to extended range basses. Extended range instruments are heavily stigmatised in the music world, and I'm sure that this video will generate plenty of negative comments. There is no reason for such stigmatisation. I can see no downside to wanting extra range on any instrument.

[@bustabass9025]

Picked up a 7 string Wolf Bass (Korean) a few months ago. Surprisingly easy to play, and the chords sound angelic. The fourth tuning matrix makes it easy to find the notes within the many ranges available with a seven string configuration. Love it!

[@charlesowen777]

A very close friend, Reuel Hoffman has a lefty Wolf -7. Excellant instrument, just a bit unbalanced. def. hvy. over all a outstanding bass. sweet sleep Reuel,,and keep praising Him on the low end, my Brotha from a notha motha with the same Heavenly Fatha. if we cant play for the KIng,we dont want to play for anything!!!

[@bustabass9025]

@@charlesowen777 I'm with you man! 👍🏿

[@arrell]

Johnny, I would pay to hear a record of your music. Love that you explore such a wide range of the bass guitar.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you very much! 👍🎶

[@patrickr12342]

Hey Johnny!!! What an amazing bass!!! The track comforts its sounds!!! Fantastic, i love it. An earthshacking growl, combined with some very tasty fill- ins! Thanx , J.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thanks Patrick! 👍🎶

[@Prog4Prog]

Great playing Jonny! This is awesome.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you! 👍🎶

[@iceberg220]

Great work, Johnny! I got a 747 a few months ago and I love it!

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Awesome! Thank you! 👍🎶

[@SlashnKashmir]

I recently found this model again on the second hand market and I am very happy for this. I hope I improve my financial situation before it is sold. I absolutely de-fret it when I buy it.

[@mr.e5996]

Great performance. Very inventive and progressive bass playing. You should release a CD/MP3 with your compositions. I sure would buy a copy. Keep It Up!

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thanks very much! 👍🎶

[@raphaelcote3577]

Oh yeah!! A New 7 string? :D

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

👍🎶

[@KlevonOfJesup]

Masterful performance!

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you! 👍🎶

[@jazzprecisionbassist4847]

Great job, Johnny! That sounded like a piece that should be taught and played young musicians!

[@jazzprecisionbassist4847]

Also reminds me of Joshua Redman, one of my favorite saxophonists.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

@@jazzprecisionbassist4847 Thanks very much! Joshua Redman is awesome, I remember seeing his trio play live in London in 2003 when he was young. It was absolutely phenomenal. 👍🎶

[@fretworks9692]

Excellent work! I love the lyricism with the pick. Been working on 7 string with a pick also. Nice to see it done so beautifully.

[@GourmetGoblinz]

The dual guitar parts at around 1:00 remind of Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt by The Mars Volta. Very cool demo! I want one of these

[@bustabass9025]

Closed my eyes, and thought was listening to vintage 70s Vitous. Channeling that vibe for sure.

[@charlesowen777]

Jesus..............is Lord of the Low frequincies!!!

[@DemocracyManifest]

Beautiful composition bro, well played, absolutely flawless tone

[@wtcornet]

A nice demo and a nice tune Johnny.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thanks very much!

[@ralphbenitez4407]

Nice! I’d love to see you review a Yamaha. TRB6JP2 John Patittuci bass.

[@jyun7360]

Love what you composed! I bought a 7 st bass back in 2019, and play it like 5 or 6 times this 2 years.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you! 👍🎶

[@ironDsteele]

That's unfortunate

[@a16yotweed]

love ur pattern❤❤❤I will try a 7strings soon

[@jeffflannigan5588]

That's nice playing!

[@piguit1258]

I liked very much your music and your playing. Also your sound with BTB7 is very nice. Thank you very much.

[@MiguelMarques-lk2re]

Hello John AWESOME SONG. Can you make a video explaining how do you compose? Do you use any composition techniques??? This progression of chords aare amazing.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Hi Miguel. Thanks very much. I'll have to put some thought into that. Composition is such a huge topic that it's hard to cover in a video. But I'll try to think if there are any little tips or tricks that I can put in a video. 👍🎶

[@charlesowen777]

awesome chops..........blessings from cbo 7-string. sweet sleep. i love Ibenez but my 7 is a one of a kind custome. its a black diamond 7, ive named him Samuel.

[@adik6528]

Cool bass(es) and cool drums :D

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you! 👍🎶

[@leavewe]

Hello Mr Cox. I've wanted to get started playing extended range basses for some time. Do you suppose the btb747 is a good choice for a first bass? I've previously owned a cheaper ibanez 5 string. I enjoyed that one a lot so I know I like Ibanez basses. How often do you play this bass? I am quite a small person (5'3") so the weight worries me just a bit. Great demo, have been looking at all the btb7 stuff i could find... Could such a bass replace a 4 string for simpler rock music or do the additional 3 strings get in the way? Thanks for the video.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Hi. I think the Ibanez basses are great basses for the money. So, I would definitely recommend the BTB747 if you're thinking of trying a 7-string. They are quite heavy, but I've never played a 7-string bass that wasn't heavy. The balance of the neck is better on the Ibanez than on most 7-string basses which is a big plus. Believe it or not, this demo was actually the first time I ever played this bass. I used to play 7-string basses a lot, but now I play them very rarely. You can certainly play anything on a 7-string that you can play on a 4-string. But you do have to battle against people's preconceptions. When you walk into a gig or rehearsal with a 7-string bass, people will judge you and assume that you're not the kind of bass player who will keep it simple and stick to the bass lines. I think I lost a few gigs back in the day because of that and I've heard other 7-string players say similar things. 👍🎶

[@charlesowen777]

very expressive with a pick, its how i play. as i piay i choke the pick so that thumb and pick strike the string. i play well with thumb and imndex, but a biot slower. I know I can learn alot from you. thank you soooooooo much.

[@Firstmajortomlikestoticker]

can you give lessons on the 7 string bass... nobody else is doing it please

[@albertyap7369]

Noticed you played with a pick on some parts of the music..is it due to a desired tonal production?

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Yeah, I don't often play bass with a pick, but it just suited the sound of this composition. 👍🎶

[@SonnyLombardozzi]

Clean

[@j.d.hughes3728]

Loved it - terrific playing. How do you find the extra finger stretch over a 4 string with that vast fretboard? Also, what is the piece?

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you very much. It's just a piece I was writing at the time of doing this demo and I thought it worked well on the 7-string. The bass is a very different beast to a 4-string. I think it would be hard to switch directly from 4 to 7 strings, I've been playing 6-string basses for a couple of decades, so 7 is not such a big stretch. 👍🎶

[@j.d.hughes3728]

@@JohnnyCoxMusic Cheers. Probably not going to play 6 string for a couple of decades - don't think I have that much life left! Great composition, enjoyed it very much - needs much dashing up and down on a 4 string :)

[@rustyshackleford8489]

This song reminds me of hangar music from any Ace Combat game OST.

[@albertyap7369]

Wow, Ibanez has 7 strings series...is this the first one from Ibanez?

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Hi Albert. They've been making 7-string basses for a number of years now. This one was made around 2013, but they're still making new ones now. They call the new ones BTB747. 👍🎶

[@sigiriabeysekara8723]

Hey mr. Johnny, does a seven string bass have the same range as a tenor saxophone ? I'd like to know....

[@gwensteinhauer6059]

What are the gauges of the strings from lowest to highest?

[@AcousticSerenity]

Hows the weight on it?

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

It is heavy. I've never found a light weight 7-string bass.

[@LeoNovel]

VII

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

👍🎶

[@ethan.8791]

double bass to me will always sound like spy music

[@bobu5213]

Looks like a ton of fun. Did you write the song?

[@bobu5213]

Also what is the tuning? Is it just a 4 string bass with 3 lower strings or are some of the strings higher?

[@emperomassinencambio...9941]

​@@bobu5213 a regular 7 string bass is build around the normal 4 strings of a bass, plus one lower string and 2 higher ones.

[@MrCapricce]

Where to buy this bass?