Ibanez FA100BS

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Author Message   dean myers Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    I recently found a 1979 FA100BS for sale in the local paper. I checked it out - its in beautiful shape (just some scratches on the pick guard) and plays like nobody's biz. Any idea what it might be worth? I can pick it up for a song, but I'm dead curious.   JohnS Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Dean: A '77 2355 (lawsuit version of the FA100BS) went for $750 on eBay last week. I'd guess the FA100 to go a little lower than that; maybe $650-700.00??? Anybody else have a guess?   Dean Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    John, Thanks for your information. Turns out I managed to get the guy to sell it to me (took a lot of arm twisting) and I couldn't be happier. FYI I paid just under $500 US (I live in Canada). I hesitate to use the word "mint", but there isn't a scratch or mark on it anywhere. The components are all origional and in working order. I'm not a collector, I just play, but I have nothing but appreciation for this fine instrument. Once I have pics I'll be sure to post them. Thanks again.   JohnS Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Dean: Sounds like you made out very well! Can't wait to see the pictures. If you need help uploading them, just give me a holler. JohnS   DeanM Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:      DeanM Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Hey, all. Had a devil of a time getting this to work, but here it is! As usual, the pics do no justice to the instrument. Can't put the darn thing down! That is the OHSC on the right. I've got more pics, maybe I'll try another posting.   DeanM Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:      Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Dean, That sure is a nice guitar. I can understand your complete happiness. The flamed maple top and back looks georgeous. I think the FA100 is the predecessor to the FG100's that I own. I have a blonde and a tobacco sunburst. My guitars have very plain maple veneers - no flame at all. Your burst looks to be 3 colours in the photos - mine is only 2 colours. Apart from these differences mine also feature a venetian cutaway - not the florentine yours has. Are your pearl markers real or plastic pearloid material? Mine are plastic. I'll try and upload photos here, but they may be larger than the 50KB size limit. Hey John, any chance of raising the file size limit??? Cheers, Mark.   Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Sorry, Files are too big. I'll rescan at a lower res and post them later. Mark.   Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Here are the photos. Mark.   Seth Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Dean: Thanks for posting pictures of your FA100. The combination of the flamed out 175 body and the Ibanez tulip headstock and appointments is interesting. You mentioned that the guitar plays great, but how does it sound? Mark: The tobaccoburst FG100 is very attractive. I haven't seen many in that color. The burst really brings out the maple grain on the body. What do you think of your FG100s? How do they compare in sound and feel to your other Ibanez boxes? -Seth   Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Seth, Both guitars feel just great. They have very comfortable necks and the string tension is not too stiff or too slack. When I installed the Bigsby on the blonde one I noticed the tension became a little less, but not much. If you compare the photos you can see that the distance from the saddle to the original tailpiece is just a little longer than between the saddle and and the Bigsby retainer bar. In terms of sound, these are really good guitars for blues and rock'n'roll, but are a little thin sounding for jazz. You can play jazz on them and get a decent sound, but in a direct comparison with say a GB10 or JP20 - they are not in the same class. Having said this though, I would wholeheartedly recommend them to a jazz player on a budget. They are far superior to later guitars by Epiphone, DeArmond and others. They offer what Ibanez always has - excellent value for money, at whatever price point you are considering. Cheers, Mark.   JohnS Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Mark: Nice pictures I can't remember if I've asked this before, but did you have to change the bridge on the blonde one when you added the Bigsby? Just wondering how much difference the metal makes compared to the all wood one? Dean: Very nice looking! Be careful with that cutaway..looks sharp enough to cut yourself. What kind of music are you into?   Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    John, I put a Schaller roller bridge on the Blonde one to help with tuning stability. The strings get hitched up on a wooden bridge when you use the Bigsby. As far as sound is concerned, I can't say I noticed much difference. Cheers, Mark.   JohnS Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Mark: Besides the lack of smooth movement, I assumed the back and forth action of the strings would cause irreparable damage to a wooden bridge. I have seen archtops with the metal on top of wooden bridges, trem or not. I'm sure it helps intonation. But was just wondering if the metal "gets in the way" of transmitting the vibrations to the top?   DeanM Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    Haven't cut myself yet... My FA100 is smooth. The first time I picked it up it felt like a Lincoln among go-carts. I swear my playing improved just picking it up. The sound is mellow and woody unplugged, and has surprising range when plugged in. Clean and bright or downright soulfull, you can play jazz, blues, rockabilly, or even heavier stuff and sound like you're in the studio. I've never cranked it up too loud, so I can't comment on the feedback issue, but like any semi it deserves respect. It came with round-wounds, so it lacks the true jazz feel, but I tend to play more blues-rock and "interpretive" stuff. Mark - sweet axes! I way dig the tremello on your natural finish FG100. How's the action on it? Does it come out of tune much? Happy pickin' y'all.   Mark Munchenberg Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:59 am:    John, I don't think there is an absolute right choice when deciding on wood or metal bridges. No two guitars are the same and you can't predict the effect of either bridge until you try each on the guitar in question. Dean, The action on both guitars is low, comfortable and easy to bend. The vibrato stays in tune really well if you use it as intended. Don't even try any Steve Vai type stuff with it - it just is not designed for that. By the way a vibrato is called a vibrato not a tremelo. Fender have confused people for 50 years by calling their vibrato the 'synchronized tremelo'. The term vibrato means regular fluctuations in pitch, whereas tremelo is a fluctuation in volume. Regards, Mark   Steve (Gitfiddle1) Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2001 - 6:54 pm:    Mark, My gawd! Somebody who actually knows the terminology. Hats off to ya! I've never had the balls to make as issue of it, myself. Considering that most manufacturers literature uses "tremolo", it's understandable the most folks are confuddled. I tend to use the wrong term myself... Shame on me! Thanx Steve

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