Back to Home

Ibanez-made Elektra Howard Roberts 

EBay Auction ends October 18, 2004

This guitar was made by Ibanez in 1977 in a private label arrangement with the St. Louis Music Co. The build quality is every bit as nice as similar vintage guitars bearing the Ibanez name. It is a beautiful tobacco-burst color.  The top, back, sides, and neck are all nicely flamed. 

This view is provided because everyone (myself included) want to see the back. Why, I don't know, but here it is. The back is virtually scratch-free. I would categorize the overall condition of the guitar as VG and if it weren't for the unfortunate damage to the top, I would call the guitar overall EXC, though not all original due to the Gibson replacement PU and tailpiece.

The tuners are the original gold Ibanez tuners. They are unbent and work well. St. Louis Music opted to have Ibanez place the SLM revised "Peace Symbol" on the back of the tuners in place of the Ibanez star symbol. I believe that the tuners are the same high quality tuners that Ibanez was using on all "Lawsuit" jazz boxes at the time.

The original pickup was thin sounding, so  I replaced it with a 20-year-old Gibson P-90. The soap bar cover and "dog ears" were removed from the pickup to facilitate string clearance. The tone is much richer, in fact I think it is the best sounding Ibanez Howard Roberts that I have played. The pickguard is missing. If a replacement pickguard were installed, the two dings visible in the above photo would be hidden from view. Four pickup mounting screw holes complete the cosmetic damage to the top. Structurally, the guitar is sound. 

The image above shows the amateur binding work done beside the upper two frets. As the issue is of a cosmetic nature, I opted to leave it alone, though a better repair would not be a major job. Also shown are two screw holes for a previously installed floating pickup.

The neck is very stable, straight, and extremely comfortable. The neck width at the nut is 1 22/32", widening to 2 8/32" at the 22nd (top) fret, and string spacing of 2 5/32" at the bridge. The action at the 12th fret measures 3/32" (low E) and 2/32" (high E). I have never needed the frets leveled, and I get no fret buzz, though I should point out that I play fingerstyle, and my action is usually adjusted lower than most plektrists' guitars. The frets are in very good shape, and should facilitate many more years of enjoyable playing before a full fret job is required.

The original tailpiece has been replaced with a gold Gibson-style trapeze tailpiece. Extra tailpiece holes are shown in the above image. The current tailpiece has been secured by a single screw for the 4 years that I have owned the guitar. I chose not to put extra holes in the guitar as the current setup has been very stable for me. I must admit that when I notice the single screw attachment, I consider drilling new holes and adding the missing screws, but the impulse passes quickly enough. 

I can be reached at Jazz@MarkGuest.net, or by phone during the day at 228-466-4334.

Email Signup

 About Mark Guest

 Listen to music

Picture Gallery

Gear for sale 

Back to Home