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Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
http://leftybassist.com./viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7905		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  paulo [ January 27th, 2017, 4:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Left-Handed-Lef ... 2436198979
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Author:  donahue [ January 28th, 2017, 12:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
I'm gona keep an eye on this one, but the back of the neck has seen much better days.
Author:  Jeroen [ January 28th, 2017, 1:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
I have been told the maple board version is the more desirable RB650, but fingerboard wood aside I don't really know the difference. Looking at old catalog shots, one has a body made of "basswood birch", and the other of basswood. Other than that, the specs are identical and both were made in Japan. But maybe some RB650 owners will chime in :)
Author:  zecacosta [ January 28th, 2017, 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Jeroen wrote:
I have been told the maple board version is the more desirable RB650, but fingerboard wood aside I don't really know the difference. Looking at old catalog shots, one has a body made of "basswood birch", and the other of basswood. Other than that, the specs are identical and both were made in Japan. But maybe some RB650 owners will chime in :)


Hey Jeroen,

Tim might shed a brighter light on it but I'll tell you what I know about the '85 and '86 RB650 lefty:
'85 has the maple board, open heart-shaped tuners, 3-ply white pickguard and a slightly fatter, non-contoured body. If memory serves me well, it is a tad heavier; the neck is also fatter and the nut slightly bigger
(I let mine go a couple of months ago: https://reverb.com/item/2665193-lefty-i ... 1985-black)

'86 has rosewood board, sealed Tacoma-style tuners, single-ply black pickguard and a slimmer contoured body
Author:  fivebass52 [ January 28th, 2017, 11:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
No bids yet... would be great travel, knock-around bass for a $100 bucks or so....
Author:  donahue [ January 29th, 2017, 12:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
It looks like it would be a big, girthy, fat sounding bass. That is why I would be interested. However, does the body being basswood some how affect tone, compared to say, an alder body? I'm not trying to ruffle feathers here. I honestly don't know.

I guess what I mean is the bass looks like it would be a huge deep sounding instrument with tone and sustain for days. Something about the way it looks tells me that. Good marketing I guess.
Author:  Moses [ January 29th, 2017, 1:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
The debate about tonewood, at least around Talkbass, is never-ending. If you want this guy's opinion, whether or not you can hear a difference between plywood and mahogany, plenty of great sounding basses have been made out of basswood.
Author:  Carmine [ January 29th, 2017, 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Roadstar II guitars and basses were introduced in 1981 as the successors to the Blazer line of guitars and basses. Roadstar II basses from 1981-83 featured a solid basswood & birch body, one piece maple neck with 2+2 headstock and sealed tuners.

In 1984 Ibanez conducted extensive "Vibration Modal Analysis" testing on the Roadstar II line to better understand the impact of vibration on tonal dynamics and resonant response. As a result body specs were tweaked and the neck was reconfigured to an inline 4 with Hercules B open gear tuners. IMO these 1984-85 Roadstar II basses represented the pinnacle of development of the line, and were easily among the finest mass- produced passive P or J type basses on the market. You guys have heard me rave on about these basses in various threads many times!

By 1986 the Roadstar II bass was still hanging on in back of the lineup, but Ibanez was already moving on in terms of bass development, with emphasis on their more modern designs and electronics including the newly revised Roadstar DX series and the revolutionary Soundgear series just a year around the corner. The 1986 Roadstar II received some changes intended to "modernize" the platform somewhat: the basswood-birch body was changed to a contoured, all basswood body to reduce weight; the neck was changed from solid maple to maple with a rosewood fretboard; tuners were changed from Hercules open gear to Smooth Tuner BII units; the pickguard was changed from 3ply white to 1 ply black. Although the passive P / J pickups were unchanged, the "tweaks" to the basic platform resulted in a somewhat less resonant or punchy sounding passive bass. It would be gone in a few years.

(All the above models and the original catalogs can be referenced here:
http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/)
Author:  donahue [ January 29th, 2017, 8:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Carmine, thank you for taking the time to write such a great and informative post! All of my current P/PJ basses are reverse P. This bass could settle my gas on regular P placement. The J pup is a bonus I welcome with open arms. I love the sound of my PJs!

I may bid on this bass. I want a big authoritive sounding passive P. One that when played says "Hey! Listen Up!" :)
Author:  Carmine [ January 30th, 2017, 12:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
No problem, always glad to contribute in any way I can- and anytime the topic of these basses come up I will always chime in!

The Roadstar II up for sale on eBay is a 1986 RB 650 model, and these are certainly very good basses, and I'm sure you'll be happy with it, especially if you get a good deal on it. But just to make sure I didn't confuse with my previous post: the Roadstar II model that I wholeheartedly endorse is the 1984-85 RB 650 model, which is recognizable by the maple neck and inline 4 heart-shaped open gear tuners. Speaking from my personal experience having owned literally hundreds of basses, IMHO there has never been a better mass produced "old school" passive P/J bass on the planet. Of course folks will rave about old vintage pre-CBS Fenders and rightfully so. Obviously these are nowhere near as rare or expensive- but if you remove brand bias from the equation, the build quality, tone and playability on these are second to none, extremely consistent, and they're durable as a tank- I've never run across a "bad" one unless it was severely abused. IMHO it is by far superior to anything Fender was doing during the same era (and the equal of anything they've done since for that matter). How these basses continue to fly under the radar is a mystery to me- but if no one else knows, I'm fine with that!

As I posted way back in 2009, the only "big name" guy that I know swears by these is Kenny Aaronson, who has played with just about everybody (Bob Dylan, Hall & Oates, Rick Derringer, Stories, Neil Schon/ Sammy Hagar, Foghat, Leslie West, Brian Setzer, Dust, Mick Taylor, Dave Edmunds, etc., etc.). To quote Kenny: "...for guitars, I still have the '58 P-Bass, I have a '63 P-Bass that's great, I have a Spector that's active, and I'm using a few ESP J-styled basses. Another GREAT instrument I picked up for $100 from some guy in the street is this maple neck Ibanez Roadstar, that has DiMarzio's in it. Its simply as good as any Fender that ever was. As you have heard, this bass sounds great and records really well. I love this bass, I use it with LaBella nylon tape wound strings..."
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The best testimony that I can personally give is that I love them so much I own 4 of them, which I've had for many years. Other basses have come and gone but I'll probably be buried with these:

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This is my first and "go to" RB 650- I refinished it in firemist gold, because it's that priceless to me!


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This one was originally black and was relic refinished in fiesta red by the previous owner.


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Factory colors were black, white and burgundy. Almost all lefties were black, so I jumped to get this burgundy one. Previous owner painted pickup covers white ( I could have done without), but I love the look of the finish checking.


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Last but not least, an all original (except the knobs) black RB 650 in mint condition.
Author:  fivebass52 [ January 30th, 2017, 8:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Hey Carmine, thanks for al the great info on this bass! Can you repost your last four pics please? The links are broken, and I Really want to see what they look like - Thanks! :)
Author:  Carmine [ January 30th, 2017, 9:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Hmmm, I can see them fine on all my devices- wonder what's up with that :??

I just went in and re-posted the pic links in the post- can you see them now?
Author:  fivebass52 [ January 30th, 2017, 4:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Carmine wrote:
Hmmm, I can see them fine on all my devices- wonder what's up with that :??

I just went in and re-posted the pic links in the post- can you see them now?


Three of the four pictures are now there....the 2nd one is still a broken link.... all the basses look great! Will have to start hunting for one of these now!
Author:  Carmine [ January 30th, 2017, 4:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Ok, re-posted again, check it now?
Author:  paulo [ January 30th, 2017, 8:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Carmine and his beauties!
Nice refinish on the gold one!
Author:  fivebass52 [ January 30th, 2017, 11:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
Carmine wrote:
Ok, re-posted again, check it now?


They're all there now Carmine - Thanks!
Author:  paulo [ February 1st, 2017, 4:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ibanez Roadstar II cheap starting bid
There's another one here pricier but open for offer:
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https://reverb.com/item/4116483-1986-ib ... s-shipping
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