The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I sold my Victor Baker to a happy player in Lausanne/Switzerland and just when that deal was done this minty GB15 dropped into my lap, so to speak. At a price that was just too good to pass up...
    I've previously owned 2 GB10 models , the first one bought new in 1980 (blonde) and some 25 years ago I've played a newer sunburst model for a while. I've always found them to be utterly comfortable guitars, so easy to play and handle but both were sold off again after a few years because my tonal preferences changed towards big-body archtops ... THAT slot is well filled up by now
    so why not give this "different" GB a chance ?! The body is about 10 mm deeper than the GB10 and that is all the difference re the build I could make out. A single neck pup, a distinct color and black chrome hardware, an overall cool look. The pickup is quite low on the body and that made the guitar sound rather mellow , almost subdued - I raised the polepiece screws considerably and the volume+tone expanded very noticeably. Next I will experiment with a different string set starting with an 013/017 on top and see how that works. The switch shorts out one coil of the humbucker but that sound is not really useable I find - a series/parallel wiring would be more practical. This is her :
    Attached Images Attached Images Ibanez GB-15-gb-15-neu-jpg 

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  3. #2

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    GB15's are great and relatively rare guitars. I owned one several years ago and foolishly let it go in order to acquire another temptress. The nut is slightly wider than standard GB's, another positive feature for some players. Like you, I found the coil tap unnecessary unless the amp is particularly dark sounding.

    Congratulations and play it in good health.

  4. #3

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    Nice!

    I nearly had one once. I bought it on ebay (black model) and when I went to pick it up, the neck was doing the bends.

    Only time I'd ever seen that on an Ibanez but I guess some people like to lean their guitars on radiators?

    So very jealous. Enjoy!

  5. #4

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    What a striking instrument! Congratulations, and play it in good health!

  6. #5

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    single pickup w/ a toggle switch?

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by wintermoon
    single pickup w/ a toggle switch?
    They probably thought it might be a good idea to add a singlecoil-switch option on this guitar - it's not needed IMHO , doesn't add much to the useability really ....

  8. #7

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    so handsome

    apart from being 10mm thicker
    is the body any wider than a gp10 ?
    it looks a bit wider at the lower bout

  9. #8

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    Handsome indeed… the black hardware really does it for me!

  10. #9

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    Lovely guitar.

  11. #10

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    Switch be a Coil splitter. Here’s the scoop from the Ibanez wiki, link below.

    Components include a sinlge floating Ibanez GB special humbucking pickup at the neck with a cosmo black cover and a Tri-sound switch for coil-splitting;

    GB15 | Ibanez Wiki | Fandom

    jk

  12. #11

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    Love it, especially the black hardware. I always wondered why they didn't also offer that model in natch or burst. Would be equally stunning.

  13. #12

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    It's probably my early childhood memories of George Gobel and his red L5CT but red archtops just absolutely do it for me, and that one is no exception! Congratulations, and play her in health!

  14. #13

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    Under lights this color really pops .... super nice !
    The body width is the same as on the other - small - GB models, it's just a little deeper. For a meaningful description I'd have to have a GB10 at hand for side-to-side comparison. Could happen one day...

    PS: I've lowered the 2 tailpiece section as low as they can get so as to have more string-pressure on the bridge - to my ear this helped the sound : it has a more definitive attack, it's less nasal/more prominent fundamental tones and there was no reduction of sustain.

  15. #14

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    One of the better GB models on the market . I really love mine, that 3 inch depth that’s just the right amount of tone and that combination maple mahogany neck is the bomb

    Big

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crm114
    One of the better GB models on the market . I really love mine, that 3 inch depth that’s just the right amount of tone and that combination maple mahogany neck is the bomb

    Big
    This is indeed a distinguishing feature that is often overlooked when comparing the GB15 to the other models in the range - while this guitar overall is also quite overbuilt and relatively heavy given the smaller size the good people at Ibanez probably wanted to offer us a GB model that could deliver a somewhat more traditional - rotund - tone through a slightly deeper body and the aforementioned wood combination
    for the neck.
    The big points for me personally with this guitar still are the superbly comfortable playability in combination with the sturdy construction, the no-fuss design, the extremely clean workmanship and the stage-worthyness in a large and loud(er) ensemble. An added benefit is that these models seem to hold their market value really well ...

  17. #16

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    Well if you ever get tired of it, I am right here