Are Ibanez basses collectable?

[BBQisgood]

@BBQisgood I'd like to see your collection.

Well I'm afraid it ain't too much to look at lol. I have only four electrics at this time and two are Ibanez. One modulus 6 and a beat up Squier Jazz.

I had a late 90s top of the line Ibby 6 (they really didn't get nicer back then) and it was stolen, or I guess I'd have three Ibanez basses of varying configuration.

OP, I was just looking for more older Ibanez basses to collect a couple of days ago. I guess, now that I think of it, I may turn into a collector lol.

 

[petrus61]

Anything is collectable.

Getting a positive return on your collection is a different story.

Collecting isn't always about investing!

 

[JustForSport]

but they will never, ever, be worth as much as a US made Fender of the same year, no matter how big the difference in quality.

Well, they're probably worth more, as the pickups don't have to be swapped out, the truss rod nut hasn't bottomed out long ago, needing washers or a new neck,
the finish is durable- don't have to worry about a stand or case melting it....

Just 'cause someone will pay more for something on Ebay (or somewhere) than others doesn't mean it's worth any more.

 

[garp]

I've collected four of 'em. So yeah, they're collectable. Could I resell any of them for more than my acquisition costs? Probably not. But then again, that's not why I bought them.

 

[123321]

View attachment 833293

just found this picture on the internet.

That's TOO MUCH!! Love it!! I believe Jaco owned over a hundred basses IIRC from reading a mag... Not surprising he had an Ibanez in the bunch! I don't recall ever having seen a fretless Blazer myself though- so rare!!

 

[123321]

This one is because there's only a tiny handfull of them in existance and they weren't sold in stores.

Oh Man!! No one has chimed in but that bass has the ever elusive Modulus made neck!! Rarest!! I owned a NOS Ibanez guitar neck that I never used... Got it off of "fee"bay years ago...

 

[PortlandBass77]

Ibanez has been making quality instruments since the late 70's, models like the original Black Eagle and Musicians, and other higher end Japanese ones will likely increase in value if that is what you are going for.

 

[Day_Bassah]

You could always pick up one of their weirder models just for having it's sake. I dunno if they ever made a bass like their Xyphos guitar or how easy it is to find one of the Glaives, but they look cool lol

 

[zontar]

Anything is collectable.

Getting a positive return on your collection is a different story.

This^

I don't collect basses or guitars--I buy ones I want to play--and I am not concerned with collectibility or re-sale value.

Let my heirs deal with that if they wish.
(Although I have written some instructions/information so they know what I have.)

 

[Doctor J]

Well, they're probably worth more, as the pickups don't have to be swapped out, the truss rod nut hasn't bottomed out long ago, needing washers or a new neck,
the finish is durable- don't have to worry about a stand or case melting it....

Just 'cause someone will pay more for something on Ebay (or somewhere) than others doesn't mean it's worth any more.

It's worth whatever someone will pay for it, but I think otherwise we're making the same point.

 

[Planespotter]

Short answer: yes ibanez basses are collectible. The lawsuit era copies are pretty collectible, and the Musician, early road stars and roadsters are proving to be classics in their own right. *However* they are not and likely will never be worth as much money as the fenders, ricks, and gibsons from the same era. In the collector arena headstock decal trumps build quality, sorry to say.

 

[JustForSport]

It's worth whatever someone will pay for it, but I think otherwise we're making the same point.

Yeah, it's a matter of perceived values.

 

[blastbass]

The old roadstar series, maybe?

 

[drumsnbass]

I'd think of Ibanez collectibles this way -- for the cost of one good used boutique bass you can collect an easy 5-10 used Ibanez basses.

Why you'd want them beats me...

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Because they work drumsnbass, because they work.

 

[Abner]

I recently picked up a '83 Roadstar II RB600BS - and it is a fantastic instrument in every way. If there were more medium scale or short scale available from the pre-hair metal era of Ibanez, i'd be collecting them for sure.

Any ibanez freaks out there know of others, besides the 8-string Musician and Artist models?

Go back one more year, last year of the Roadsters — RS721, as seen in this 1982 catalog:

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Came in Transparent Red or Transparent Blue.
-Alex

 

[garmenteros]

Own what you would use and like. I own 7 lawsuit era ibanez basses which to me is their greatest period. Theres no way to know down the line which basses will be colectable and appreciate in value.

 

[Michael B]

I'll report back in a couple of decades. I regretted selling a carbon fiber Ibanez a bunch of years ago. Now that I have a new Ibanez I don't miss the old one at all. That's the thing, unlike classic styled instruments these keep improving rather the selling the same thing in a new/old color. The day I see a new Ibanez in a relic style, I'll know there is a problem.

 

[French22]

Don't worry about wether they are collectible or not. Who cares.

The good point is that used Ibanez usually sell at indecent price: last year, I got a 10 years old Prestige SR for the price of a new Squier VM and, a couple of weeks ago, I paid for mint 2015 SR700 less than 50% of its shop value. Go figure!

So for me, yes they are collectible as playing instruments but don't maintain their value over time ans can't be considered as a possible saving plan.

 

[kevmc28]

I have an Ibanez SR-885 that I wish sounded like a Fender 5 string jazz bass. It sounds just ok. But its playability trumps the wide string spacing of Fender 5 string basses. So I live with it. I think it needs a better preamp. The guy I bought it from for $250 put one of the Seymour Duncan ones in that doesn't have a midrange knob. Anyway, I feel that way about their guitars in general, too: great playability, average sound.