LeftyBassist.com

Nice looking bass...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BC-RICH-LEFT-HA ... 1536771726

How is the construction of these basses? The stunning finish plus black hardware with a low price gives me pause. It makes me think that the emphasis was to design a bass that looks nice, instead of sounding and playing nice.

I really have no need for a bass of mediocre construction. Anything less than American Fender quality will really just disappoint me, and this is priced more like a Squire.

This is ironic because I have been thinking lately that I have never owned a bass with a precision pickup, and that I might like to try one because my Zon jazz sounds pretty sweet with the neck pickup only.

Plus, I was thinking just today that a 2-precision pickup bass would be sweet. And here this beauty just popped up! Maybe it would be a good "starter P."

The BDSM pickups seem to have generally awful reviews.

Maybe some Steve Harris Quarter-Pounders would do the trick, but, like they say, you can't polish a terd.

Um, am I reading that right? Geez, we need to change that- but I don't think that bass is the place to start...

What would be a good place to start?
How about this one?
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 46&alt=web

That is probably the closest thing to my ideal Fender as I will ever find, but no way am I paying that much. I could surely find a high-quality bass for half of that.

He has been trying to sell that bass for a long time. I will give him credit for his patience as he certainly doesn't offer any deals.

Someone grabbed it for the full $429.

I say... best luck with that!

I'd never pay that for that bass either, total waste of money.

IMO the answer to your question is EASY- and it's still the same answer I gave back in 2009: I have owned literally hundreds of basses of all types and prices from high to low end, and as far as the bass I go back to time and time again, the 1983 maple fretboard Ibanez RB650 is by far the most underrated P bass on the planet. However, I hope it stays that way so I can continue to have as many of them as I want! I currently still have 4 of them in my collection. Unless you are a brand snob, there is no better place to start for your first top quality P style bass than an RB650 (P and J pickup) or RB630 (single P pickup). In tone and playability these basses will consistently "out Fender Precision" most any vintage Fender Precision, at a fraction of the price.

But don't just take my word for it: (see last pic) bassist extraordinaire Kenny Aaronson (Bob Dylan, Hall and Oates, Rick Derringer, Stories, Neal Schon, Sammy Hagar, Foghat, Brian Seltzer, Dust, Mick Taylor, Dave Edmunds, Leslie West, etc. etc.) will tell you the same thing. To quote Kenny: "...I still have my '58 P-Bass, I have a '63 P-Bass that's great, I have a Spectre that's active, and I'm using a few ESP J-styled basses. Another GREAT instrument I picked up from some guy in the street is this maple neck Ibanez RB650, 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..."

heres mine , great bass

I have two and one in pieces. Love 'em. (Ibanez RB series basses)

pete

What do you Ibanez guys think about this:

IBANEZ ROADSTAR II BASS BLACK LEFT-HANDED 80S (S558)

http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/pro ... d-80s-s558

That would be a 1986 or later RB650. Those are just ok... but not special like the 1983 -1985 version. Even tho the '86 model looks similar, Ibanez made some significant changes to try to "modernize" the design (thinner body, light weight hardware, neck alterations including a rosewood fretboard, etc) which must have seemed like good ideas on paper. Unfortunately the changes were detrimental to the tone and performance of the bass, and the magic was gone.

But by 1986 this model was on the way out and Ibanez was already focusing on more modern active DX bass designs like the excellent RB850. I have a couple of those too- and though they are completely different from the old RB650 they are definitely outstanding basses in their own right.

Thanks for the info Carmine - much appreciated!

Wow, cool! I will keep a look out, but with such a specific and rather old date range, I can only imagine it will be hard to find. But, I will try to snag one, if I can! (If you don't beat me to it, haha!)

Thanks, Carmine!

Always glad to help out! I should have clarified that any of the 3 years from 1983 to 1985 are the correct version. And the lefty production numbers must have been relatively decent, because since 2009 I've regularly seen 3 or 4 come up on eBay every year. So if you watch closely, an opportunity will come along.

P.S. A couple years ago I refinished my favorite RB650 in Aztec Gold- it earned it!

Hey! You're selling everything you own and moving to Scotland, right?

Haha - not just yet. I'm selling, but I'm making a movie. My wife already lives in the UK...

And those Ibanezes will be the last to go...


pete

I did find this:


It's a pretty sharp-looking bass, but still more than I think I need to pay.
Plus, the ad is over three years old.

There is a RB 850 (I believe) '86 in St. Louis for sale for quite a while: http://stlouis.craigslist.org/msg/5168773276.html

Carmine, great job - this bass is beautiful!

Are you sure it was sold? It's been relisted for $399.00. Maybe his buyer had cold feet.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/BC-RICH-LEFT-HA ... 1538271664?