Jump to content

Ibanez love appreciation thread....Show us your I-been-hads !!!


Dr. Scottie C

Recommended Posts

  • Members

The year was 1987.

I was just a kid at my nearest music store, Marion Music, in Marion OH.

I stopped in with my dad to get strings and dad wanted a D or C key harmonica.

In 1987, smoking at the music store was commonplace.

We walked in, and the Ibanez sales rep and the store employees were putting out these "new" guitars that they just picked up....

In front of me on the walls and on the floor lied more RG 550's, 770's, and Jem's than I can ever remember seeing in one place anytime thereafter.....

The sales rep was a nasty old chainsmoker in a suit that look like he had slept in it for a week....I heard him tell the staff in this local mom and pop store.

"You mark my words ....in 5 years, the only guitar companies left will be Fender & Ibanez."

Well....I don't know if that happened....but Ibanez were pretty damn popular for awhile....BECAUSE.....they mastered the art of artist endorsements before anyone else did.

Anyway....with that said...... if you have a Ibanez, and you aren't ashamed...... post some pics !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Dr. Scottie C wrote:

BECAUSE.....they mastered the art of artist endorsements before anyone else did.

Totally not true. Had nothing to do with endorsements, everything to do with serving a legitimate market need that nobody else was serving. If anything, their endorsement model was self-fufilling since so many great guitarists were alreay playing on them at that time...

They attained such popularity at that time BECAUSE music was in a point of transition that demanded it's own unique aesthetic. Fenders and Les Pauls were very old hat. Big hair was in.

Shred.

Neon Pink.

Distortion.

Ibanez rose to meet the cultural challenge and won. It was indeed the first time that Japanese guitars had an identity all their own, instead of simply being knock-offs of the American version or, during this strange period on the late 70's and early 80's, massively superior to anything being made in America yet still of proprietary foriegn design.

Quality wise, they're as good as anything else.

Not my picture but this is one I play on regularly for anything that requires crunch.

sdfgdfgdf

... with a few pickup modifications.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

No way Gitter....Ibanez 1986 catalog looks ancient with old dinosaurs and C-list players.

The 1987 was a 4 page nothing pamphlet

Enter 1988....Ibanez secured contracts with

Snatch

Vai

Gilbert

Gambale

Vinnie Moore

George Benson

Fender grabbed deals with the same year with...

Clapton & Malmsteen

In 1990, Fender grabbed

Beck, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Meanwhile, a battered and beatin Gibson....was keeping their fingers crossed that Slash and his top hat would create a renaissance for their all but forgotten products.

Gitter.... the late 80's were all about the artist endorsements.

Were 1988 Ibanez products superior to Jackson products? Nope.... but Ibanez had the star power...made a major difference.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

RG550.jpg

 

1987 Rg550, still in great shape with original Edge trem.  I bought it a few years back out of LA.  I think the pickups are stock.

The pickups are very good actually, the bridge pickup could us a little more umph, but an OD/distortion pedal takes care of that.

Some people see the pointy horns and can't get past it, I see that looong maple neck, pickup versatility, great trem, and I fall in love.  Ibanez set a new standard in 1987 with these guitars, not only were they an evolution in design, but the level of quality on these guitars was impressive.  I remember playing an early RG when I was younger, it blew me away, I felt like I was holding alien technology.  Awesome kits to explore and play music on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...