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NBD. Ibanez Ripper!
- Thread starter TerenceE
- Start date
I mailed away for a Ibanez catalog after seeing a mention of the Rocket Roll guitar in a magazine. They had all the usual J and P flavors, Gibson EB-wannabes, Gibson LP bass copies
, Gibson 6/4 doublenecks, Rickenfakers...pretty wild. The 1975_catalog shows the Ripper copy. You have to see the catalog pics to believe it...they were copying every guitar and bass known to man.
I mailed away for a Ibanez catalog after seeing a mention of the Rocket Roll guitar in a magazine. They had all the usual J and P flavors, Gibson EB-wannabes, Gibson LP bass copies
that’s super cool man! I’m having trouble even seeing any of these anywhere. No idea what it’s worth. Hard to find specs. Eyeballing a 70s Ibanez eb copy now too lol..
I’d guess it weighs somewhere between an elephant and a Sherman tank
Just picked one of these up today, pre-serial so I am guessing a 74.
First impressions, besides it being heavier than anything I have owned before (But not by much) is that it's surprisingly easy to play for a big neck, punches very hard and sounds better than expected.
Might need some tinkerin to get the most out of it, but the pickups are far better voiced than you'd expect as they're large single coils and not mudbuckers, so it has a big dirty sound with plenty of treble and not too middy or muddy.
Plus it looks so f'n cool!
First impressions, besides it being heavier than anything I have owned before (But not by much) is that it's surprisingly easy to play for a big neck, punches very hard and sounds better than expected.
Might need some tinkerin to get the most out of it, but the pickups are far better voiced than you'd expect as they're large single coils and not mudbuckers, so it has a big dirty sound with plenty of treble and not too middy or muddy.
Plus it looks so f'n cool!
Hey I've had mine a year now!
Eventually I figured the wiring harness was dying, being 47 years old, I am not shocked.
Live I found the A string had less power, the 4 way selector also only had three setting working, only one of them could be called 'working properly'.
I agonised over that for a while because finding tech info on these models is impossible, I did try a set of mid 80's Lo-B ibanez pickups, but I could fit the plate around them so they last an hour, wasn't gonna wreck it.
I recently required to a basic Vol/Vol/Tone setup, which thankfully worked, it sounds more consistent and reliable, but still has its weaknesses. Eventually I plan to replace the pickups with something more modern. Maybe a double P setup, or the guts from a G&L L2000, if I have to make a new scratchplate then so be it. But it works for now. Goes alright in a mix, the mids are reeeeal warm now, maybe a little less low end punch than I'd like, the top end it's my preferred either, but that's my taste.
That reminds me, Terence, yours has had a similar mod a while back cos that scratchplate and control layout ain't original.
Pic is mine today after rewiring.
Eventually I figured the wiring harness was dying, being 47 years old, I am not shocked.
Live I found the A string had less power, the 4 way selector also only had three setting working, only one of them could be called 'working properly'.
I agonised over that for a while because finding tech info on these models is impossible, I did try a set of mid 80's Lo-B ibanez pickups, but I could fit the plate around them so they last an hour, wasn't gonna wreck it.
I recently required to a basic Vol/Vol/Tone setup, which thankfully worked, it sounds more consistent and reliable, but still has its weaknesses. Eventually I plan to replace the pickups with something more modern. Maybe a double P setup, or the guts from a G&L L2000, if I have to make a new scratchplate then so be it. But it works for now. Goes alright in a mix, the mids are reeeeal warm now, maybe a little less low end punch than I'd like, the top end it's my preferred either, but that's my taste.
That reminds me, Terence, yours has had a similar mod a while back cos that scratchplate and control layout ain't original.
Pic is mine today after rewiring.
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