WHAT IS THIS? help identify this guitar please

Gday,

My brother found this is his back shed and gave it to me as a project really hoping someone with a bit more no how could shed some light on what it might be!
No numbers pressed on the outside that i have seen, only press is on the back of the neck that just says "JAPAN"

also wondering how hard it would be to fix up the cracks and splitting around the bottom, know a little about solid bodies but archtops arent really my forte....

not expecting anything special, just hoping to find out what it is...

anything would be helpful

Cheers
Jack

heres a few more pictures of the damage

hi bondy. my guess is an ibanez 480 from the early 60's. plywood body. but i could be wrong

Johnno, damn close. It's an Ibanez 483, mid sixties. Is it a set neck? If so, apparently quite rare.

Looks like a 480.
In good condition they are worth 1-2k.........

Ooooo... Thats two of us that were close :)

Thanks to Pabz... Our resident Guitar indentification Guru!

rad! thanks heaps

and yeah it is a set neck

Woohoo! Don't mess with it, an amateur fix up will significantly harm the value. It might be worth taking it to an expert. :)

not in guitars for there value but yeah might have to take it around to the local shop see what they say... very interested now haha
I have touched it other than unscrewing most the hardware

Sure, but if its worth even a few hundred as is, it might fund some new projects that won't be a giant pain in the ass. :P

I would love to get my sweaty hands on this to restore.....

Very true indeed there!

thanks heaps for your help, will be sure to keep this updated with more info!

haha very stoked on the find now :)

Seriously, I would really like to restore this for ya! :)

dingo, i would be happy to at least talk!

Ok, you can email me at dingobass@icloud.com and we can talk about this :)

In DB's hands it will come out beautifully! Any luthier would love to see that pop through its doors!

if you do the job DB, you MUST do a resto thread

^^ Yes Indeed!!

That would be the plan...
Document the whole process so there is a good resource for anyone who comes across a Guitar that needs restoration..

bondy - you know what to do: get it in to DB, now!

haha sent him an email this arvo!

DB's fingers are itching :)

Wow, I feel an epic project in the making;-)