Basswood body, arched top with binding
Maple neck with rosewood board, 24 frets
34” scale
Graphite nut, 1 9/16” wide
Dual active humbuckers
Passive volume/tone for each pickup
Polar White finish, aged to a buttery-yellow.
9 lbs 4oz
Made in Japan
This was the top bass model in the 1985 Ibanez catalog (
http://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1985/p24.jpg). I bought this bass from the original owner who played it up until the mid ‘90s then put it away in his basement for many years. I’m selling this because I don’t play 4-stringers much anymore. There doesn’t seem to be many of these RB960s around; 1985 was the only year they were made. I only found one other one for sale, in “V.G.+” condition, for $479 plus shipping. I’m not sure how that one compares to mine for condition. It’s not mint, definitely a player’s bass, but it's problem-free, plays and sounds great, looks cool too imo.
$400 US plus shipping. Comes with a generic hard case in average condition. Paypal okay. No trades.
The gory details:
The original pickup screws were rusty so I’ve replaced them with Stew-Mac screws. The bridge was also rusty and has some pitting but cleaned up well and works fine. The 1st through 9th frets are worn, but still have life left in them. There is a noticeable gap in the neck joint on the treble side, but it’s still a solid joint. The pickup routs are slightly rough on the bass side. There’s a few chips and dings on the headstock, another chip on the heel block, a ding near the upper horn, a few other small dings on the top, some scratches on the upper bout and on the back, most of which don’t show in photos. Nothing you wouldn’t expect to see on a 24 year-old bass that was played a lot.
Now the good news:
The bass is 100% complete, fully functional and all-original except for the pickup screws. It even has the funky boomerang-shaped strap hangers. I have cleaned everything and set it up for low action. The intonation and saddle-height screws work, the truss rod turns freely, the neck is straight, the neck joint is solid, no scratchy pots, both pickups work, tuners are smooth and solid. The back of the neck is very smooth and feels nice under your thumb. The v/t v/t controls give lots of tone variation and the pickups are noiseless. The tone is warm and clear, strong in the mid-range, doesn’t get boomy or glassy. I really like this bass but I just don’t use it much and could use some cash. Someone give it a good home!
More pics:
Detail of the bridge pitting here:
older Canadian-made case:
Thanks for looking!
