A Bit Of Work…But Now A Fantasitic Guitar!

JGT contributor Brad Jeter shares how he took a 1974 Ibanez 2355 in need of some TLC, restored it – and turned it into a fantastic guitar.

Photos by Brad Jeter

I recently bought a 1974 “pre-lawsuit” Ibanez ES-175 that needed TLC but it had very obvious potential. The build quality was exceptional. I would put it up against a Gibson from the mid-70s any day. As far as the lawsuit, my personal belief for Gibson’s impetus was that it wasn’t so much a copy but an embarrassingly high-quality instrument.

Ibanez used very select woods and, being a semi-hollow, nothing can be hidden “under the hood” like a solid body. Internal construction is top-notch. The shortcomings, as with most Japanese guitars of this era are hardware and pickups.

I replaced the sloppy worn tuners with some Klusons I had on hand. The bridge saddles were worn from over filing slots over the decades so I replaced it with a Gotoh while retaining the original rosewood base.

The original frets were wide flat with great wear so they had to come off. The neck/fretboard had developed a slight rise between the 5th and 12th fret that I leveled before the refret. I used medium jumbo Stew-Mac wire. I kept the original nut and simply filled and recut the slots.

Speaking of the neck, it is a narrow neck sometimes referred to as a “pencil neck” but properly set up, I don’t have any issues as far as playability.

With a bit of work, this is now an absolutely fantastic guitar and it has a beautiful acoustic tone that 50 years has created. The finish is the original thin nitro that has aged wonderfully and gently sunk into the top grain (spruce). These instruments have great potential and won’t break the bank!

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