Greggo

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1369738673' post='2092081'] Not true there either, bestest tone monsters out there have telephone wire strings and high action (SRV for one) I tried straightening and lowering out my old Strat, it sounded crap. The SG likes it though. Low action is pointless for anyone who likes to hit the strings properly rather than tickle them like a girl [/quote] Thats interesting that the SG liked it but Strat didnt - arent SG's shorter scale?

I wonder if its a hangover from the guitar world where it gets drummed into you from magazine/forums that you need a straight as an arrow neck and the lowest possible. Having said that, I never bothered adjusting necks on any of the 6 strings I owned. I dont shred,so low action not essential (but then I do play with 9 guage strings ) On bass Im torn between enjoying the ease of a low action but preferring the tone of slightly higher action. Getting the balance right is certainly a compromise as someone has said. I use 45 - 130 (on a 5 banger), I sometimes wonder if I shoud go down a guage.

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1369712907' post='2091844'] It's not just the string excursion. It's the mechanical impedance of the neck. I have a Gibson J45 which I really enjoy. When I first got it, I was very careful to set it up properly. As I tightened the truss rod to a point of proper relief, it felt really, really good, and it appeared that it could go just a little bit straighter to make the action even better. But that last 1/4 turn of the truss rod damped down the vibration of the entire instrument too much, and the entire instrument lost its resonance. I backed the truss rod back off that 1/4 turn, and all the tone and resonance came back. I left it there, even though the action could, in an abstract sense, be even lower. [/quote] Its interesting isn't it how little adjustments can affect the whole instrument. I've backed off the truss rod on both basses now and they sound better, even though as you say, the action could be lower.

Does it have a good B-string?

Cheers John. It's not quite a credit card width at the moment so didn't know whether would be best to loosen it a tad more. I'll see if it's about a business card width. Notes ring out better anyway now which is good

As a rule of thumb is credit card thickness about right for relief at 8th fret when holding down 1st fret and last fret?

Its probably tweaking the relief thats done it. I lowered relief ona new bass I acquired and it went from sounding nice and lively to dull with just one quarter turn of the neck. Reverted it back and it sounds better again. I've learned thanks to the people on good ship BassChat that a neck too straight can rob a bass of its tone if strings dont have enough room to move!

Thanks! That principle also explains why another bass of mine sounds a bit "tense" there is not enough relief in neck. Will get my Allen key on that one and see how it sounds.

I straightened neck of new bass to get it as straight as possible but after doing so and making adjustments to bridge it didn't sound as good. Action was low without buzz but strings seemed tighter and sounded dull (and noticeably quieter acoustically) compared to when there was a bit of bow. Can a neck too straight have this affect? I have now reverted it and it sounds better again.

There needs to be a group set up for rehoming unloved basses, kind of like the RSPCA for musical instruments.

Yes a bit of TLC and it sings again. Poor little thing was just left to rot in the corner of rehersal room. Apparantly someone had dumped it years and years ago and everyone else had vultured its strings, electrics knobs and switches leaving it pretty bare bone. Even one of the tuning pegs has been bent at 45 degrees!Such a nice bass to play too, really light and neck is really fast as you've said before. For me its nice to have a 4 string after owning 5 strings for years!

http://db.tt/GgUxAQvc Now added electronics - its wired up like an active jazz so not the same as original which had blend - volume and tone, but gets it working. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this model may have originally had coil tap push pull pots. I know some models in this range did. Notice the bridge is a bit coroded and discoloured! I'm not that fussed though, still adjusts fine and adds to the character! Headstock shot http://db.tt/t98ujjEt.

Some pics Condition acquired in http://db.tt/B4rv5Cmd After a quick clean up and restring http://db.tt/PZGPlula Will get more up soon of general condition (it is fair condition for 26 year old bass)

I got this Ibanez RB850 all wired up and working, has a pretty decent sound , doesnt really sound like anything in particular. Neck pickup is pretty deep and mellow and bridge pickup growly and middy. Not bad sound for a cheap 26 year old bass!

[quote name='clauster' timestamp='1368810224' post='2081888'] One of them (an RB950) is sat in my lap as I type . [/quote] Nice! What year is that one?

Its makes you think doesn't it, where any of these surviving old old models are currently living - i reckon are loads that are probably sat in someones loft, bedroom or basement gathering dust, which is a shame.

Cheers! - its interesting looking at these old catalogues. Old guitars dont seem to age the way old cars do

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1368721150' post='2080721'] I don't think so but I'd be interested to see them if they do exist - I love early Yamahas. [/quote] I dated my Yamaha rbx5 bass other day that I got years ago and have never known much about it - turns out from serial it was made 1988. I'm inadvertently collecting 80's basses - this one is 86!

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1368615677' post='2079157'] I have never owned that particular model, the RB850 (I think) but I have owned a couple of these Roadstar basses and they are really nice to play with IMHO the best necks. There is an online catalogue archive for Ibanez guitars and basses here: [url="http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/"]http://s93105080.onl...banez-Catalogs/[/url] From what I can tell the RB850 was introduced in 1985 and from what I've read the J6 pickups are very well regarded. [/quote] Are there any similiar back catlogue archive available for 80's Yamahas at all?

Thats great thanks for that! The exact model is the RB850PR according to this. [url="http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/catalog/1986/19.jpg"]http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/catalog/1986/19.jpg[/url] I'll put in a wiring harness that I got from Kiogon thats in another bass into this bass to get it working, although the pots AFAIK I've got are 250k, is that too low for active? The blend pot (only surving bit of electronic) seems to have 1000k pot on it, would all the pots need to be that as well?

I've acquired a semi-gutted Ibanez Roadstar II bass , similiar to the one in this picture :- [url="http://images.canadianlisted.com/nlarge/1986-ibanez-roadstar-bass-240-surrey_8178133.jpg"]http://images.canadi...rey_8178133.jpg[/url] Does anyone have any experience of them? All the pots which exception of what seems like a blend pot have been removed and it has no strings but other than that seems easy enough to get working again. I assume its active because it has a battery comaprtment. The only info I can get is that were made in the 80's but other that little info on the way they play, what they sound like, etc. Cheers

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1368368301' post='2076143'] This was the socket set I bought for my RBX 550 bass, Homebase sell it for a tenner and it's decent quality. [url="http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=525857"]http://www.homebase....rtNumber=525857[/url] [/quote] Nice one for that! I work near a homebase so will see if they stock that in.

I'm pretty sure most art councils let you rent them if they have them available. I know someone that rents an upright bass for £12 a year...

Vintage stuff is really good value and well made. I bought a Vintage Musicman stingray copy and although as stock the tone is a bit meh (this is due to preamp) the playability of it is up there with basses 3x as much, especially with a setup. I just swapped the rubbish pre-amp it came with for a stingray 2 band clone from probass.co.uk for a mere £40 and the bass really sings now. The actual stock pickup is really good. Im really gassing for a Vintage v4 (p bass copy) and a Vintage v52 (telecaster copy)