Were the graphics actually painted on, or was it a print applied to the body then cleared over?

Andy

did you have a look here?

http://jemsite.com/usa/index.htm#ucgr

Ummmmm....NO!

and your point is vaibanez?

I know the original artwork was hand painted, but was EACH guitar hand painted, or was an orignal artwork painted and then a print placed on the top of the guitar and clearcoated? From a production standpoint it'd be a helluva lot easier (and cheaper) to laminate a print. The fctory could say the artwork was hand painted, meaning the original, but leading the customer to think they meant each individual guitar. Not that any manufacturer would actually DO something like that... Heh.

Actually, no, you couldn't do that- advertize something as "individually hand painted and signed by the artist" and then silk screen them, and you're gonna find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit. I don't recall what ibanez did, but if they advertise them as individually hand painted, then either they're idiots and looking to go down in legal flames, or the artists painted every body.

-Drew

Every USACG is hand painted [even though most of them are airbrushed so "hand painted" doesn't quite seem like the right term]