1979 Ibanez Artist: The Japanese Guitar That Changed American Law

BLAST FROM THE PAST. A guitar that came through our shop at 316 E 84th St, sold, and moved on. This instrument is no longer available.

In the seventies, Japanese factories got so good at building American guitars that American manufacturers went to court about it.

That is not folklore, that is roughly what happened, and the guitars from that period have been called lawsuit era ever since. By 1979 Ibanez had stopped copying and started designing, and the Artist is what that confidence looked like.

What it was

A 1979 Ibanez Artist in sunburst, listed at $1,100.

• Body: thick and chunky, the Artist trademark
• Pickups: a DiMarzio installed at some point, the other believed to be a stock Super 70
• Inlays and fretwork: the reason people buy these
• Condition: full checking, belt buckle rash, bumps and dings throughout
• Setup: professionally set up by us before it left

Why the Artist is the one to know about

Everything about these guitars is quality in a way that seventies American production frequently was not. The inlay work is genuinely beautiful. The fret ends are dressed properly. The neck joins cleanly. The hardware is heavy.

This was Hoshino, the company behind Ibanez, deciding to out build the companies it had spent a decade imitating, and largely succeeding. Players noticed. By the end of the seventies you could not walk through a rock club without seeing an Ibanez on somebody good.

The thick body is the other half of it. There is more wood here than a Les Paul Standard has, and it gives the guitar a fatter, slower, more resonant response.

On the wear

Checking across the finish, belt buckle rash on the back, dings throughout. This guitar was used, for years, by somebody who was not precious about it.

It still played and looked great. That is the point of a well built instrument. A cheap guitar with forty years of gigging on it is firewood. A well made one just looks like it has been somewhere.

Common questions about vintage Ibanez guitars

What did this 1979 Ibanez Artist sell for?
It was listed at $1,100 at Bros Guitar Shop in New York City. For a figure on your own guitar, ask us for an appraisal.

What does lawsuit era Ibanez mean?
It refers to Japanese made Ibanez guitars from roughly the early to late seventies, when the copies were close enough to American designs to draw legal attention. The term is used loosely and often incorrectly, but it points at a real period when Japanese build quality became genuinely competitive.

Are seventies Ibanez guitars good?
Yes, and they are among the best value in vintage. The fretwork, inlay and hardware quality frequently beat American guitars of the same years, and they still cost a fraction of the price.

What is an Ibanez Super 70 pickup?
Ibanez's own humbucker from the mid seventies, on the brighter and more articulate side compared to a hot modern humbucker. Many were later swapped for DiMarzios, which is exactly what happened here on one side.

Does a replaced pickup hurt the value?
Somewhat, though on a seventies Ibanez a period DiMarzio swap is so common it is almost part of the story. Keeping the original pickup with the guitar is always the right move if you have it.

Does Bros Guitar Shop buy vintage Japanese guitars?
Yes. Ibanez, Greco, Tokai, Yamaha and the rest. We buy outright, take trades, and take consignments. Details below.

Where it went

Sold. Set up by us on the way out the door.

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Come see us at Bros Guitar Shop

We are a family owned guitar shop on the Upper East Side, and we do more than sell instruments:

• Buying, trades and consignment on used and vintage gear
• Repairs and setups at our bench
• Appraisals. Bring it in or send photos and we will tell you what you have
• Guitar lessons in the studio downstairs
• Pickup and delivery available for a fee. Give us a call and we will sort it out

Bros Guitar Shop
316 E 84th St, New York, NY 10028
646-559-8771 and brosguitarshop@gmail.com
Mon to Fri 12 to 8, Sat 10 to 8, closed Sunday

Got something in a case under the bed? That is usually how the good ones turn up.