The Guitar That SCARED Gibsons. (The Lawsuits Begin)
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
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HEY GANG,
Would love to hear any info you have about the old 70s Ibanez Lawsuit Era stuff.
I have only a few guitars but most are MIJ. I've had MIJ Burny, Greco, Fenders, Epiphones and a few others. My Greco EX800 is the shiznit
Lot of folks know this, but a ton of songs from Van Halen’s debut album were played on a lawsuit Ibanez. Eddie’s 1975 Ibanez Destroyer was one of his favorite guitars until he cut it up to look like a shark. He said the modification made the guitar lose all resonance, and he hated how it sounded after.
Reverb has a photo quiz, is it a Gibson or a lawsuit guitar. It’s harder than you think.
If you look at KISS videos from the mid 70’s when they went to Japan, they’re not playing Gibsons. They’re playing lawsuit era Ibanez guitars! Paul Stanley actually brought back one of the famed Destroyers! He later gave it to Ace. I can’t remember exactly what happened to the guitar but it’s interesting to know that Ibanez just seemed to not care about copying other instruments from other companies.
My old man has a Ibanez Double Cut Archtop from the Lawsuit Era and the neck on that particular one is very similar to my 78' LP Deluxe. It's a really nice guitar. Not a bolt on neck. But like you said, the 70's was the wild west. It was hit and miss from Gibson, Fender and everyone else right down the line. I think that is the fun of 70's guitar hunting. It's the epitome of "Try before you buy" guitars. Cool video, man. Sorry the seller wouldn't budge.
My first electric guitar back in 1981 was a lawsuit guitar. It is a Aria Pro II Les Paul. I still own it and it’s still great.
All the Arias ive played from the 80s were really nice! I own an 84 zz deluxe and an 85 knight warrior and i will never sell them.
The Japanese copies of that time is a virtual rabbit hole of fascination! The REAL Japanese clones of Gibson and fender guitars are excellent and highly sought after. A fairer comparison would be a higher end set neck version of a Japanese copy to compare to your Gibson. I would compare a Tokai, Greco, Burny et al. to keep the comparison in perspective; not the model Ibanez you're using, although it is nice. They had (and still do) many high-end versions that would go head-to-head with Gibson and Fender. I'm a bit of a Tokai fan-boy and would suggest their late 70's to early 80's models from the LS-50 on up to the LS-120 let's say. The LS 50 and 60 are the lower end versions (but really good) and the 80, 100, and 120 are the higher end versions. There are even higher custom order models from that era as well.
As I said, it's a rabbit hole for sure!
I agree with you 100% on that one. Like you said this is a lower end bolt on neck guitar. The high end stuff definitely competes with Gibsons. And yeah Tokais are amazing guitars. I’m actually looking to buy a LPC 230. For the price you can’t really go wrong.
@@markrosenquist8259 Exactly. There are some incredible MIJ LPs that will rival any Gibson. But this bolt on neck Ibby clone scares exactly zero Gibsons 😂
these bolt on hollow top guitars are crappy. the good ones are from the 80s
@@trevor4533 Haha! 100%
I love that with Japanese guitars, the price point is in the model name (isn’t it by thousands of Yen.)
Mid 80s FenderJapan guitars are the same. The cheaper ones can just use a pick up upgrade
I just retruned from Japan. Fascinating country. They have a high affinity for art. Building guitars is like art. That's why their guitars are so great and close to perfection. No doubt sadly it led to the demise of Gibson, but then again there's two sides of the story. Gibson could have been managed better too. They seem to have much smarter management today, although their guitars are mostly unaffordable for the majority of musicians. Always wanted a Tobacco burst Les Paul and then when I saw Bob Welch play a white LP on Ebony Eyes, I had to have one too.
I was told all instruments made in Japan are labeled "crafted". This means one must study under a master for some time before they can construct. They also grade their wood instrument grade which gibson and fender dropped in the early 70s? I dont know what to believe.
I still have my ibanez les paul, black, bought in 75. And it’s an exact replica. Bridge, tunamatic, headstock, everything. It was my first great guitar. Very cool video, Rob 👍🏻
My first guitar in '83 was a Cimar by Ibanez that looked 99% like this, bolt on, had the same artwork tailpiece, the same "harmonica" bridge, the same knobs and two Dimarzio Super Distortions. Mine had thicker binding and the headstock bound, too, and rectangular fret inlays. Cimar was a lower level/cost brand owned by Ibanez. I still have a photo of me playing live circa 1987 but I can't post it here and I'm lookin at now for reference.
My first Les Paul was a Burny, simply because Gibsons were way too expensive for me as a teenager. I played it for years, gigged with it, never had any problems. But I did change the bridge pickup to a Duncan '59 because the original became very microphonic. When I finally could afford a Gibson Les Paul, I played a few in stores and a few that friends owned, and wondered what all the fuss was about! Mind you, this was the late 80's, and Gibson were not at their peak at the time. The Gibson Les Pauls of the time had a lot of weird features like a fine tuner stop tailpiece, pull out string winders built into the machine heads, skinny necks and super powered pickups that just didn't appeal to me. By comparison my Burny was way more authentic to a 59/60 Les Paul.
Perfectly put! And totally agree! Hope you still have it 👍
I have a lemon drop TOKAI Love Rock l found in the Netherlands. I had it shipped to me in the states because GIBSON blocks the sale of these guitars here. Instead of making their guitars with care and quality, GIBSON decided it's just easier to eliminate competition by blocking their importation into the United States. My TOKAI is a FANTASTIC playing, and looking guitar. If these were easier to get, they would run GIBSON out of business. Competition is what keeps companies on their toes, and improving their product. Because GIBSON doesn't allow competition, l will NEVER own a GIBSON. They are the bullies of the guitar world. If GIBSON made great guitars, competition wouldn't bother them.
👍 truth
Clown it’s called Copyright Infringement!! Companies should make their own designs
@@samright4661 every epiphone or gibson copy player always claims its better than any gibson and QC is why they don't buy Gibson. Lol ok whatever
I have one of the earliest Tokai ES100R (81). In immaculate tobacco sunburst. Had it nearly 30 years now. Never parting with it. 🎸⚡️🤘
While I do agree companies like Tokai, Navigator, Momose etc make some absolute smoke show guitars, lets be realistic here. Its copyright infringement, not competition blocking. Thankfully, the year is 2023 and they're easier to buy than ever before with Reverb, proxy services, etc.
I have a Yamaki D18 lawsuit acoustic and it is simply amazing. It is almost to loud for me to sing with, plays like silk and is tonally rich and full from high to low. I am a bass player so I have to love my MIJ Aria's, Tokai, Yamaha's and all the brands that were making killer basses that are still sought after and highly collectable.
I have a 1976 Ibanez LP clone (J761712) modal made in Japan. I bought it new in the spring of 1977. At the time I had a Gibson Les Paul but I took a gig playing with an up and coming band (who never made it) with an actual record deal with a major label and we had to go out on a tour opening for other bands for three months all across the US. The Ibanez played so well I left the Gibson home and toured with the Ibanez. I still own the Ibanez and it was my main player for about 30 years. In my opinion the one Robert plays here is missing possibly it's greatest asset, the Ibanez pickups. The Ibanez pickups in my guitar are my all time favorite humbuckers of all the guitars I have ever owned. I have had a few Gibson Les Paul's over the years and I currently have two Gibson LP Standards as well as an assortment of various Epiphone LP modals but there is something special about the Ibanez clones and I think it's the pickups. If anyone is looking to buy a 70's Ibanez LP, I strongly suggest that you find one with the original pickups. I should note also that my Ibanez has a "pancake" body, standard stop tailpiece and Tune-O-Matic bridge which is how it came. Outside of the tuners, my Ibanez is all original. After 46 years and a probably a thousand gigs, it's still a great guitar (with tons of finish checking).
Super cool !!
The One Robert is playing is a cheap model, he needs to get, or look for one with proper Les Paul specs, there's literally thousands of them.... Searching Yahoo Japan is a great place to start...
I've got a Greco and an Aria Pro II les paul. They far surpass any Gibson I've played in playability and tone. You do have to be careful buying these because they are 40-50 years old and some of them do have issues. My Aria Pro II had microphonic pickups so I swapped them out. The nicer ones have full size pots in them so most of the time you don't need to upgrade the wiring unless you specifically want something. The golden era of the lawsuits seems to be around the early 80s because thats when the Burny's and Greco's started getting even better build quality because their factory Fujigen invested in a CNC machine to make the build quality more consistent. Earlier stuff came out of the Matsomoku factory which still made excellent guitars but Fujigen made instruments are always top shelf and built to perfection. Fujigen also makes the Japanese Fenders and Ibanez guitars. They're still around and have their own house brand called FGN which makes amazing guitars for the price you pay
I scored a great deal on an '87 Greco EG68-60 in ebony (a LP Custom style guitar). It's honestly a superb guitar - set neck, open book headstock, ABR1 bridge, dark chocolatey FB and the Screamin82 pickups. It plays like butter so I do feel like I got one of the "good" ones. Don't let your hunt end with this one, there are many other better models to try out, I'd definitely recommend Greco!
A few months ago i got myself an Orville 1989 Les Paul Custom. For a reasonable price.
I really love it. It feels so special compared to my other guitars.
Some of the old Ibanez looking so good but i also heard there are really differences between them.
got a 1978 ar2619. Tons on volume , mahogany one piece body, 3 piece maple neck with volute. coil taps and phase reverse, heavy at 10lbs. immaculate construction
Cannot believe they wouldn’t take off $100 The one pickup sounded pretty good though.
I've got an '82 Epiphone Les Paul Standard that was made in the Matsumoku factory in Japan. There's no history anywhere but these guys do exist. It's got the long neck tenon, Epiphone and Les Paul on the headstock and the red tinted fret markers that showed up with other Japanese Les Paul copies. Haven't been able to find anything official on these but I know there are others out there. I love mine and it's every bit as good a Gibson to me. The pickups were replaced with Gibson Burstbuckers by the previous owner. Only thing I'd like to do is replaced the electronics. Any info you or any other posters have would be much appreciated.
I have a lawsuit Les Paul Custom made by Burny. It was made in 1983 and is cream colored to commemorate Randy Rhoads who played a Gibson LP Custom. Damn good quality guitar. When I bought it the frets were very worn and I did have a luthier refret it and it breathed a new life into that guitar. It looks exactly like a Gibson LP Custom down to the diamond inlay on the headstock and the open book shape as well. Set neck....just everything as an actual Gibson LP Custom.
I have a lawsuit ibanez les paul custom from 1975, so I got the "authentic" headstock. It's really cool, really grooves, but it's had a hard life man. Previous owner was not kind. I put Dimarzio anniversary PAFs in it and they are just perfect. Still got the super 70's lying around, so I can still make a Van Halen guitar. the 75 ibanezzes are the most easily dated cause they had 1. the "authentic" headstock and the neck plate had the serial stamped. Older ones don't have the SN on the neck plate and newer ones don't have the headstock.
I owned a Burny RLC-70 and it was phenomenal. The Lawsuit era guitars are fantastic as are the Orville by Gibson Japanese market Les Paul fighters.
I love Japanese LP’s and own several from FGN, but the real issue I had with Orville was their photo flame tops. Not the plain maple ones, but those beautiful looking pictures of wood grain that are the same on every Orville. Even Fender used the photo on some flame top strats.
@@muzerino Orville and Orville by Gibson are two distinctly different models, OBG's didn't use photo flames....
That's an Ibanez 2350 "fancy". Some of them had the fancy hardware, and others had the standard hardware. So in the Ibanez collector circles we just refer to them as the "fancy" version. The pickups would have originally been Maxon "Super 70's" with Alnico 8 roughcast magnets, they've definitely been replaced. It's light because it is hollow. The top is NOT a maple cap, but instead an arched birch laminate much like you'd find on a semi-hollow guitar.
The Ibanez 2650 and 2651 are the higher-end Custom and Standard models respectively that had proper solid bodies, full thickness maple caps, and set, non-detachable necks. Along with MOP inlays and real ebony fretboards.
The change from the open book headstock occured in early 1976, and was the result of a cease and desist letter addressed to Hoshino Gakki, as opposed to a lawsuit. At that time Ibanez were already producing original models and transitioning away from straight copies already, so it wasn't a huge deal for them to switch to a different headstock shape, but they continued to make copies into 1977.
Grecos were made at the same factory at Fujigen and continued producing guitars with the open-book headstock well into the 1990s.
Forget the lawsuit guitars. If you grab a Japanese Domestic Market Epiphone Les Paul, either Elite/Elitist or a LQ series, you will have a guitar with the full Gibson headstock and quality that will compete with any Gibson on the market, both in build quality and playability. If you grab an export version of the Elitist series with the 'tombstone' headstock, you will also get Gibson quality at a bargain price. Well not so much of a bargain as they used to be as the prices of Japanese Epiphones have skyrocketed in recent years. Also keep an eye open for Czech made Bohemia Epiphones which are also of amazing quality, mainly because they were basically totally hand made. They are also difficult to find these days, however.
Edwards and Navigator are phenomenal if you’re out there looking for a Japanese made LP style guitar.
I have an Edwards....closets thing to a 59 Ill ever have...sustains for days
@@thatoneguybones8036 and better looking
Lawsuit Guitars are Awesome ! I would highly recommend a Hagström Swede or a Framus S-360 ( Gibson LP competitors from Europe ) too !
I had a Tokai Tele back in the 80’s and it was a fantastic guitar both from a construction and playing point of view. My 78 Silverburst LP Custom on the other hand was very poor in comparison however
My first electric guitar was a Memphis LP copy, bought new around 1980. It was also a bolt-on, and at the time I had no idea it was odd. I still have it, though it sits in a case now.
I have one
I have a 70s yamaha studio lord. That thing is really comparable to a gibson! The weight seems right (probably a bit heavier than gibson lp) and the pupsare full of character (a bit brighter than the 490s and 498s). All in all, it's a great les paul minus the open book headstock and pearloid inlays.
I have a 76 Ibanez Destroyer. Same one that Edward VH used on VHll. What a cool guitar.
Johnny Depp had one onstage. Pete Thorn has a video playing his.......nice!
I've got a Masada that has great feel. One piece body, bolt on. The wood in the top is a beautiful tiger grain but the damn thing is brown. It'd take some work to pretty it up but I might just have to do it.
I had a black Hondo II Les Paul with DiMarzio pickups. Loved it and I miss it. It was stolen at church, when I left there over night.
I’m in love with my 1980 Greco EG 500. Which is just a straight up copy of a really quality Gibson Les Paul custom.
My first solid body was a 1974 Ibanez brownish SG which was second hand, because the black Les Pauls were selling like hot buns. It had a bigsby and the looks of a Custom.
New they sold for around $450.
My black on black SG is my favorite guitar. I love it more than my cherry Les. My first guitar was Ibanez, but a 90s one w locking tremolo
I have a 1986 Burny Super Grade which is probably based on a 1960 Les Paul. Great guitar!
When I was stationed in Japan, I ordered a LP and a Strat from the BX. Got the LP but Fender refused to ship the Strat to Japan. Never understood why until way later. On the other hand, I saw all of these copies in music stores in both northern Japan and Okinawa. I could kick myself for not buying any. 😢
You need to get lte 70s early 80s Greco or Tokai. Navigator is real top stuff. There were many names with various quality levels and specs.
I love MIJ les pauls. Owned a tokai once and currently an early 80s burny. I kinda stay away from MIJ les pauls with bolt on necks and 3 screw trussrod covers
I have a sunburst Hohner made in Japan in the 80s. I got in the early 2000’s for $50. I’ve always loved it and keep it in its case. It’s 40 years old and plays like a beast!!
@Robert Baker
That’s a poor example of an Ibanez Les Paul. The pickups are stock. What you really want is an Ibanez model 2650 or 2651. Those are the set neck copies with maple caps, as good or better than a Gibson from the same era. They are rare though. I have one of each and would be willing to sell you the 2651. It is the same burst as your guitar in this video. It is stock with Super 70’s pickup.
Let me know if you are interested.
I had one of these Greco/Ibanez 'lawsuit' Les Pauls, a copy of the three pickup '57 "Black Beauty." There was never actually a suit btw, just a cease-and-desist action and some market warfare shenanigans. My uncle gave this guitar to me. He owned a music company and was having Greco build him some guitars for starter/instruction packages that came with a 10W amp, a new thing at the time. So they gave him this very nice guitar in person in Japan from their prototype shop to thank him for the business. It was my first quality electric and it was beautiful, well made and sounded fantastic. The binding, purfling and inlays were SICK quality and the black lacquer was amazing. Weighed almost 10lbs though but I dealt with it. I played it for probably thousands of hours over many years as my main axe and performed and recorded with it. Eventually it started to have electrical issues but it still played fine on the bridge, and in the both position which was really the bridge and middle p/u parallel and phased. An unusual sound but I didn't use that much. I wanted to get it fixed but that never happened because I had more guitars by then so I kinda retired it but still recorded a couple things, then 'loaned' it to a girlfriend who kept it to 'learn' and pawned it without telling me. She and the guitar are long gone now, lesson learned. I've acquired other LPs over time but I miss that old Ibanez which was great in its own right and better than some Gibsons I've played.
There was a lawsuit filed in the Philadelphia Federal Court (Gibson Vs. Elger Co. June 28th 1977) but by the time the lawsuit was actually filed, Ibanez had already redesigned the headstock so it was moot.
@@trevor4533 Interesting, I knew it didn't go to court but not that a suit was actually filed though. Thanks. My guitar had the classic open book headstock and the 'diamond' inlay was reversed but it had CUSTOM on the truss cover, engraved just like on a Gibson LP. If I was Gibson I suppose that would annoy me too. Guitar trivia: if you push a Schecter headstock (not all models) end to end against a Gibson's they fit almost like puzzle pieces. A cryptic jab at Gibson by World Music Inc. I guess.
I owned an Ibanez SG lawsuit in brown (could have been faded red too) when I first started playing guitar. You could pick these up for a couple hundred bucks (think I bought it early 90's). It needed a re-fret and also the fretboard flattened from the wear (which I did). I remember the pickups were muddy as shit and I didn't know enough about guitars at the time, I just know it didn't sound great but played pretty good after the re-fret. I ended up selling it a few years later.
Although I still own an Ibanez double neck lawsuit SG. It needs a re-fret as well but I kept this one because the pickups sound amazing in it. I bought it in the late 90's for about $500AU and never been bothered to pull the pickups to see if they were original or after market. I remember playing it in the store and even with the crappy rusted strings sounded pretty good. Its chalk and cheese compared to the other guitar.
BTW If you check out some of the aussie musicians around the late 70's and early 80's, you can find clips of a lot of them playing these Ibanez lawsuit guitars when they were starting out.
My first guitar was a 76' Ibanez sunburst Les Paul - absolutely beautiful - I've been looking for one, they come up from time to time - the one's i've found are either pounded or modified.
I have an Ibanez model 2350 Cherry burst from 1973 with open book headstock and with a Gibson AR1 Bridge and Maxon pickups and I absolutely love it
High end Japanese stuff from 70's - 80's are great !
I have a 77 Aria Pro II Les Paul Standard from Matsumoku Factory, and it's a cool guitar !!
High end Aria Pro II from Matsumoku are usually less famous than Greco or Tokai, but they are nice instruments !!
I’m a big fan of Greco lawsuit era guitars, I have 4 of them. I believe they were made by Fujigen Matsumoto, Japan
You would be correct sir!
I'm sooo happy with my Ibanez Vintage 950 from 1975; bought it absolute new at Stafhorst in Utrecht - Holland in '76.
Its a Martin copy with mahoghany back, neck headstock - rosewood fingerboard & sides on top massive Sitka spruce.
Superb playability, slim neck with low action.
.
Its not for sale; I hope to take it with me beyond Heavens Door.
I’ve had a few in my time. Sunburst Tokai Ls 50 with ‘Les Paul’ on the headstock. Think it was a ‘78. True Lawsuit era. A mid 80’s Tokai Love Rock (Super skinny neck) weighed a tonne. And a 1980 Yamaha Sg2000
I hope you’ll still try to get one! I’m willing to bet the ‘74 models with the open book might be a little more similar. Maybe they made minor changes to the specs after the lawsuit threats? Now THAT would be interesting to do a three way comparison - getting your hands on a ‘74 vs. the model you have here vs. your Gibby.
Keep at it! Ty!
There are literally 100's of models, the one Rob has here is a low end model....
Had a Greco RR65 Randy Rhoads tribute. Had the yellowed white finish with gold hardware and the open book headstock. Fantastic guitar. Regret having to let it go.
I still have one, it's a 1982 model RR65 and i'll never sell it...
I have a '78 (PF-2) in transparent black stain - right after the change. Very much still a copy but with a bolt on neck, a very slight shoulder slope opposite the cutaway, and the Gibraltar bridge. They kept the Super 70's pickups which were the real stars of the show. It's quite a bit louder than any Les Paul I've compared it to and it's got that "kerang" chime to it. Got the guitar in 1981 from a semi-pro player needing to pay the bills. Many have tried to buy it from me including 2 guitar teachers, but I held on to it. Great guitar. A nice original lawsuit Ibanez LP copy will run you $800-$1200 now.
I owned a few les paul types. Two were 3 pick-up customs, one was the '75 w/open book headstock and split diamond inlay ,the other one has the newer headstock , and inlay, (I still own and play it) It also has a plywood top ,no maple cap.It's a '78, bolt on neck. In '76 I also had an Ibanez firebird V with set neck and the no-name vibrato tail piece,and banjo tuners.Great guitar, but the nitro(?) finish just flacked off whenever you looked at the guit. Also had a set neck Flying V, copy of the'58, string through body.Around '75ish, I was also using an Ibanez SG custom,w/ 3 pickups ,also set neck.This guitar was lent to me. and in between and prior to all these examples, I also owed several Ibanez, basic entry level strat types, les pauls, and a 335 copy w/ bolt on neck......I played Ibanez at the time because they were all I could afford. ..Now at 67 years of age ,I've got a bunch of Gibsons and Fenders.My old '78 bolt on 3 pickup,plywood top, still has a certain charm and a really great sound..
I'm a guitar player and a tech and a friend of mine who is a recording artist has a lot of great instruments and he has the same model as the one in your video. His has Different pickups, the stock ones I'm pretty sure.. I had to set it up and did some fret work on it and it sounded and played just like my friends les Paul studio
I have a Crestline lawsuit era guitar. It is a set neck Les Paul copy and it is my go to guitar for most anything. I love this guitar and it was cheap. I spent a fair amount of money in having it tweaked to perfection, fingerboard reglued, refret, rebind on the neck and a new nut. It is a maple top on a mahogany body with a maple neck. I like the sound and feel and it plays as good as any GIBSON I pull off the rack.
My first electric guitar was a 1970s Japanese-made "Columbus" Les Paul copy with a bolt-on neck. It looked and played ok, and I gigged with it, but it's long gone so I can't really tell how good or bad it was. Probably not very good! Those copies were definitely made down to a price, with characteristics such as bent plywood arched tops (no carving required), and single coil pickups fitted in humbucker sized cases.
I went through 2 or 3 "lp"s with the pressed plywood tops...most were hot garbage.
Greco superreals are what you wanna look at! those are my favorite.
I have myself a 1981-82 Hondo Les Paul, i've had it for close to 30 years and i love it
Luv it. Are you calling/pointing to the tailpiece and referring to it as "the brige"? I'm confused. Help me lit here
I have an early Pan, a Hummingbird copy I bought in 1972. Except for a couple of minor issues, it was a pretty decent guitar and I still have it. A couple of years later Pans were nothing but toys.
I inherited my great-grandfather's old Ibanez acoustic that is a copy of a Gibson Hummingbird. I don't know what year it's from but it has the open book headstock and is SUPER boomy! Unfortunately you can tell the nut is not centered correctly and it does not play in tune past the 5th fret. Not planning on ever getting rid of it though just because of the sentimental value.
I have collected to this point one each of Greco LP and Strat/Tele models from '76-'82, arguably the pinnacle of Fujigen's output prior to Fender Japan and Orville by Gibson. And the best of them, Super Real LPs from 79 and 81 do exceed the quality, sound, and playability of standard Gibsons of nearly any era. My band's lead guitarist is currnetly holding my tobacco sunburst 79 Greco Super Real LP hostage because he like's so much more then his actual Gibby. I am holding one of his Japanese ES335 knockoffs as collateral but even that is not close to enough to trade. Those guitars are arguably the holy grail of hardwood humbucking sustain beasts!
I have a Premier pancake LP. Birdseye maple cap. I assume from the 70's The humbuckers even has the maple spacer in it with Original case. Never seen another one. My 1982 Burny LP Custom all mahogany. The black paint was scratched bad with a semi cracked headstock. Sanded off the black. and my 2013 Gibson LP Standard long neck tenant. My go to LP is my Burny. Acoustically sounds amazing. Feels great. Was just looking at the comments. still have to watch your Video.
I have a post-lawsuit 1978 Ibanez CN-100 and it's a real gem.
I have a 70’s Lotus les Paul copy that plays amazing. I love it.
About a year ago I bought a '79 Memphis set neck Les Paul copy off Reverb. I originally bought it for nostalgic reasons, because it was the exact model my Dad bought me when I was 15. Wow was I surprised how good it played when I got it! The original pickups were crap so I replaced them with a set of T-Type pickups from Pariah Pickups. (based on Gibson 70s T- Tops) Man do I LOVE this guitar!! I actually play it more than my 2008 Gibson Les Paul Standard! My original Memphis wasn't as good as this one. It had issues with the neck so the strings were kinda high and I remember having to wrestle with it. 😅 Plus I was a newbie so I didn't know about having the action set, etc. But anyway... I'm so glad I bought this one!!
You should go ahead with your original plan - pro setup, get it PLEK’D, etc and then see how she holds up!
This is the most over-used, yet misunderstood term in the guitar market. There was only one guitar, the 1975 Ibanez Super Standard, and one lawsuit Norlin VS Elger Guitars and it never went to court. Now everyone with a 70's or 80's MIJ LP thinks they have a small gold mine, when in reality they are worth about $500
I've had 16 Les Pauls, none of them had Gibson on the headstock. My favourits are the Classic and Vintage Series by Bacchus. Orville By Gibson reissues are great! I've had Edwards, Burny's,, Tokais and Grecos.
I have a 1978 PF 100, I bought new. Looks like the Ibanez you show.
I have a red cherry pre lawsuit ibanez les paul from 1975, MIJ, super 70s pickups. Open book headstock.
The quality and sound are amazing. The neck is ridiculous as well. One of my favourites of all time.
I have done a few guitar covers with it.
No wonder people started to notice Japanese copies back in the day and Gibson suing of course xD
I've got a Japanese Tokai Love Rock, love that guitar.
I own a 1972 Aria Pro II TA-70 with factory DiMarzio pups. It is very much like a ES339 in style and size but not a clone. It plays and sounds as good as my 2014 Gibson ES335 Cherry Dot.
I also have a 1977 Takamine F400 12 string, a Lawsuit-era near copy of the D12-28 that I also own. It is not as good as t he Martin by far but in its own right is a good instrument for what they cost in the day.
The electric guitar I play most is a D'Angelico Premier DC Boardwalk with P-90 Seymour-Duncans. Under $400 used. Only original parts are the neck/body and the pups, everything else is my custom with master volume and treble bleed added. Walnut body with all black hardware. Strangely, I like it more than the ES335, which was a dream guitar for a long time. I can't give a real reason why. Maybe I just like to own something a bit different than what many others play. Never wanted an LP or a Strat particularly but tried both, they didn't stick. But I do like the Gretsch Jet, which is kinda like an LP. Go figure.
I have a Hondo 748 Deluxe Les Paul. Looks pretty much like an awesome Les Paul Standard.
It has a pancake body which was typical for that era. It weighs a ton but sustains for days.
I have a 76 Ibanez Les Paul custom, My Bridge pickup died a long time ago but replaced that. The neck is super fast, its not quite the same as my Les Paul Traditional but it fun and has its own thing going. It always gets comments at gigs.
Obviously quality control was a NEW CONCEPT for Ibanez back in the last quarter of the 20th.
The guitar is light because it doesn’t have a maple cap. It is a bent plywood top with maple veneer. You can see the gap by removing the control cover or pickups. Also the bridge pickup on that guitar isn’t original so it really isn’t a good example of what the original would have sounded like. Ibanez did make some Les Paul copies that did have solid carved tops and set necks in the ‘70s but they are rare and expensive.
Still Have a 1976 Ibanez Les Paul Bog Standard With The Bolt On Neck. .And it Still Sounds Amazing.. They were Slightly Neck heavy But Otherwise they are Great Little Guitars. Till Death Do Us Part with each other.
The first thing I saw was the "stop" tailpiece, and thought it looked ugly. Maybe it look better in person.
I’m the original owner of a 1978 Burst Ibanez PF200. Phenomenal guitar. This was after Ibanez made some modifications because of the lawsuit.
I had a Memphis Les Paul Copy with a set neck. Great playing and sounding guitar. It was heavy though.
My first guitar I bought in ‘78 was a tele copy, I believe made by Ibanez branded “Northern” on its headstock. I was not sophisticated in my understanding of how guitars are built, but between me and my friends we certainly were under no illusion that these were the same quality as the originals. Maybe in hindsight, we see now that they weren’t as bad as we thought they were, but they were never comparable to the originals. We bought them because we wanted to LOOK like we were playing the originals. I can safely guess that today’s Epiphones and Squires are closer in quality to their higher priced big brother guitars
I still have my Ibanez 1977Custom Les Paul!! I paid $240 dollars for it! It is in perfect condition & plays awesome!! The Gibson Les Paul at time was going for about $1000.00 bucks!! Rock on 🤘
Sorry you got a lemon. I've gotten a lot of 80's and 90's Japanese Les Paul copies over the past couple of years. Still haven't seen an Ibanez from that era that wows me, but the Orvilles are friggin' awesome, the Greco totally rocks and the Tokai is a pretty close one. Had a Yamaha Studio Lord that was ok, but the Agathis body didn't do it for me. Had two from Aria Pro ii and they were/are really decent (and still relatively cheap). From what I can tell, they were still learning in the early to mid 70's and they didn't hit their stride until the late 70's to the early 80's. Keep trying! I definitely recommend the Orvilles.
I have a '78 Aria Pro II EX-850, an all original beautiful Explorer-copy with a gorgeous flame top...
It is absolutely phenomenal. Never had any Gibson in my hands that came even close.
I have a couple of '77 set neck Ibanez LP's... 2650 and 2651 (both black) as well as a bunch of other Ibanez gear from that time frame and up until about 2001 (mostly 70's stuff, Rocket Roll Sr, LP DC with twin p90's, Artist, several Martin copy acoustics... started picking up 80's Roadstars lately and am stuck on those currently). I see your model there is the 4 month only end of '77 model e year "fancy tail" and Gibraltar bridge. You really need a set neck to compare to the Gibsons honestly, build quality is not really comparable, you've also got the chambered tops rather than carved solid tops on the 2650 and 2651's... different neck feel for sure, just a really different guitar honestly overall. I'd put my 2650 and 2651 up against anything out there as far as sound quality and play feel for sure and I have A/B'd them with similar era Gibsons several times. My 2351, although a super clean goldtop with the 4 month only Super 80's pickups (in that model... which is what yours should have there based on the tail and bridge, I've been collecting and playing these for over 20 years now and I've always seen them together on original clean examples) are quite different from the Super 70's (I prefer the Super 80's I think honestly by a bit, just my personal preference, they are very bright sounding and have the awesome looking Flying Fingers pickup covers). Some of the rarest stuff I've had from the Ibanez "lawsuit" era, aside from the set neck LP's and that twin p90 DC LP special, was probably the all maple (flamed all over) Al Caiola model... yes Ibanez copied an Epiphone model briefly in the early 70's. I STUPIDLY sold that years ago, nobody knew what it was, and thus it sold for almost nothing sadly... highly desirable model now, and I can't find a replacement in maple. I think I could write books on these things... I'm way too into them. Latest kick I'm into now are those Roadstars, and the Proline models.
I live in the UK. Back in 1977 I purchased a used Antoria Les Paul a cracking guitar. At the time there was no way that I could afford a Norlin-era Gibson Les Paul even though I lusted after one. In retrospect my only regret was selling my Antoria a few years later. At the time of its manufacture the Norlin-era of Gibson was only producing Deluxe's with mini-humbuckers. Guitarists like Andy Latimer from Camel used Burny's and Greco's from the same period for the same reason.
I bought my first 74 Deluxe around 10 years ago. It didn't compare to my Antoria and it weighed a ton. Gibson had little option other than. to sue because they couldn't compete during the early 70's.
I have a Lemon Drop Peter Green/Gary Moore les paul Vintage brand, made by JHS in collaberation with Wilkinson. It is beautifully constructed with great tone and hardware, solid mahogany with flame maple top. Great action, a superb guitar and in my opinion as good as any Gibson. It cost me £400, much cheaper than Gibson equivalent. As said, a great instrument.
I feel there is snobbery in this area, in that too many feel that Gibsons and Fenders are the ' must have guitars. Consequently, the industry, makers and retailers alike, push the prices up to ridiculously high levels. There are many lesser known luthiers who produce equally fine guitars more cheaply.
The 70’s and early 80’s Ibanez are incredible guitars. I own a ‘81 AR300 that I’d put up against any Les Paul. I also own a ‘83 RS1000 which is killer.
I only play 70/80's Japanese guitars nowadays. Can't beat them !
Me too, all Les Pauls
I have a aria TA hollow body and PE aria Les Paul both with the pointed headstock. Both early 80's . The PE is my go to electric every time . The TA has upgraded tuners pick ups , but PE bog standard, solid as a rock ,
Yeah, I own two "Law Suit" Ibanez. One "Les" copy. Mine is a ' 59 er" with "super 80's" pickups. the other is Strat copy with a large head stock. I played the Strat on stage for about 15 yrs. Iused my 100w Fender twin for my amp. This is a fantastic sounding setup.
I had an Ibanez black lefty les Paul custom it was great!!!, $360.00, had to order it played great.
A buddy of mine still has his cherry burst/ sun burst , with the old head stock. Take'er easy R.B.
Thats rad I was trying to find one with the old headstock but had no luck.
sweet guitar bro!
hope you get it sorted out soon!
Bolt ons were lower tier guitars. You'll find similar with old Hondo's. I have a 70s Burny LP copy and it smokes about any new LP on the rack. The attention to detail is staggering. It even has the thumb bleeders on the pots. Ibanez was known for using some of the Maxon pickups early on, which have been said to be about the closest thing to 50s OG spec PAF pickups.
I worked for the guy who was going to NY and bringing the guitars back for Ibanez. His was the owner of the CSL range and the main Ibanez dealer of the time for the UK.
Those Dimarzio X2N bridge and Super Distortion neck pickups are NOT the stock Maxon PAF copies. Best to keep the guitar and fix it. Looks nice compared to my 1978 Pf200. The Ibanez is a semi-hollow body
My 1974 Burny Les Paul is incredible. It has a warmth and creaminess that sounds EXACTLY like the 70s - Eagles / Bowie / T Rex. I'd take it over any modern Gibson LP - to me they're all too slick and modern sounding. If you want that vintage vibe without paying thousands of dollars, get a Burny / Greco / Fernandes etc. I got mine for 900 bucks. Worth every penny
Love how the Gibson Les Paul's look and sound and always have. But I got a 400$ Giannini LP copy and they look just as pretty and i have AB'd it vs a LP Studio and not one bit of difference. I did it as "Scientific" as i could by recording on the same amp with same settings, same pedal chain. And a basic 2 chord riff. I had my drummer/bass player daughter listen, couldn't tell. I had my Grandmother that has that pitch hearing that makes me mad and jealous listen, couldn't tell. If Gibson could make a guitar that has near the same specs but say at 700-800 bucks they would take off like a rocket. But right now the cheapest new studio with the same specs i can find is 2500$. I am sorry that is nuts, One guitar made in Brazil by Latin people 400$, one guitar made in the US by other Latin people 2500$ something has got to give in this market.
I have a 1973 Alvarez 5024 Dove. The date is my birthday but 10yrs before I was born lmao and I was given it when I went to pick up a washer and dryer from a guy online. He had it sitting in his garage, all dusty and dirty. I knew what it was a mile away. I inquired and he GAVE it to me. He would take anything for it. Best day ever. It's a gem.
If the guitar body etc are OK, it is easy to fix the pickups and wiring?
I had a ibanez super 70s les paul, still miss it , was a very good copy of the real thing except for the scroll headstock , , must say had a gibson paf in Bridge position , , ,
I have a 1989 pre lawsuit Washburn WP50 in mint condition. Was passed down through family. Amazing quality and weighs a ton!