Manufacturer Ibanez Body type Solid Neck Maple | Period 1985-1986 Body American Alder | |
Neck joint Bolt-on neck
neck-through (PL2550) | ||
The Ibanez Pro-Line series was a line of guitars produced by Hoshino Gakki and sold under the Ibanez brand. The series was introduced in 1985 and sold through 1986. It was a pro-level line of guitars and bass guitars and the first series of guitars designed and manufactured by Ibanez to use their V-5 pickups. The Pro-line series also used the company's Pro Rock'R tremolo bridge and TOPLOK locking nut system.
Contents
History
The Pro-Line series of guitars first appeared on the market in 1985 with the PR1440, PR1550, and PR1660 models. Both the PR1440 and PR1550 featured The PR1440 was available in red while the PR1550 was available in pure white finish. The PR1660 is now a collector's item for many and was also available in pure white finish. All of these models had black hardware, pickups, and knobs.
The PR1440 and 1550 featured two Ibanez S7FT single coil pickups and one Ibanez humbucking double coil pickup by the bridge, a volume and tone/push knob and 3 separate switches in place of a 3-way pickup selector(tone/push knob split the humbucker). The PR1660 on the other hand had two Ibanez V-5 pickups and were the first guitars to use these pickup. They also had one volume switch and one tone switch and a 3-way pickup selector as opposed to the separate switches used on the 1440 and 1550 models. The necks on all the models were made of maple and oil-finished.
In 1986 Ibanez took a step up with the Pro-Line series by making the bodies smaller, adding new Ibanez Edge Tremolo systems, jumbo frets, neck-through joints, preset switch systems, new colors, and adding a bass model to the line. The new models that were introduced were the PL1770, PL1880, PL2550, PL2660, and the PL5050 bass guitar. New colors that were on the market in 1986 were Black, Metallic Copper, Gold Pearl, and Silver Pearl for the PL1770; Natural Wood and Walnut Finishes For the PL1880; Black, Cherry Ice, Gold Pearl, and Silver Pearl Finishes for the PL2550; Black, Cherry Ice and Pearl finishes for the PL2660 and Gun Metal and Pearl finishes for the PL5050. The expansion would not last, as they had to go through the lack of sales that would lead to the demise of the series.