Ibanez ST-200, made in Japan 1979, brown sunburst. This is such a perfect piece of the seventies... it's hefty and brown and all sorts of awesome. The Studio Series launched around the same time as the better-known Musician Series, and shared a pretty similar body shape. This one has a set neck and a wild body made from ash and maple, with walnut strips outlining the pickups. Firstly, the neck is great: it's comfy and slim, with easy access all the way up to the 24th fret and a gorgeous dark rosewood board. The hardware is sturdy too, so it holds tune convincingly and transfers plenty of resonance to the body via a tone block and a brass/bone combo nut. The pickups are approximately PAF style, with a moderate vintage style output with a sweet balance of brightness, warmth, clarity and body. Until, that is, you kick the switchable boost in... then it gets pretty hairy. You can boost or cut mids and treble, and there's heaps of boost on tap so you can really get things cooking. The other mini-toggle splits the pickups to a single coil sound, handy if you're trying to clean things up. At 4.3kg it's a comparable weight to a standard LP, but this packs a whole lot more gadgetry under the hood and delivers it all steeped in the brown-tinted luxury of the late 70s. Oh, and the case is awesome.

Model: Ibanez Studio Series ST200
Made: Japan, Fujigen Gakki, 1979 (serial B797462)
Finish: brown sunburst
Body: rock maple top, ash back, walnut strips
Neck: rock maple, rosewood board, slim 60s style shape, 12" radius, 25.5" scale
Weight: 4.310kg
Mods: strap pin moved
Pickups: Ibanez V-2 humbucker x2
Case: vintage Ibanez hard case, very good condition

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples on the end and the back near the high-E tuner. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has a plugged hole from a former strap pin on the top horn, some dimples on the bottom horn and a few surface scratches and dimples in the middle of the body and the elbow area. The sides have some minor dimples on the top horn and near the jack. The front has a few light scuffs near the knobs, some small dimples around the tailpiece and elbow area and some standard play wear on the horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).

Playing condition notes: neck is straight, intonation is good, action is low, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have minor wear but are in great shape, 8/10 for fret life left. Setup with fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.