PF or Custom?

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Author Message   Russellhodgson Username: Russellhodgson Registered: 01-2006 Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 7:38 am:    What's the real difference between these guitars? Which ones are more sought after? The PF series or the Custom series? What about the Custom Agents? I really like the look of the PF 300 -400.. I would like to get one someday. Are these as nice as the other custom models? What's the deal here???? Which ones are better made and/or have a better sound!   Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 9:02 am:    Russell: I'm not sure what guitars you are referring to when you say "Custom Series"? Can you be more specific about the models you are trying to compare? The Custom Agent has a lot of fans around here. So, you'll hear good things about it. As far as construction techniques and materials go, I think the Custom Agent is not quite on the level of the PF300 and definitely not of the PF400. I say this because the CA used lots of pieces of wood and veneers for the body construction. Sure, that made them cheaper to make and lighter. But these were tradeoffs from the highest standard in solid body guitars: good quality, solid, tone woods. OTOH, the sound you get from a guitar can be a totally different story from it's construction. Some love the sound of a "sort of" hollow guitar like the LP replicas and Custom Agent. Some with bad backs and shoulders find the weight of these guitars very attractive. Some love the fact that they can get these guitars fairly cheap on the used market. The Performer series is significant for the Ibanez brand in several ways. The company had to get away from the Replica guitars (because of the lawsuit) but wasn't sure the market would support more expensively made guitars. So the Performer series straddled both worlds. The shape was close enough to the LP that it was familiar, but not illegal. The low end continued the inexpensive building tecnhiques that made the replicas a success. But the PF300 and PF400 showed that Hoshino was ready and willing to make top shelf, solid body guitars that could hold their own against the Gibby LPs of the day. They also offered more versatile electronics and the 1978 PF300's featured a chambered top that Gibson has recently adopted for some of it's signature guitars. The only complaints that I've heard about the PF300 and PF400 is that the PF400 is as heavy as a real LP and that they are very hard to find.   Russellhodgson Username: Russellhodgson Registered: 01-2006 Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 9:54 am:    The 2340, 2350, 2360 ect... Those are the model numbers I'm talking about... As well as the custom Agent you just talked about.. Also, what's the difference between the Pf 300 and 400???   Scrooge Username: Scrooge Registered: 04-2001 Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 8:29 am:    Russell I have both a Custom Agent and a PF400. I personally much prefer the PF400, it looks, feels, and sounds a much better guitar. The weight is the downside. Just my opinion.   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 01-2002 Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 9:43 am:    Russel...The main difference between the PF300 and PF400 is that the 300 is a bookmatched highly flamed maple veneer top and the 400 is a thick carved maple cap, just like a Gibby. These guitars are quite underated IMHO and have represented some pretty good value at current market prices (around $450-$550 for 300's & $650-$750 for 400's.) I have owned (or currently own)all of the PF series, including the Pf155, PF230, PF350 etc and these guitars were a very good build as compared to the junk that Gibby was doing in the '77-'79 period (remember the "mini humbucker" and "chambered sandwich construction"). The PF300 with the Cherry Burst or Natural finish are extremely nice looking and playing set neck guitars and represented Ibanez' best and first effort in creating a non-clone guitar for the masses. Unfortunately the timing was bad, and the PF series was not a commericial success in the US, lasting just under 2 years. (The line did continue outside the US well into the 80's) The only downside to the PF400 (other than its weight) is that-without exception- all of the examples that I have had pass thru my hands (6 examples over the last couple of years)or seen on EBay have had dereriating/crystalizing of the binding. I have seen this in the older artists too, but not with the consistency of the PF400's.   Scrooge Username: Scrooge Registered: 04-2001 Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 6:22 pm:    Dave_g Is there anything that can be done to stop the deterioration of the binding other than air the guitars regularly?   Munch Username: Munch Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Wednesday, April 05, 2006 - 3:39 am:    I own a PF300 that was suffering bad road rash when I bought it. Its since been stripped and restored to its former glory. The body is made up of approx 20 small strips of mahogany sandwiched between two pieces of veneer and the arched laminated maple top. This is similar to the sandwich construction Gibson was using at the time, but I think they were using only 6 - 8 pieces of mahogany. My guitar was black but still had the highly flamed veneer under the solid colour. Photos can be seen in the thread: Value of PF400. Cheers, Mark   Lespaul Username: Lespaul Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Friday, April 07, 2006 - 6:25 pm:    Question: So this must be a PF-300? It is a nice flamed Cherry Sunburst. Never mind the single coil in neck position. The original pup is still there. Paul   Mushroommind Username: Mushroommind Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006 - 7:53 am:    here there' s one performer pf 300/400 for sale http://cgi.ebay.de/Ibanez-Performer-vintage-Gitarre-mit-Geschichte_W0QQitemZ7406 018380QQcategoryZ46649QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem   Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006 - 8:48 am:    This is an interesting Performer. I always thought that the model number was included on the truss rod cover. Has anyone seen this type of TR cover before? Here's the ICW-friendly version of the URL. Please use it to place bids, if possible: http://www.qksrv.net/click-1802666-10381315?loc=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI .dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D7406018380   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 01-2002 Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006 - 11:09 am:    John, Notice the manufacturer date...1981 ! These guitars were discontinued in the US in 1979..this version is European only. I have seen yet another version of these later Euro-PF's with a TR cover that just said PERFORMER in capital letters. Looks like the headstock might even have a slightly more pronounced "tulip" shape than the '78/'79 PF series ?????...

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