1997 Ibanez FGM400Q Frank Gambale Guitar w/ Case – Blonde Amber

Information

Condition: Used, Excellent. Like what you see? All photos are of the exact item you will receive.

In via trade! This 1997 Ibanez FGM400Q is quite the rare bird! I should know, as I traded it into the store! It was previously owned by a collector who didn’t play it much. It was stored away for the vast majority of its life, essentially being a collector’s piece. Condition wise, it’s likely the cleanest FGM400Q out there, with some corrosion on a pickup being the only real imperfection I see. This thing was built for speed alright, so if you are in the market for a jazz-fusion shredder, look no further!    

From the Ibanez Fandom wiki: The FGM400QM is a solid body electric guitar introduced by Ibanez for 1997. It is a signature model of Australian jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale. It is the fourth model in the Frank Gambale series. Along with the FGM400 it replaced the FGM300.

Like the other FGM models, the FGM400QM is based on the S series but has a deeply set neck with the pickups and tremolo set flush to the top allowing extra low string clearance from the body, which Gambale sought.

The FGM400QM features a quilted maple veneer top on a thin, sculpted mahogany body bolted to a maple Wizard neck with a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with binding and special inlay at the 12th fret. Components include Ibanez pickups with an Axis Humbucker 2 at the bridge and a pair of SB2 single coil sized blade humbucker pickups in the middle and neck positions, a Lo-Pro Edge double locking tremolo bridge, beehive control knobs and Gotoh tuning machines. Controls consist of a master volume and tone and a five-way lever pickup selector; the volume has a push-pull switch to activate the neck pickup. The FGM400QM is the first Frank Gambale model with an exotic veneer top.

The FGM400 and FGM400QM were the final Frank Gambale models produced by Ibanez and the series was discontinued after 1999.

How Does It Play?

The truss rod functions properly and the guitar sets up nicely. The string action sits at 4/64” on the low E string, and just under 4/64” on the high E string, measured at 12^th fret. This is a shredder for sure!

Weight: 6lb 13.4oz

Hardshell Case and Case Candy Included!

Model name: FGM400QM

Year(s) offered: 1997–1999

Sold in: Worldwide

Made in: Japan

Finish(es): Blonde Amber (BA)

Body

Body type: Solid body

Body material: Mahogany w/ quilted maple top

Neck joint: AANJ

Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge tremolo (10.8mm string spacing)

Knob style: Beehive

Hardware color: Black

Neck

Neck type: Wizard

Neck material: 1-piece maple

Scale length: 648mm/ 25½"

Fingerboard material: Rosewood w/ binding

Fingerboard inlays: FGM block at 12th

Frets: 22 / Jim Dunlop #6230

Nut: Top-Lok III

Machine heads: Gotoh SG38

String gauge (factory): .009/.011/.016/.024/.032/.042

Factory tuning: 1E,2B,3G,4D,5A,6E (E Std.)

Electronics

Pickup configuration: HSS

Bridge pickup: Ibanez AH2 (H)

Middle pickup: Ibanez SB2 (S)

Neck pickup: Ibanez SB2 (S)

Switch: VLX91

Controls: Master volume / master tone / 5-way lever pickup selector / push/pull neck pickup switch on volume

Output jack: ¼" stereo barrel (angled face mount)