This is very similar to an off-white Gibson SG I purchased in 1980. This Ibanez is in great shape for a 45 year old guitar. Upgraded with new pickups, tuners, nut, bridge/tail and electronics.
Specifications
Owner:
RobertI
Brand:
Ibanez
Instrument type:
Electric Guitar
Series:
Other
Model:
SG Copy
Original factory condition:
No
Year of manufacture:
1973
Neck type:
Bolt On
Tuners:
D'Addario Auto-Trim Locking Tuning Machines
Nut:
Bone
Number of frets:
21
Bridge type:
Tunomatic
Finish:
Off-white
Pickups:
2. Bridge - Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Model Humbucker. Neck - PRS SE Stock
Knobs:
Wiring/Controls:
Modified with new pots, wiring, jack, and switch.
Hardware color:
Chrome
Modifications:
New pickups, tuners, nut, bridge/tail and electronics.
07/19/2021 at 08:53
Hi Robertl,
Wow – nice guitar! I love the Ibanez SG replica in off-white, especially if that color has become a bit ‘creamy’ over the years.
However, the guitar you’re showing is not an Ibanez model 2394. The 2394 is the ‘Maple’ version, instantly recognizable by the maple-blonde neck with black position markers.
I’m not sure which model your guitar is, but let’s take a close look.
She’s got the “Gibson-style Open Book” headstock, a stoptail (no bigsby-like tremolo) and block position markers.
That means she is…
1) a model “2354S /WH” (S for stoptail, WH for white) if she’s a bolt-on guitar,
2) a model “2654 WH” if she’s a set-neck guitar.
3) There’s a very slim chanche she might be a model “2441WH”. According to the catalogs, the 2441WH has the ‘Guild-style’ headstock with ‘Rabbit Head’ inlay. However… we’ve seen more Ibanez models that were displayed in catalogs only with ‘Guild-style’ headstocks, but we found a few examples of these models with ‘Open Book’ style headstocks, too.
The 2441 is a bolt-on guitar, very similar to the 2354S. You can recognize a 2441 by the connection between neck and body: the 2441 has a hooked heel; the 2354S doesn’t.
So… If you post a picture of the neck connection, we’ll know which guitar model she is.
Cheers
Leo
08/20/2021 at 02:13
Thanks Leo. Not sure where the model number came from…was not in my original post, so someone must have added. It was really challenging to nail down info about the specifics since there was no serial number. From what I could tell from old Ibanez catalogs online I think 1975 is the correct year. The neck is bolt-on and the heel is flat, not rounded. I’ll post a picture soon. -Robert I.
08/26/2021 at 13:13
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the reply. One of the guys made a little mistake thinking it was a 2394, but as you can see, it is now categorized correctly as an Ibanez 2354.
You are correct that no serial number means 1975 or earlier. Ibanez started using serial numbers for solid body electric guitars in August 1975.
But… your guitar might be a little older than 1975. The 2354 was made from 1971 to 1978.
And there’s a very specific tell-tale sign that this guitar was made before 1973!
Take a close look at the ‘edges’ of your fretboard (close to the humbucker). These edges are rounded-off, not squared edges. This is true for all the Gibson-style replicas that Ibanez made in 1971 and 1972.
Do you still have one of the original humbuckers? The stamp on the back will tell us exactly when the guitar was made.
Cheers
Leo
09/09/2021 at 06:36
Hello Leo,
Model 2354 does seem like the correct number. I found this post from someone who has a guitar that looks just like mine and identified the year as 1973: https://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/messages/13/16575.html?1150480553 .
I’m not sure if 1973 is the correct year. To your point, the edges of the fretboard are rounded off. When I bought the guitar, the pickups appeared not to be the original – the bridge was a Peavey pick-up and the neck was a generic black humbucker without a cover (it was corroded on the back, but you can definitely see the number “15” stamped on it). I replaced both pickups since they sounded horrible! I also posted a picture of the neck connection to see if that helps narrow the year down. Thanks again. -Robert I.
11/19/2021 at 06:10
Hi Leo, if i loaded up some pics of my old Ibanez you think you could give model or date , im guessing around 1975 i got her.
11/19/2021 at 16:24
Hi Joe,
Sure – I can try! I’m familiar with a lot of Ibanezzes of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. If you have uploaded them, just let me know.
Cheers
Leo
11/19/2021 at 21:03
Hi Leo, thanks for that. But being a newbie here how do i upload the pics here, or do i need to go to the Add guitar and fill out all the details, which i wouldn’t know really much about it. Just wanted opinions on it, not selling at the moment
11/19/2021 at 21:59
Hi Joe,
Please use the ‘add new guitar’ option. Maybe you can use the title ‘Ibanez Unknown Model’ or ‘ibanez, please help identify’ or something like that.
And about the details form… you can fill in ‘unknown’ if you don’t know.
Looking forward to this ‘Mystery Ibanez’! Hope I can help.
Cheers
Leo
11/26/2021 at 17:33
Hi Joe,
Are you succeeding in uploading the pictures? If you’re having difficulty uploading your pictures on this site… maybe you can try http://www.ibanezcollectors.com. On the left side, you’ll see a menu. Choose “ICW Forum”. There, you can start a post and upload your photos.
Cheers
Leo