The ST980 is an eight-string Studio series solid body electric bass model introduced by Ibanez for 1980. It was produced in Japan by the FujiGen factory in Matsumoto.
The ST980 features a double-cutaway mahogany and maple body with walnut top bolted to a maple neck with a 24-fret selected rosewood fingerboard with mexican abalone dot position markers and a walnut headstock. The instrument is equipped with Super T-4 transducers with active tone, master volume and tone, variable preamp boost and 6-position rotary tone switch controls, and a solid Accu-Cast B fixed bridge with brass saddles, half and half nut, chrome hardware and velve tune B machine heads.
The maple neck is screwed on to the mahogany and maple body using the "Quadra-Lock system": 4 machine screws screwed into threaded sleeves pressed into the base of the neck; The strings are paired like a 12 string guitar where each note is paired in octaves.
