Tobla - Posted - 08/25/2009:  15:46:37

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Hi there,

I have just purchased an Ibanez Artist Banjo. The serial no is FB51280.
Any idea of year of manufacture and indeed value?

Richard

rudykizuty - Posted - 08/25/2009:  16:21:12

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Probably somewhere in the range of mid-70s to early-mid 80s.

Anthony Herner
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You have to practice even to be lousy -- Jack Benny

banjonz - Posted - 08/25/2009:  21:59:07

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Hi Richard, welcome to the hangout. Good to have you here. The 'Artist' range was produced from the early to late 70's. They are know as 'masterclones' because they are pretty good repros of the Gibson range. By the late 70's to early 80's they underwent cosmetic changes ( peghead shape, peghead and fretboard inlays). This I think was something to do with Gibson threatening to to sue them. Anyway, I doubt if you will find any serial number info in existence. Ibanez was only a marketing company. They got their instruments made in factories in Japan and I think korea. I have owned two 'Artist' 5 strings over the years and they were good banjos. Many folk here on the BHO still have and play them. They come up on Ebay from time to time. I think they fetch somewhere in the range of US$800 - $1500 depending on model and condition. Hope it helps.

Wayne
New Zealand


My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory''s not as sharp as it used to be.

goldtopia - Posted - 08/25/2009:  23:22:00

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I had one in the 70s and regretted selling in since. It was a very attractive maple banjo which cost me about £300 at the time with the Ibanez case.

Bill.O

Hotrodtruck - Posted - 08/26/2009:  07:28:45

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Hi Tobia, I have had one for about 25 years. It is,indeed, a Masterclone. Most people assume it is a Gibson until they get close enough to read the headstock. Sporting a fiddle shape headstock, wreath style inlay, and Gibson style tube and plate flange. In spite of having a multi-ply rim, it is one of the best sounding banjos I have ever played, so I have always hung on to it whenever I "upgraded" to Gibsons, Stellings, etc. My stable of professional quality banjos is now limited to three banjos- one of which is the Ibanez. I agree with banjonz estimate of resale value, but I don't think you can get a better banjo for the money.

Mike

"I thought I was dancing, until someone stepped on my hand!"

grm405 - Posted - 08/26/2009:  15:51:33

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I think the price estimates are quite high. Look at Will Fastie's site where he tracked the selling prices on ebay.

http://www.fastie.net/banjo/ebayjp.htm

A more realistic estimate may be $500-750. Today you might get even less. I see a lot of very nice banjos languishing in the classifieds here until the price is lowered to the actual value in todays market.

Gerry

BanjoSKP

banjonz - Posted - 08/26/2009:  18:22:07

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quote:

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Originally posted by grm405

I think the price estimates are quite high. Look at Will Fastie's site where he tracked the selling prices on ebay.

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Gerry, you could be right. It is difficult for a non US resident picker to successfully gauge the price of instruments sold there. I was going on what I had seen in the past on Ebay. Ibanez's don't come up that often and what with the recession and all, any price estimation is going to be out. Thanks.

Wayne
New Zealand


My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory''s not as sharp as it used to be.

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Edited by - banjonz on 08/26/2009 18:22:36

grm405 - Posted - 08/27/2009:  08:32:50

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Wayne,

I understand the non-US price thing. We are truly lucky here when buying banjos at this time. Not so lucky when selling them. I also have seen the asking prices on the classifieds on the BHO drop to remarkable levels, so I know the market is really depressed now. Unfortunately, when someone prices a banjo (or anything else now) too high, it just sits there, forever. If you really want to sell you have to price it at current market.

I really enjoy the input of people like you, Silvio, Scott and others out of the US in the banjo world. Makes me feel like a member of a world-wide banjo community (or might that be banjo conspiracy ).

Gerry

BanjoSKP

pluckyfingers - Posted - 08/27/2009:  13:43:21

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I have a Samick SB110 Artist Series banjo made in Korea in 1997. I guess they cloned the Ibanez Artist so they couldn't be sued.

Remember to be nice to your children, they will eventually choose your nursing home.

banjonz - Posted - 08/27/2009:  17:18:20

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quote:

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Originally posted by pluckyfingers

I have a Samick SB110 Artist Series banjo made in Korea in 1997. I guess they cloned the Ibanez Artist so they couldn't be sued.

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I am unsure about the cloning aspect of Samick instruments. There could be some truth to it. Scott (DesertRose) should be able to give something more definitive as he is in the industry. There are still Asian instruments which are masterclones and most of the US based makers still use the standard Gibson shapes and inlays. I think there are some shapes one cannot use, like the Gibson banjo truss rod cover. Again Scott should be able to answer this, but I think Sam Ick (Samick) was involved in making the Ibanez's in the 80's.

Wayne
New Zealand


My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory''s not as sharp as it used to be.

pluckyfingers - Posted - 08/27/2009:  21:26:56

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It's always a tricky one when the word Samick arises. I heard once that the Samick factory in Korea was the largest instrument maker in the world at one time and they made banjos for just about anyone. Not sure if that is true though. The Samick brand is still used on the Chinese made banjos but I suspect they are made by another another company now.



Remember to be nice to your children, they will eventually choose your nursing home.

desert rose - Posted - 08/27/2009:  23:49:16

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A little back ground

Japanese Ibanez products ALL of them whether banjos George Benson jazz guitars or electric shreder guitars are and always have been made only at Fujigen

My partners uncle was in charge of Ibanez and Bluebell banjo production there during the days. I worked in engineering for Fujigen for eleven years

Korean Ibanez products are the job of Cort not Sam Ick.

Sam Ick was the largest masnufacturing plant for musical instruments on the planet until they went bank rupt a few years ago.

Now the brand exists but the factory is long gone

The Korean banjos whether sourced from Sam Ick or Cort used the same network

of subcontractors and parts suppliers This network has gone with the Sam Ick and Cort Korean production, Sam Ick is made in China Cort in Indonesia

Scott

Desert Rose Musical Instruments
www.desertrosebanjo.com

stanger - Posted - 08/28/2009:  14:52:01

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Excellent comments, Scott...
To clarify just a bit- Fujigen is the parent company who owns the Ibanez brand name. They worked closely with American instrument designers, luthiers, and respected players in the 70's when they developed their banjos, and made excellent clones as a result.

I designed 2 banjos for them in the 70's, and in both cases, their guys were very open and receptive. This was not always the case with other Japanese manufacturers, as the Japanese have much different tastes in tonality from American tastes. Ibanez made big inroads into the US (and other occidental markets) because they made a big effort to learn what the market wanted.

Personally, using eBay as a price guide isn't useful in my opinion, as it is geared to bargain basement buyers and always has been.

For many years, it was the place where knowledgeable buyers could snap up big bargains from non-playing banjo owners who didn't know anything at all about what they were selling, but for as many years now, as the popularity of the banjo rose, the same ignorant sellers now think they own the moon and stars with every old banjo on there for sale.

Either way, the sales that are accurate to the real worth of used banjos are rare, and the sales that go through the roof are VERY rare. The big eBay banjo sales picture, taken as a whole, is very skewed to the low side. Many of the sellers who know what they have never achieve their asking price on eBay as a result. These sales also skew the picture to the low side.

A better and more honest picture of what Ibanez banjos, and most others, are worth are the vintage dealer's prices. Learning what these prices are takes some asking and digging, but they can be found, and they are usually much more accurate as to any brand's real value at the moment.
regards,
Stanger

The pen is mightier than the pigs.

desert rose - Posted - 08/28/2009:  17:36:18

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Mike

Ibanez is the brand name of the Hoshino company lock stock and barre, Fujigen is only the exclusive oem maker and has no control or ownership in the Ibanez brand

Fujigen owns the Bluebell brand. During the acoustic days Fujigen made acoustic guitars mandolins and banjos for Hoshino Ibanez brand and the same instruments Bluebell brand sold only in Japan. Carl Jackson or Bob Black was given a Bluebell banjo and it was quickly switched to Ibanez

Hoshino just celebrated their 100 year annaversary two years ago so they are an old icon Japanese company

The connection is that the son of Mr Kamijo the president of Fujigen is married to the daughter of Mr Hoshino a very Japanese way to get business security for Fujigen

Scott

Desert Rose Musical Instruments
www.desertrosebanjo.com

banjonz - Posted - 08/28/2009:  17:48:58

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Thanks Scott, I knew you would contribute and put us right.

Wayne
New Zealand


My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory''s not as sharp as it used to be.

stanger - Posted - 08/29/2009:  08:29:44

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Thanks for the clarification, Scott!
regards,
Stanger

The pen is mightier than the pigs.

Tobla - Posted - 08/30/2009:  11:48:15

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Thanks for the response. I found it very useful. My instructor has just informed me that he sold his Ibanez, and has regretted it ever since,

Kind regards to all,

Richard

beegee - Posted - 09/02/2009:  04:40:53

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quote:

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Originally posted by stanger

Personally, using eBay as a price guide isn't useful in my opinion, as it is geared to bargain basement buyers and always has been.

These sales also skew the picture to the low side.

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I disagree. I think the ebay prices and Antiques Roadshow have inflated the prices people pay for good used stuff. When an ebay feeding frenzy occurs banjos can go way higher than the dealer prices, especially when a bunch of uneducated buyers joins the fray. Antiques Roadshow has caused everybody to think they have a jewel or incredible value. ebay has killed the local antique market and the local auction market and has skewed the priceline upward in my opinion, just as internet sales have damaged the brick-and-mortar storefront music store in a downward price spiral. People go to stores to play instruments and order onlne from big "retailers".

As to how many ebay sales are ever actually consummated, I don't know. Low-end stuff onebay is still low-end stuff, but put a really nice Gibson up there and people have been known to go crazy.

__________________________
"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing." -Seneca