Ashurbanipal
Well-known member
As an antidote to all these NGD threads which people post then don't put up pics for days...
What do you do when an 80s MIJ Ibanez turns up on evil bay for a suspiciously low price? You hit 'buy it now'. I thought, heck if it sucks I won't cry about it, and could maybe part it out to make up for the loss, and it's xmas
. I paid $150 for this thing :eyecrazy:. Stock except for the strap buttons and missing trem arm.
So, it's an '85 RS525 in none more black. I reckon it should've had an ebony board without inlays to complete look but what the hell. Typical Ibanez recipe: basswood body, rosewood/maple neck. IBZ pickups splitable via their respective push-push volume controls. Pro Rock'r bridge (more on that below). First thoughts: it's freakin' hard photographing black guitars! Need to do it outside, I guess.
The axe is in pretty good shape - usual dings and play wear but it's clear it hasn't been completely trashed around; more or less the same as my Proline. Frets appear to have been dressed at some point. The neck is C shaped, kinda Fendery. I thought getting up to the 24th fret would be tricky because of the square heel but it isn't, further helped by the wider cutaway.
Tone: pretty tight and plenty of attack, which makes me think this is going to be a good rhythm guitar. I played some old Metallica as a test and it did quite well. The IBZ pickups are ok in humbucking mode; split tones are pretty meh but it doesn't really matter at this point.
Now, about that bridge. Well, it's Ibanez's attempt to avoid Floyd Rose licensing fees. Lucky they smartened up and decided to pay, giving us the now exalted Edge/Lo Pro. The Pro Rock'r is not really double locking - the strings are secured at the bridge just to prevent them from popping out, though, as you can see, someone obviously felt this wasn't enough and cranked those screws right down :smack:. Need to get some new ones.
Anatomy of the saddle.
Overall, the bridge is in very good shape and has no missing components. I'm treating this as a fixed bridge guitar, so I whacked in five springs and screwed the bridge against the body - I reckon this helps the tightness and attack to the tone. Even floating with two springs it's a beast, though 9s and softer springs could tame it a bit (it's got 10s on it).
The major downside of this bridge is that no Floyd type trem can be retrofitted without major surgery because of the wide post spacing. Yet, I've seen someone put a Kahler on one with minimal fuss.
The top lock. Reminds you of a Kahler, don't it?
I thought I'd leave this unlocked because I'm not using the whammy but the result was loss of tuning when bending strings - friction at the nut and top lock; when locked down everything's hunky dory. Potential PITA: top lock needs to be removed to adjust truss rod! Solution: cut down allen key so it fits the gap; gonna do this tomorrow.
Things to do: dial in action; Kinman mod for volume controls; new jack; new string lock screws.
Ready to make lovely music together :headbang: (apologies for the crap pic, it's night here and flash makes things look worse). The Proline still kicks major ar$e - versatile, wide dynamic range, fat lead sound. The Roadstar is leaner and more punchy; a bit more of a one trick pony (probably because of the pups) but I'm getting a good feeling playing it nevertheless :approve:.
What do you do when an 80s MIJ Ibanez turns up on evil bay for a suspiciously low price? You hit 'buy it now'. I thought, heck if it sucks I won't cry about it, and could maybe part it out to make up for the loss, and it's xmas
. I paid $150 for this thing :eyecrazy:. Stock except for the strap buttons and missing trem arm.
So, it's an '85 RS525 in none more black. I reckon it should've had an ebony board without inlays to complete look but what the hell. Typical Ibanez recipe: basswood body, rosewood/maple neck. IBZ pickups splitable via their respective push-push volume controls. Pro Rock'r bridge (more on that below). First thoughts: it's freakin' hard photographing black guitars! Need to do it outside, I guess.
The axe is in pretty good shape - usual dings and play wear but it's clear it hasn't been completely trashed around; more or less the same as my Proline. Frets appear to have been dressed at some point. The neck is C shaped, kinda Fendery. I thought getting up to the 24th fret would be tricky because of the square heel but it isn't, further helped by the wider cutaway.
Tone: pretty tight and plenty of attack, which makes me think this is going to be a good rhythm guitar. I played some old Metallica as a test and it did quite well. The IBZ pickups are ok in humbucking mode; split tones are pretty meh but it doesn't really matter at this point.
Now, about that bridge. Well, it's Ibanez's attempt to avoid Floyd Rose licensing fees. Lucky they smartened up and decided to pay, giving us the now exalted Edge/Lo Pro. The Pro Rock'r is not really double locking - the strings are secured at the bridge just to prevent them from popping out, though, as you can see, someone obviously felt this wasn't enough and cranked those screws right down :smack:. Need to get some new ones.
Anatomy of the saddle.
Overall, the bridge is in very good shape and has no missing components. I'm treating this as a fixed bridge guitar, so I whacked in five springs and screwed the bridge against the body - I reckon this helps the tightness and attack to the tone. Even floating with two springs it's a beast, though 9s and softer springs could tame it a bit (it's got 10s on it).
The major downside of this bridge is that no Floyd type trem can be retrofitted without major surgery because of the wide post spacing. Yet, I've seen someone put a Kahler on one with minimal fuss.
The top lock. Reminds you of a Kahler, don't it?
I thought I'd leave this unlocked because I'm not using the whammy but the result was loss of tuning when bending strings - friction at the nut and top lock; when locked down everything's hunky dory. Potential PITA: top lock needs to be removed to adjust truss rod! Solution: cut down allen key so it fits the gap; gonna do this tomorrow.
Things to do: dial in action; Kinman mod for volume controls; new jack; new string lock screws.
Ready to make lovely music together :headbang: (apologies for the crap pic, it's night here and flash makes things look worse). The Proline still kicks major ar$e - versatile, wide dynamic range, fat lead sound. The Roadstar is leaner and more punchy; a bit more of a one trick pony (probably because of the pups) but I'm getting a good feeling playing it nevertheless :approve:.
. 
. Come to think of it, a Roadstar 7 would be pretty awesome.
