need urgent help with an ibanez lawsuit " challenger "

no potential mate/lover will be more impressed by it than by a MIC Fender P or J unless they're also a bassist.

If you're mostly shopping for a player, play a bunch of Fenders, G&L Tributes, Yamahas, and Sires, then play the Challenger. Buy the winner.

 

Condition is everything when it comes to old instruments. If the bass is in good original shape, truss rod works and there are no other glaring flaws, $600 might not be completely off base. I grew up playing these things 40 years ago and would put them against just about any standard Japanese Fender.

My $0.02 only...

 

I don't know about the price point, but I can tell you those lawsuit era basses are definitely not crap. They're very well made and sound good. The only issue would be that they're usually pretty heavy. But so are the Fender basses of that era.

 

Generally, well made, specifically, hard to say.
You've set the price, inspect and play it and decide what it's worth.
The worst they'll do is say no.

 

That'd be a little too pricey for me.

 

You'd have to be a supporting member here to discuss that...

 

Only if he's trying to sell one. Asking for a price check on a purchase seems to be OK.

 

From the 2 minutes I spent looking at these online, $5-600 sounds reasonable.

 

From my experience as a working musician at the time, there is nothing special about "lawsuit" instruments except for in comparison to the horrible quality of Fender instruments during that same period. What made them noticeable was that they were decent and well made at a low price compared to Fender instruments that were expensive way beyond their quality.

They're good instruments but I wouldn't pay those premium prices because they were made during the period when Fender wasn't enforcing their copyright on the headstock shape. A modern SX or Squier is the same sort of thing (Fender shaped instrument with a lot of quality for a low price) - so if the headstock shape is important to you, why not get a Squier or a used MIM or MIJ Fender?

 

That was more than likely made by Matsumoku. They built quality instruments. As for the value, the internet is an amazing thing.
Ibanez Challenger Bass 70's Olympic White | SS VINTAGE

Ibanez Challenger Bass w/ HSC 1977 Sunburst | Heid Music

Vintage 1977 Ibanez Challenger Jazz Bass Olympic White w/ Block Maple Neck

Ibanez Challenger Bass Guitar 1977 White

There is also one for sale on Tb.
For Sale - 70's Ibanez challenger Jazz bass

 

Personally I think there are better options in that price range. You’re paying a lot for the vintage-ness of the bass. Used to see these in the 90’s sell in the $250 range, and I was never tempted to buy one. (And I did have a collection of 70’s Ibanez guitars: Weir, Artist, Iceman, LP, Jazzbox, CN, Studios, etc. I had an early 70’s Ibanez Tele copy that was rather poor.)

 

Value depends VERY much on the amount of fretwear. If you have to put ANY expense into fixing worn frets then I would pass. Otherwise it's a pretty good bass. 1977 was a pretty good year for Ibanez quality. I'd try to get it under $500.

 

Cool, good to know!

 

NJ guitar and Bass center has two and asking 800$ each. I love a good lawsuit bass, but that's insane

 

If you are so big p-type fanatic, ther is a lot of brands in different prices, so check out yourself.

 

I might be late to this party but here are my 2 cents...

Older Ibanez basses are the TRUTH!!!! I've owned up to three of them and still keep two of them in my stable. Killer basses that I'm always on the lookout for. It's hard to find one that has been beaten to death that's in good condition. That's what I'm always looking out for. I've got a 1977 Ibby P and a 1976 Ibby Black Eagle. I'd put them up against any Fender all day...and I own a few Fenders.

These are not on the same level as MIM, MIC, or even low-level MIA's in my opinion. This comment might rub people the wrong way but, here I go -- The only reason why Squire and Epiphone exist as ancillary to the bigger names is because Ibanez, Greco, and Univox were taking their lunch money in the 70's in terms of cost to quality ratio. I highly recommend the buy if it's in good shape and still available.

 

There's a good chance it was made in the earlier Fujigen factories. I believe Greco, Ibanez, Fernandes, and Univox came out of the Fujigen factory and the Lotus, Hondo's, Aria's came from Matsumoku.

 

The Black Jazz might be a Challenger, as the name came along in the late 70's as Ibanez was phasing out high-quality copies for their own designs.

The sunburst 75 is definitely not a Challenger and is a bit more desirable due to the fact that it has the simple 70's "Ibanez" logo on the headstock. Seeing these basses go for $800 - $1000 isn't unreasonable. They are definitely capped well below what their American inspired counterparts go for.