Grateful Dead Music Forum

Yesterday I received my new Ibanez MC400. It's amazing. Aside from a few areas where it could use a little cleaning and adjusting it looks great for a 32 year old guitar. The preamp is very loud and has almost a piezo sound to my ears. Engaging both coil taps with the pickup selector on both pickups doesn't give the guitar the single coil sound I was expecting--it's still pretty beefy, but that's probably due to the very different construction of the Ibanez to, say, Fenders. Except for the tuners it seems that everything is stock.

So naturally I'm thinking of doing the Jerry mods like OBEL, etc. but before I do that I need reassurance--it's not sacrilege to do mods on a good-condition and somewhat-collectible guitar that involve drilling a new input jack for the OBEL, right? Will the Ibanez karma police hold this one against me?

"Yesterday I received my new Ibanez MC400...."

I'd hold off until you've owned it at least a month and a few gigs before chopping up a perfect vintage guitar.

I

Ya for sure....If you want to mod it I have your choice of a 300DS or 300NT + cash for that 400

I wouldn't carve that up

Yes - the Ibanez police will skewer you if you touch that guitar.

However, if you love the guitar and think it's the one, then you should go for it. People spend years (entire lives) searching for just what they want. When you find it, keep it and make it yours. You'll be so happy and you'll spend less time searching and more time playing.

There are many Jerrys that use a Jerrified MC400/500/550 - it's a great guitar. Give it time and then decide.

btw...I still have an MC400NT that I'm selling.

mk

mkaufman wrote:Yes - the Ibanez police will skewer you if you touch that guitar.

However, if you love the guitar and think it's the one, then you should go for it. People spend years (entire lives) searching for just what they want. When you find it, keep it and make it yours. You'll be so happy and you'll spend less time searching and more time playing.

There are many Jerrys that use a Jerrified MC400/500/550 - it's a great guitar. Give it time and then decide.

btw...I still have an MC400NT that I'm selling.

mk

+1 and + strummin. Beautiful guitar my friend!

Choppy choppy
peace

I'm chopping up a 1969 Gibson that's 6 years older than I am... but it didn't start out in any kind of collectable condition. If it were pristine, I couldn't afford to do it even if I wanted to...

mkaufman wrote:Yes - the Ibanez police will skewer you if you touch that guitar.

Yeah man !
Most of the IBANEZ guitars that are collectible are the minty mint ones.
Once they get the lil nicks and dents they go down in price.
Also the NT ones are more $ than their darker counterparts.
I would say chop it up you only live once Mi Amigo
peace

Well I haven't done anything to it, and I'm really digging the way it sounds as is. It's definitely not a minty guitar, but it's in good shape, and I'd feel weird about doing something irreversible to this guitar.

But +1 on all the comments on this board about the Musician being a great guitar. I definitely recommend it. And I don't find the preamp to be all that essential, so I think even a MC100 would be a great guitar.

I still have an available MC400NT...

mk

Tennessee Jedi wrote:

Choppy choppy
peace

It looks like a complex astrological constilation with all those holes in it, are you sure it won't be able to fly by itself when its done? Well done restoration on the sanding, I can't imagine how many sheets of sand paper you have gone through!

Yo JB
Not doing the work myself so not sure how much sandpaper Bri has gone through !

Yeah - maybe I should ask for a owners manual ..... looks complicated !
Think some of the holes are for LED light if FX Loop is on.
Each Pup gets a coil tap switch I think ....
to be honest I dont remember what is what .....


Jefk -
hey man if you are loving the one got maybe get a more beat up model to experiment with.
I dont know what model mine was. Lower series for sure.
Serial # was for '77 ?
It was beat to shit.
Peace

jefkahn wrote: so I think even a MC100 would be a great guitar.

http://www.noahjames.com/vintagepage/musician.html
I think the 100 series is bolt on neck ......
peace

an mc400 after the knife:

*word*

I have most definitely been influenced by a bunch of guys here who rock the Ibanez's.