This is quite weird actually, because the AS50 was not in the catalogs anymore in 1983.
G83 is July 1983, so I would expect this guitar to appear in the catalogs/pricelists of 1983/84.
But it is simply not there.
"Is it an AM50 then?" I thought...
Well, the bridge certainly isn't a Gibraltar II, but even if it would be a replacement, then there is an important difference between these two smaller Lucilles: the place where the body was attached to the neck!
Since I bought that weird 13th fret 60s jazz box, I'm more focused on the position of the neck to body joint and surprise:
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=86&now=7- neck to body joint of AM50: fret 19
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=77&now=2- neck to body joint of AS50: fret 21
The scales of both guitars are 24 3/4".
It would be interesting to find out what the consequences of this decision are for:
- playability of the neck, especially the lower notes near the headstock (do you need a longer left arm on the [right-handed] AS50?)
- placement of the bridge
- placement of the pickups
- sound of the pickups because of the placement of the pickups: neck pickup is right under fret 22, so the distance to fret 12 is the same, but what are the distances between the neck and the bridge pickup, when that AM bridge is further down? Is this what makes the bridge pickup of the AM so shrill?
Both are very interesting axes, developed in the search for a semi-acoustic that would make the solid electric player happy. I have the AM50 now for 9 years or so. When I have the opportunity to check the other one out, I'll write something about it. Perhaps Acetan can make some comparisons, because he has or had them both, I think.
I would like a comparison between them, both with Super 58s, NOT V2s, because then we would be changing two variables, and we wouldn't know which influence we're measuring: the wood construction/pickup placement or the pickup.
Ginger
