Is Ibanez being copied?

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Author Message Guitarman (Guitarman) Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 12:29 am:    Hi guys, Check this out. Does it look familiar to a certain vintage Ibanez? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2537496094&category=2384 Victor Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 2:08 am:    Victor, Jay Tursey builds copies of EVERYTHING! It's no surprise that Ibanez designs/ideas would find their way into the line. Something about imitation being the sincerest form of flatery... Cheers Steve Guitarman (Guitarman) Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 3:45 am:    Steve, I guess Gibson doesn't bother with lawsuits anymore these days. Or perhaps they only go for the major manufacturers. Vic Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 11:16 am:    I believe the final ruling on the infamous "lawsuit" stated that only the headstock could be trademarked. Everything else is fair game! Cheers Steve Tim_Gueguen (Tim_Gueguen) Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 1:34 am:    Nothing new really. Even back in the '70s and early '80s there were copies of Ibanez and other Japanese brands. Aria of all people put out at least a few Ibanez Bob Weir inspired guitars that border on being copies ie a double cutaway guitar with equal cutaways, a German carve on the body, and fancy tree of life type fretboard inlay. Lotus copied Washburn's Wing series, and I'd bet they copied other Japanese instruments as well. And the US makers occasionally were influenced back by Japanese trends. Fender's short lived Flame, which became the basis for the later Robben Ford signature model, seems pretty obviously to have been inspired by the Ibanez Artist solidbodies, and was all but certainly made by Fujigen Gakki to boot! I've also seen speculation that the Les Paul Artisan, with its fancy banjo style "hearts and flowers" inlays, may have been inspired by the Weir. Guitarman (Guitarman) Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 1:54 am:    Tim, This is really an eye opener. I wonder if Aria's BW copies are worth anything these days. I have never seen one. Anyone got pictures? Also, this Vantage at ebay is pretty nice, eh? Looks like an AM series. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2537743071&category=33043 Vic Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 12:49 pm:    Vic, Vantage is a Matsumoku brand name. Aria is probably the most well known line from Matsumoku. Cheers Steve Johns (Johns) Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 5:27 pm:    Vic: I like that Vantage! Matsumoku has/had a very good reputation. I have a Matsumuko made Westbury Deluxe that is very nice. The neck is a little thin across the nut compared to the Artists. Otherwise, it's equivalent to the AR100 with neck binding and block inlays. Tim: I've seen a red Bob Weir knock off on ebay in the last year of so. Can't remember too much about it. I think the vine was a simpler pattern. What do you know about that Vantage semi? Guitarman (Guitarman) Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 3:29 am:    I am really learning a lot from you guys. I never pay much attention to a lot of lesser known brand names before and always thought that Aria and Westbury are American guitars. I can't wait for JD's Ibanez book to be publish. Vic Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:21 am:    Guitarman (Guitarman) Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 10:35 pm:    Hi guys, More sincerest form of flattery for Ibanez. Read the first few lines. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2538798655&category=2384 Victor Ariaproii (Ariaproii) Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 10:50 am:    Believe it or not, the Aria and Aria Pro II BW copies command quite a bit. The earlier models have yet to be identified with a model number but the latter were the PE-135 and PE-145 which will be included in the next long awaited update. I've watched the Aria/Aria Pro II BW copies fetch as little as just under $400 to over $700! It depends on time of year, similar listings at the time, and of course how much hype and BS a seller pumps into their listing. ;-D

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