Ibanez Destroyer II, fire red, made in Japan 1982. How. Unreasonably. Cool. Ibanez's first version of the Destroyer was a pretty direct copy of the Gibson Explorer, launching in 1975 and sold as a '2459' model. Folks talk about 'lawsuit guitars', and mostly it's nonsense, but in this case it's true: there really was a lawsuit from Gibson shortly thereafter, and as such, when the Destroyer II series launched in 1981 as part of the X-Series of nasty pointy shaped offerings, the shape had been updated to be less Gibs-ish. This model, sold only in 1983 and only in Japan, got a few super fun and highly shreddable appointments: brass tremolo bridge, a single humbucker, bolt-on neck with a 25.5" scale and a matching headstock with handy mini tuners. It looks unreal: the aged cream plastics, amber speed knobs and gold hardware make the well-played candy apple-esque metallic red really sing. The finish was a bit rough on arrival, so our longsuffering house tech Mark has invested several hours of elbow grease polishing and buffing it back to life, and you owe him a Coke: it came up looking outstanding. He also reinstalled the original pickup and re-wired it with nice wire and fresh pots etc. The tone: heck. Into a dirty amp, it's snarly and satisfying, with plenty of gritty growl through the mids and highs and a generous wallop in the low end. Wind the controls back a little and it cleans up surprisingly nicely too, which might be handy if you ever get that therapy you keep talking about. The neck is super quick and slick, and the longer scale and bolt-on build definitely pushes this in the high-performance direction compared to the Gibson alternatives. The trem rules too, it can take plenty of punishment and still snap back into tune with gusto. This was made at the same Fujigen Gakki factory at the same time as those famous JV serial Fender Japan models, and it certainly has a similar integrity in the hands. Destroy your life in the most fun way possible.

Model: Ibanez Destroyer II DT-100
Made: 1982, Japan, Fujigen Gakki factory
Serial: L821918
Finish: fire red, gloss poly
Body: basswood, birch top
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 12" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 4.325kg
Mods: original pickups and knobs removed and reinstalled, re-wired with cloth wire, new Gotoh pots and jack, new tone capacitor, control cavity cover replaced
Pickups: Ibanez V-2 passive humbucker
Accessories: original Ibanez gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples on the end and bottom edge, scuffs on the top edge and back and some rub wear on the front, as well as a hole from a since removed string tree. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has a small chip and some scuffs on the bottom horn, dimpels near the neck plate and on the back edge, some dents on the point in the elbow area and on the top edge, as well as widespread rub wear and scuffs around the whole body. The sides have dimples on the top horn and elbow area, some dimples and scratches along the back and bottom edges and widespread minor scuffs around the whole body. The front has rub wear and a dent on the bottom horn, surface scratches around the knobs, jack and elbow area, a bald patch on the top edge of the top horn and widespread minor scuffs.
Overall: good condition (7/10)

Playing Condition Notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 9/42 strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only