Ibanez RB850 Replacement Bridge

[Mike11121]

Hi all,

I have finally decided to refurbish my classic old RB850 Roadstar II and give it some love for all the reliable years on the road that it gave me.

After digging it out from behind the boxes, I am amazed that it is still (almost) in tune (after 5 years????), but it obviously needs some work. It's no Warwick, but it is still a damn nice bass to play IMHO. I thought it might just be rose colored glasses, but it still feels good 20 years on.

First order of business is a bridge. The original was black (I guess anodized), but because the heel of my hand rubbed the top when I played for so long, the top third is now kinda shiny silver. Also, the springs and screws are pretty corroded (I know, shoulda wiped down and cleaned up, but in the 80's after-gig activities for me always involved girls over gear!).

So I need assistance from you gurus out there. I really don't want to drill too many holes and what not into this classic, so I need your recommendations on a nice (preferably black) OEM bridge that will fit without major surgery and keep that nice sound (or even improve it).

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

Mike

[Chasarms]

Allparts.com has a pretty wide selection with nice photos of their bridges. You should be able to find something that will retrofit that bass. There used to a site somewhere that had the schematics of their bridges that showed the hole spacing. I would guess you could email them and they would give you that information.

I had a Roadstar for a short while in '88 or '89. It was nice bass and a respectable P-bass knock off. It sounded about as good as anything anyone else was making at the time.

I played with a guitar who played the Roadstar strat copy. That guitar sounded great.

[Chasarms]

Originally Posted by Chasarms

. . . There used to a site somewhere that had the schematics of their bridges that showed the hole spacing. . .

In hindsight, maybe it was Warmoth that has the drawings.

[Mike11121]

Thanks so much guys.

I will chase up Ibanez (although they don't seem too interested in anything they made before 2000 ), and I have already sent emails to AllParts and Warmoth. I'm not in any serious hurry, since this is no longer my #1 bass and i would prefer to get it right.

In case you are interested, here is an exact match for my baby, even down to the (beautiful, I think) paint job.

Cheers

Mike

[Chasarms]

Nice bass. Mine was older than that I think. It was a little more conventional in design. Very much a P bass knock off.

Let us know how it turns out.