Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

[Artie]

. . . is Ibanez "Chrysler"? Is my analogy too far into left field?

I'm really liking Ibanez guitars the more I get my hands on them. Have they earned their position beside the "Big 2"? (Should I be calling Fender and Gibson the "Big 2"?) Have they always been there? Is there someone else more worthy?

What say yee?

Artie

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Ibanez would easily get to 500 hp like a toyota 2jz

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Totally Toyota or Honda.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I was gonna say Nissan, RG would be Z.

 

[Artie]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I like where you all are going with this. I hated saying Chrysler.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I would think Nissan also

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[kramersteen]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Actually ibanez would be more like a suzuki hayabusa.

 

[Shadow1psc]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Ditching the car analogy for a second, I've always thought Ibanez makes premium instruments at all levels, barring the recent Gio line. You can pick up almost any $200+ Ibanez, and for its price, get something that rivals the quality of guitars in a bracket or two higher. Their resale value is low, which I've never understood, because this goes doubly so for the used Ibanez market. Pick up a 470 for $200? I've done it, and I love that guitar more than most new guitars under $1,000.

So where does that bring us back to in the car analogy? I think of Toyota when I think of a car that is quality along the entire price spectrum, from Yaris to Scion/Lexus branded sports/luxury vehicles. Just my 2c.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Getting back to the motor transport analogy, would Yamaha still be Yamaha?

 

[LReese]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Datsun. Toyota and Nissan have nice looking models. Sorry, but can't get over the look of the popular Ibanez models. I'm sure they are great bang for the $$

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I'd go with Toyota too, I think. The Lexus line is excellent, of slightly boring. The Toyotas are pretty good but not everyone's first choice, and the gios are Scions.

Who's the 3rd out of the big three in guitars? Maybe Peavey. Always a bridesmaid.

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[Artie]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Sorry guys. (Gals.) The focus wasn't on the car analogy. My bad.

I was wondering how you all fit Ibanez into the Fender/Gibson heritage. Is Ibanez in the same league with the "Big 2"?

Artie

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Toyota...only much uglier.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Sorry guys. (Gals.) The focus wasn't on the car analogy. My bad.

I was wondering how you all fit Ibanez into the Fender/Gibson heritage. Is Ibanez in the same league with the "Big 2"?

Artie

I'm afraid all your threads are belong to us now. :firedevil

This thread is unrecoverable for the original purpose. Now, as for the car analogy, Ibanez is clearly like Nissan, because it emphasizes very high performance at the cost of personality/soul and is not afraid of gimmicks, like a GT-R. A high end Prestige could be like a GT-R and a nice RG a 370Z.

I enjoy Ibanez guitars for certain things, although generally speaking, I get more out of Jackson-Charvel, which I would compare to Ferrari in terms of being beautiful and desirable, with a nice scream that forces people to part with cash.

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Subaru lol

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Sorry guys. (Gals.) The focus wasn't on the car analogy. My bad.

I was wondering how you all fit Ibanez into the Fender/Gibson heritage. Is Ibanez in the same league with the "Big 2"?

Artie

Ah, I get ya. No, I don't think they're in that "league", but that's no necessarily a bad thing. Much like how Toyota ain't no Ford...it's different and in many ways better.

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[Artie]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Getting back to the motor transport analogy, would Yamaha still be Yamaha?

I would say, "yes". Great bikes, great guitars. (I miss my Midnight Virago.)

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I think that, despite how good Ibanez is, the weight of the cultural heritage of big US makers like Fender or Gibson will always make them more prominent. This is partly to do with the eras that both companies are associated with, development of popular music being the main thing. Ibanez began as making (very good) copies of the big boys, and went on, in the 80s to find their own style and appeal, but it's not quite of the same impetus as the associations F & G have, which have had broader socio-cultural significance, I think.

Anyone can make an excellent guitar, regardless of whether they're in Japan or the west, if given the right incentives and environment. I think Ibanez can make a production guitar as good as anyone, it's a matter of taste. I play old 80s ones because they have features I like, are an excellent platform for mods, and the upper range models have some ritzy stuff, like nice ebony boards etc. So many people associate Ibanez with RGs and Jems that it's easy to forget how much variety there was/is.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

I think that, despite how good Ibanez is, the weight of the cultural heritage of big US makers like Fender or Gibson will always make them more prominent. This is partly to do with the eras that both companies are associated with, development of popular music being the main thing. Ibanez began as making (very good) copies of the big boys, and went on, in the 80s to find their own style and appeal, but it's not quite of the same impetus as the associations F & G have, which have had broader socio-cultural significance, I think.

Anyone can make an excellent guitar, regardless of whether they're in Japan or the west, if given the right incentives and environment. I think Ibanez can make a production guitar as good as anyone, it's a matter of taste. I play old 80s ones because they have features I like, are an excellent platform for mods, and the upper range models have some ritzy stuff, like nice ebony boards etc. So many people associate Ibanez with RGs and Jems that it's easy to forget how much variety there was/is.

I was just going to bring up the pre-lawsuit business. That's why Japanese cars are such a fitting analogy as well. It's not so much a Japan vs America thing as a New, foreign maker in a market of entrenched companies.

Chicken Tax = Lawsuit?

 

[ginormous]

Re: Ibanez? If Fender and Gibson are Chevy and Ford . . .

Datsun. Toyota and Nissan have nice looking models. Sorry, but can't get over the look of the popular Ibanez models. I'm sure they are great bang for the $$

...was the original name for the American-exported cars made by Nissan.
They haven't used that name in the US since 1986, although they are bringing it back for smaller international markets.

I wouldn't mind having the Ibby script-logo P-bass I saw back in the day, a pre-lawsuit Cimar singlecut, or a strat-copy Cimar Stinger
(Cimar was a Hoshino off-brand that was in some Ibby catalogs in the 70s; Hoshino Gakki is the Ibanez parent co).

Much like how Toyota ain't no Ford...it's different and in many ways better.

edit: Ford and Yamaha did work together once, on the old Taurus SHO. The Yamaha V6 got nicknamed "the Shogun".
edit 2: dig this pdf... Hoshino even did a Ricky 'tribute' bass! See page 7.