FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Ibanez Guitar Lawsuit

Question:
I have noticed a number of for sale ads of Ibanez guitars that state very strongly that This is the model Gibson sued them over. I have seen this tagged onto a FS ad for an Artist, a LP copy, a Destroyer, and recently the double-neck. Does anyone really know which models were sighted in the lawsuit as the ones that Gibson admitted were Too Close to the Original? I thought is was only the early LP copy with set-neck. I saw an ad a few months back that claimed a Ibanez LP copy with bolt-on neck was THE model. I just don't buy it. Comments? Facts?

Answer:
the main complaint in the lawsuit had to do with the fact that Ibanez was imitating Gibson's guitars down to the smallest detail. The headstock shape was where Gibson was really taking exception, and started the lawsuit proceedings based on that. Ibanez changed their headstock shape (some say to avoid the suit, while others say they were moving on from imitations to originals anyway), while continuing to make essentially the same guitars, even after the lawsuit. Either way, from what I can tell it seems Ibanez was making pretty high quality guitars in the 70s/early 80s (not that they don't now), whether you get the lawsuit models or not.