Ibanez SX-72 Masa Commemorative Guitar

Overview of this Ibanez SX-72 Masa Commemorative

It doesn’t stop! The Esprit Guitare workshop received another visit from a rare instrument. This Ibanez SX-72 (Masa commemorative) arrived in a somewhat depressing state of abandonment.
Nevertheless, it is rather sturdy and the most critical elements (neck, table, body) have withstood the years of sleep in the bottom of its attic quite well.

It’s time for a complete restoration.

Work completed

We start by removing the old rusty ropes embedded in the tuners, some of them, and completely dismantling the said tuners. Big job cleaning and stripping all that. But it was worth the time spent since in the end, the original mechanics could be preserved, which always remains one of my first objectives.

Then, major cleaning of the body and especially, the neck. The fingerboard is very dirty and very dried out. So, we clean, we moisturize and we bring this beautiful touch back to life. We continue with polishing the frets and checking the fret leveling.

Same work of cleaning and hydrating the easel. Visual inspection of the dams and the interior of the body and we can start to attack the screws.

Some screws are completely rusted and brittle. So we don’t touch it. Well yes. As long as it is not essential, there is no point in adding labor time to screws that do not pose a problem. We will change them when necessary.

Checking and cleaning the electronics, which are still working very well, after the track cleaning operation.
Finally, polishing the body, last check before reassembling new strings and adjustments.

And try…

Conclusion

This is an excellent guitar! It sounds deep, warm, heavy, despite the thinness of its three-quarter body. The handle is fluid, fast and comfortable. When empty, it sounds very raw and bluesy. And plugged in, it sounds super versatile with its system that mixes piezo and magnetic.
I almost regret that it is not for sale! I would have let myself be tempted. 🙂

Photos

The Esprit Guitare workshop

The Esprit Guitare lutherie workshop welcomes you by appointment for maintenance, repair, setup or customization of guitars, bass, ukulele and more 😉
Feel free to contact us or book an appointment.

Esprit Guitare – a passion for instruments in Martinique.

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