Jigster Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I get confused over Roadster and Roadstars and the differences therein. Does anyone have any info/opinions on this Roadster below - I think it's an RB850, but most pics I found of the 850 don't have the two smaller extra switches directly below the bridge, but this one does [url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/product_details.cfm?ID=490&type=Bass%20Guitar"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/product_deta...e=Bass%20Guitar[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 First of all, anecdotally the difference between Roadsters & Roadstar IIs is just a typo - it was originally meant to be Roadster II, but the mistake stuck. All it really is was an update to the Roadster range, which had been around since the late 70s - they were never available at the same time. Anyway this is a Roadstar II RB850, but the switches are a bit confusing, and it's a pity the Gallery site doesn't tell us the year of manufacture, which is part of the serial number. The catalogues I've found show slight variations between the '84 & '85 models (smaller fretboard dots on the later ones) but none of them have switches. Apparently they had coil splits activated by push/pull pots, so it's possible the pots have been replaced with standard ones & the switches were added to retain that functionality. However the Roadstar II range first showed up in '83. The RB850 isn't in the '83 catalogues, but the basses that are shown have switches for coil splitting etc. So perhaps this one's an earlier iteration that predates the push-pots. But if it is, why does it have the later, small fretboard dots? No straight answers then, but these are damn fine basses, & the price is surprisingly not that much more than you'd expect to see on an Ebay listing. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigster Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 hey jon, thanks for the concise feedback - any idea on body wood? Were some of these basswood? Thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 It says basswood in the specs, should've given you the links before: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=102&now=2"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expans...d=102&now=2[/url] [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=119&now=12"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expans...=119&now=12[/url] J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I picked up a Roadstar II RB950 a few weeks ago - very similar apart from having a bound birdseye-maple top. Awesome basses and the pickups/switching mean the range of tones available is huge. Buy with confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I like the mini-switches too. Mine has the original push/push pots and it's tricky to tell which mode your in. Thinking of adding some three position switches so each pickup can be single-coil/parallel/series and I can tell at a glance what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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