NBD: Ibanez Roadster RS-924

[NancyJohnson]

Chrome knobs.  Generic chrome truss rod cover.

 

[LukeFRC]

On 22/01/2022 at 22:54, NancyJohnson said:

Chrome knobs.  Generic chrome truss rod cover.

 

Looking good - I've got issues with needing a switching jack (and it still not working) with mine but I'll fix it. It's beginning to look the part (and can set up nicely)

 

[LukeFRC]

On 22/01/2022 at 22:54, NancyJohnson said:

Chrome knobs.  Generic chrome truss rod cover.

 

For a moment I thought this was yours… https://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Ibanez_Musician_1982.html?fbclid=IwAR1JcYqyzeC9s9XkuAjotRjETZzXmyODZ6LfSjH6oVIlZD_ubEy0-h6Q_dY

[NancyJohnson]

3 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

For a moment I thought this was yours… https://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Ibanez_Musician_1982.html?fbclid=IwAR1JcYqyzeC9s9XkuAjotRjETZzXmyODZ6LfSjH6oVIlZD_ubEy0-h6Q_dY

I saw that and just heard cash registers ringing!  There's money in them thar hills!

 

I'm not certain (to quote Old Horse Murphy), whether this is a keeper.  I'm going to take it up to the studio mid-month and that'll be the deciding factor.  I wish the paint job had come out a little better, but it does look mice.  I did feel a little let down with the Crimson lacquer, but much like many post-modernist paintings, it looks better from a distance.

[LukeFRC]

I've not fixed the preamp on mine but I've been picking it up more and more to play passively. It plays really nicely

[NancyJohnson]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

I've not fixed the preamp on mine but I've been picking it up more and more to play passively. It plays really nicely

 

I really like Josi's pickups...they're like £20 a pop or something.  I've got a pair of his P94s in another guitar and used some of his zebra humbuckers in something else.  I've just wired the PJ units straight into the selector switch and then into the volume control.  It honestly doesn't need anything else.  It's lovely and bright sounding.  Honestly can't see why there's a market for all these boutique pickups.

[Bassassin]

£600 for a pretty banged-up RS824 does make me curious about what I'd get for my near-pristine & fully original 924. Up until the recent BC chatter about these prompted me to dig it out, it had sat in its case untouched since we moved house, back in 2014. If it had stayed there, I might be considering flipping it - but it's been quite eye-opening to remember what a great bass this is. Tried recording it on a new composition where my go-to DiMarzio-equipped J just wasn't working, and remembered exactly why I used this bass to record an album back in 2010. Don't think it's going anywhere now!

 

It does have the best passive P/J tone of any bass I've played, despite having no way of blending the pickups. As a result of a bit of pickup talk about these with @LukeFRC it turns out the J units on these are quite ridiculously hot - on mine the J measures 12.51k, against a measly 9.76k from the P. Probably explains why I've never got a tone I'm happy with from my other old MIJ P/J, a Washburn SB-40.

 

 

[LukeFRC]

On 09/02/2022 at 15:08, LukeFRC said:

Looking good - I've got issues with needing a switching jack (and it still not working) with mine but I'll fix it. It's beginning to look the part (and can set up nicely)

 

So a part from Spain, and a couple of hours undoing what some idiot had done in the cavity and it works! 
 

so because other people will find this thread on google searches… 

the wiring diagram can be found here 

 

and the jack you need is a stereo jack with DPDT switching in it. 
 

so I’ve got it back to stock (ish) - the only difference is non original strap buttons (I think), newer knobs, my eq knobs are 4-5mm too small diameter and a dimarzio model p and J vs the ibanez pickups -bad thing is non original, good thing is humbucking.

 

so yeah. It works, need to give it a good bit of playing time in active… I’m not sure what I think about it-  oddly the machine heads are some of the best I’ve ever used, not too heavy and generally really high quality construction.