c.1970 Ibanez/Alvarez Japanese J-200 Copy Guitar

Ever hear of the lawsuit guitars? Of course you have... and this is apparently one of the models that really stoked the fire. This is, to a casual observer, a pretty much spec-to-spec copy of a Gibson J-200... with profuse pearl, maple back and sides, the extravagant bridge, and (before the previous player wore it all off) the decorated pickguard.

However, this guitar is substantially less expensive! And it sounds pretty darn close, after setup, to several Js (but not 200s) that I've done work on. Not as refined and countrified, of course, but in terms of playability and feel it really does give the impression of a 70s Gibson.

Cool crown headstock.

...and a ridiculous amount of real pearl inlay in the rosewood board.

Stylized fretboard end and bridge. Note that I've replaced a wacky adjustable saddle with a bone one and have also cut down the bridge a bit to get the action to where it needs to be. This guitar apparently had a neck set at some point, but since then its geometry has changed, hence the shave. The long string ramps after the pins is really the only thing I don't like about this solution, however, but it's really not something you notice when you're playing.

Most of these copies have flamed or curly maple laminate backs and sides, but this fellow has pretty plain-wrap Japanese maple. The color is pretty stunning, though!

These are some really nice-quality Wilkinson tuners I just popped on. The original tuners were pretty shot and these are a 100x better improvement. They also look tops.

Big old heel.

Nice backstrip.

And cool purfling/binding.

The guitar plays excellently and strung up with mediums is super loud and punchy. It's just the thing if you want to cut through with big old open chords in a country, honky-tonk, or rockabilly band. It also sounds great in open tunings, for that matter, fingerpicked... and tone is consistent and crisp up the neck with or without a capo.