Ibanez Blazer

Dup · 23 Oct 2008 at 22:24

Hi there. I have just been given this guitar by a friend. He thinks he's had it about 12 years and its been in storage for a while.

I don't know much about guitars. I'm just a guy looking into learning and he has a new guitar and gave this to me. I don't have an amp but I assume it will need a professional tune up before I can touch it. Its missing the whammy bar too.

Anyway, here's some pics. What do you think? Will it be good for a learner?

Wang Computer · 23 Oct 2008 at 22:50

Is it Japanese made?

Dup · 23 Oct 2008 at 22:53

Yep, says made in japan on the back of the head. Serial is F527767.

cokecan · 23 Oct 2008 at 23:51

them strings look a bit loose on the tuners lol

Lovin the stained wood finish though

v0n · 24 Oct 2008 at 00:55

It's perfect start (and advanced) guitar. Going by the number it's 1995, Fujigen factory. Yours look like BL300 TBL (translucent blue) model - proper ash body, one piece maple neck, Roadstar II lookalike trim and headstock. Perfect. And it looks mint!

Wang Computer · 24 Oct 2008 at 08:45

Nice guitar. Good that it's a proper Japanese built Ibanez.

I have an Ibanez RG and it's the best guitar I've ever owned. I played a gig with a rather expensive Gibson Les Paul fairly recently and found it inferior in every way.

Dup · 24 Oct 2008 at 08:45

v0n said:
It's perfect start (and advanced) guitar. Going by the number it's 1995, Fujigen factory. Yours look like BL300 TBL (translucent blue) model - proper ash body, one piece maple neck, Roadstar II lookalike trim and headstock. Perfect. And it looks mint!

Excellent, that's the kind of info I was looking for, thanks!

The condition is more or less spot on. There are 2 or three small white marks on one side like its banged into a wall. I think they will clean out leaving some small less significant dings. The pick gard also has a swirly effect to it but that's hardly something to complain about. I'm going to remove the strings and give the metal a bit of polish then get it re-stringed and tuned and see if everything else is in order.

Need to pick up an amp and tuner. Any reccomendations without killing the bank?

Dave · 24 Oct 2008 at 12:51

Being an Orange fanboy I'd say get a Crush amp if you want a cheap one (10W one or 15W one) although the market is quite saturated at this price range. Could also get something like a Line 6 Pocket Pod for effects.

As for a tuner, you can get cheapo hand-held ones that usually have the dual function of a metronome (like this one) or get a pedal-operated one.

Dup · 24 Oct 2008 at 13:28

Excellent, cheers Dave. That Pocket Pod looks like an excellent short solution with added headphone bonus for practising quietly. Didn't realise such a tool existed. I was preparing for a wallet assualt!

I see what you mean about the amps. Far too many out there for my liking. Might see if I can listen to a few locally and see what tickles my ears best. Might also try what bargainst I can find 2nd hand.

Dave · 24 Oct 2008 at 14:32

2nd hand may be the way to go - if you can find a good cheap valve amp it'll be an excellent buy.

Andelusion · 24 Oct 2008 at 15:47

He gave it to you? Wow! You did well there

That's definately worth a 300 quid or more, certainly a nice first guitar.

v0n · 24 Oct 2008 at 17:33

Andelusion said:
He gave it to you? Wow! You did well there That's definately worth a 300 quid or more, certainly a nice first guitar.

Actually Japanese Ibanez from traditional lineups (as in - non JEM, Prestige etc series) are possibly the biggest bargain out there. I have a small collection of 1980ies Roadstars, all of which are unbelievably fantastic guitars, superbly low action, top notch wood, excellent electronics (mid boosts etc) and very, very precise and well balanced hardware, and each one of them was bought for literally peanuts. If you search past auctions on fleabay you'll see Blazer series going unsold for £100-130 pounds and I guarantee you, most of old Fujigen guitars when compared to your typical mexican strat @ twice, three times the price are so much better in terms of wood, sound and craftsmanship, that you wouldn't consider cheap Fenders to be even in the same league.

Old Ibanez guitars, just like many other instruments from late seventies, early eighties era - Levinson Blades for example, are just considered uncool and unloved. Blazers and Roadstar series had no endorsement artists, no campaigns or cool posters, although you would find them in hands of Steve Lukather, Gary Moore or Allan Holdsworth at the time. And of course Marty McFly plays RoadstarII/Blazer in Back To The Future.

Going even deeper into the past - Ibanez from 1970ies. You'll also find absolutely incredible Les Paul copies, often made of exotic and beautifully sounding woods - I'm talking the same moment in time when Gibson was flogging pity "sandwich" bodies made from leftovers.
I picked my old "Ginger" (which I then sold in a moment of financial despair around 2003 and regret it ever since) for £250 and although it was one of the tattiest guitars I ever bought it was also the comfiest, warmest, most characterful Les Paul type of guitars I ever held in my hands. Boy, she grewl and sustained like a dream. Effortlessly.

Dup · 31 Dec 2008 at 23:50

Hi guys, I'm back with the Blazer again. I have found out that this is a 1995 version of the guitar from a guide I found that shows you how to decipher the serial number. It was still made in the original factory.

I recently restrung it and I noticed the trem seems to sitting a little high. I'm not sure how these are supposed to sit so I would like some advice on how it should sit and how I would go about doing this.

Also, the top pickup isn't secured properly on the left. The screw doesn't seem to grip anything. Are they adjustable or just bolted directly to the body? Would I be safe to find a longer/wider girth screw for this? Moving the pickup doesn't seem to change the sound very much either way.

Pics in detail:

Also, I'm using a Squier SP-10 practice amp. So far I'm not too impressed. The guitar is in tune (iPhone app tuner and Korg GT-1 plug in tuner) however I don't think something sounds right. This might be related to the issues above, but I don't know. Playing the guitar raw sounds fine, plug in the amp and all goes to hell.

Will a pedal or other inline toy like a Line 6 Pocket POD help? I'm not too sure what these are and why people use them. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys for your help so far. I've been doing basic chord progression and so far so good!

just Scott · 31 Dec 2008 at 23:59

Dup said:
Hi guys, I'm back with the Blazer again. I have found out that this is a 1995 version of the guitar from a guide I found that shows you how to decipher the serial number. It was still made in the original factory.

I recently restrung it and I noticed the trem seems to sitting a little high. I'm not sure how these are supposed to sit so I would like some advice on how it should sit and how I would go about doing this.

Also, the top pickup isn't secured properly on the left. The screw doesn't seem to grip anything. Are they adjustable or just bolted directly to the body? Would I be safe to find a longer/wider girth screw for this? Moving the pickup doesn't seem to change the sound very much either way.

Pics in detail:

Also, I'm using a Squier SP-10 practice amp. So far I'm not too impressed. The guitar is in tune (iPhone app tuner and Korg GT-1 plug in tuner) however I don't think something sounds right. This might be related to the issues above, but I don't know. Playing the guitar raw sounds fine, plug in the amp and all goes to hell.

Will a pedal or other inline toy like a Line 6 Pocket POD help? I'm not too sure what these are and why people use them. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys for your help so far. I've been doing basic chord progression and so far so good!

Probably need a better amp mate. That one's cheap rubbish.

simisker · 1 Jan 2009 at 00:28

Having missed this thread first time around, can I just say "bloody hell, you got a result there, didn't you?"

Lovely Blazer in a gorgeous colour. And I love the very subtle, more angular, changes they made to the horns

/goes off to Ebay to see if there are any Roadster basses up for grabs...

Dup · 6 Jan 2009 at 00:56

Well, found out a bit more about this axe. Basically built and sold in 95/96 in a few guises, but my model only came in the red/blue. These are not the relaunch like the 97 blazers, but aren't the same as the original 80's Blazers.

The guitar world is an interesting place, lots of info to take in and that's before you start learning to play!

I have decided 90% of the problem is my amp is sucker than suxx0r so soon I hope to purchase Line 6 Spider II 30. I would get the 15 but I think I'd get more longevity out the 30 for only a few £ more.

Catalog link for the Blazer (BL300TBL): http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=212&now=1

I have weirdly gotten quite attached to it too. Comes with the lack of readily available info on them. It's hardly a rare classic but it's in 95% tip top condition and I want to keep it that way too. Can't wait to treat it to some actual playing rather than erroneous chord picking!