Seizing on the success of affordable Japanese import guitars in the '60s, companies like Ibanez produced as many guitars as they could for the '70s USA guitar market. In this period, many import designs were shameless copies of more expensive American-made guitars. While companies like Gibson hired teams of lawyers to fight the competition, some of these "Lawsuit Era" guitars sincerely rival their USA-made counterparts. In today's vintage market, these intriguing—albeit slightly whacky—axes are great-sounding guitars that provide a different, somewhat off-beat inspiration.
This 1977 Ibanez 2455NT is a brazen copy of a Gibson ES archtop, borrowing heavily from the ES-175 and the L-5. Its body measures 16-1/8" across the lower bout, and the sides are 3-3/8" deep. It has a Spruce top, Maple back and sides, and a pointed Florentine cutaway that provide easy access to the upper frets. For pickups, it has two Ibanez Super '70s humbuckers, which are a reasonable MIJ approximation of the PAF design. Then, there's a three-way switch with individual volume/tone controls for each pickup, and the nut measures 1-11/16".
The shape of the body and the sharp cutaway look a lot like an ES-175, but the three-way switch is mounted near the cutaway like an L-5. Plus, the tailpiece, pointed fingerboard, and block inlays are lifted right out of the L-5 playbook. In terms of quality, the '70s Ibanez builds aren't too far from many Norlin-era Gibsons. It's no wonder period jazz guitarists—such as George Benson and John Scofield—chose Ibanez over more expensive USA brands.
This 1977 Ibanez 2455NT came to us with all of its original parts and components. It shows some minor playwear, but it's in decent cosmetic shape all around (see photos). At some point along the way, it was given the "Peter Green" mod to the neck humbucker, which provides an out-of-phase-sounding, more attack-oriented middle position. It has a fast, low setup with .012-.054 flat-sound strings, and it includes its original case. This would be a substantial archtop guitar for a working musician, but it's also a period-correct jazz box for any George Benson fan. When you pick it up, you'll be "Breezin" from the first note!