This makes me happy; it looks wonderful!
Hello, everyone! I am the person from whom HDS recently purchased this
CN200. He just emailed me some photos of it ( thank you for remembering ) and I thought I would look on here, as well, so I just registered to post this....
That guitar was used on about 400 live gigs and in countless studio sessions over the course of a couple decades, and the battle scars and "personality" ( paint! etc. ) it gained during that time was naturally earned - not through abuse, but through its natural passage through those times: touring vans, dressing room doorways, cramped stages and studios, microphone stands, the bass player's Precision's headstock, and even an impudent or aggressive face or two!
I bought the guitar brand-new in the summer of 1978 at Sam Ash in New York, for $299 including the case. I was attracted to the body design ( like a Stratocaster, which I liked ) and the Gibson-style components. It did indeed feel and play like a Les Paul. Anyway, it looked damn good and the price was fantastic, since the Fenders and Gibsons all seemed to be priced at around a thousand dollars ( and built like crap ) at the time. The Ibanez Artist series were gaining a lot of respect and press at the time, but I could not afford one of those, either!
The quest at that time ( Carlos Santana was one big influence on guitar players then ) was for more and more sustain. The glued neck and the brass nut were some of the approaches used at the time in that search. With today's perspective such things of course might seem faintly ridiculous, but at the time modding guitars was in its infancy.
The bridge pickup replacement with that cream open dual-coil unit ( a highly-regarded and high-quality, hi-spec Bill Lawrence, by the way; the only other quality choice I was aware of at the time was DiMarzio and their offerings then were too "hot" for what I wanted ) and the mini-toggles for split-coil and reverse phase were an avant-garde if ham-fisted attempt to bring the guitar to where it was needed to compete with the advanced designs hitting the market at that time, and to make it work better for me.
Everyone at the time was playing newer ( poor quality ) Stratocasters and Les Pauls, it seemed. I chose to buck the trend and go a different way in using this Ibanez, recognizing its quality and its abilities. Trust me, I was criticized and made fun of for it. Regardless, I chose to enhance the guitar's intrinsic abilities with changes to meet my own personal needs, and over the course of many decades it gained its own personality. And remember, at the time it was just a great working guitar, not a collectible or a historic piece....
And don't ask ( "don't tell", lol ) about the circumstances under which it gained that paint job one evening.....ah, those were the days!
What ultimately replaced the CN200 as my # 1 and relegated it almost permanently to its case? Well, a Fender American Standard Stratocaster ( still my current # 1 ). Since then, I have added so many guitars to my arsenal ( 6 Gibsons, 4 Rickenbackers, and 6 Fenders currently, among some other odds and ends ) that the Ibanez never got played - and, anyway, sadly it ended up needing way more attention than I was qualified or motivated to give.
Interestingly, given that early history of mine - and now that guitar modding is all the rage these days - every one of my current guitars is dead stock, lol!
HDS, I will continue to look for the "cloud" and the other Flying Fingers pickup, and let you know when I find them - as I mentioned to you, I know I have them I just "haven't found that box yet". When I give you the other Flying Finger, I would love to have the Bill Lawrence back - if at all possible. If not, I understand and no problem! I will also try to find some photos I have of the guitar in action "back in the day", and post them here.
I am very happy to see someone as talented and skilled as HDS - with a true interest in the guitar and brand - spend the time and effort to bring it "back to life". It has truly found itself a good home, which is really all I wanted when I sold it to him. Good on ya, man.
And cheers to all of you for appreciating and supporting a brand that truly deserves it!
