Ibanez 684 Concord Dreadnought Acoustic Black 1978
Ibanez 684 dreadnought, black, made in Japan at the Fujigen Gakki plant in 1978. The Concord Series was a selection of Martin and Gibson style acoustic guitar models made by Ibanez from 1974-80, Lots of folks talk about 'lawsuit gutiars', and there's a lot of misinformation around about that idea, but here we have it folks: this is a proper lawsuit guitar. There was basically only one proper lawsuit about the high quality copies of USA made guitars coming out of Japan, and it was Gibson's parent company Norlin in the ring against Ibanez's parent company in the USA, Elger, in Philadelphia in 1977. Here we have a guitar pretty closely styled on the iconic Gibson hummingbird made by Ibanez in 1978, right in the middle of all that hubbub. It's a really lovely guitar: the neck is straight, slim and stable, with a gorgeous rosewood fretboard and those charming split parallelogram inlays. The original tuners are gone, but the cute Gotoh numbers on deck now look and feel great. The finish is in great shape given this is pushing fifty years old; the black looks fantastic, the guard is still flat, and all the little details are nicely executed. The original Hummingbird models offer a dry and controlled sound, and this is similar: it's warm, dry, articulate and clear, with an understated bas response and a nice airy midrange. This is a really enjoyable and historically significant guitar at around one fifth the price of a Gibson from the same era, so I reckon it might just be worth finding out what all the fuss is about.
Model: Ibanez Concord Series 684BK
Made: Fujigen Gakki plant, Japan; July, 1978
Serial: G780605, stamped on neck block
Finish: black, gloss poly
Body: two piece spruce top, mahogany back and sides, all laminate, Hummingbird-ish square shoulder dreadnought style; X bracing
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 20 frets, 12" radius; slim taper C profile
Weight: 2.19kg
Mods: tuners replaced, new bone nut installed
Pickup: none
Accessories: basic non-original hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: used and 1978 vintage acoustic guitar; fully functional with cosmetic wear. Truss rod cover missing. There are light scratches on the front and back of the headstock with a few chips near the 6th string pole and between the 1st and 2nd on the front edge, as well as closer to the nut. There are chips and scuffs on the top and back of the headstock, with some pretty dense but light scratches. Screw holes for the original tuners have been filled. Down the neck and on the heel we have some scattered dimples and scuffs with a few notable dents around the centre of the neck at the 1st, 4th, and 7th frets as well as one on the tip of the heel where you'd expect a strap button. There are some deeper scuffs and a few dents along the topside by the 7th and 8th frets as well as a deeper scuff by the 1st on the bottom. The fretboard and inlays are well preserved. The binding has yellowed, but is in good shape. On the body, we have scattered wear. There's a notable finish-only crack on the bottom shoulder with a chip closer to the rear. Moving around the sides there are further scuffs, scratches, dings as well as a re-glued piece of original binding on the back edge near the strap button. On the front of the body we have widespread scuffs, dings and light scratches with a few dents, concentrated mostly around the bottom shoulder, corner and behind the bridge. The thin finish has some clouding, primarily near the elbow area with light rub wear across the face which is apparent under the right lighting. There are a few patches around the sound hole where the finish has rubbed away, but these are mostly smooth without damage to the wood. The original guard has play wear, but is sitting flat without any edge lift. The ripples in the finish show the two piece top join and grain lines. Lastly, on the back we find pretty even distributed light scratches, scuffs and dimples.
Overall: good condition (7/10)
Playing Condition Notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 Moonshiners phosphor bronze strings. No heel or bridge lift. Some swelling beneath the bridge.
Fret Life: 8/10, low but level and playing well.