Up for sale, a 1978 Ibanez 2389B-NT in exceptional condition and in perfect working order, complete with a padded softshell case and a Rattlesnake TRS/Dual Mono splitter. This “lawsuit” Ibanez is a masterfully crafted interpretation of a circa ‘72 Rickenbacker 4001 bass; from the Hi-gain pickups, to the stereo outputs, to the maple neck-through construction, featuring a gloss Natural (Mapleglo) finish framed by checkerboard binding.
The maple neck-through construction with “sandwich” maple body wings and gloss-finished rosewood fretboard ensures an immediate, resonant quality, and at 9lbs 2oz, this bass delivers plenty of natural sustain, faithfully captured by the stock pickup pair. Designed to recreate Ric’s Hi-Gain pickups, these Maxon-made ceramic magnet single coils have a distinctive midrange heft and tonal color, with plenty of growl and low end richness. This Ibanez has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 45-100 roundwound strings, easy-playing action, and spot-on intonation.
The three-piece maple/walnut neck has a substantial C-shaped profile carve with generous shoulders, measuring .880” deep at the 1st fret and .990” at the 12th. The gloss-finished dark rosewood fretboard has a 10” radius and sports triangular pearloid inlay, and the medium fretwire exhibits just a hint of wear beneath the strings on the crowns of frets 1-7. This bass plays cleanly up the 33 1/4“ scale with a straight neck and a single responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the bone nut measures 1 11/16” in width. The headstock mirrors a classic Ric shape, with a similarly shaped truss rod cover (albeit one embossed with an “Ibanez” script logo), and the nickel-plated clover button tuning machines turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch.
All of the electronics function flawlessly, and the Maxon-made pickup pair is wired to the stereo 1/4" outputs (labeled Stereo-Sound as opposed to Rick-o-Sound), with a three-way pickup selector switch and independent Volume and Tone controls for each pickup. The neck pickup baseplate retains the Maxon date stamp from ‘78. The added Tubeampology bridge pickup bezel and upgraded Hipshot bridge shine like new, and the original bridge is present in the case. Plastics comprise the single-ply pickguard and the original quartet of Treble/Bass knobs, which are notably clean as well.
The gloss Natural finish highlights light birdseye figuring, framed on top by checkerboard binding. Cosmetically, this bass is in fantastic shape, with just a couple microscopic marks on the body as a whole. The smooth gloss finish on the neck profile is flawless.
A Roadrunner-brand padded softshell case is included, along with the original bridge, a Rattlesnake TRS/Dual Mono splitter, and a Rattlesnake-brand cable.