What Ibanez Les Paul is this? (70's?)

[Coverdale]

Hey guys!

 

 

My drummer knows a guy who would sell this for real cheap - not sure how much is real cheap yet

 

Is it any good? (I don't have any more pics or info yet)

 

Thanks!

[almightycrunch]

Yeah, pretty much any of the Ibanez Les Pauls are going to be fantastic, hopefully its a PF-300. But cheap is the key here, how much???

[metalheadUK]

Yeah, pretty much any of the Ibanez Les Pauls are going to be fantastic, hopefully its a PF-300.

 

 

Unless it's one of those 70s bolt neck jobbies.

 

Most of them were horrible, so beware!

 

[almightycrunch]

Unless it's one of those 70s bolt neck jobbies. Most of them were horrible, so beware!

 

right, as long as its a set neck

[Electric Catfish]

 

Yeah, pretty much any of the Ibanez Les Pauls are going to be fantastic, hopefully its a PF-300.

 

 

Some of them were pretty terrible, actually. If it's one of the set neck models, it could be really nice, though. That appears to be an actual "lawsuit" model. There's a thread from the last few days about them on here, somewhere. I'll see if I can find and link it.

[Electric Catfish]

Unless it's one of those 70s bolt neck jobbies. Most of them were horrible, so beware!

 

Here we go again.

[benricci]

Hard to tell form that pic, but if it is what I think it is, it's the Ibanez LP Custom model. Gold hardware (which I think is on that, the photo shows some gold wearing off the pickups), triple body binding and alpine white finish. In this case it looks appropriately aged to a yellowish/cream color.

 

If it's set neck, it's not a bad guitar at all.

[Electric Catfish]

Here you go;

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2265635

[metalheadUK]

Here we go again.

 

If you'd have been me, actually growing up in the 70s and trying to play all these crap guitars that suddenly 30 odd years later are all "vintage classics"

You'd know where I'm coming from.

 

I find it mind boggling that people can go out and buy great sounding,great playing guitars like Epis, Agiles etc and they'd rather go and buy some 30 year old piece of junk for the "Mojo"

 

Guys...back in the 70s the bolt neck Gibbo copies were bottom of the range jobbies....they looked like LP's, but many of them even had single coil pickups hiding in humbucker casings, and plywood bodies. Tuners were rubbish, nut cut by a chimp, variable fretwork that normally meant a half inch action.

 

I've got an old '70s bolt neck Satellite here....Plywood body, bent ply top.

 

It sounds great, but it's not a "good" guitar...I use it for slide.

 

My 70's Pearl set neck LP copy (Very likely built in the same factory as Ibanez) is an AWESOME guitar that really does stand up solidly to a real Les Paul.

 

I have NEVER encountered an old &)s MIJ bolt neck that that can be said about.

 

[ashtray]

"Custom" model, block inlays, correct lawsuit headstock. Might be a bolt on, might not. Value depends on if it needs work or not - most likely would need a refret job in the near future, or at least a level & crown (the guitar is 35 years old!).

 

How cheap is "cheap"? Bc, if you don't want it for "cheap" - I'll certainly buy it off you! (shoot, you're not in the USA.... ugh, nevermind)

 

(as for the comment about growing up in the 70s and playing these "pieces of garbage", etc - I've owned and played a bunch of 70's Gibson Les Pauls, and I was not overly impressed with them to say the least! Heavy, sandwich bodies, muddy tone, volute, 3 piece tops, etc etc. These Ibby's are at least on par with the actual Gibsons of that era - but with better features!)

[metalheadUK]

These Ibby's are at least on par with the actual Gibsons of that era - but with better features!)

 

I'm not saying that Norlin era Gibsons were holy grails, but this just isn't true.

 

EVERY 70's Gibson I have ever played has knocked the spots off ANY bolt neck 70's copy I have played...even Gibsons budget stuff like "The Paul" and the SG shaped Melody maker...heck even the Marauder and S1 were leagues ahead of the budget MIJ stuff.

 

[King Loudness]

Yeah, pretty much any of the Ibanez Les Pauls are going to be fantastic, hopefully its a PF-300. But cheap is the key here, how much???

I`ve got a PF-300, and that ain`t one. That`s an older Les Paul style one.

[bjcarl]

On related subject-my Burny thread needs some love!

[rockstrongo]

If you'd have been me, actually growing up in the 70s and trying to play all these crap guitars that suddenly 30 odd years later are all "vintage classics" You'd know where I'm coming from. I find it mind boggling that people can go out and buy great sounding,great playing guitars like Epis, Agiles etc and they'd rather go and buy some 30 year old piece of junk for the "Mojo" Guys...back in the 70s the bolt neck Gibbo copies were bottom of the range jobbies....they looked like LP's, but many of them even had single coil pickups hiding in humbucker casings, and plywood bodies. Tuners were rubbish, nut cut by a chimp, variable fretwork that normally meant a half inch action. I've got an old '70s bolt neck Satellite here....Plywood body, bent ply top. It sounds great, but it's not a "good" guitar...I use it for slide. My 70's Pearl set neck LP copy (Very likely built in the same factory as Ibanez) is an AWESOME guitar that really does stand up solidly to a real Les Paul. I have NEVER encountered an old &)s MIJ bolt neck that that can be said about.

 

 

 

When I was 16 and saved up for a new guitar, my dad told me exactly this when he found out that I was going to get an Ibanez Joe Satriani.

 

 

"Ibanez?!? Why would you want a piece of shit like that? Those things were a joke when I was playing."

[Electric Catfish]

If you'd have been me, actually growing up in the 70s and trying to play all these crap guitars that suddenly 30 odd years later are all "vintage classics" You'd know where I'm coming from. I find it mind boggling that people can go out and buy great sounding,great playing guitars like Epis, Agiles etc and they'd rather go and buy some 30 year old piece of junk for the "Mojo" Guys...back in the 70s the bolt neck Gibbo copies were bottom of the range jobbies....they looked like LP's, but many of them even had single coil pickups hiding in humbucker casings, and plywood bodies. Tuners were rubbish, nut cut by a chimp, variable fretwork that normally meant a half inch action. I've got an old '70s bolt neck Satellite here....Plywood body, bent ply top. It sounds great, but it's not a "good" guitar...I use it for slide. My 70's Pearl set neck LP copy (Very likely built in the same factory as Ibanez) is an AWESOME guitar that really does stand up solidly to a real Les Paul. I have NEVER encountered an old &)s MIJ bolt neck that that can be said about.

 

I do know where you're coming from. I agree with you, far as I can tell.

 

It's the old "they were so close Gibson sued them" myth that I've been addressing. Most of them really weren't remotely close, like you say. Some of the set neck ones are good guitars, but most of the so-called "lawsuit" models are bolt ons.

[metalheadUK]

When I was 16 and saved up for a new guitar, my dad told me exactly this when he found out that I was going to get an Ibanez Joe Satriani. "Ibanez?!? Why would you want a piece of shit like that? Those things were a joke when I was playing."

 

You wouldn't believe the quality gulf between low end Ibanez then and now.

 

Ibanez have earned their reputation as a quality brand, but they wouldn't have done on the basis of those old bolt neck Gibson copies....

 

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

My 70's Pearl set neck LP copy (Very likely built in the same factory as Ibanez) is an AWESOME guitar that really does stand up solidly to a real Les Paul. I have NEVER encountered an old &)s MIJ bolt neck that that can be said about.

 

 

TRUTH!!!

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

I'm not saying that Norlin era Gibsons were holy grails, but this just isn't true. EVERY 70's Gibson I have ever played has knocked the spots off ANY bolt neck 70's copy I have played...even Gibsons budget stuff like "The Paul" and the SG shaped Melody maker...heck even the Marauder and S1 were leagues ahead of the budget MIJ stuff.

 

 

I gotta admit to being a great fan of The Paul, bloody well made guitar and nice wood to boot

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

You wouldn't believe the quality gulf between low end Ibanez then and now. Ibanez have earned their reputation as a quality brand, but they wouldn't have done on the basis of those old bolt neck Gibson copies....

 

When they built em well, they could actually kick some bollocks

 

[ashtray]

Mid-late 70's Ibanez stuff was really well done - even their cheaper lines were still very decent. Studios, Professionals, Artists, Musicians, etc - very nice guitars.

 

Ibanez made some cheap stuff in the very early 70s, and they also made some cheap stuff starting the early 80s - but there was a period in there where they really got things right.

[zenbu]

there were some very nice guitars made at that time and there was crap...just gotta look em over carefully before buying, not breaking news...and that applies now, though the low end stuff I see in shops here today isn`t MIJ anymore, comes from elsewhere...Maison, Legend, Photogenic, Grassroots and on and on and on...but you know parents buying a guitar for a kid who`s probably gonna change hobby in 6 months are happy about that, they don`t have to blow 3 months wages on their kid`s latest interest, they can get something for a couple of hundred dollars and if the kid sticks with it, upgrade later, if not...no big loss. Generalizations are very rarely accurate though many sellers today are trying to take advantage of the feeding frenzy underway on older MIJs...just use common sense and don`t fall for the sales pitch.

[Electric Catfish]

I'm not saying that Norlin era Gibsons were holy grails, but this just isn't true. EVERY 70's Gibson I have ever played has knocked the spots off ANY bolt neck 70's copy I have played...even Gibsons budget stuff like "The Paul" and the SG shaped Melody maker...heck even the Marauder and S1 were leagues ahead of the budget MIJ stuff.

 

Damn straight.

 

I have a '79 Gibson LP Deluxe, as well as the '74 Ibanez Custom Agent (set neck LP). Both are very nice.

 

The bolt on Ibanez copies I've played, not so much.

 

Just to clear something up; when I say "actual lawsuit model," I'm not implying that that's necessarily a good thing. The non-lawsuit Ibanez's (my C.A. and the Explorer copy in the other thread, for example) I've played have been much nicer than the actual lawsuit models I've played. I was just pointing it out for the sake of accuracy, not to say "That's a real deal lawsuit, man, grab it!"

 

That said, if there were open book headstocked Ibanez LP's with set necks, I'd imagine they'd be nice guitars. Some say they made them, but I'm still not sure. I've never seen one, at any rate. Your Pearl is the closest I know of to one (and it sounds like a good'n to me)

 

Not all of Ibanez's pre-lawsuit stuff was crap. Mine is on par with my Gibson (which I know doesn't mean much to the "all Norlin Gibsons suck" crowd, but still...) Every lawsuit Ibanez I have encountered has been crap, so I'm definitely not disagreeing with anything you've said, in case I've come across like I have.