Is this Kopy Kat a 2355?

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Author Message Catya Username: Catya Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 12:36 pm:    Hello, I just joined this board because I wanted to get your opinions about the Kopy Kat guitar that I think is a pre-lawsuit era 2355N. What do you all think? (On the only other thread here touching on the topic, someone asked for a photo, so I included a couple) Harry Username: Harry Registered: 03-2001 Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 3:32 pm:    Almost correct; It's a 2355 M (for Maple) Does it say anything on the front of the headstock? Could be a Hoshino product. Harry Catya Username: Catya Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 4:26 pm:    Thanks for your reply, Harry. There is no logo on the front of the headstock (see below) Catya Username: Catya Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 4:28 pm:    Let me try that again. Catya Username: Catya Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 4:14 pm:    So does anyone have an opinion about this guitar? I read the: It ain't an ibanez if it doesn't have the ibanez logo thread so maybe I'm in on the wrong board(?). Fg100 Username: Fg100 Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 7:34 pm:    Catya, it could be an 'Ibanez' (in my opinion). I have a similar guitar. Mine is SB and like yours has no logo. At the begining of the 70s they were made in one factory in Japan. They would shipp some guitars without logo so each company/dealer (Ibanez, Greco, Artoria...)could put its own. In one early Ibanez catalog, there's a picture of a 2355 (ES175 copy) without the logo.. There you go. So, it could be that we both have one of those that ended up without a logo for some reason. In that case we could think we have an Ibanez or an Artoria or... I don't know. I like to think mine is an Ibanez... how about you? Maybe somebody can correct me if I'm wrong or/and ad something. F. Fox Username: Fox Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 8:05 pm:    Catya, I agree with F. above. Harry might tell a lot more about those "no-name" Japan copy guitars. Some even came eg. to Europe without any logo, and the importer/shop put their own on. It was relatively easy, they used decals a lot those times, no inlays or such. So it is quite impossible to pin-point the factory, although your guitar quite obviously is an Ibanez, or related brand, you do not have any "proof"... Harry Username: Harry Registered: 03-2001 Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 2:09 am:    Catya What F and Fox said is true: The Hoshino factory also made guitars without a logo. I have a Dan Armstrong plexi guitar copy, that has no logo but is 100% a Hoshino-made guitar. However: the fact that many Ibanez catalogues show the instruments without a logo is simply done by retouching the logo. Doing so the pictures could also be used for e.g. Antoria catalogues: all they had to do is made an Antoria catalogue cover and then use the retouched pictures, since the guitars were exactly the same. This was obviously done to save costs. I think your 2355 M is definitely a Hoshino product "without a definitive brand-destination". Kind greetz, Harry Flatbag Username: Flatbag Registered: 09-2004 Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 4:57 am:    I once saw a Greco SG, but upon closer inspection you could see the (embossed) outline of the Ibanez logo beneath. I guess the Greco distributor ordered more guitars than the factory had on hand that day... Catya Username: Catya Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 8:03 am:    Thank you very much for your opinions. If you're still in the mood for giving them, I'd like to know what people think about a couple of other things relating to this/these guitars. My impression of this particular guitar's sound is that it's tight and 'greener' than I would expect from a guitar of it's age. There are two factors I'm guessing contribute to this. First, I don't think the thing has hardly ever been played--It's clean as a whistle--even the original case is barely scuffed. So I imagine it will loosen up and get more complex with use--though the lack of a nitrocellulose lacquer finish may impede this process. I'm not previously experienced with the MIJ finishes, so my question is do you think it playing it will change the sound if the guitar has been mostly unplayed? Second, I wondered about the PUs. Do you replica player types tend to trade out the PUs? I realize these guitars are getting oddly collectable and would therefore keep the stock PUs in the case, but I was curious about whether you leave them alone or trade them out, and if the latter, what PUs you find most replicate the ES-175 sound (I'm guessing Fralins, but I'm pretty new to this. Thanks again, Catya

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