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Well my LGB30 turned up yesterday. My first impression: Looks great, Quality is good but maybe you can tell it is made in China. (I am a bit of a perfectionist though). Playability is very good but the sound was the thing I was most impressed with (very well balanced) Not as sweet as some guitars I have heard but most of them are double the price. Also glad I did not go for a single pick up guitar as the neck/bridge blend and bridge sounds are great as well.
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08-17-2013 02:12 PM
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I was noticing that the hotly debated abalone decoration on the tailpiece is of a similar shape to the design on the headstock of my AG-75.
Doesn't mean it looks better or worse on that tailpiece but . . .
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just bought a lgb30vys and notice a couple of things that are a bit strange (or even off-putting for some). the tail piece can be very hard to re-string on a gig due to ball ends going underneath, no easy task, even on a bench!!
the body laminates, back and front, have been pressed out in ''335''ish shaped jigs,(AS 200) complete with 'mickey mouse ears'. this looks a bit wierd in comparison with other archtops. made in china, it came complete with rattles when played due to various loose bits, now rectified. it plays well enough and the pickups, super 58's sound good played thro' a fender super champ or roland cube 60.
i have an AS200 ibanez that is really great, a very versatile guitar but wanted a full body jazzer.
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Got to agree. Don't dig the abalone inlay and while we're at it, I don't much care for the garish pickguard. Other than those two things, though, it's a very cool guitar.
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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I was in my local Guitar Center when I happened upon a (2013 ? ) Ibanez LGB30, the first I've experienced first hand, tagged at $750 in near new condition.
Are any of you guys familiar with this model ? How does it compare with the the Epiphone ES-175 Premium or Eastman AR372 ( nitro finish) in your view ?
UPDATE: I just read several pages ( and seen pics) here at JG about Ibanez archtop guitar tailpieces self destructing, cracking, breaking under the stress of .012-.013 guitar strings. This is very unsettling to say the least. Would you re-think this purchase ?
Last edited by electricfactory; 01-27-2018 at 10:04 AM.
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I love LGB30 . To me it sounds head and shoulders better than the 372 which sounds nasally and very unlike the 175 it looks like. The LGB sounds like a cross between a GB10 and an L5 to me. very high quality. The only negative is that it's fairly heavy. The one I tried was around 8.5lbs.
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I had the 371 for a while, two of my students have the LGB30. They are both very different instruments, and shouldn't really be compared, as they do different jobs. The 371 had more of an amplified acoustic sound and feel, whereas the LGB (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual?) 30 is definitely an electric guitar. Your choice should depend on your intended use.
Last edited by Rob MacKillop; 01-26-2018 at 08:10 AM.
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I think most of the GB models are built for stage use - in other words built to be played loud on stage, they're overbuilt... All I ever read about the 371 and the John Pisano version, the 372, was how the laminates were thinner, more like the old original ES175s of yore...
So both are right, they're not really good comparisons.
Rob is right, what you choose depends on how you'll use (oh I did a rhyme).
Big
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The LGB30 I tried out was wonderful
Yeah its a heavy build,
not much acoustic volume
but very smooth playing with a good warm sound ...
with a lovely playing neck/fb ...
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It is going to sound a lot better once you remove the foam plastic sheet under the bridge. With that on, you know that it has never been owned. Or maybe the previous owner just preferred the sound that way.
It is probably new old stock. Good guitar.
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The ser# is S14030567, can anyone tell me where/ when it was made ? Am assuming China but could the 'S' stand for the Samick factory in Korea ?
Last edited by electricfactory; 01-27-2018 at 10:05 AM.
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I've met several people that bought Ibanez guitars that never even ocurred to them that they could remove the foam under the bridge. I even had one angry customer that, after doing a "deluxe" setup on it I returned the instrument without the foam patch under the bridge, and it took several minutes and a great deal of strengh on my part to avoid completely lose faith on the human race to convince him that that was the "right thing" to do. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
When I see or hear these kind of things, I just can't help to think about mother nature being unfair when she gave'em opposable thumbs to forementioned individuals...
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That tailpiece is identical to the one on my Ibanez AF125. Yes, they do tend to break under the stress of heavier strings. If you are determined to use a 12 or 13 set then this is not the guitar for you.
I have owned my AF125 for three years or so and play an 11-48 set with absolutely no issues.
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Tailpiece replacements on Ebay , Alibaba, etc. from China - are these inexpensive to have a tech install for .012s on LGB30 or are there many different sizes etc . I suppose the screw holes might not line up ...
But is it major or minor surgery to install new tailpiece?
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Replacing a tailpiece should be an easy job, a matter of minutes. If the screw holes don't line up, the usual method is to just drill new holes, and the tailpiece will cover the old ones. If you remove the tailpiece from many vintage guitars, you'll find any number of screw holes. It doesn't hurt anything structurally, and they're out of sight, out of mind.
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For a just a little more scratch, you could try one of these tailpieces.... Around $62 on eBay. Dressed up my Ibby immensely. Just another option.
Roli
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Pondering the LGB30 at the moment and received this in response to my question concerning the tailpiece. That said, are they still saying .11s are their recommended maximum guage in fact?
Hi David,
Thank you for your interest! You are correct; there is a known defect with the tailpieces from an older production run of our hollow body guitars (2011-2013). We have actually been covering tailpieces from that production run under warranty, even if the instrument itself is no longer within the warranty period. That being said, the defect was addressed on all subsequent production runs, and is no longer a known issue!
The heaviest gauge strings that we use as stock on our hollow bodies are D'Addario ECG24 (11-50).
We generally do not recommend using any other gauges, but 12s will probably be OK to use!
-Ibanez USA
Which surely raises the question IF they have changed the base metal at the core of the tailpiece on current models - why nothing heavier than .11s - or am I missing something?
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They don’t recommend anything heavier than an .011 set on their hollow bodies? Are they covering their butts or really that out of touch? For a company that makes so many archtops I would think they know well that .012 and .013 sets are the norm, .014 sets not that uncommon and some even use heavier E strings. I’ve had a number of Ibanez guitars over the years, 4 at the moment (3 made in Japan, one cheap Chinese one) and have never hesitated to put .012, .013 or .014 sets on them and have never had any issues. Is this just the opinion of this person writing or is it actually the stance of the company that they don’t recommend heavier than an .011 set? I’m not bashing people who play lighter sets here (and as I get older I might go down on the gauges eventually) but you can’t even really drive the top with lighter than .012 in my opinion. Again, plenty of great players playing lighter and that’s great but I am just confused by their statement considering that we are talking about archtops and jazz players here.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Agreed Rio, and I repeat......................
Which surely raises the question IF they have changed the base metal at the core of the tailpiece on current models - why nothing heavier than .11s - or am I missing something?
Or could it just be that they haven't changed the tailpiece at all? These things run on 'design by accountant(s)' and this smacks of plastic jack nuts on Cube 60s and much more. Dommage.
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IMO if a TailPiece can't sustain more than 11 thats a piece of garbage.
I got 2 el cheapo 175/L7/350 style trapeze from Ebay couple years ago to put on my Epis Archtops and they still hold on well with nothing under 12 or 13
My Emp Regent was even a full year on a set of Labella 15-56 and showed no metal fatigue whatsoever.
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Installing heavier strings often requires a setup adjustment. The warranty doesn't cover that, and they don't want to have to deal with complaints/returns from customers who are clueless about doing basic setup adjustments. At least that's my best guess, and it's only a guess.
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Mine (purchased in 2014) was tearing and would have broken off if I had not caught it in time.
Ibanez said they would replace the tailpiece, but only with the same defective type.
BTW, the original installed .011 gauge set of flat wounds was on the guitar when this occurred.
I had a brass tailpiece made for me which is superior.
A jazz guitar should take a .012 or .013 set with no problem. No more Ibanez purchases for me as much as I like the guitar.
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totally agree .... Originally Posted by HCarlH
I've got a 13 sets with fatter top strings on my 2 ibanez jazz boxes
with no problems at all ....
the way I look at it is
the Ibanez boxes are such good bang for the buck ,
That if one gets a couple of small issues
then they're still ok with me ...
i had jack socket and selector switch problems with mine
i swapped em out with switchcraft parts .... all good again
the current AF55 is a great buy at the moment
but it I take your point
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There is a $10 solution to your problem:
($9.31 at Guitarfetish)
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Well, if you don’t care for looks, then the tailpiece I posted is a functional, sturdy and even reasonably good sounding tailpiece. I have never seen them break. But I do prefer the higher end Kluson or All Parts variety in nickel, both for looks and sounds.
I think those ABMs are very, very expensive.....
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