LeftyBassist.com

Sometimes you can still find a great listing on eBay:
Gotta Love It!

Saw it too. I'm very curious about these, if one in good condition comes by around here I may snag it. I have a thing for 80's Ibanez basses.

I like this bass for some reason

Pretty beat, but assuming it's fully functional somebody got themselves one heck of a player for $113.50...

As you guys know I am a total junkie for mid 1980's Ibanez basses. I have 3 of these RB850's: A stock Black one (pictured) and an identical stock Pearl one (not pictured)-- and the third one (pictured) is another Pearl one but modified with Bartolini J pickups /preamp (notice the 4 knobs vs. the stock 3 knob arrangement). These basses are very undiscovered/underated gems. Tastefully classic contemporary design (modern without being "pointy"), nice warmth and definition from the stock preamp/ pickups, excellent ergonomics/ weight/ balance, and the necks are incredible- especially if you like your action as low as you can get it! I have a set of flatwounds on the Bart modified one, and it accentuates the natural tendenices of the stock version- sounds massively fat and round but still with good definition. BTW, the Pearl finish on these goes thru some very interesting variations as it gets exposed to light and ages over the years-- looks nice slightly aged, but can turn a pretty obnoxious yellow if it goes too far.

I knew you were gonna post this
I'm still amazed by your collection of 1980's Ibanez basses. I have a thing for them as well and would love to own more. All Ibanez basses from that era that I've played were great players, they're solid and tough and they sound really well.

Yes it's you and me, flying that 80's Ibanez flag my friend!
As you know, I must find an 80's Lefty Musician, or I will not die a happy man, until then...


By the way, did I ever mention that at one time I was trying to collect all the old 70's vintage Ibanez bass models? I still have quite a few (Flying V's, 6/4 doubleneck, etc.) including these beautiful Mahogany, set neck original Ibanez Artist series basses (see pics), models 2615 (top) and 2625 (bottom) which were the precursors to the later Musician series. The 2615 features a very early version of 9V "active" electronics- which was basically just a built-in power booster!

Love that Ibanez 2615. Kind of reminds me of a double cutaway Les Paul Studio bass. Are those tuners original? They look to be sticking out pretty far.

Other Ibanez basses I'd love to own some day are the Silver Series PJ (Graham Maby's model), the Eagle, and the Roadster. I know the Silver series and Roadsters were made left handed, but how about the Eagle?

Yep PJ, those are the original tuners on the 2615; all my 1970's Ibanez stuff is all original, but my early 80's Roadster TVL (which I love) had Barts and a Baddass bridge already installed when I got it.

As far as the 70's stuff in lefty there were P's and J's made but not much else. I have always been impressed with my Ibanez Jazz but the rarest of the rare lefties has to be the Fireglo Ric 4001 copy-I've only ever seen one other lefty- a black one on Arni's site!

The Eagle was never offered in Lefty, but that didn't stop me from adding one to the collection, among other things right handed. I know this is a lefty site but since you've twisted my arm .... I'll post a few eye candy pics just for grins!

70's Ibanez.... The Eagle I really can't play upside down, but the V's do see action occassionally....

....as does the doubleneck.

Love the RS924. Not a fan of the modifications though.
Do you still have the original bridge and pickups?

Nope, the deed was done and the parts gone before it crossed my path. In defense of whoever did the mods, no permanent alterations were made, and it sounds like a million bucks- so maybe it was a sonic improvement, but I still wish I had the stuff in a box somewhere if I ever decided to put it back to original.

Too bad! But if it's mainly a player and not a collector's item to you, I guess it's not so important

Those old Ibanez basses are often prone to modifications, and it's usually the bridges and tuners that go first. But those brass Accu Cast B-bridges are really good and the tuners Ibanez used on basses back then were good and reliable too (although I hear mixed sentiments on the ones with the heart-shaped knobs like those on your RS). On my 1983 MC924 the original VelveTune II tuners were replaced with gold Schallers and even if I'll ever be able to find a set of the original tuners, I wont be able to put them back on the bass because the holes in the headstock were drilled to a larger diameter...
Those SureGrip-knobs with the rubber rings are often replaced too. Try finding a set of these... Tough! :p