Good Day for a Bottom Feeder ...

[BubbaVO]

Found this on EBay for less than $300. I was looking for a guitar that I could just leave around and pick up and strum when the mood hit me. But didn't want to spend lots just in case one of my boys decided to have a lightsaber battle that resulted in collateral damage to the guitar. I sent her over to Lemoyne, PA for a good once over and set up.

After doing some research, I came across a consistent complaint that the pups are too hot (not everyone one - but enough). So Greg and talked and after I changed my mind on him, we ended up putting RioGrande Bastard set. He also got rid of some of the corrosion on the bridge. And did a little fretwork. I still have the stock pups just in case. He strung her up with 11s.

Made the drive to central PA on Sat for a quick visit. Greg graciously showed me around. That was fun. Nice to meet someone that you only know by the phone or this site. Will have to do more of it... (By the way, if there's any of you considering getting a Prius....count me as someone who's sold. I averaged about 45 mpg and still drove between 70-80 mph. It won't handle like a BMW or accelerate like a corvette, but once it's up to speed and as long as you're not thinking about doing some heel n' toe work around corners the car is fine.)

As for the guitar...WTF! How come these are going for so dirt cheap? The wood used on this is gorgeous. My wife - who has seen the natural blonde Studio, amberburst Talladega, archtop custom '59 burst, and the tobacco burst Centaura has never commented on the looks of a guitar - until now. The guitar is bigger than the Studio (maybe 10% or so) and it does give it a less feminine look than the Hamer LP Jr based designs. But it's still a relatively light guitar. The hardware looks old, but its old. The bridge is kind of cool looking. THe guitar is extremely resonant unplugged. Plugged in this guitar is like the P-90 specials on steroids. I'm not sure what it is that contributes to the tones - more mahogany; longer scale; I can't tell. What I can tell is that this guitar rocks.

And chances are I won't leave it lying around because I don't want the kids to mess her up.

Here are some pics...

[JGale]

ME LIKEY!

[SteveB]

I like those old Ibanez Artists. One of my favorite parts was the inscription they put on the control plate on some of them, something like "Proudly made by the people of Ibanez, Japan". I used to have an old artist in faded pearl white, and also a burl maple AM205 that I still don't know why I sold.

[Guest pirateflynn]

Cool!

[Turdus]

I had one, that is now owned by my brother. It is the same as yours, but instead of "ST50" on the truss, it is a metal plate that says "Studio". It is much more beat up than yours. I bought it used in '83, after seeing Van Temple (The Producers) use one. They are cool, play great, and I don't see them for sale often.

ETA:

[Zoner]

As someone who has enjoyed the Japanese Ibanez guitars for a couple decades now, I say "He shoots, he scores!" on that Studio. Yes, it is in fact a Studio series rather than an Artist (ST= Studio, AR= Artist, etc), so consider yourself schooled . Great wood, solid hardware and living up to the claim printed on the contol cavity. That one looks super clean, too. Z

[tomteriffic]

I had one that was nearly identical to that, but very beat up. It had the metal TRC that just said "Studio" on it. Played great though. The neck pickup was a goner when I got it and I had a hard time coming up with a replacement that was a reasonable match in terms of level at the time (20 years ago, maybe). I let it go because of that but it was a good 'un.

[Jem]

Ibanez Studio's (ST50/55/100) are superb guitars and much overshaddow'd by the Artist's and Musician's. If you see one, buy it, you won't be disappointed.