The following information about Ibanez Maxxas guitars is from a series of emails between Rich Lasner and myself. Rich is the designer of the Maxxas guitars, and he also designed the JEM, RG and Sabers, etc. He is currently the president of Modulus guitars. This communication resulted in the most complete and factual information about the Maxxas line on the web.
With the Maxxas, Rich wanted to design a lightweight guitar that did not look
like the pointy-headstock Jacksons and Kramers of the time. He was also trying
to create (with the semi-hollow, non-locking tremolo models) a small guitar that
would sustain and “sing” at moderate volume, like a Gibson ES-335.
Bill Reim, the current President of Hoshino and the company’s former Art
Director, and Rich fashioned the first Maxxas of modelling clay, which Bill had
worked with extensively in art school. The original prototype Maxxas was semi-
hollow with a mahogany body and a strat-like non-locking steel bridge. The
tuners were locking Sperzels and the knobs were metal Tele-style. All of the
hardware was plated blue. The body, neck, and headstock were the same light blue
metallic color that some of the production guitars came in.
The Ibanez USA design team (Rich, Bill, etc.) made one with a pink and green
snakeskin finish for an initial meeting with Steve Vai. It was the first Ibanez
ever brought to him. He was very impressed by it, but since it was semi-hollow,
it fed back badly at sound check. This meeting led to Vai’s working with Ibanez
to create the now-legendary JEM Series.
Before the 1987 flood of new Ibanez designs led by the JEM series, most of what
Ibanez offered was quite similar to everyone else’s guitars. The Maxxas was
highly experimental and vastly different from even the other new Ibanez designs
released that year. Ibanez was afraid for this radical guitar to bear the
“Ibanez” name. They decided that if the guitar failed as a “Maxxas” that it
would not damage the Ibanez name, so all production models’ headstocks read
“Maxxas—A division of Ibanez.”
The first production Maxxas guitars (MX-2) were released in 1987. The MX-2 was
the only Maxxas model built with a streamlined solid basswood body, Ibanez
Original Edge tremolo system, and Power Play System backstop. The MX-2s were
also the very first Ibanez guitars to feature the now-standard All Access Neck
Joint. Like all other Maxxas models, the MX-2 featured IBZ-USA humbuckers made
by DiMarzio.
The MX-2 was available only in 1987. The MX-2 featured a solid basswood body
instead of the renowned semi-hollow mahogany of the MX-3 because the CNC routers
at Fuji Gen Guitar Factory could not handle the 3-D interior and exterior
carving for the semi-hollow body.
By the next year, Fuji Gen had overcome the router limitations and introduced
the semi-hollow MX-3. The MX-3 drew more on Rich’s original design with a
semi-hollow mahogany body. According to Rich, you can determine whether a Maxxas
has a solid or semi-hollow body by removing the control cavity cover and looking
toward the upper horn inside the body. If you do not see a large open space
leading toward the bass-side horn, the guitar is solid.
In the 1980s, the Ibanez divisions in Japan, the UK, and the United States could
choose different colors and even different models to carry in their markets.
This is why so much confusion surrounds the models, colors, years, and
availability.
I have not located a 1987 catalog for reference, but all my research indicates
that the MX-2 was the only model available in any of the markets that year. It
is known that there were no Maxxas guitars in the 1987 Japanese catalog. The
Ibanez USA division catalog featured only the MX-3 in both 1988 and 1989.
Apparently, though, a separate Maxxas catalog was available in the US in 1988
that featured the MX-3 along with the MX-4 and MX-5. However, this does not mean
that the MX-4 and MX-5 were available for retail purchase in the states.
According to Rich, the only models the Ibanez USA division decided to sell in
1988 and 1989 were the MX-2 and MX-3. The 1988 Ibanez UK division catalog
featured the MX-3, along with the MX-4 and MX-5, which were the brainchildren of
Hoshino/Ibanez Japan’s head designer, Fritz Katoh. Again, though, it is unclear
as to whether these models were actually available to the public.
Rich, personally, has never seen a MX-4 or MX-5 that was not a prototype but
states that it is possible that Fuji produced and released them into the
domestic Japanese or European markets. At least one of the 29-fret Maxxas
guitars (MX-4 or MX-5) showed up in a photo shoot with a Japanese artist of the
time.
By 1990, the Maxxas had completely disappeared from the USA and UK lineups. The
1987 MX-2 included the following features: solid basswood body, Ibanez Edge
tremolo system, Power Play Backstop system, Gotoh tuning machines, IBZ-USA dual
humbuckers, (F1 and F2) volume pot, tone pot, beehive-style silver knobs, 3-way
pickup selector, pearl dot inlays, rosewood fretboard, 22 nickel silver frets,
All Access Neck Joint, 1-piece maple Wizard style neck, and rear-mounted strap
buttons.
Like all the later Maxxas models, its neck measurements were 43mm at the nut,
17mm thickness at the 1st fret, and 20mm thickness at the 12th fret. The MX-2
was available in at least Pearl Black or Black (BK), Cranberry (CR), Metallic
Mint Green, and possibly Fountain Blue (FB).
The necks and headstocks were painted to match the body.
In 1988, the MX-3, MX-4, and MX-5 arrived. The MX-3 differed from theMX-2 in
that it had a semi-hollow Honduras mahogany body, HQ tremolo, and magnum lock
tuning machines.
Each semi-hollow body was shaped from a solid block of Honduras mahogany that
was first split into top and back portions and then carved inside and out to
produce resonant tone chambers. In the USA, the MX-3 was available in Fountain
Blue (FB) and Cranberry Red (CR). In the catalog, a Cranberry Red MX-3 was
pictured with Larry Mitchell.
Outside the States, a few other finishes were available. Two were
reverse-sunburst colors with black in the middle that faded to either
metallic green (BH-Black Hole) or red (MA-Magma) at the outside edges of the
body.
Another was a dark metallic green as pictured in The Ultimate Guitar Book by
Tony Bacon. Black (BK) was also available.
The MX-4 featured a 29-fret neck, diamond inlays, semi-hollow soft maple
body, Gibraltar II and Quick Change II, and one IBZ-USA F2 humbucker. The MX-5
featured the same characteristics as the MX-4, except for the addition of HQ
tremolo and Magnum lock tuning machines.
In the 1988 European catalog, the MX-4 and 5 were available in Black (BK) and
Silky Blue (SB). These models were pictured in the same colors in the USA
catalog.
Production of the Maxxas guitars continued in very small quantities until at
least 1989. Unfortunately, by request of Ibanez, Rich cannot divulge actual
production numbers.
Michael Wright, columnist for Vintage Guitar Magazine and author of Guitar
Stories, suggests that a total of only a few hundred Maxxas guitars ever were
made.
The Maxxas guitars follow the same serial number system as all Ibanez guitars
built after 1987. Maxxas serial numbers start with “F” meaning they were built
at the Fuji Gen Factory in Japan. The first digit of the numerical code
indicates the last digit of the year in which it was made (i.e. 7 = 1987). The
last five numbers is the consecutive number denoting production count for that
particular factory during a given year. It, in no way, indicates production
count of the Maxxas guitars themselves.
Also, no Maxxas guitars were built in Korea.
My 1987 Maxxas MX-2 (serial # F7*****) in Metallic Mint Green is completely
original and in pristine condition. It sounds and plays unlike any other Ibanez.
The body is extremely comfortable and balanced. However, it is a bit heavier
than other MX-2s because the body is solid Honduras mahogany instead of
basswood. According to Rich, this particular guitar could have been made during
a changeover from one model run to another (i.e. the basswood-bodied MX-2s to
the mahogany-bodied MX-3s). During changeovers such as this, Fuji Gen would
sometimes produce a few guitars that had features from both the old and new
versions until they had the new tooling in place.
This exceedingly rare guitar is the pride of my collection.
As time goes on, the Maxxas guitars are becoming increasingly rare. If you own
one, consider yourself lucky.
--Jason D. Vaughn with many thanks to Rich Lasner.