Ibanez 2355 (pre-lawsuit ES-175)?

[whiskey02]

If you’ve held it in your hands, played it and liked it, the neck is straight, truss rod and bridge height isn’t maxed out, top not sinking...yeah, probably not a bad guitar or deal. If it’s “online” and you can’t play it first, be absolutely sure there is a no questions asked, no “re stocking fee” return policy for this 46 year old guitar.

[Ryo17]

I played it and it feels really good. The setup is Awesome.

[mwcarr]

I had one of those working in a dance orchestra in Cleveland in the 80’s. It was definitely one I regretted parting with. I later had a Gibson 175 and honestly thought the Ibanez was far superior. My two cents. With a guitar that old let the buyer beware.

[Gitfiddler]

Those Ibanez 2355's are great guitars. Since you've played it, and inspected it, you should be fine at the price noted.

One of the issues with those older Ibanez models is binding rot and pickguard outgassing. If the binding is solid and there's no evidence of the pickguard self-destructing, you should be fine. ANY evidence of outgassing to the guard requires immediate removal. Otherwise it will corrode all metal parts near it, and spread to the case lining.

[TH]

How's the weight? I found those Ibanez "copy" guitars looked nice, some could be quite nice to play but I felt that they could tend to be a bit bulky the necks were big, and I never liked the electronics from that pre-80's era. That's just me though. From the number of people who think these were the holy grail, I'm in the minority. Try it out and if you fall in love, you don't need any of us to tell you you should buy it.
Yeah, they were trying really hard to make their mark back then. For some of those guitars, they were still learning and they got it pretty well and for some... they were the pre-cursor for the Ibanez that was to be in the early 80's.

David

[Ryo17]

Im planning to buy it. But what is outgassing?

[TH]

Im planning to buy it. But what is outgassing?

Plastic bindings and pickguards are constructed of materials that break down over time. Plasticizers emit their gaseous components and that gas is very destructive to metals and metallic plating.
That's why you'll see older guitars with shrunken, degraded, flaky or crumbled bindings, disintegrated pickguards and/or metal parts with corroded surfaces.
Modern bindings are less prone to this kind of aging and the plasticizers they use these days are less volatile... or so we hope. Time will tell

David

[Greentone]

In the 70s, in the DC area, that guitar sold for $275, when the Gibson sold for $450.

I thought the guitars were very comparable then, but I preferred the neck on the Ibanez. It felt more like a 50s Gibson than the 70s Gibson did.

[wintermoon]

+1 GT.
Those old Arias and Ibanez guitars seem to have that perfect late 59 medium profile Gibson neck that everyone loves.
As much as I love my 60' s Gibsons they generally have thin profiles front to back (not narrow nut width like post 65-mid 69 Gibsons)
I have no problem playing them as all of mine have wide nuts, but if they had medium fat neck shapes like my Aria PE-180s they would be ideal

[archtopeddy]

Im planning to buy it. But what is outgassing?

TruthHertz offers a nice explanation.

Also, this forum link talks about the problem and has some pictures if you scroll down. (However, from the pictures you posted of the Ibanez, it doesn't look like it's suffering from this problem)

Are all old pickguards doomed?

[rio]

They are awesome and that is a very good price. Vintage Ibanez prices have really gone up recently so 800 is quite a deal I think for a mint one with a functional case (the original ones were fairly flimsy and most originals I’ve seen have fallen apart to some extent.)


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[whiskey02]

Go for it, seems like a great price for a nice instrument. Others here on the forum know more about outgassing than me but as long as you don’t leave it trapped in a case for extended periods of time it should be fine.

[Little Jay]

Overhere in Europe people often ask well over a €1000 for those, so if the guitar is in good playable condition that is a very fair deal imho.

I have a lower grade Japanese ES-175 copy, branded Condor, and that is a very good guitar for its price (I paid only €150, but that’s over 10 years ago). Ibanez sourced their guitars in different factories and in my experience the closer the copy is to the original in terms of shapes, construction and materials, the better it is.

My Condor is a variety that differs a little: no bracing but a sound post, body is shallower and cut away is shaped differently.

The one you are looking at looks to be a pretty close copy but with a maple neck? Probably 3-piece (I prefer the 1-piece mahogany necks, but it’s just personal taste). It looks like a good copy in terms of shapes, but it doesn’t have the rubber grommet for the pickup switch, which might indicate a lower grade copy. You could check if it has bracings or a sound post (you might even prefer the latter if you play often on higher volumes). On the budget copies the ‘humbuckers’ sometimes contain only a single coil, so beware. I don’t think Ibanez-branded copies had that though, but I’m not sure.

[Little Jay]

Btw, I don’t think these pickguards are made of celluloid nitrate, so they should not suffer from gassing out. In my mind it’s usually the tortoise coloured/patterned pickguards that suffer from that?

[Ryo17]

This guitar has super 70s in them I’m pretty sure.

[icr]

I love mine. It has been through many different re-builds with various hardware and electronics in the last 20 years.


You can hear how it compares to other guitars (including Gibson ES-175) here. The Ibanez is the last one.

[tomvwash]

Do these 2355's tend to have brighter tones than Gibson counterparts? Looking at one on Reverb and not at all impressive, but maybe it's just the audio quality.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Read the comments from experienced buyers and collectors. I much preferred mine to a ‘82 Gibson had. Don’t rely on a round sample