NBD 1985 Ibanez Roadstar 2 RB650

[pjm]

Really enjoying this bass.
Features, Basswood body, Dimarzio type pickups, maple neck, 500k pots, Gotoh bridge. Great solid workhorse axe.
Love the feel of the neck - best P bass neck I've played, put on some TI flats and it just hits you in the guts.
I set the tone 95% down otherwise it's just too bright.

[slinkp]

Nice!!! Reminds me of my ancient and much-modified Blazer (originally P-pickup only) that I've had since 1982!

Ibanez made some great instruments back then.

I remember a guitar teacher I met then who used to build his own strats out of parts. He bought a Blazer because he said it was better than anything he'd built.

[gearHed289]

I've had a Roadstar II guitar since 1983. My first and only electric guitar. Basically a Strat knockoff with 3 single coils and a vintage style trem. It's been great all these years! I put a Duncan JB Jr. at the bridge and a graphite nut on it. Cool bass you've got there.

[Pilgrim]

I really like the look of that.  Without undue prejudice, I admit that in general I don't like the "look" of most Ibbys other than their hollows and semi-hollows, but I can make an exception for that one.

[chromium]

Nice bass!  I'm fond of the Japanese builds from that era, and I always liked the feel/sound of the Blazers and Roadstars.

I've had a Roadstar II guitar since 1983. My first and only electric guitar. Basically a Strat knockoff with 3 single coils and a vintage style trem. It's been great all these years! I put a Duncan JB Jr. at the bridge and a graphite nut on it. Cool bass you've got there.

I have a similar beast- a Greco-Roland G-505... roughly a Blazer (I suspect) with three single coils and the synth pickup/controls added.  Great guitar, love the neck.  Mine was modded with a Kahler and locking nut - kind of a love/hate thing.  It's nice to have a trem on something, but it's also a PITA at times (tuning, string changes).  I'm more of a hardtail guy overall.

I sold my Fender Strat and kept that one, however, if that says anything...

[gearHed289]

I know that Roland, yeah. Same factory. I like the neck on mine too. Very old school, borderline "chunky". I've always liked trems, but locking ones can be a major pain. With the graphite nut and 5 springs in the back, I do pretty good tuning-wise if I don't go all Uli Roth on it. 

[ilan]

There's one exactly like yours for sale at Bass Northwest for $399... if you want a backup 

[lowend1]

Had a black/rosewood P-only (RB630?) version for a few years back in the 80s. Nice bass.

[Nocturnal]

Nice bass you have there!! A local pawn shop had a P-only in sunburst for $160 recently. Claimed it was in great condition but I never checked it out. It floated on Craigslist for over a month before someone finally bought it. If I had needed another P-type bass I would have snagged it but I have that covered already.

[SKATE RAT]

i have a red one without the jazz pup. great bass and i love love the heart shaped tuners

[dadagoboi]

I have a pair of '84 RB650s.  Red with a defretted neck and a white one w/frets.  Paid $125 for the red, around $300 for the white.  Great basses, just a tad too heavy for my taste.  That Bass NW one with original case is tempting.

[slinkp]

I have a pair of '84 RB650s.  Red with a defretted neck and a white one w/frets.  Paid $125 for the red, around $300 for the white.  Great basses, just a tad too heavy for my taste.  That Bass NW one with original case is tempting.

Mine sure is. They vary quite a bit in weight. My blazer, bought new in 1982 when I was twelve, is quite heavy second only to my Gibson LPB1.  I distinctly remember that a month or two after I bought it the store had the same model in a different finish (natural) and it was extremely light.  I never owned a roadstar but the ones I've tried over the years have been varied too.

[dadagoboi]

Here are mine, white one is an '84, red an '85.  I switched the necks a while ago, going to switch them back after I clean three years of swamp life (as in mildew and bug crud) off them.  They are lighter than I remember and play and sound great.  Bridges could definitely do with an upgrade.

[slinkp]

I want that white one!

Bridge upgrade: That's the one real difference I noticed between the Blazer and the RSII - the Blazer had a heavier brass bridge.  I like it.

That and slightly different body shape ... the body horns come to more of a point on the inner edge of the RSII, the Blazer is more rounded.
Other than that I've always lumped them together as pretty much the same bass.

[ilan]

This birdseye beauty just sold on eBay for $600. RB924 Roadstar II.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-VINTAGE-1983-IBANEZ-ROADSTAR-II-BASS-RB924-RB924CS-BIRDSEYE-MAPLE-TOP-/191313358638