1977 Ibanez Destroyer 2459 (Explorer Copy) Electric Guitar

What's more classic "cool" than an Explorer? It's been an edgy design choice since it was brand-new thinking back in the '50s. These Ibanez Destroyers, made by FujiGen in Japan for the brand, have become Holy Grail guitars in their own right and are now commanding princely sums. I mean -- when you pick one of these up and play them, there's a reason -- they're well-built, have the vibe of the originals (with a bit of the '70s reissue style thrown-in), and look like the '50s versions with their korina bodies despite the fact that these are made from a form of ash.

This one has all the stuff you might want from one of these -- Super 70 pickups and original hardware throughout, light and honest "playwear," and a fast, comfortable, easy feel. It's pretty effortless to play this fella.

When the owner of this guitar first brought it in a while back, it had fancy aftermarket pickups installed. He found a set of original Ibanez Super 70s and had me fit them back in and also replace one of the volume pots which had gone belly-up. The pickguard (which we think is original) had been slightly altered and repositioned in the past to fit the non-original pickups and housings, but is now repositioned back to the original mounting holes.

Just recently we went through it again and gave it the light level/dress of the frets I've been wanting to do since I first met it. It's playing spot-on and is ready to go. The 3-way switch was slightly scratchy during the demo video (sorry!) but I sprayed it out with contact cleaner and it's behaving again as it should.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, previously some minor wiring work, cleaning, and setup.

Body wood: multi-piece Japanese ash (sen)

Bridge: ABR-style

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x Ibanez Super 70 humbuckers

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 46w-10

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: 10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-wider

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 16"

Body depth: 1 1/2"

Weight: 8 lbs 1 oz

Condition notes: it's mostly-original but does have a replaced volume pot. The pickups and mounts are the right type and era (Ibanez Super 70s) but are not original to the guitar. The owner tracked them down for it and had me install them but when he initially got the guitar, it had aftermarket pickups installed. The pickguard appears to be original (or at least very close to it) to the guitar but it was modified for larger pickup rings at one point, it seems, and shifted-over slightly. There are a few spots on the corners of the body where it was bumped in normal handling and the clearcoat of finish was chipped-out. I've taken photos of these. There's one bigger ding on the back of the body (pictured) and mild playwear/handling wear on the back of the neck. As you might expect from handling, there are lighter scuffs and scratches in the finish here and there throughout the body but overall it's quite clean for a rocker. The bridge does have some corrosion around the saddles but if functions as it should.

It comes with: a more-recent Gibson Explorer hard case.