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IBANEZ LOVERS… TAKE NOTE!
This A2630 Ibanez Model used by players like Jens Larsen and in earlier years by John Scofield and others is a … Great alternative for Gibson 335 lovers with a considerably lower price tag.
As can be seen by the picture, this 1979 model is in exceptionally good condition despite minor cracking and some deterioration in the binding not unusual on an instrument of this vintage and is not really an issue cosmetically or otherwise.
All original parts including the very rare and hard to find original pearloid tuners, except for the pick guard which was fabricated by Repro Guitar Parts whom I heartily endorse. The reason the Nitrocellulose body on this model is in such good condition is because the original Ibanez pick guards tended to ‘gas off’ ruining the finish in time. Wisely the original owner removed it for perhaps this reason. As a result, the guitars finish was remarkably preserved!
A number of noteworthy things about the A2630 besides it’s great looks and vintage provenance are the amazing Super 80 pickups it is equipped with, (these are the hottest and loudest pickups I’ve ever used and will absolutely raise the roof!) along with it’s solid curly maple back and sides construction, and a full length sustain block offering the sustaining properties of a solid body with the tonal characteristics of a semi-acoustic. The fretboard is ebony with pearl-abalone fret markers. Instrument still retains the original half bone-half metal nut indicating how little this instrument was actually used over the years. Frets are original and in excellent condition as well as attested by the restorer as quoted below.
The 'Tri Sound' selector switch above the neck volume and tone controls is not functional however I have personally found no use for it since as a blues and jazz player I prefer the full- on humbucking sound of the neck pick up; also the bridge pick up really gives me all the sounds I need. For country pickers the bridge pickup produces an amazing crunch that even I as a jazz player can appreciate. Combine both pickups and you get an incredible blues, R&B sound option. And although not a ‘jazz’ instrument in the strictest sense of the word, the neck pickup lends itself to this style as well as finger style playing.
In 2000 I had the instrument gone through as part of a restoration project. All the wiring was replaced, pots checked for the appropriate values and cleaned, frets lightly dressed and more. Dana Sutcliff of Dana Research who did the work, was quite surprised that the hardware including the fret condition was so well preserved. See attached receipt for work done totaling totaling upward of $800. The guitar comes with a new custom fitted hard shell case by Cross Rock valued at $150. Oh of course, last but not least: the Asking price: $2600, however I am open to offers. Shipping: $85
$SELLER assumes all outbound insurance costs. Instrument comes with a 10 day return policy. BUYER assumes all return related shipping, incl. Insurance.
*Sound switch is the name Ibanez applied to a type of pickup modification.
The Tri-sound switch allows the player to access multiple "voices" of a humbucking pickup:
- as a serial-connected humbucker,
- as a single coil,
- as a parallel-connected humbucker.
Both the neck PU and the bridge PU may have their own independent switch, on top of the usual 3-way switch.
I'm not able to hear a real difference between parallel and series on the tri-sound switches, at least in the few video samples I've found. Could anybody describe the sounds in their own way?
Before reading up on this system I had assumed the tri-sound actually switched the phases between the pickups, so you could play with the Peter Green out of phase sounds. That would be more useful to me
The Artists seem like awesome guitars, though, and if I could find one locally I would probably take it home!
From <>
I think series, parallel, split coil are usable tonal options. I personally find no use whatsoever for a phase switch but know lots of folks love that sound so sure, whatever works for ya. The only thing "old hat" are features you genuinely don't need. If you use it, then it's a good feature!
From <>Last edited by Ed Monkiewicz; 06-21-2024 at 07:31 AM. Reason: Various Text Improvments
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03-05-2024 01:42 PM
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Asking price?
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I'm sorry I got distracted with all the pictures and forgot to log the price. It is $2800 with freight negotiable. I'll update the listing ASAP.
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These are beautiful guitars. I have a 1978 2630 that I bought a couple of years ago.
For anyone looking for a little more info about the model, Ibanez only made them for 3 years (1977-79) and it was the predecessor to the Scofield AS200.
The one for sale looks very much like mine so I would assume this guitar has similar, if not identical, construction, which means it has a curly maple top and back, with maple sides and neck, and a full length sustain block so the guitar is a bit on the heavy side. The fretboard is ebony with pearl-abalone fret markers. The nut is half bone-half metal.
As for the pickups, the seller mentions that these are the original Super 80s. The neck pickup is what Ibanez referred to as a Tri-Sound and the small switch above the neck pup volume knob is a Tri-Sound selector switch. My guitar did not come with the original pups so I can't comment on the Tri-Sound feature. The pickup covers originally had a flying fingers engraving; I can't tell from the pictures if there's any trace left of the fingers or if it wore off with the gold plating.
As for the neck, I find it a little on the thin side but I haven't played very many guitars other than my own 2630 and my small collection of archtops and I don't have much to compare it to, so it could well be that the neck profile is typical for this type of guitar.
When I bought my guitar I had started a thread on the Forum with a few pics and there were quite a few comments, so I know that there are other Forum members who have experience with these guitars. The thread is still available if anyone is interested in the guitar and would like more comments about these guitars from experienced players.
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You're just the guy I'm looking for! Someone who knows a lot about this guitar Your information is very helpful. What's the easiest way for me to locate your thread on this instrument. Interested what you mention about the pick up covers. They had no markings on them but I'll take a closer look. Somebody screwed around with this guitar big time who didn't know what they were doing which is why I sent it to Dana Research and had him go through it. He was expensive but thorough.
Anyway I got a new (used) Quilter 202 in yesterday and just grabbed the 2630 since it was out the case. I'm playing it through a 12" JBL speaker and custom cabinet of Mahoghany.( I'm big on vintage JBL's. I couldn't believe the sounds I got out of it especially on the bridge PU. I wish I had it back in the day when I was backing up major acts in Nevada many years ago. I don't normally like or use the bridge PU even on the middle setting but I was getting country and R&B sounds that would cut through a 20 piece orchestra. I'm glad you explained about the TRi=switch on it . I thought they all had that feature. Yeh the guitar is sorta heavy but you answered my question about the construction being solid and not laminate. That helps explain the incredible sustain. Amy way stay in touch I enjoy talking to you. Ed
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PS Yes it has the flying fingers engraved on the covers as you mention. If I were take a close up picture you would be able to see this.
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Ed,
Originally Posted by Ed Monkiewicz
Below is the link to the old thread that I posted about my 2630. You'll see in the first pic in the thread that when I bought the guitar the original Super 80s had been replaced and the tri-sound selector switch was missing. Also, the original pickguard had been removed so, like yours, the hardware and binding were spared the corrosion caused by gassing. By the end of the thread you'll see that I changed the pups and had a new pickguard made so it now looks pretty close to what it did when it left the factory some 45 years ago except for the flying fingers on the pup covers. For reference, I've attached a copy of a page from the 1978 Ibanez catalog that shows the guitar as it looked back then.
Sounds like you're much more of a player than I. I played a little bit when I was much younger but didn't stay with it while I devoted most of my time to feeding the beast of my career. I retired about 3 years ago and decided to try my hand at jazz guitar. I mostly play my archtop but was intrigued by Scofield, Remler, and others I saw playing jazz on 335-style guitars and figured I should give it a try, so I bought the 2630 that I found on a MIJ vintage guitar website. It definitely works for jazz, and I figured it would also come in handy if I felt like playing an old rock song of my younger days.
Andrew
1978 Ibanez 2630
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Show that guitar some respect and rotate the truss rod cover 180 degrees. GLWTS
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Wow. That's a treasure trove of information. Thanks so much. Extremely helpful! As I mentioned previously, I worked a few years in the early 80's as a staff guitarist at the Sahara and Harrah's Hotels in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and backed up performers such as Roy Clark, Dusty Springfield, Englebert, Suzanne Sommers and more. It was a fun gig for the most part aside from the egos and insecurities of the entertainment industry. I purchased a 1979 Yamama 2000 which I used for the 'pop' stuff but my main guitar was a 1962 Guild Manhattan-definitely a Jazz guitar- which is still my main instrument of choice. The Yamama was all right but what I should have bought was a late 60's or early 70's Gibson 335. I regret that decision until today but I was in a time squeeze for another instrument and so opted for the Yamama. It was all right. Not as good as the Ibanez which interestingly was produced the very same year as the Yamaha and essentially the same body style as the 335. I sold it after I stopped performing and had moved to N.Carolina. I let it go at a loss. There were no online selling platforms at the time and could only list it on a Penny Saver kind of platform. I compounded my original mistake with another one. Oh, well that's a learning curve and one of life's lessons.
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I had a question I thought you might be able to help me with since the information you provided in the past was so helpful. My Tri-Sound selector switch has not worked since I acquired. I recently put the guitar with my luthier for him to make some cosmetic improvements namely the in initials inscribed in the headstock as well as some new bridge posts which we ordered through Repro Guitar Parts ( good guys if ever you need some) so I asked him to see why the TSS wasn't working. When I originally had it gone over by Dana Research they mentioned that a previous owner had finagled with the wiring and made some changes. Anyway it turns out that although the pickups are Super 80's and as you describe they appear to have been changed out for the originals (why for the life of me would they do that) The difference being that the original ones had four conductors whereas the ones in there now have 2, evidently coming out of a guitar that did not have the TSS like yours.
Very puzzling? Anyway does yours have the TS Switch? Is it possible they made some models with the switch but not the 4 conductors. I take the other conductors operate the Single coil and out of phase feature. I'm going to contact Ibanez as well as Vintage Vibe in Florida to get their take on this to find out if these can be modified. I don't need to use the other sounds but I hate that the guitar came with this feature and it's not being utilized since I've all but restored it to original specs. Any thoughts would be appreciated fellow user. Thanks Ed
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Good morning Ed.
The only question you asked that I can definitively answer is “Anyway does yours have the TS Switch?” My guitar when original had the TS Switch but when I bought the guitar there was nothing but a small hole in the top where the switch used to be (see first pic below). It seems that somewhere along the line one of the previous owners replaced the original Super 80s with a pair of Gibson T-tops and removed the TS Switch leaving an open hole in guitar top where the switch used to be. I replaced the T-tops with a pair of Jimmy Wallace PAFs and installed a switch to fill the original hole but the switch is only for show and is not wired to the pups to affect the tri-tone feature (pic 2 below).
As for your question “Is it possible they made some models with the switch but not the 4 conductors?” I guess anything is possible, although I suspect the answer is “No.” I'm not well versed in wiring but not having the 4 conductors would seem to render the switch as a non-functional feature on the instrument, and the tri-tone pup was part of the model's design.
Next, you wrote: “Anyway it turns out that although the pickups are Super 80's and as you describe they appear to have been changed out for the originals (why for the life of me would they do that) The difference being that the original ones had four conductors whereas the ones in there now have 2, evidently coming out of a guitar that did not have the TSS…” Sorry, I’m not sure I understand what you suggest happened here; however, all I can think of is that a previous owner may have replaced the original Super 80 pups but kept the flying finger pup covers, so they look original but in fact all that is original are the pup covers and not the underlying hardware, which may be why they have only 2 rather than 4 conductors. Don’t know, just a thought; other than that, I’m not sure what else to suggest.
The only other thing I can offer is a wiring schematic for the tri-tone switch that I had come across on one of the vintage Ibanez websites.
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If you want the Tri Tone switch operate as intended, you might consider ordering a pair of Ibanez Super 58 pickups with the 4 conductor wiring.
That's what I did when I swapped out the Super 80's in my '78 2630. The Super 58's sound amazing. Also, with a functioning Tri Tone switch, I get those 'in-between' single coil, coil tapped sounds that are similar to Gibson's Varitone.
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The four wire super 80s look to be available from drums ect.
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Hey: Thanks so much. You're amazing! It appears they no longer have the neck pick up in stock which I believe is the one you need for the Tri-sound selector to work. I'm not familiar with the Super 58's but I'll take your word for it if you found them to be exceptional. I would just to get the feature working since everything else on the guitar is pretty much original. I sent them an email re: this. I'll let you know what I find out.
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The ones that appear to be out there are a 2019 iteration from Germany. The cover appears to be different so I don't know if it will interchange. The price is ok but the shipping is expensive and I hate buying out of the country in case of returns. I contacted Ibanez' technical dept. to see if they could offer some suggestions on possibly modifying the existing pu. I'll learn you know.
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You might try reaching out to Joe from Joe's Vintage Guitars (jvguitars.com), which is where I found my 2630 a couple of years ago. Joe specializes in vintage MIJ guitars and replacement parts so he might know how to find a Super 80 pup, either original or a suitable substitute. I remember at one time he had a pair or Super 80 pup covers for sale. Originally Posted by Ed Monkiewicz
Joe's Vintage Guitars.Com
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ok SHALL TRY. hEY LIKE I said you're very kind and I really appreciate you help. Anything I can do for you in the future let me know.Ed
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