'81 FA-100: First Impressions

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Author Message Billy Username: Billy Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Friday, September 30, 2005 - 1:46 am:    I've been GASing for a vintage ES-175 or higher-end new jazzbox with humbuckers for quite a while. The ES-175 type box and my fingerstyle playing is, as Forrest Gump would say, "like peas and carrots." However, my current situation is such that I can't fork out the $ for another high-end guit. I'm also starting to come around to what I believe is the truth: Tone is really in the fingers, and 50% of baseball is 90% mental. I played numerous jazz boxes and 175-type boxes (the 175-types are not "jazz boxes," IMO!) ranging from $500 to $10,000. I researched a lot of net resources, including this one, and started getting interested in the "vintage" (stretttchhh) Ibanez guits. I pulled the trigger on an '81 FA-100, received it today, and spent about five hours on it today, three hours of it playing (the other time setting up the bridge to a decent intonation and changing strings three times to find the ones that worked for me and the guitar. At a $grand, I think I payed a little too much for it. But the purchase comes with a return policy, if I so choose. There are a few small issues that seem mountainous at first when you put a chunk of change down and take possession of an axe: there's some short, vertical finish checking on the neck near the binding on the bass side, a small, under-the-surface ding/blotch on the treble side around the same area, and some finish checking/cracking around the jack, probably from when the jack (dopey design) was overtightened. The first two are a non-issue, as you don't even feel them, but the jack cracking is, because I didn't know about it in advance and I know it's going to be an issue down the road. The last issue is the tailpiece screws weren't drilled level, they're slightly uneven, such that one side of the tailpiece is higher than the other; this irritates me, too. Otherwise, the fit and finish of this guitar is top-notch. This is a really pretty blonde. Maple isn't AAA by any stretch, and its occasional brown wood marks within the blonde are, generously, character-building. The back is quite quilty, nice. The binding is top-notch. Electronics setup is first-rate. Nice tone controls. The three (?) ply black guard gives off a little buzz because it has only one soundboard anchor; not unusual, I know, but the bottom of it (where there's not screw) vibrates freely on the pup casings, somewhat problematic. The tuners are a little cheesy and not that great, mechanically, but they're serviceable. The tailpiece simply bites--if I keep this, there's an ebony tailpiece in the future of this guitar. At first, I thought the fretboard was ebony--and by color it looks so. But the grain and feel tell me it's dark or maybe treated rosewood. Same thing for the bridge, which is a nice design, and maybe it is ebony? The rectangular abalone inlays are beautiful, indeed, as is the Ibanez logo on the black painted headstock. It's a pretty slick looking guit. Thank God for 1 11/16" nut widths. The neck profile ain't a baseball bat by any means but it ain't slim, either; I'd like a little more heft, but it's a nice, smoothe, fast-playing neck with some body to it. I like this three-piece neck. Nice neck. Tone acoustically is a little thin, but not bad. I presume the thinness is a function of thick laminates of not the greatest quality, as well as the thick polyurethane finish. This thing weighs, relatively speaking, a ton, I'm figuring about 8+ pounds. I never knew a '59 ES-175 to weight nearly that much, did you? My experience is lighter wood, generally speaking, is better wood. This guit wouldn't fall into the "lighter" category, but even so, the acoustic tone isn't bad. And you don't look for a 175-type to give you great acoustic tone, anyway. Plugged in: The neck pup is much hotter than the bridge pup. The neck pickup is sweet and round and fat. The bridge pup is lower-output and without the character of the neck pup, though it's not unpleasant, and with the tone rolled off a little, it sounds pretty good. In this guit, the Super 70 works best with the tone rolled from 5 to 10, lower than that isn't muddy, exactly, but it's not the muted yet defined jazz tone the jazzmeisters search for, either--it loses its sweetness and pop and character with the tone rolled down low. But with tone up to five or more on the neck pup and in combinations with the bridge pup, it produces some great tone for my fingerstyle playing. The neck pup has lots of character and sweetness, I do like the neck pup quite a lot. Overall, I had a blast with it on our first love-in. Long and the short of it is, my first impression is that I like this guitar--I had a great few hours of playing it, I could get inspired with it. It's not my holy grail, nor did I ever expect it to be. However, with some modifications--an new tailpiece, a soft washer around the jack (or a new jack??), (possibly) new tuners, a new bridge pup, and maybe (only maybe) a new neck pup with better articulation...naaahh, the neck pup is fine! forget that!...this guitar will be a nice professional-gigging axe. I had a lot of fun with. Tomorrow I have to decide if it's staying or going. Most likely, it's staying. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks. Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Friday, September 30, 2005 - 2:16 am:    Hmm... My '81 blonde FA100 only weigh 6 lbs. 15 oz. and is quite "lively" acoustically. Ace Billy Username: Billy Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Friday, September 30, 2005 - 11:15 pm:    Ace, I didn't weigh it, but it feels real heavy to me--if it's not over 8 lbs, it's definitely pushing it, perhaps not an LP boat anchor, but close. Has to weigh more than yours. When I said "thin" I didn't mean it doesn't put out some good acoustic sound, it does. Probably more than other similar boxes. I spent more time with it today. Good tone moments and some not so good. I'm not sure anymore if it's the box, or me! Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 12:24 am:    I have several Ibanez hollow and semi hollow guitars and the FA100 is one of the lightest. It sounded only ok when I first got it but after my luthier cut a new bone nut and an ebony bridge for it, it sounded ten times better. It has a deeper sound bax than my FG100 and it is now my favorite next to my 1982 AS50. Ace Billy Username: Billy Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 1:05 am:    It's been my experience that lighter wood is better wood, generally speaking, so maybe I bought a semi-dog. But there were enough good sounds and good feel/playability that it's worth a little investment. I'll try the bone nut and the bridge, though I swear that bridge looks like ebony. And after that, I'll consider whether or not I'll need better pups. Thanks. Jazzzbo Username: Jazzzbo Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 2:10 am:    ES 175 NOT A JAZZ BOX?? my ibanez 2355 from about 1974-75 sounds killer unplugged and amped, for jazz, ballads, straigh-ahead, and blues its awesome, so , i really dont understand where your coming from, what say you? Billy Username: Billy Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 9:06 am:    Well, I guess I got a little carried away, for effect. Obviously, it's great for jazz and other stuff, too. It's so versatile that I don't see it as a "traditonal" jazz box the way I do the carved spruce archtops with floating pickups. Billy Username: Billy Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 9:13 am:    And I suppose the fact that so many great jazz players have used the 175 kind of blows my argument out of the water. Jazzzbo Username: Jazzzbo Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 3:50 pm:    THE HUNT IS ON... actually i am on the look out now for a arch top ibanez with mini humbuckers, maybe a gb , or who knows what, jazzzbo

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