Description
What makes this guitar special: An exceptionally rare hollowbody archtop in an absolutely beautiful all natural finish. The FA-700 was Ibanez's version of the Gibson L5-CES, right down to the carved, solid spruce top! We recently acquired this gorgeous guitar as part of a small collection from the original owner who kept in in excellent condition over the years. The original wooden compensated bridge went missing some time ago & was replaced with the gold Tune-O-Matic you see currently on the guitar. The ebony base is original however. The guitar has amazing response & produces warm, rich tones with dynamic texture. The Super 70 humbuckers sound fantastic & the slender neck is super comfortable, even after hours of play. The guitar has been professionally set up by our own master luthier with fresh strings & low action, so it not only sounds great, but plays great too!
Cosmetic Condition: Excellent condition for its age with very little play wear. A few minor nicks & dings here & there with mild surface scratches. Some of the gold hardware has tarnished, particularly on the pickup covers & bridge wheels. The original celluloid pickguard has deteriorated somewhat showing lots of cracking, but no breaks or pieces missing. The original bracket & screws have rusted considerably. Due to these issues the pickguard is not mounted on the guitar, but is of course included. Overall the guitar has a marvelous look to it with a beautiful patina!
Neck: Slender profile maple neck with nicely aged cream binding & black micro dots. There's some light flame figuring in the back of the neck. Ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl block inlays. Multi-bound headstock with mother of pearl inlays. Ibanez Pat Pend tuners with pearloid buttons are in perfect working condition. The black "widow's peak" on the back of the headstock is original & is not hiding any cracks, breaks or repairs. 1 11/16" nut width; 25 1/2" scale length. Neck is straight & truss rod is in good working condition.
Body: Single cutaway, 17" hollow body with bound F-holes. Carved, solid spruce top with 7-ply binding. Solid maple back & sides with a little bit of birdseye figuring in the rims. The back is of course arched with 3-ply binding. Trapeze "loop" tailpiece & Tune-O-Matic bridge on a floating ebony base with pearloid inlays. The chrome strap button just below the neck was added by the original owner. Guitar weighs 7 lbs 12.2 oz. Very resonant with a sweet, woody tone.
Pickups: Original Ibanez Super 70 humbuckers with black bezels & gold covers. Bridge 7.78K ohms; Neck - 7.68K ohms. Good, strong output from both pickups. Dual volume & tone controls with gold speed knobs; 3-way toggle switch. All electronics are in perfect working condition.
Case: Unoriginal, yet period-correct Gibson hardshell case included. The case is also in excellent condition.