Ooooooh, I got my new Ibanez Iceman through a couple of hours ago, didn't I?

The pictures don't do it justice as it catches the light but it's cool as fuck and I regret nothing 🤘😎

#ibanez #iceman #thekenden

WHAT’S THAT‽

SORRY, I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER HOW AWESOME MY NEW BASS IS LOOKING RIGHT NOW!!

#AltText #BassGuitarLust #BassGuitar #ElectricBass #Ibanez #IbanezMikro

1978 Ibanez Artist 2617 Wine Cherry

Ibanez is a Japanese company that originally made Spanish-style guitars in the 1930s. (Their name itself is inspired by the Spanish luthier, Salvador Ibáñez.) By the 1960s, along with several other Japanese brands, they were making copies of American electric guitars.

By the 1970s, the quality of U.S. guitar brands was in decline, while the quality of Japanese “knock-offs” was ever improving, until U.S. lawyers told them to stop. The U.S. companies would later start their own licensed import lines to avoid the competition. Ironically, having began as cheap alternatives, Made in Japan “Lawsuit Era” instruments now fetch premium prices.

The Artist series was one of (if not THE) first original models from Ibanez. Introduced in 1974, it clearly takes inspiration from certain well-known brands, yet it is very much its own thing. This particular specimen is from 1978.

The double cutaway body has pointy horns and a large round lower bout. It has a German carve with cream binding and abalone purfling. The neck and headstock also have binding, and the fretboard has pearl block with additional abalone parallelogram inlays.

The tune-o-matic style bridge is bolted to a metal sustain block embedded into the guitar top. The tailpiece features an extra decorative mounting plate. We once stated that we had only seen slotted tailpieces on basses, but but now concede that they have been around for a lot longer than we realized.

It has Super 80 “Flying Finger” pickups, so called because (although not clear in this picture) the covers have have an engraved graphic of a finger with butterfly wings. Finished in a wine cherry stain with gold hardware.

#PurpleGuitarPhursday #Ibanez