Bob Maulucci Project

T he Ibanez guitars in my collection always have had a special place in my heart, and I will show you my small collection in chronological order.  I would say that by far they are the most outstanding player grade instruments that one can buy. The market is slowly catching on to some of them, like the Les Paul copies and other direct knockoffs like the Modernist Series (Gibson Flying V, Explorer, and Moderne copies). In my quest to get more vintage Ibanez guitars into the stable, I started looking at what the had to offer a player that was not looking for a pristine and expensive wall hanger. I think the Studio models of  the late 70's and early 80's are the perfect place to start. HERE is a link to the original Reverb listing of my guitar. My Studio 50 (ST50) is one Ibanez models from the beginning of the post-lawsuit era. The serial number indicates it was built in October 1979. I would assume that it was built in the famous FjiGen Gakki factory in Japan, a place known for

W ith my Ibanez 2350 in hand, I tried hard to learn everything about guitars and playing that I could. Trudging to lessons every week and trying to learn to read basic music was pretty frustrating. I found that I started memorizing the simple melodies and cheating. If the teacher were to point to a bar and say "Take it from here," I would be trying to think through what the part actually was, sort of like scrolling through the ABC's in my head. He finally realized I wasn't reading very well, and we moved on to  him showing me how to play the lead riff from "Day Tripper." That was really cool, and I still remember that even with the barre chords and lead section throwing me off, I loved playing the guitar.  So, that Ibanez was now my most prized possession, and it took quite a while before I even realized what it was. The fact that it was a copy of another instrument made zero difference to me at the time. The Japanese fascination with American culture has b

  I 'm not sure when the obsession began, but I think it had something to do with a bored kid who had access to a lot of Beatles records and store catalogs. I can remember sitting at the kitchen table of my parents' home listening to the old "red" and "blue" Beatles compilations and flipping through Sears and Brand Names catalogs with a few really cheap guitars, likely Silvertone and Kay stuff. I wanted one so badly, even though I had no idea what I would do with one. We just weren't a musical family. We were more a family of musical listeners, with Beatles and Herb Alpert albums and 70's spoof 45's like " The Streak " and " In Heaven, There is No Beer ." Not necessarily artsy stuff, but the hooks of those songs have remained with me to this day. I was absolutely determined that I wanted, no NEEDED a guitar.  Eventually, my brother brought home a really cheap acoustic guitar and when his interest waned, I signed up to learn