Ibanez RS335 (1983)

[lethargytartare]

So this thing is almost the guitar equivalent of a money pit...but I think I'm going to get out ok...

So I got the guitar off craigslist for 80 bucks, assuming it would be beat to he77...and it was. What I didn't know was that two of the beaten aspects were a bit subtle, but very brutal.

So here it is as when I got it:
www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2110064.JPG
www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2110065.JPG

The first noticeable problem was the "after-market" trem that had been installed. It was bad, and I knew it, but I figured I could fix 'er up:

www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2110066.JPG

But what cracks me up is I can't figure out where that bridge came from -- it looks almost homemade...anyway, when I opened it up and found that the carriage bolts went clear through into the trem spring cavity, I was a little bummed. From a playing standpoint, believe it or not, it was still useable. But those bolts were just jammed through the body (not literally) and chewed up the wood pretty good.

www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2120079.JPG

But the kicker: I didn't look at pics of existing models first, and so I didn't realize that the truss rod nut was missing (shorn off, actually):

www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2120071.JPG

on these models, it's a bullet that projects outward, so it would have been easy to see if I'd done my homework...ah well. At least the neck is nice and old and straight, so it's very playable.

So at this point I had a modestly playable guitar, but what kept me going with it was the electronics -- I really think the pickups sound quite good, and the feel of the neck is really quite nice, so I liked it enough to want to see it restored.

The frets were awful, but luckily I'd just enrolled in a fretwork class, and am in the process of refretting it. But then last night I found a maple/maple roadstar neck on eBay for 35 bucks, so I snagged that...I'll still refret the old one, but I dig maple, and I like the idea of having a working truss rod. So at this point, it's a craigslist body and an eBay neck.

But the bridge is where things get interesting. You can see original production pics of the guitar and the key parts in here:

www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/
(note, ignore the RG -- it's an RS)

So I needed to get an original bridge, but they go for SO much pretty much most of the time...and I couldn't justify spending more on the bridge than I did on the whole guitar. So I hunted around on eBay and the Ibanez Collectors forums. First I found a guy who had the base and block for a Powerocker bridge -- he was in North Carolina. Rock! Next, on eBay, I found a guy in London who had just a set of saddles, screws and locks (a unique kind that fits in the Powerocker). ROCK! So then it was down to finding posts -- luckily, the guitar still had the original threaded inserts in tact:

www.harrisonfamily.org/bass/rg335/P2110066.JPG (the set of holes further out from the bridge in this pic)

That ended up being tricky. I found a guy who had a pair, and we were working out a price, but then he got another interested party and then decided to get us into a bidding war. That bugs me, so I moved on and let the other guy have them (without helping to inflate the price). I had offered him 11 plus shipping...which proved to be an interesting number...so a few weeks went by, and all of a sudden I see on eBay a set of posts and springs. Sweet! I won the auction (nobody else bid, lol...just not a lot of ibanez nerds like me looking for powerocker parts, I guess...), and after shipping the total was 11.82...how 'bout that?

So at this point this little cosmopolitan guitar comprises the following:
- body from Chicago
- neck from California
- base of bridge from North Carolina
- bridge saddles from London, England
- bridge posts from Texas

So I'm almost there. When the new neck arrives, I'll get pics up of the "finished" guitar. I'd still like to get an original set of strap buttons (the Dead End v-shaped strap buttons), and knobs (suregrips) -- but the guys who have NOS ones typically ask $25 for a pair of the buttons, and up to $25 for EACH suregrip knob...so screw that...

Overall, the guitar initially cost me $80, the bridge, all told, cost about $40 (including the various shipping charges), and the neck was $50 (shipped). So I've got 170 in this thing...and with some persistence, probably could have gotten a clean and complete one for $180...sigh...ah well, sometimes it's the adventure, right :-)

ltt

[fobits]

Speaking of your guitar, do you mean this one?



There's a little trick there.

To make a picture appear in your post, you can put [ I M G ] in front of the URL, but without the spaces. Then put [ / I M G ] after it and the magic is done.

[sumgai]

Oh, but it gets even better.

If you crop your image in a program before you post it, your baby won't flood the screen, causing viewers to have to scroll sideways like demonic maniacs.

Horizontal scrolling isn't an absolute no-no, but it can be a pain in the tush. Even more so when you want to read several paragraphs of text, and you have to play with your mouse more than you do in a game of Tetris.

If you can, please shrink the image, and re-post it under the same name. That way, Frank's helpful posting will not cause the rest of us to go bonkers. Oh, and the IMG tag is on the lower of the two Tags menus, the fourth one from the left.

HTH


sumgai

[lethargytartare]

Oh lordy b'gordy, you guys are killin' me! lol I know how to include images, and my days as a graphic designer, though several years ago, did teach me how to crop an image...

I rarely include posts inline in forums any more -- several reasons, but as much as anything, because it takes additional time and effort to pick the ones I want to post, crop and size them, post them as well, and then add them to the thread...much much easier to take the pics, upload the folder, then just include the links. After several hundred pictures of instruments, those extra steps start to add up... If people care, they'll go look. I probably would have posted a picture of the finished guitar...

But I appreciate the effort.

ltt

[sumgai]

Frank??


The ball is in your court, I believe. LTT has covered his butt quite well, I should think, eh?


;D


sumgai

[fobits]

sumgai said:

The ball is in your court, I believe. LTT has covered his butt quite well, I should think, eh?

There's not much I can say to that. Ain't nobody here but us chickens.

[Ripper]

Dont you fellas from Texas like things bigger?

[vonFrenchie]

Thats what I thought... but I'm from Georgia so you cant ask me about texas stuff.

[GuitarTechCraig]

lethargytartare's guitar should look like this...