Other Brands under the "Ibanez" flag: TAMA

The Tama series guitars from the seventies, named after

the presidents wife of the Japanese manufacturer. It was

a seventies project that can be divided in two parts: The

earlier Martin copies but sometimes still produced with

veneered woods used and the later serie that was a

forerunner of the Ibanez Artwood guitars from which

the first batch had bindings constructed out of wood.

TAMA 3558S

This dreadnought is an earlier example of one of the

Tama products. The details are in fact all a bit less

than on the TG120 guitar. The gluing and further

set up of the woods such as modelling of the braces

have been done with the same care!

In fact that is where the master craft of the Japanese lies:

Veneering back and sides and make it look like a real

gorgeous soundbox. Abalone inlay for the sides and 

abalone markers for the fingerboard as well. One remark

really has to be made regarding the veneered sides and

back as the inner layer is made out of the same wood

species: Sometimes apparently from more than two

pieces of wood (back) but the Japanese factories did

not do this only for economic reasons: While exporting

to foreign countries these laminated parts hold up 

better and to be honest: Jose Ramirez also laminated

his sides in his premium class 1 guitars.

There are several differences in building up these guitars:

3558S versus TG120. In the 3558S type announcement

the S stands for Solid which means a solid top.

To our opinion the necks have been made out of different materials:

The TG 120 has that beautiful mahogany while the neck of the 3558

looks more like a stained Nato one though the Hufschlag site states 

otherwise. The fretwork is of a lesser quality than on the TG120 so

I replaced the frets with ones that have more "material" and are a

bit higher. To enhance the transport of the string vibration from

the frets to the neck I used glue in the fret slots. Besides that I

securely placed the top nut for better contact with the wood of the 

neck. It gave a significant better response of the lower strings.

I really do like the Martin copied head the 3558S possesses.

The tuners have been copied from Schallers / Grovers but they work

really smooth. An extra plus is the truss rod on these guitars.

The nice volute they've added on the later produced 3558

and the TG 120 is not yet present on this model.

Nice inlay work but the fret jobs could have been done

better on these guitars. One of the only minors that even was

there after labeling these guitars with the Ibanez brand!

I like these branded stamps! Serial number and 

type number are branded in the inner heel block.

Some claim these earlier Tama guitars as being less

loud and not that sparkling as  the later models. 

I must say this is not my experience! Lots'

of overtones and volume!

 TAMA TG120

Those who are inspecting all my blogs must have been aware

about the tradename Tama displayed on my Orozco blog as

well. I've stated there that the Orozco, Kohno and Sakurai 

classical guitars for the world market have been produced in 

the TAMA workshops. TAMA also produced classical 

guitars under their own brandname. These guitars do 

resemble the earlier mentioned brands a lot. This is the

further developement of their Martin D28 copy. Where

possible they adjusted some features to conform it more

according to their taste and provided this model with

another head that has no resemblance anymore with 

Martin. Except from the scratchplate all parts are made

from genuine wood parts. Top of solid Alpine spruce.

                                      This guitar came to me in this brand new case. The former
                                        owner inherited this instrument from his brother and was
                                        careful with the guitar as well! Most likely from 1978 as
                                     the number system is as follows: first number 8 means 197(8)
                                         second and third: the month (12) fourth and fifth: the day 

                                       (03) and last three digits:  example number. This numbering 

                                        system also can be found in the Juan Orozco guitars of that 

                                                     time. They're from the same factory!

Solid rosewood back and sides, maybe a bit

dull but remember that wood figured this way

is less prone to cracks while wildly figured pieces

of wood tend to possibly give more problems.

The completely written brandname "TAMA" has disappeared

on this model but a tasteful mother of pearl inlaid "T" really

does the job. Grover look alikes as tuners. In fact a bit of

uncommon looking Gotoh's.

The volute in the same manner as the first batch of Ibanez

Artwood series 1 have been provided with. Tasteful!

The overall craftsmanship on these instruments is

really marvellous. Premium materials, good fret and 

glue work. Close grained solid top and ebony bridge

and fingerboard. The inner struts seems to be hand

carved which explains the total refinement.

I've included this detail as alongside the bindings 4 layers

of different colored wood have been placed. Believe it

or not: only 0,3 mm thick! They used the same strips

in the circles around the sound hole. By clicking

on this picture you are able to study it.

Besides the numbers that are branded in the heel block,

the label is small but clearly says TG 120. And then the sound:

Lots of volume but the refinement in tone is there as well.

Just slightly different from my Martin D28 but no less!

It is all about that silky tone most Martin guitars have as well.

Need a top sounding dreadnought at an affordable price?

You should really consider these guitars if you can

lay your hands on them…..

The Ibanez Artwood follow up

 

Besides the classical guitar that resemble the Tama,

Kohno, Sakurai and Orozco branded guitars, Ibanez

did have some models that appear to be made in the

same factory. It al started with the import of the Spanish

Salvador Ibanez guitars and it might even be possible 

that Telesforo Julve, who produced guitars with the

Salvador Ibanez e Hijos label seas a supplier for

the Japanese company. The second world war but 

at first the Spanish civil war stopped that. The only

possibility left was to roduvce the guitars themselves

and the rest in fact is history. Ibanez is one of the

leading guitar making companies having made the 

lower end guitars outside Japan. The Cort company

(South Korea) produced Ibanez labelled guitars

and sometimes of a very good quality. Then,  after

some time production also went to China.

Ibanez Artwood AW 95 (Series 1)

Twelvestrings never drew my attention that much in the past.

But having purchased this one I really can be beaten

by it's sound and attention for construction by the builders

of this instrument. Though it came to me with a crack I

think it has no dramatic effect on it's perfomance.

A nice volute at the back of the head can be seen on this picture.

The overall attention to detail is great on this instrument as is the

sound. These Artwoods were built at the Tama factory in Japan.

Collectors are aware of the quality these luthiers provided! 
Hoshino Gakki Ten / Tama connections ?? 
This model is from the series 1 what means that it was
made at the Tama factories just after the Ibanez take-over.
Everything has been executed in wood: Bindings on
front and back and even the scratch plate! A lot
of details are similar to my Tama TG120.

Ibanez Artwood AW 40 (Series II)

Presented here is the AW 40 from the second series of

Japanese Artwood guitars. The concept was in fact the

same as for the series 1. This is of course a somewhat

cheaper model in the range and compared to my Tama 

TG 120 it is obvious that there was less attention to detail.

Moreover the bridge bone construction: a compensated 

wide saddle in fact is detrimental to the sound of this 

guitar and other models Ibanez provided this saddle

with. But once you change this strange move into

a more traditional approach the sound is there as the

internal bracings are leftovers from the Tama idea.

In fact this back is quite identical to the Terada FW 504 I

had. As this guitar in fact duplicates the Terada I figured

I'd better sell that one as the overall workmanship on the 

Ibanez Artwoods is slightly better and I already was

collecting a bit in this direction.

Beautiful figured maple for back and sides though not

solid. The workmanship is still very good though not

on the same level with the higher end Tama's of the 

second series. I like the insert for the two halves of

the back. The wood parts used at first for bindings

as well have disappeared regretfully!

The fingerboard is rosewood but the double binding

gives it a luxury look anyway. The later Japanese

fretwork is of a better quality than on the mid

seventies products.

The same thing counts for the tuners. They work really

smooth though the knobs do not appeal to my taste.

The Mr. Honda signed label, in fact the same as on my AW 95

Artwood label. The AW 40 is a maple constructed guitar.

The neck as well as the sides and back have been constructed

from these woods. Odd thing is that the spruce used for the top

has some irregularities in it but a violin maker assured me that 

that is the thing to look after! It gives a guitar something

unpredictable and as a result a voice of its own!

Ibanez OT 320

This model appears to be real close to the Artwood
models while in fact it is not an Artwood labelled
one. Nothing can be found about this model but
it is a more modest but well sounding guitar that
has been built with care.

Individual chrome plated machine heads.

The machine heads have been executed with the well
known knobs of that time. Still the original ones

And the abalone inlaid rosette pictured here.

I'm still curious to find out wether if there are

other guitarists and / or collectors that might

have some information around these models.

Some Ibanez Flyers.

 

The second series of Tama flyer.

Some Ibanez material from the end of the

seventies / early eighties.

Particularly this page is interesting as it shows

the bracing also used for the higher end Tama,

 Kohno, Sakurai and Juan Orozco guitars.

De Ibanez Artist electrics

 

In present times built in China with the 

exception of the highest range models.

My first Jazzguitar was an Ibanez Artist ES-175 copy.

These guitars became quite popular because of the endorsement of 

Steve Miller that used one. It was supposed to be the japanese answer

for the Gibson Les Paul. Do not mistake yourself: These guitars 
sound really great and have a very comfortable neck. Built 
around 1981 they had the same body construction as the

Les Paul: Maple on mahogany. Some earlier examples have some
problems with the outer end of the frets: The strings can be catched
behind them. A quick solution is to put a slight amount of super
glue along the ends. The cappilary working will do the rest.

What differs from the Gibson Les Paul is the use of a 

maple neck though some early Nashville Les Pauls are

also equipped with a maple neck. The specific brass

bridge construction gives them a kind of transparent

sound reminiscent of the way Robben Ford sounds. 
D-profile neck. Width at the topnut 43 mm. Scale:
624 mm. Weight: 4250 gram. Super 58 pickups.

The well known headform but a brass metal truss

rod cover plate and a topnut entirely made of brass.

They also delivered this model with a partly plastic

partly brass top nut. The tuners have been changed 

into the small Schaller tuners.

On the back of the head we see a volute as has 

been done in the seventies by Gibson on the Les 

Paul guitars. As for the serial number: The first 

prefix D stands for the month (april) of production 

so A stands for january a.s.o. The following two 

digits gives the year of production: 1981 The next 

four digits are standing for the production number

during that month: 6023. (Source:  guitarinsite)

A clever find, this smooth shaved heelform.

"Built by the proud Craftsmen of Ibanez".

De modernere Ibanez 3

 

De modernere Ibanez 4