1979 Ibanez Musician MC500 Neck Through Vintage Guitar Natural w/ Active Electronics

Up for sale, a 1979 Ibanez Musician MC500 in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. The Musician Series guitars were examples of highly-regarded craftsmanship and componentry, and this MC500 was the top-of-the-line model available at the time, featuring seven-ply neck through construction and active electronics.

The neck is crafted from seven pieces of rock maple and black walnut, and the body wings feature a maple core sandwiched between two pieces of ash. At 10lbs 9oz, this Ibanez has tons of natural sustain and midrange heft, further accentuated by the brass sustain block beneath the bridge. The pair of Super 88 Tri-Sound humbuckers are full and rich-sounding, with warm lower-mids and a smooth, singing treble response that ensures dynamic articulation and great clarity. Additionally, the active electronics open up a dizzyingly diverse array of available tones; the three-way Tri-Sound mini-toggles enable each pickup to switch between standard humbucking configuration, reverse phase slinkiness, or coil split for single coil sparkle. The pickups can be reconfigured in tandem or separate (i.e. single coil twang at the bridge balanced by a full neck humbucker), and the three-band EQ enables further flexibility. Additionally, the active preamp has an independent Boost feature. This MC500 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

• Wood: Maple/Black Walnut
• Shape: Medium C, measuring .865” 1st fret, .950” 12th fret
• Fretboard: Ebony, abalone dot inlays
• Frets: Medium jumbo, leveled/crowned, no wear
• Scale Length: 24 3/4”
• Nut: 1 11/16” (44mm), bone/brass
• Tuners: VelveTune II
• Serialization: H79-prefix (August, 1979)

Body Specs:

• Wood: Ash/Maple/Ash
• Pickups: Super 88 Tri-Sound humbucker x2
• Controls: Volume, Tone, Gain, Bass/Mid/Treble EQ (center detent), Tri-Sound switch x2, EQ on/off
• Hardware: Gibraltar bridge with brass sustain block insert, tailpiece with cloud ornament
• Plastics: Sure Grip knobs

The gloss Natural finish shows only a few light scratches on the back and some minor dings on top, the most notable of which is on the bass side lower bout. The gloss finish on the neck profile is smooth and clean, with just a few minor marks on the profile length.

The original faux leather gigbag is included.