What can you tell me about this guitar????

SeRcH · #1 07-18-2002, 08:09 PM

My guitar teacher wants to sell me this guitar, here's the story, he bought it around '92 in a Guitar Center in L.A., they said that the person who this guitar was made for, never went to get it, so they sold it to my teacher, as you can see, it's a custom model, but i want more information about it, can somebody tell if this guitar was actually in production, it has an S shape, but I don't know what brande the pickups are, I think it has a Low Pro-Edge, is it a geniune custom?? (I don't know very much about customs), he wants to sell it to me for $1000, is this price ok?
Here are the pics.

Rich · #2 07-18-2002, 08:13 PM

Looks to me like an absolutley standard S5407. Unless the back of the headstock is marked with an LA serial #, it's normal production. It might have had different picks or something installed, but there's nothing "custom" about it. Price is far too high considering what these have been selling for lately.

caprile · #3 07-18-2002, 09:01 PM

i really hate when people lie about guitars. tell your teacher to take his guitar and stick it in his......guitar case.

SeRcH · #4 07-18-2002, 10:15 PM

But is the S5407 supposed to say "Custom Made" on the 21th fret like this one?

caprile · #5 07-18-2002, 10:17 PM

that inlay is common in s5xx models. it doesn't mean custom like some special ordered it, but a denomination of supposed 'higher end' model, as in a les paul custom.

don't get me wrong, its a cool guitar, just not custom made, and definetely not worth 1k

good luck!

Rich · #6 07-18-2002, 10:22 PM

Yup, do you think if the guitar was truely custom made the one it was made for would want a stupid inlay plaque in it?

The N. Hollywood plate address also leads to things like "Made in the USA", "Ibanez Cusom Shop", bla bla bla. All it means is that the parts were shipped over from Japan, the bodies were originally routed for just the bridge humbucker. They would finish routing to model spec, paint and assemble, none of the guitar was actually "made" here. Ibanez claims to have done that for more flexible options, which makes no sence on models like this that weren't offered with options. I still believe they did it to avoid some of the import tarriffs by importing parts instead of finished guitars.

caprile · #7 07-18-2002, 11:33 PM

i must add....if i ordered a custom guitar the last thing i would ask for is an ugly plaque!

SeRcH · #8 07-19-2002, 12:45 AM

Thanks guys!

, so how much should I give my teacher, like $450?, also, do you know what kind of pickups are those?, because I have an RG7420, and I wanna know if they are the same pickups in that S guitar, it sucks that here in Mexico, we don't have too much access to the higher or prestige guitars, so we get confused when we don't see the usual RG cheap models (anyway, Strats and Strats copies rule the market, it sucks cause I've never liked strats, I don't like that thin tone), also, 7 strings have never been very common here in Mexico, I have seen guitars like the RG7420 selling in stores for $800!

So, anyways, thanks a lot for your advice! This is a very nice community!

Rich · #9 07-19-2002, 12:50 AM

I didn't even see the Mexico, that may be the market for that model down there, but the story is all wrong. Stock pickups for that model would be Blaze II's, 2 singles and a hum.

gkelm · #10 07-19-2002, 12:59 AM

Seems like there was a red one for sale a while back in the classifieds for around $1000? If in good shape I would think $450 would be a nice deal.
Greg

Rich · #11 07-19-2002, 01:07 AM

In the height of the 7 market they almost always sold over $1000, $1200-1300 for rare color and super clean. After the market dropped off though the price tumbled as it did with UV's, it just hits the non-signature models hardest. If it's clean $800's a fair price, super clean and $1k's a fair price, just slow to find a buyer. Player condition look under $750.

caprile · #12 07-19-2002, 01:14 PM

mexico is near enough to the US to order from there. here in chile it is even worse maybe, luckily, thanks to this site nobody can sell you crap. too bad i have to pay about 150 us for shipping a guitar. even with that sometimes it's better.

robochimp · #13 09-02-2002, 05:24 PM

Considering that this guy tried to rip you off already, I wouldn't offer him ANYTHING. Just walk away- from his "custom made"(hahahahahahahaha) guitar, and especially from HIM. You're looking to this guy to teach you, and he betrayed your trust.
I had a similar Ibanez that had that exact same "custom made" logo. I picked it up off the wall at Gc, and they had about a DOZEN of them. I paid about $500 for mine NEW. I wouldn't trust your teacher for the correct time of day.

Kevan · #14 09-02-2002, 10:40 PM

"Custom Made"....just like the other 1000 they did. :-)

For reference: Rob Balducci's S5407 sold for just under $1K, with case (great condition).
Then again, he did use it on a couple of albums.

dcord · #15 09-03-2002, 12:23 AM

It's not custom made - nearly all S series guitars bear that logo(apparently it means "Prestige" or something in Japan), but all the same S5407s are pretty damned scarce. I don't think $1k is overpriced at all if it's in good condition, and that's saying a lot since everyone here knows I'm a cheapskate. LOL

Again, these are pretty rare to stumble across. Take into consideration the condition and whether or not you get a case before making a purchase.