1970s Ibanez AD-230 Analog Delay & Multi-Flanger

Vintage Japanese effects unit, super high-quality pro-audio equipment

After suspecting that the GX60 Ibanez guitar amp that I've recently come across was built by Maxon, the discovery of this beauty may have confirmed it. The circuit boards inside the casing all have Maxon stamped on them and it all looks super clean as well.

This will need repair, however. It powers up fine and switches between effects, but the effects don't actually kick in unless you crank the volume to the max. Something must be shorted out somewhere. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. When I'm able to find the sweet spot and this thing works like it should, the sounds are top-notch.

This has a very large following in the collector's market, like most 70s and early-80s Ibanez gear. Famous players who used this model, which was manufactured between 1977 and 1979 are Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and Steve Miller. On top of being highly-collectable, these are also incredibly rare. I've seen it listed from anywhere between $550 and $1200 recently.

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1980s Ibanez GX60 Guitar Amp

Vintage early-80s Japanese combo amp, great cleans and distortions, takes pedals very well 

 

This was an incredible thrift store find and a rarity at that. Ibanez is among my favorite guitar brands, namely because of their electric guitars and the "fast necks" that they've been equipped with since at least 1980. This amp was also built around that time and just about everything they pumped out seems to be high quality merchandise.

Ibanez guitars and pedals from the era have a great reputation and are highly-sought after in the collectors' market, but I had no idea that they made amps as well. Much like the Boss SE processors from the late-80s simulate the sound of the pedals produced by Roland in the same period, this amp is capable of reproducing "tubescreamer" tones with the distortion on and the reverb is also very smooth.

Like many of the other items that have been featured here over the years, I haven't been able to dig up much information on this beauty. Its possible that the amp was built by Maxon, which also made the Ibanez pedals referred to above. If anyone has any info on this amp, including whether or not it came with a footswitch, please feel free to drop a line.

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1984 Ibanez Roadstar II RB650 Bass Guitar

Another top-flight 1980s import, still a popular choice with collectors and musicians 30 years later

Like it's younger cousin that we featured yesterday, this is another super-nice Japanese Fender copy from Ibanez, with P/J pickup configuration and a maple neck. This model still has all of the original hardware, including the very hard to find "boomerang" strap holders.

Can't believe how fast this plays for a maple neck, most others seem to be really wide. This one needed a little work with the electronics and it has been beaten up a bit over the years, but it's still in perfect playing shape.

This was the top model of the Roadstar II Standard Series in 1984, but I'm not sure if they had a Deluxe or Custom Series that year. Either way, this is a great bass for gigging or recording and you can generally find a mid-80s Roadstar bass from anywhere between $200-$300.

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1985 Ibanez Roadstar II RS440 Electric Guitar

Vintage Super Strat, Made in Japan, original hardware and custom finish, classic guitar

This is a real beauty, an old-style Ibanez super Strat, with a vintage locking tremolo system. Someone stripped off the original white finish and treated it to give it a natural relic'd look.

On top of looking great, it also plays like a dream and is rock-solid. No dents or cracks anywhere and the frets still have some life left in them.

The original Ibanez pickups are still well-regarded to this day and the Pro Rock'R Top Lok tremolo system is generally seen as superior to the Edge systems that succeeded it.

All in all, this is a pro guitar. The Roadstar series has a great following in the collectors market and for good reason. These are much better than today's MIM Fender guitars and you can expect to pay anywhere between $300-$400 to get one in great shape.

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2002 Ibanez Gio GSA 60 Electric Guitar

Budget-line HSS electric guitar, still better than today's new stuff, made in Indonesia

This is an early 2000s Ibanez beginner level guitar, but it's been well-maintained over the years and plays great. Surprisingly, this guitar does sound fairly nice too, so it could be something that you could rely on as a backup for gigging. 

Ibanez is known throughout the world of guitar players for making fast necks and that's why I recommend them to everyone that asks me what they should get for their first guitar. Those fast necks make the guitars easier to play and the beginners are less likely to get frustrated and stop playing after a couple of weeks.

Unlike the earlier generation RX Series guitars, this one probably isn't worth putting any money into, but the HSS pickup configuration still makes it versatile sound-wise and it plays nice enough that you'll get back what you paid for it. $100-$150 for this model is a fair price, easily the best I've played from the Gio line.

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2000s Ibanez Gio GSR 100 Bass Guitar

Budget line bass guitar from a trusted brand, plays nice and easy

Ibanez is known for making electric guitars with fast necks and this Gio bass continues that tradition. This model has the classic split pickup P-Bass setup, but I've seen others with P/J and even humbucker setups.

For as well as it does play for it's price range, it's probably not up to par for a gigging musician to use even as a backup and definitely not something that you want to reach for if you're laying something down.

It is however, an excellent choice as first bass for a beginner or maybe a guitar player who wants to mess around with one. The price should definitely be right. These retailed for around $200 or so way back when, anything more than $100 secondhand is a crime.

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