Guitar Aficionado recently posted this article written by Alan Schulman on the 1983 Ibanez Joe Pass JP20. An excerpt from the article follows:
While most archtop players and collectors love to wax poetic about the value and sound of their vintage Gibsons, D’Angelicos, and D’Aquistos, few consider those made at the lower end of the archtop spectrum worthy of being called “classics.”
But one such eclectic collectible that no archtop collection should be without is the Joe Pass JP20, sold under the Ibanez name from 1981–1990.
Although famous for producing patent infringement model archtops that very closely imitated (and, in many cases, exceeded the workmanship of some Gibson models made during its Norlin period), Ibanez signed jazz guitar legend Joe Pass as an official endorser in early 1980. The intent was to produce a modestly priced electric archtop, which was actually reverse-engineered from Pass’ D’Aquisto of the same era. Under Ibanez leadership, the guitar would ultimately come to be jointly designed by Joe Pass and UK archtop maven Maurice Summerfield, who was under special contract to Ibanez in 1980.
