Vintage Ibanez

[nilorius]

21 minutes ago, MuseMatt said:

Had this old Roadstar II and it was a great sounding P-bass; didn't really appreciate the P-sound when I had it so I sold it

 

Messy pic but it's all I have at the moment.

 

Ibanez yellow P queen.

[Grahambythesea]

I had a Roadstar fretless which looked much like the Blazers shown above. All maple lined neck. It was much lighter than my 76 P bass and sounded great. When I stripped the body, fancying a natural finish,  it turned out to be a sandwich construction the facings of which were ply .  It was probably the cheapest version of that series it it was a really good bass.

[merello]

Had this in the 80s...

https://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/sold_basses/1981ibanezblazer.htm

 

 

[crazycloud]

On 11/08/2023 at 02:22, Misdee said:

Much better than modern Ibanez.

Nope. I've owned quite a number of both at the same time and the older units are different, but in no way better.

[crazycloud]

On 11/08/2023 at 04:56, jezzaboy said:

It`s always amazed me that Ibanez don`t re do some of the older models

Because a lot of them were clones or near clones and the market is flooded with them. My Blazer was a superb bass for the time (bought new in 82) but there is little to differentiate it from a lot of others so offers no benefit to the SR/BTB/EHBs in the marketplace.

[crazycloud]

16 hours ago, MuseMatt said:

Had this old Roadstar II and it was a great sounding P-bass; didn't really appreciate the P-sound when I had it so I sold it

 

Messy pic but it's all I have at the moment.

 

I have one of those, good bass. As mentioned in another thread, I'm keeping it as my token trad 4 banger.

[BreadBin]

I still have the ex- @Bassassin early 70s P bass. It mostly just hangs on the wall looking purty. 

[Waddo Soqable]

I kind of get the feeling this wasn't a factory standard model.... 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

1 minute ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I kind of get the feeling this wasn't a factory standard model.... 

Disgusting. Snip your string ends, people!

[nilorius]

55 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I kind of get the feeling this wasn't a factory standard model.... 

At least someone really likes cats.

[SurroundedByManatees]

I think Ibanez always has made decent to great basses, during it's whole history.

 

The modern SR range basses, the higher models are just affordable boutique basses in any aspect imo... Especially when bought used they are unbeatable value.

[Waddo Soqable]

6 hours ago, nilorius said:

At least someone really likes cats.

Me too.. though I probably wouldn't have a bass or guitar shaped like one.. 

[nilorius]

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Me too.. though I probably wouldn't have a bass or guitar shaped like one.. 

Hmmm...i would pull a triger and thread on panthers, though!

[Jolltax]

On 11/08/2023 at 10:54, MuseMatt said:

Had this old Roadstar II and it was a great sounding P-bass; didn't really appreciate the P-sound when I had it so I sold it

 

Messy pic but it's all I have at the moment.

 

 

Snap! Looks just like my Roadstar II, I found it through an ad my wife saw in the newsagents here when I had just started learning a couple of years ago.  To me it has a surprisingly high output for a passive bass and plays nicely since I had it set up, I am fond of it and like the vintage look. Its well balanced and light, very comfy but I don't use it that much tbh. You don't see them come up for sale much in the UK.  

 

@Bassassin very kindly ID'ed it for me in the NBD thread I posted as a RB620NT, from August 1983, made by Fujigen Gakki

 

The lights not very good in here but here is a picture :

 

 

 

[jay bass]

I Had a Musician MC940 fretless in dark stain  (sting Bass) in the mid 80's

i part ex it for a korg M1 keyboard. around 1990

it was the best sounding bass i have ever played, been looking for another one as good for years.

[Linus27]

I had an Ibanez Musician in the 90's after seeing them played a lot in the 80's. I loved it but it was super heavy.

 

I would love a fretless Ibanez Musician in dark stain but they are super rare these days.

[NancyJohnson]

Back when all this was fields, my first non-copy bass was an Ibanez Roadster.  Here's a photo of me mid-flight from 1981/82:

 

 

About two years ago, I bought another one, it was just a sunburst body, neck, bridge and machines.  Stripped it back, refinished it, dropped in a Warman P/J set and just wired these through two volumes and a pickup selector switch.  Who needs tone controls, eh?

 

 

It plays nicely.  I might get a proper respray at some point (perhaps with a bit of glitter in it), no rush.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by NancyJohnson
Speling errer.

[Misdee]

5 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

Back when all this was fields, my first non-copy bass was an Ibanez Roadster.  Here's a photo of me mid-flight from 1981/82:

 

 

About two years ago, I bought another one, it was just a sunburst body, neck, bridge and machines.  Stripped it back, refinished it, dropped in a Warman P/J set and just wired these through two volumes and a pickup selector switch.  Who needs tone controls, eh?

 

 

It plays nicely.  I might get a proper respray at some point (perhaps with a bit of glitter in it), no rush.

 

 

I remember when those Roadster's came out. They sounded superb, with a very gutsy sound. I seem to  remember the neck profile being a shallow D profile similar to a vintage Stingray, very different to the Musician Bass neck shape.

 

As others have mentioned, those Ibanez pickups that were essentially DiMarzio copies were absolutely brutal! 

[NancyJohnson]

9 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I remember when those Roadster's came out. They sounded superb, with a very gutsy sound. I seem to  remember the neck profile being a shallow D profile similar to a vintage Stingray, very different to the Musician Bass neck shape.

 

As others have mentioned, those Ibanez pickups that were essentially DiMarzio copies were absolutely brutal! 

 

There was an active circuit too.  Ridiculous value for money at the time, I think I paid about £190 new.

 

Nothing but happy memories...I ran it through a Carlsboro Stingray combo at the time; I have some desk-audio from a biggish gig I did a few days after that top photo, just a microphone in front of the cab, and it sounds really nice.  Quite full and modern.  (Of course it's the polar opposite to how I tend to sound now.)

[Misdee]

On 10/08/2023 at 17:56, Doctor J said:

Japanese Ibanez have been consistently superb. The old basses are very different to what they offer now but in no way better... or worse, for that matter.

Am I right in thinking that very few of their basses are made in Japan nowadays, though? 

 

 Just like with Yamaha, I hanker for the days when they were all built in Japan. Even though at that time, people still looked down on instruments made in Japan as being inherently less desirable than British and American made ones. With the benefit of hindsight, that was completely wrong.

 

 

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

There was an active circuit too.  Ridiculous value for money at the time, I think I paid about £190 new.

 

Nothing but happy memories...I ran it through a Carlsboro Stingray combo at the time; I have some desk-audio from a biggish gig I did a few days after that top photo, just a microphone in front of the cab, and it sounds really nice.  Quite full and modern.  (Of course it's the polar opposite to how I tend to sound now.)

Carlsboro Stingray combo! Those were the days! I seem to remember the bright switch gave most basses an ear-splitting clang that nowadays would carry a health warning. The more modest Carlsboro Cobra combo was the height of my amp ambition during that era.😄

 

I'm sure the reason I am a chronic migraine suffer has a lot to do with over exposure to such amps in my formative years. I had an old seventies valve amp,  considered antiquated in those days. Nowadays I could probably sell it for silly money to a hipster to play his late 1960s Tesco short scale bass strung with tape wound strings through.

 

The modern sound was what it was all about in those days. Out with the old and in with the new. Folks were ditching their Fenders to get Aria and Ibanez ect. Crazy as that may sound today when everything is retro. I remember my bass teacher in those days who was a local pro player had a 1962 P bass but he had to buy an Aria SB 1000 he didn't really want because his session work for TV ect demanded it. (He was wise enough to keep the P bass, thankfully)

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Misdee

[Misdee]

1 minute ago, Misdee said:

😄

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Misdee

[Doctor J]

39 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Am I right in thinking that very few of their basses are made in Japan nowadays, though? 

 

No.

 

Like any large scale manufacturer they have diversified production locations to accommodate different budgets. There are plenty of Japanese models still, their high-end offerings like Prestige and J-Custom and are, generally, exceptionally well conceived and designed instruments.

[Misdee]

20 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

No.

 

Like any large scale manufacturer they have diversified production locations to accommodate different budgets. There are plenty of Japanese models still, their high-end offerings like Prestige and J-Custom and are, generally, exceptionally well conceived and designed instruments.

They probably play better than the old Ibanez basses, but to me they lack the personality of the vintage basses. Those Ibanez basses you refer to look and sound like generic 1990s-era modern basses with little to recommend them. Others may have a different sensibility and that is okay with me. I'm not trying to rubbish modern Ibanez.  It's just that everything was better back in the old days, including modernity.

[Wombat]

Here is my MC 924. I was 21 in the early 80’s and I had a choice between this and a British alternative as a pressy. Sometimes I regret not choosing the Wal…

As others have said it’s weighty! This one works passive & active but it seems to drain the battery whether the switch is on or off. Gets taken to gigs as the spare but have recorded with it recently.

Still sounds great….