WTS Ibanez SG copy,1976 japan post law-suit, rare

[Old&slowlearner]

Hi all, selling this rare Ibanez SG copy, MIJ, 1976, wine-red,with Bigsby, dings & chips, that's normal for a 36years old guitar, with non original hardcase, reluctant sale, offer me a good price and I w'll let it go, as u can see the head stock is NOT the open book head stock as its made after the Gibson law suit, SMS me @ 81898959, thanks!
Some pics here,

http://s1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii537/Oldandslowlearner/Ibanez SG copy 1976/

 

[yubsesperat]

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibanez#Lawsuit

On June 28, 1977, in the Philadelphia Federal District Court, a lawsuit was filed by the Norlin Corporation, the parent company of Gibson Guitars against Elger/Hoshino U.S.A.'s use of the Gibson headstock design and logo. Hoshino settled out of court in early 1978 and the case was officially closed on February 2, 1978.[7]

if its post lawsuit, then it not 1976.

it its pre lawsuit, then Ibanez wasnt making exact copies of Gibsons just yet during that time.

either or.

guitar dates project:

Your guitar was made at the
Fuji-gen Plant, Japan
1987
Production Number: 68044

Or

Your guitar was made at the
Terada Plant, Japan
1976
Production Number: 8044

judging by the construction of the neck which is bolt-on (bolt on set neck?)

this is pre lawsuit as this method was in practice pre lawsuit, in the early days of manufacturing where they were experimenting and trying to find the more efficient means to make them.

and the tuning machines

again signifies pre lawsuit manufacturing where efficiency came before quality. since they havent got easy access to the the machines that make the die cast solid tuners then

with all these, i suggest this is 1976 pre lawsuit guitar. vintage but not in any way in the league of lawsuit guitars.

 

[yubsesperat]

Just to clarify things:

1. I am not bashing the sale. This fellow is a very kind guy. I just want to create an opportunity for us to learn through this piece.

2. After further research, im confident to say that this guitar is indeed Pre-'Lawsuit', 1976, as the serial suggests.

3. when i said 'in the league of lawsuit guitars' i need to stress that i meant in the league of the Navigators, Tokai, Greco and Fernandes/Burny copies but not in the case of Ibanez.

and i quote:

Having started as a relatively unknown and low-budget Japanese guitar brand, Ibanez discovered the way to success around 1970 when they started making copies of well-known American guitars like Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker. They did a good job: the guitars were good copies, at least from a visual point of view... they were able to make these guitars affordable due to cheaper materials and labor, coupled with a higher level of automation when compared to their American counterparts

4. so why is it important to distinguish whether it is pre or post Lawsuit?

coz after Elger guitars (Ibanez US distributor) settled the lawsuit out of court with Norlin (then parent company of Gibson), Ibanez abandoned copying other known brands and took a turn in their business - they created their own designs and were making better guitars.

5. so if this was pre-Lawsuit, shouldnt the headstock be 'open-book' style like Gibsons?

ironically, Ibanez had already changed their headstocks before the lawsuit was filed. I guess they saw it coming? As a proof, these guitars with 'guild-like' headstocks appeared on 1976 catalogues.

Norlin had been threatening to sue them for so long that by the time Gibson did, Ibanez had ceased the use of that headstock with guitars they were making across the atlantic.