Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Ibanez basses, 1979-1987
- Thread starter bjelkeman
- Start date
I can't say with 100% certainty, but I can assume that they interchange.
I have swapped many a neck on Ibanez guitars of the same era, no issue, as long as they had the same scale length and number of frets. That insures that the heels/frets line up properly for intonation with the stock bridge location.
Since both basses have 24 frets, 34" scale and built in a factory by people that strive for consistency and efficiency, you should be good. Only way to really know is to attach the neck to the body and see if it sets up/intonates OK first. If so, proceed!
If not, you might have to move the bridge, which then causes a whole 'nother issue with the pickups and the harmonic node they are reading.
not so sure about that.
I do have an RB850 and an RB760 both from the same era. And while both have 24 frets and the same scale, the neck pockets are significantly different, not least considering the end of the fingerboard which is rounder with the RB850.
This is why I love TB. Sharing practical experiences.
I am a little surprised the 760 and 850 have different neck pockets, being that they are from the same era. Oh well.
This is also why I have more 80s era Peavey parts basses. As long as the necks have the same amount of frets, they interchange with any body associated with that neck style.
Hello!
Nice review!
The first bass I bought was a RS 800 in 1980. Wanted obviously to buy the MC 900, but the seller at the music store wouldn't sell it to me!!!! Remember the pics in the catalogue of John McVie playing the 8 string, Sting playing the fretless, and of course Phil Lynnot playing the RS.
I think I paid around 2.400,- Norwegian kroner for the bass way back then.
Solid instrument, but I don't quite like the design. Still own the bass as I never sell any instrument I've owned.
Thanks!
My first bass I bought was a MC800. Still got it. Also have an MC900, but it doesn’t get much playtime unfortunately.
I'll also pick up an old thread and reply.
I have both, and I could measure. But the RS 824 and 924 (which I assume you are talking about, not RB) are so massive and the RB 850 so svelte for a 24 fret 34" scale that I cannot imagine the swap working. Also the three piece maple necks with large headstock and large tuners on the RS824/924 is heavy -- it mates well to the ash body of the original, but would be very neck heavy on the Basswood 850, which is my main gigging bass.
An RB850 fretless would be a monster bass; those pickups are hot, articulate, and versatile.
Standalone
I'd like to pick your brain if I may.
I have a bead on a very nice Ibanez Roadstar that looks to be in very good condition. I notice you have one in your collection, so would you be so kind as to give me a quick appraisal on playability/sound etc? I owned an Ibanez MC824 Musician 40 years ago (and loved it) but it had single coils and sounded very jazz bass like. I'm particularly interested in the PJ configuration.
Many thanks
Last edited:
I had one and it was superb, one of the best 4s I ever owned, that I sold in a moment of stupidity. Beautiful neck, very stable and a good tonal range. Going from an old memory the PUs were Dimarzio-ish in tone.
Buy it.
I just found this page. I was doing some research on the Ibanez RB850. I purchased a new "white" one back in the early 80s and in no time it turned yellow. It was sanded down an repainted a couple of times and not it's looks like a :black relic". The headstock and the entire neck are now natural but I'm thinking about restoring it. It still plays as well as the the day I bought it. I would love to find another one to gig with. I've had pretty much everything and I still think this is the best bast I've ever owned and my personal favorite.
Superb Thread. Great job. Bravo to you for doing this.A friend of mine, Bullen, told me to write reviews of my Ibanez basses. I am neither a great bass player or someone who knows a lot about basses, but I have a few Ibanez basses from the period 1979-1987, so take it for what it is. Maybe someone finds it useful.
So I have a bunch of Ibanez basses, from 1979 to 1987, and as a reference I also an Ibanez acoustic bass from 2003 and a Soundgear SR700 from 2011 (as well as a three Warwicks, a Teisco and a noname Pbass from parts, and I am building a bass too). I will mostly write about the Ibanez basses in the order they were made. (The original thread of this is in Swedish, so if you are impatient you can ogle the pictures there.) I'll translate one or two pieces every few days or so.
View attachment 3146801
Some of my basses, from left - Ibanez: SR700 (-11) [top], RB850 (-87), RB960, RB760, MC924, RB850, RB650 (-84) (sold), MC900 (-79), MC800 (-79). AX50 (-85) [bottom]
Navigation links & Table of contents of what is to come.
- Ibanez Musician MC800 - 1979
- Ibanez Musician MC900 - 1979
- Ibanez Musician MC824 - 1980 (being restored)
- Ibanez Roadster RS800 - 1980
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB650 - 1985
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB850 -1984
- Ibanez Musician MC924 − 1985
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB960 − 1985
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB760 − 1985
- Ibanez Axstar AX50 − 1985
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB850 − 1987
- Ibanez Roadstar II Series RB 760 - 1985/2015 - Darkglass Signature edition
- Ibanez bass model names during the late 1970s and 1980s
A bit of history first
Nothing about Ibanez basses, but a bit of context. The first bas that I played, I was given by a friend to my mother. Igor Berukstis, he was a defector from Soviet Union, and he defected in Japan during a tour. This was in the seventies I think. He moved to Hawaii and then on to the mainland US where I have been told that he played with many of the big jazz legends. That he was allowed to travel was probably a sign that he was very good. His wife and kid was held "hostage" against defection, which he did anyway.
He came to Sweden during the late seventies where he lived for a number of years. I was twelve or thirteen, when he gave me my first bass. A Tiesco, built in Japan in 1966. Maybe he brought it all the way from Japan. It is a bit of an unusual bass, as I have never seen a picture of one exactly the same. I played on this for a year or so when I took lessons. But after joining my first rock band, my mother lent me money and I bought an Ibanez Musician MC800.
Strings: On all the Ibanez basses I have Earnie Ball Cobalt Hybrid Slinkys, 45-105, so you have a reference when I talk about sound of them.
Next: Ibanez Musician MC800
Maybe you wouldn’t mind writing a mini review?
Holy Rez Thread, Batman.......turns out, years later, I did a review .....
As of this afternoon I purchased a second white one. I located it online at my local Guitar Center. It was listed for $499. I played it and immediately wanted it. I got it for $300 and couldn’t be happier. I’d buy another one if I found one. Great basses!
Just seeing this. The 1981 RS924 I bought in London while studying there in college (and still have) became the core of my still growing Ibanez collection.
As another TB’er said, it’s very much a hot DiMarzio P pickup sound. I’d guess hotter — this bass has the best sounding hottest P pickup I’ve ever played.
The bass is wired with a three way switch instead of a blend. You may wish to change that for more versatility. I don’t find the soloed J tone to be useful for more than copping a Stevie Wonder Clav tone and jamming on “I Wish.”
My preamp worked until the early 2000’s. Can’t report on it much. Usual bass and treble boost, sounded fine. I prefer passive anyway and these hot pickups don’t need anything added. Active/passive switch so it’s no big deal.
This is a big bass. The P proportions of the neck — expanded to 24 frets — and the glorious paddle headstock — coupled to an ash body — makes for just a big old bass all around. This is not a bad thing. It balances well and is comfortable to play.
Here I am playing it outdoors on a cold Halloween! This was my first time out with my bandleader as just a duo, so please forgive any uncertainty in my playing!
But you don’t really need to be Superman to wield it. Its meant to be played like a Precision — it’s no svelte SR — but ot has never felt clunky or wrong in my hands.
The only player I’d recommend not getting this bass is maybe someone who lives only on the first few frets — as the length of the neck and its mounting to the body does put that position at a slightly longer reach than a normal P bass, and that extra reach might be uncomfortable if that’s the only place you hang out. As a novice, I noticed this more back in 1998 when I was still learning but the bass is entirely comfortable for me now. I am 6’3” for reference.
