As I have already hinted at in my previous post, a newcomer has replaced Tina, the Cort Source in my harem, a 2014 Ibanez AM93L whom I shall refer to as Inez.
To tell you the truth, about a year ago I had a GAS attack after finding ads of two Ibanez lefties on my favourite domestic site. That time I could fight it with success and let go; nothing could have justified having two semi-hollows, and Tina was my number one. The arrival of my strat, Maria Juanita tipped the scales, but it also made me ratify a one-in-one-out agreement with myself: a new piece of gear can only enter my collection when another one leaves.
Then, long after those were sold, there came an ad of another lefty AM93 made of quilted maple and finished in antique yellow sunburst, but way overpriced compared to the final selling price of the former one.
A little side-remark:
Internet wisdom says that Ibanez guitars are way too underrated (and underpriced) in the Western world compared to their quality. However, in Hungary the brand rings different bells for the middle-aged. You see, in the eighties and early nineties, when all we had were Musimas and Jolanas from the Eastern block, Ibanezes counted as the luxury that the chosen or lucky few could afford and procure. This makes my purchase 'something to write home about' and explains my lust for Inez.
So I felt safe in the happy belief that I will have nothing to do that beauty. Well, to ensure that, I should not have given a friendly advice to the seller on the price the prior one finally sold at - for when he reached that low (about €490) he sent me a message. What's even worse, he was also open to trading in my Cort Source. So it was done, after some haggling we agreed on trading Inez for Tina and about €210. The sum is quite close to the average price difference between the new righty price of the Source and the AM93 - outliers omitted. And did I make a good bargain? Let's find out in the following review section!
It is difficult to find out where 'under God's great Chinese sky' these guitars are made. Certain articles, like this and this suggest that formerly penniless hard-working peasants build them at Zhunyi Shenqu Musical Instruments. After Shakespeare, though this be PR, yet there is method in it? Thinking of families reunited by guitars just warms the heart and sweetens the tone, doth it not? (Axes empowering peasants, like during the French revolution...)
Internet reviews suggest sweet tone with excellent playability. And the looks? Well, absolutely stunning! The quilted maple, the yellowish sunburst, the gold hardware, the fake ivory binding, the acrylic inlays are just a sight for sore eyes. On stock photos and when new, that is. Time spent with owners less sickly concerned about cleanliness and conservation of their tools made her develop a patina; gold rubbing off from the bridge and the tailpiece, mattening on the pickup covers and the tuners, and even "uglish" corrosion on a strap button. This looks fine on this genre of guitars and luckily, the wood and the lacquer seems unaffected.
Now let me list the impressions she made on me as a musical instrument, good and bad altogether:
- The guitar's maple body is very resonant, playing her in a warm embrace just feels so fine...
- ...but it seems to be (when pickups are removed) a 3-layer laminate, and not solid wood as some reviews suggest.
- Yes, similarly to the Indonesians, not even our Chinese friends could wire the guitar or order the knobs to make 10 be loud and 0 silent... (It's just fair, I think differently than my right handed friends and neighbours, so why should they recognise the error of their ways?)
- ...but at least they chose the right pots, so the tone knob is effective all over its range, whereas the wiring seems to be shielded, resulting in a low-noise axe. And yes, the knobs with the rubber ring are very clever!
- The pickups are Chinese Super 58's (valued at about $65 apiece as some forum comments suggest).
- The truss rod is smoother and more responsive to adjustment than anything I have ever tampered with (Fender, Epiphone, Aria, Squier, Seagull). The neck is straight and healthy-looking...
- ...but the fretboard seems not to have been dry enough on assembly (or not kept humid enough in the 5 years since then) as the 7th fret inlay is loose and protruding. (As there is no fret sprout, it may be but a poor glue job, which can even happen to overpriced Gibsons, as wisdom on the web has confirmed.)
- Again, too much safety margin for wear and tear at the nut, it could be lower.
- The bridge is less sharp than the Cort's (very) or the Epiphone's (reasonably). But it fits more loosely on its posts, not good for intonation, nah. Also, the large diameter of the post is so small that it can't be turned by hand, only by a screwdriver from the top. But with its wear it currently looks copper (unless it's just plating to allow for gold anodisation).
- The strap buttons were loose and came loose after tightening when working the Ibanez straps on (not easy). When installing the strap lock buttons I sadly saw that the lacquer is cracked, and so is the wood at the bottom side. Well, it's only aesthetic, and invisible, so why worry?
But finally, here is the evil: she has some high frets, confirmed by buzz, fretting out and fret rocker inspection, so I cannot set the action as low as I would like. It does not seem to be due to wrong fret insertion, but rather some other phenomenon. My hypothesis would be mild deformation of the wood caused by drying and reaching its final shape, (further supported by the loose strap button screws and inlay). If I dug up the information about the factory correctly, they possibly relocated their production in 2013 - meaning that wood was transported, or sourced from a different supplier altogether. This can explain a lot.
However, it is not much to worry about, I've already polished the frets (overdue, they were tarnished due to missed cleaning after playtime), now I will find a way to give the high ones a mild sanding and re-crowning, without levelling all of them, which seems unnecessary (no visible fret wear, no issues at moderately high action). But it is still a way to go before it plays as smooth as my Epiphone G-400 or Fender Strat. (To tell the truth, those have a 12th fret low E action as low as 0.03-0.04 inches with only minor string buzz at certain places, partly thanks to the bone nuts I made, if my measurements err not.)
So did I make a bargain? Inez is definitely not a €210 improvement over Tina in their current condition. Considering that in this transaction Tina valued at about €270 (and deliberately ignoring the law of diminishing returns) Inez should be 43% more of the guitar. In different lights, having her over Tina should be as much more satisfying as owning a better-equipped Harley Benton telecaster in my collection.
Well, sadly, this is not the case, so I should have bargained harder (which I would have, if I had discovered the high frets and loose inlay upon my quick inspection). But...
But on the sunny side of the street I may state that now I have a guitar that I shall play regularly instead of one in the case. Now Tina may get the playtime she deserves and Inez's Sleeping Beauty days are over, too. Her new owner did not have to sell Inez way below value and the money I gave him went right into his Marshall cab, thus keeping the used market rolling. Inez is just in the condition where I will not find it a sacrilege to have a go at her frets and nut with a sandpaper or file so that I can bring out her full potential. It will not bugger me if I have to pack her up without giving her a thorough wipe or break my heart if someone spills beer on her at a jam session.
Moreover, (not as if it really counted) I will not have to explain that "you see, it's a Cort, you may not know it, but they produce most of the budget lines of big brands like Squier, Schecter, Ibanez, Music Man; and that actually some say that the Source plays and sounds as good as a Gibson ES-335, blah, blah." It's much quicker to say "...you know, Super 58, Benson, Scofield, you dig?"
And the lesson for myself to take away:
An ad saying "flawless condition, perfect setup" does not mean anything, even coming from a seller with great feedback. You see, we perceive low action and buzz differently, some play riffs, some play chords (and cowboy/power/bar/root ones at that), your food may be my poison, and so on.
Yo cats, that's all for today,
Keep it ringin'!
From Hungary with love,
BLC
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