From the Bernie Marsden collection we have this stunning 1979 Ibanez Artist 2640 Twin neck. Bernie bought this at a guitar show in Italy in 2016 having had quite the interaction with the seller over the weekend. 

This guitar is featured on page 119 of Bernie's hardback book 'Tales of Tone and Volume' a copy of which will be included with this sale.

With a lineage that dates back to the early 20th Century, Ibanez entered the guitar building fray in the 60s making copies of American designs before branching out into their own, quickly gaining attention of artists such as Bob Weir and John McLaughlin. 

The Artist series was their first offering, launching them onto the world stage. Introduced in 1978, the 2640  featured a quad of Super 80 humbucker pickups, two 3 piece Maple necks and a Mahogany body with Ibanez’s ubiquitous German carve. Quite the beast!

The guitar is in great condition. The poly finish is durable and as such has survived well. The grain of the woods are excellently showcased here. The craftsmanship on this instrument is outstanding.  

Both three piece rock maple necks too are in great condition with plenty of life left in the original frets and no signs of wear to the ebony fretboard. The use of binding and abalone is very subtle and compliments the guitar. 

The hardware has worn a little as you’d expect but shows no real signs of corrosion. Both Gibraltar bridges and tailpieces show some wear though this does not affect functionality. 

Plastics are in good condition. Knobs are correct Suregrip variety

Electrically everything looks correct. Solder joints are undisturbed. Both necks have selector switches for the pickups and a pair of Tri-sound switches that let you not only coil-tap but also put pickups in series or parallel with themselves. This yields quite an array of tones.

The guitar comes with its correct green lined hardshell case.

This is a great guitar, a testament to why US manufacturers were understandably concerned by these guitars from the land of the rising sun. Its inevitably heavy but is well balanced and a joy to play. The various combinations of the Tri-sound switches and having a master volume control lets you tailor the sound. 

You know you want this, so just go on and buy it…!