I saw Ibanez making the GR-202 and 505 synth guitars for Roland. They're both Strat-style guitars, fitted with the GK-1 synth pickup and the 24-pin MIDI connector. The GR-202 comes with a pair of humbucking pickups and a 3-way toggle switch; the GR-505 uses the classic three single-coil setup and a 5-way selector. Ibanez no longer made these instruments, which were serious competitors with its own Roadster, Blazer and Roadstar II guitars. An influential endorsee of the GR-505 was the famed British guitar genius
Eric Clapton. He used this guitar on two albums, Behind the Sun (Never Make You Cry track) and Edge of Darkness. Other artists include
Andy Summers and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Reissuing these guitars under the Ibanez brandname would be a good idea, though. But both Ibanez versions of the GR-202 and GR-505 should have 22 frets instead of 21, Roland's new GK2A synth pickup, a new 13-pin MIDI connector as well as a brand-new matching set of DiMarzio pickups; two PAF Pro humbuckers for the GR-202 and three Virtual Vintage Noiseless single-coils for the GR-505. Truly a great classic!
