Members BG76 Posted March 24, 2017 Members Share Posted March 24, 2017 So today I stopped at the local pawn shop and I saw a guitar that I never knew existed, but I always wished did. First, a little back story. When I was in middle/high school Ibanez was the brand to have. Some of my friends had RG series models and the local store always had a bunch in stock. Although I wasn't really into the hard rock/metal of the day I always liked the 540 look and thought the models with the Custom Made inlay at the twelfth fret were cool (s540 IIRC). At the time there was no way I would have been able to afford an Ibanez, so it was a moot point. Over the years I've looked at a few of them, but I'm not into locking tremolos and the necks are skinny. I still look at them all the time on eBay and Reverb just for fun. Anyway, the pawnshop had this guitar out on a clearance rack where you can handle things without asking. I looked at the back of the neck and saw the $49.99 price and above that Made in Japan, so I figured I would take a chance. I asked if they could do a little better and they were having a 35% off sale so it cost me $34.52 with tax. Anyway, my guess from the feel of the neck was that it was early 90s. From memory I would say it feels like a 88-93 model. This one only has five strings on it, but I plugged it in and the pickups all work and sound better than I would have thought. The pots are a little scratchy Anyway, I was hoping there may be some folks here who can help me out with a few things. 1- The serial number is F247205. I'm assuming this is 1992. Is this correct?2- Are there any suppliers for the original knobs for these?3- Is the tremolo original? I have never seen one of these without a locking tremolo aside from the budget models. This one feels like I remember the pricier models feeling. There is no routing to pull it back, all the finish looks original everywhere.4- The switch tip is missing and the switch lever is bent. Is this a standard 5 way? What about the tip?5- Any other help or information would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted March 24, 2017 Members Share Posted March 24, 2017 I guess I am the Ibanez expert here so here goes....Fujigen, made in 92. The bridge IS original, but it was not really a budget guitar. It's a SV470 BKhttp://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/SV470Knobs, you can find on feebay for about 2 bucks thru China, or you can get originals for about 20. Does it really matter? I believe it's the typical 8 lug 5 way switch, so that's an easy fix. most likely, you can just bend it right carefully. the tip is the typical metric import strat type, again, your local store should have one. FANTASTIC score by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Very nice score indeed - congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 25, 2017 Members Share Posted March 25, 2017 Not an expert by any means but my main acoustic is a MIK Ibanez and my fellow praise band guitarist plays one of their electrics. Always been a fan. You should be able to straighten the bent switch lever with pliers if you're careful and most decent music stores will have tips. Excellent score. Congratulations and Happy New Guitar Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 26, 2017 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2017 Thanks for the help! I took the neck off and it is stamped SV470. The action was pretty high and the truss rod seemed stripped and frozen. The bridge was also raised really high with some frozen screws. I soaked everything overnight was 3 in 1 and a huge piece of gunk came out of the truss rod and I was able to break it free. It's working great now. Cleaned everything and did a setup and cleaned everything. All is good now. Thanks again for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eeddings Posted March 30, 2017 Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 Yep, SV470. I have a SV470 TR (transparent red) that I bought new in 1992. It still is one of my all-time favorites to play. The switch got a little scratchy (it's a 5-way). I took it to my luthier, but the body is so thin that he couldn't just replace it with one he had on hand. He tried to get one from japan, but he said he couldn't get one. Anyhow, he cleaned it up and it hasn't been scratchy since. That is one heck of a score for under $40 bucks. I would have snagged that in a heartbeat. Hell, I would've paid the original price of $100 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 I'm really digging it. I always loved the S look but hated the Wizard and trem. I did see some of these switches on eBay/Reverb for $20 or so. I did have to buy the plastic part on the outside of the switch ($20) and I tracked down the right NOS knobs ($25 with a set of straplocks), so all in all I'm in at about $85. Do you happen to know what size bar the tremolo takes? Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 Here it is all cleaned up: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n31950343[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 30, 2017 Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 Killer Score man! Not sure about the exact size of the arm, but most import trems from that year are the same size, Ibanez, ESP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 Much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 30, 2017 Members Share Posted March 30, 2017 That's a great deal and nice job resurrecting it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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