Ibanez 2380 Les Paul Recording copy

Ibanez 2380, made some time between 1970 and 1973 in Japan. Appears in catalogs for those years; Made in Japan plate places it in this time period. Ibanez issued no serial numbers for these "pre-lawsuit" years. Sticker on the back of headstock with "HOUSE OF <picture of guitar>"; Split Diamond inlaid headstock with Ibanez inlay and open book headstock. Excellent black/white/black binding and hand polished finish throughout.

Has 22 1/2 frets, Solid Mahogany top, bolt on neck. Configured with Volume, Tone (compare to another brand's "Decade" control: positions 1,2,3) Treble and Bass. Switches; In-Out phase, Lo - Hi Ouput, Tone 1-2-3 positions, Pickups toggle - Front, Both, Bridge.

Ibanez King's Tone pickups are resin coated stacked humbuckers and to my knowledge, exact knockoffs from another companies recording model pickups (dirty works/EMG).

Chrome stop tail piece and tune-o-matic copy with nylon saddles; brass nut. Chrome tuners with stars.

As noted before, larger body than the standard Les Paul, fits very snugly into an SKB-56 case.

Per the catalog entry from 1970:
"Solid body with contoured top, finished in bright mahogany. Detachable neck incorporating adjustable truss rod.
Rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl inlays.
Individual chrome plated machine heads.
New powerful King`s Tone pickups units with high-low impedance switch.
Black laminated pickguard.
Entire instrument is mirror polished by hand."

I play very noisy rock. It suits that well. I play through a ProCo Vintage Rat and an Ibanez TS9 Reissue into a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410. Extremely full sounding. Turn the phase out and you get a Stratocaster sound. Decade control gets brighter from 1 - 3. Typical humbucker sound when "In" phase-- appropriate chunk. The guitar has a buzz when both pickups are not selected. The 'lo impedance' setting is designed to go straight into a recording console, which I will never do.

For a guitar over 30 years old, the fit and finish is beautiful. Very close action with minimal buzzing--could use a truss rod adjustment. The brass nut seems to be a bit tight, and I'm riding 9s. Bends result in a stress noise. Fretwires are beautiful and no complaints re: hardware besides the "Tone" (read: Decade) switch-- a previous owner replaced the three-way switch with a shorter post. The screw on the knob does not connect making selection difficult.

It should withstand live shows, as long as I stay away from the sauce. The hardware is solid and has aged nicely. The finish, although very polished, will suffer from additional belt rash and gouges. Solid strap buttons, but I would suggest a strap-lock. Appears to be a dependable and well-built guitar. I would gig without a backup--but my bandmates would murder me.

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I have "played" the guitar since 1989. I would definitely seek to replace this unique guitar, however, it is one in a million. The Gibson version is difficult to find and I imagine the Ibanez version equally difficult to locate. I wish it came with the original case, however, the SKB-56 snugly fits the Ibanez 2380. Other LP cases are not wide enough to accommodate the body, nor long enough.

Aesthetically, the headstock split diamond inlay and the beautiful wood grain are my favorite features. The pickup configuration is a close second. A truly unique experience.

1973 Ibanez Les Paul Recording Copy (pre lawsuit), 22 1/2 frets, Solid Mahogany top, bolted neck. Control knobs;Volume, tone (positions 1,2,3) , treble & bass, Switches; In-Out phase, Lo - Hi Ouput, Tone 1-2-3 positions, Pickups toggle - Front, Both, Bridge. Ibanez pickups resin coated, Transparent finish accentuating the grain of the wood - nice look. Bigger rounder body than the standard Les Paul, Chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge in greater condition (as with rest of guitar), minor rubbing on back, minimal fret wear. Original hard travel case still in excellent condition!

Varitey of style - punk/indie/jazz/rock fusion _WELL really just NOISE! Play with a New Zealand combo guitar amplifier ROCKIT 112 - Super Sustain 120 (reverb & overdrive features,small graphic equaliser). Very clear clean sound with wide variation of tones, in -out of phase and tone selectors quite varied tones but requires experimenting. Most varied in tones of any electric guitar I've played!

Guitar is well set up, minor adjustment when I brought it to set it to my action. (Unorthodox at best!). Can't say enough, great looking guitar with warm wood colour tones, grain. Quite a heavy guitar similar in weight to Ibanez Artist series. I'm keen to check out an original Gibson Les Paul recording to compare!

Seems to have survived 32 years well enough, think it will be around long after I'm gone! Finish is excellent, components (tuning heads, brideg, switches, scratch board, Nut, truss rod output socket etc all good quality durable and well finished. Very dependable, probably would use so much for gigging, unless a laid back cafe or smaller intimate performance otherwise stick to lighter guitar.

Unsure of warranty but I would expect that it would be a lifetime warranty if it's an Ibanez guitar.

Been playing for 18 years. Various infamous bands. Owned an electic Ibanez Blaser,solid body ash until recently stolen, also a Diplomat - Les Paul custom copy, Ibanez V280 CS Acoustic guitar. If I had this one stolen I'd want ot replace it with another or an original Gibson Les Paul Recording (about three times the price on eBay!). Love the tonal variation and style.