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Replacement trem arm for Powerocker-- Ibanez rr250 rebuild

7K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  Lonesome Crow 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys. I recently dug up an '86 RR250 body. It's stripped of all electronics (including the orginal V5's) but it has what I think is the stock bridge (Powerocker) minus the arm. I recently picked up a 2le21b to fit my incoming jem (!) and I tried it in the Powerocker to test it, but it wouldn't fit. Does anyone know if there is an available trem arm that fits the bridge? Thanks!
 
#4 ·
That "should" be the correct bar for that trem. It's very difficult to get a new bar into a new guitar, I tried on one I was testing the other day on an Edge [I couldn't find my bar] and I could not get it to seat all the way into the spring clip. I finally gave up.

To be sure, at the bottom end of the arm holder, you would have to look from the back, there should be a screw holding on a wire retention spring.
 
#6 ·
Exactly.

If you want to test fit before the struggle, pull the bushings off, which can be tricky enough as it is but it's easier than trying to get a brand new bar in, and not positive of the depth fit.

To pull a bushing, first make note there are 3 dots on one end of the busing only. They go away from the tip. To remove, if you have any fingernails, put your thumbnails together, top to top, so they're rubbing against each other. Where the bushing is split push it open by just moving your thumbnails opposite each other.

I really should youtube that, it's so difficult to explain!
 
#8 ·
The old fashioned way is, just keep inserting a little at a time and pulling it out. You'll see the white shavings coming off the bushings a little at a time. The biggest reason they get loose fast [which many prefer them to be tight] is from taking the bar out and putting them back in. The new Prestige cases [new for 14 years] have a well over the trem so you can leave the bar in when you put the guitar in the case.
 
#9 ·
I've got a "like new" Powerocker bar from an old '86 RG110. If you guys need any measurements or pics, let me know.

Funny... I've been cleaning stuff out and had it in a small coffee can with all the other hardware from that guitar for about 28 years. I'd have given it away a couple weeks ago, but I just picked up a red '86 RG135 that had no bar with it.
 
#13 ·
The Powerocker bar that came with my old RG110 has a black plastic tip on the handle, like the one in this pic:

Buy Ibanez Roadstar II Series Electric Guitar Tremolo Bar / Case -Japan 1984 Review Opinion | Guitar Store Kent

The end that goes in the tremolo has a metal tip that looks like the end of a 1/4" plug and two white plastic bushings, like some other trems. It goes in past the first bushing no problem, but hangs up on the second bushing like it will not insert any further in both the RG110 or the RG135.
 
#14 ·
Ok, so my Jem arrived today (!!!), so I worked the new arm in and it went with relative ease. Then, I tried the same arm on the trem of the RR250 body. After working it in and out with great force a few times, I finally got the bar into the guitar, but it was extremely tight, yet socket was very loose; I spun the bar and it became reasonably tight, though it didn't feel as sturdy as in the Jem. Then, (and maybe this was rookie mistake) I tugged the arm hard to yank it out and the bridge came right up out of the guitar. Springs flew out across the room, it felt brutal. I imagine that the string tension would have been enough to keep the bridge stable if the guitar was set up; but still, the Powerocker felt like a little sliver in my hand compared to the Edge on the Jem, so I'm betting there is a bar that fits better than the 2LE2IB. Also, here's the original guitar in the catalog, fitted arm has the black plastic tip.

http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/catalog/1986/14.jpg
 
#16 ·
I see--maybe I will try to file down the bushings a bit on a new bar. In the meantime, the next step is finding a replacement neck. It's sized to an 80's X-series neck, but I am unclear on the exact dimensions of this neck compared to others. An original X-series seems ideal, but they rarely show up for sale in good condition, and they're never cheap. Does anyone know if I am limited to an X-series neck, or could I perhaps use a Wizard? I know they aren't cheap either, but I'm really in love with the Jem neck and I've heard that the Wizards are even thinner. Again, I don't know how they compare to the X-series. (I also really like the idea of sharkfin/tooth inlays). Any ideas?
 
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