This Artist from 1976 is one of the last versions with a bolt on neck. The following year it no longer appears in the catalog; at this time Ibanez introduced the new Artist Generation and increased its quality considerably.
The construction is comparable to the Les Paul copies of that time, which have a bolt on neck. The basis for the body is mahagony, the top is made of birch. It is not carved, but was pressed into shape. There is therefore a gap between the body and the top.
The bolt on neck is probably made of maple, some sources mention birch as the material. So I can’t say for sure. It has a rosewood fingerboard and is quite narrow at the nut. Pearloid inlays with stars are available for orientation. The profile is rather flat and C-shaped.
This 2611 found its way to me in a rather neglected condition. It was very dirty and showed clear signs of use. The control plate on which the potentiometers and the toggleswitch are mounted looked like Swiss cheese. Various holes showed evidence of amateur attempts at modification. After a basic cleaning, I replaced the control plate as close to the original as possible and restored the original circuit. The original pickups with the embossed Ibanez logo were no longer available, so I decided to install a set of Tonerider Alnico IV and replace the pots. The remaining hardware was original, only the tremolo arm and the spring were missing and most of the gold plating on the surface was peeling off. Luckily the wood remained untouched.
The workmanship is quite good, but the quality of this model in particular is still a bit far from what has established Ibanez’s good reputation.
After it awoke from her Sleeping Beauty slumber, I couldn’t really warm up to this guitar and passed it on to loving hands.
Specifications
2 Tone Control
3 Way Toggle Pickup Selector
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