Ibanez 2650 Les Paul

This guitar is exceptional in several ways. On the one hand, it is one of the few Ibanez Les Paul copies with a set neck, on the other hand, it was only made for one year and is hard to find. It only came across my hands once and it was the lucky opportunity to be able to buy it. It also offers something remarkable in terms of sound.

Ibanez brought this guitar onto the market in 1976/77 with the model name 2650. No other guitar from this company has come closer to the original. Its (pancake) body consists of several pieces mahogany with a curly carved maple top. It is really solidly built, there is no gap between the top and the body.
The set neck is made of three-piece maple with an ebonized rosewood fingerboard.
It has all the features of a Les Paul Custom such as bindings on the top and bottom of the body as well as on the neck and headstock. The fingerboard is equipped with block inlays.

Unfortunately the hardware is not original, the bridge and tailpiece were replaced with parts from Gotoh and the tuners come from Duesenberg. The original Super 70 humbuckers have been replaced by Super 80 pickups. At least the guitar has not been structurally touched and all replaced parts are more or less consistent.

The neck profile has a fairly full C shape. The frets were probably replaced recently and show no signs of use. The playability is very comfortable and the setup is perfect.

When it comes to sound, the sun rises here, it has an incredibly fast and clean response. Chords always sound clear and defined with a touch of twang. The neck pickup in particular delivers a tone with a depth and clarity that is impressive. This guitar has sustain to a degree that is hard to believe. The Super 80 seem to fit perfectly here.
An interview by Lester Pollfuss aka Les Paul comes to mind, in which he described his early experiences with electric guitars something like this:
‘You can pick up a string and go out to eat. When you come back it still sounds.’
I don’t know where he went to eat, but if this comparison can apply, it would be here.

It’s actually the best sounding Les Paul I’ve ever come across. I’ve owned a few Les Pauls, including two Gibson and two Heritage, but none had this distinct tonal quality.