[frenchie1281734003]

I bought one of the first IB-64 Texans back in 2009, which I passed down to my eldest son about three years later. In the meantime I've had a 62 original Texan and a 2004 McCartney Elitist version. Two weeks ago I picked up a second hand 2015 IB-Texan for £140, in excellent condition. I made a couple of mods to it, I got rid of the black stain on the Rosewood bridge, changed out the ill fitting plastic pins for Rosewood ones, and changed the chipped bone nut for a Corian one.This is a very nice sounding Texan type guitar. My son came home from Uni with his 09 yesterday, and that gave me the chance to do a thorough comparison, result being, they are two completely different guitars! The 2015 model is smaller all around, by about an 8th of an inch. The 09 has tall but crude scalloped top bracing,whereas the 2015 has tall unscallpoed but shaved top braces( they are meant to be scalloped!). The 2015 looks better built to me, and has more of the long scale Texan sound. Both are great to play, and my son loves the 09.

Steve.

This post has been edited by frenchie1281734003: 15 April 2018 - 04:53 AM

[byrds1965]

Interesting I have the same guitars as you a 2009 IB Natural Texan then a 2016 IB Burst Texan.

The top on the 2009 has a very tight grain pattern while the 2016 rather wide spaced typical of any other I have seen. I always grab them at GC off the wall and pretty much put them right back after a few strums.

I will have to look at the inside bracing when home next to see if mine have any differences.

My 2009 has a wider neck heel and the bridge is mounted a bit back so the saddle slot cut more forward towards the neck.

My 2016 as you say has the painted black bridge with the bridge mounted a bit more forward so the saddle ends up routed in the middle. I find the black painted bridge to look cheaper. The Indonesian 2016 has more of the correct shape Gibson neck heel to it. If the internal bracing changes you state, to me then on my 2 examples not for the better tone wise.

Both guitars are well constructed, tone wise miles apart.

I own Gibson's and the 2009 MIC Texan sounds very much in the same tone range of my 64 J45. The same no, but in the Gibson camp midrange acoustic tone yes. This guitar is voiced very Gibson family like.

My 2016 MII Texan sounds like.........well what it is an import acoustic......kind of sharp sounding, voiced more in the Taylor type range nothing Gibson tone wise about it at all. It sounds like most other solid top import acoustics.

I have played many of the IB Texans since they came out and every one I have played sounds in the tone range of my 2016.

I travel for work so wanted a nice acoustic for the road and found a the 2016 as a level 2 from MF at a good price, so bought it.

I actually got the 2009 back in 2010 same thing as a level 2 return someone did not want. That guitar cost me less than the burst 2016, but is the keeper of all my low end gear.

The 2016 a nice road guitar and fine for what it is but compared to the 2009 not even in the same league.

Just goes to show how much the wood pile varies and guitar vs guitar.

[bobouz]

I own a 2005 McCartney Terada-Japan made Texan, but do not own the IB-Texan.

The one thing I would add to this discussion is that, as I recall, the earliest IBs were made in China, and then production changed to Indonesia.

I've owned two Indonesian-made EL-00 Pro models, and currently have the version with a solid mahogany top & natural finish. From what I've seen thus far, the Indonesian factory's build quality is quite high - although of course, tone will vary from one example to the next.

[byrds1965]

bobouz, on 14 April 2018 - 01:40 PM, said:

I own a 2005 McCartney Terada-Japan made Texan, but do not own the IB-Texan.

The one thing I would add to this discussion is that, as I recall, the earliest IBs were made in China, and then production changed to Indonesia.

I've owned two Indonesian-made EL-00 Pro models, and currently have the version with a solid mahogany top & natural finish. From what I've seen thus far, the Indonesian factory's build quality is quite high - although of course, tone will vary from one example to the next.

Right the first IB Texans were MIC then production shifted to Indonesia. My 2009 is MIC my 2016 in MII. Both are of equal quality, but the later ones on my examples are different in width of the neck heels, headstock beveling is slightly different and position they glued the bridge on. The MIC is mounted back a bit so the saddle route is forward and the MII is forward a bit so the saddle route is in the center of the bridge. This is more in line with the 60s Gibson's where the route was right in the center of the bridge so there was plenty of room for the adjustable bridge hardware.

[frenchie1281734003]

I really like this 2015 version that I have. The wood used for the back and sides has nicer figuring, and there appears to be better attention to detail in the construction, compared to my son's 09. That one even has a back seam that is noticeably off centre! As I mentioned earlier I used to own an original 62 and a 2004 McCartney elitist(the comparison video is still on YouTube). The 62 had a very deep low E string, but the high end was raggedy, that particular 04 Macca was hand on heart the worst acoustic I have yet owned! It was impeccably built, weighed only 3lb 8oz, promised so much, but just sounded brash, no matter what I did to it. I will say that this 2015 IB is voiced a little more in the Martin camp, but it does capture to a certain degree that long scale twang and sprang that many 60s Texans have, which Norm Harris (Normans rare guitars) describes as "That plucky magic twanger" tone.

I like the little details, like the Epiphone E appearing to be set into the actual pickguard a little, so you can't knock it off!(It might just be thinner). I like it that the neck looks and feels very much like the 62, without that Rosewood fretboard binding that the early IBs have. I like the bridge looking correct and being placed correctly, but I don't like the black stain to make it look like a 63/4 plastic bridge! And I didn't like how the white plastic bridge pins sat so low in the bridge, that you had to push them out from underneath! My replacement Rosewood ones fit perfectly. At the end of the day it is a budget guitar, and there are some gems amongst them, as well as others that are totally underwhelming, you just have to try a few first.

I am very impressed with mine, and even more so for £140. My son is equally happy with the 09. I took a load of photos, but don't know how to get them on now, what with photobucket no longer being an option.

Steve.

This post has been edited by frenchie1281734003: 15 April 2018 - 04:49 AM

[byrds1965]

I have never owned a 60s or Elitist Texan as you have owned examples, and proves that guitars of the same model vary greatly from example to example.

I have noticed on the whole that the made in Indonesian IB Texan models from every one I have played at GC every time I see them and grab them off he wall seem very consistent from one to the other both in sound and fit/finish.

I have never found one in the same tone range of my 2009 and did not expect to.

Since I travel for work and wanted a decent hotel room guitar, bought the 2016 from MF when I found a reduced price level 2 as I figured it would be consistent to all the others I have played. It is what I expected and like it for what it is.

If I ever do get a job again where I no longer travel for work the 2016 will be the one to go.

[bobouz]

frenchie1281734003, on 15 April 2018 - 03:03 AM, said:

that particular 04 Macca was hand on heart the worst acoustic I have yet owned! It was impeccably built, weighed only 3lb 8oz, promised so much, but just sounded brash, no matter what I did to it.

This again goes to show the sometimes extreme difference from one guitar to the next.

My 2005 McCartney example has the deep, throaty, and slightly metallic resonance you hope to hear from a good '60s Gibson with the adjustable bridge setup. I've played quite a few IB Texans in stores, and haven't had one in hand yet that came close to the McCartney's depth of tone.

I'm a bit overloaded with roundshoulders, as I also have a Gibson J-50, J-45R, and J-15 (utilizing different tonewoods for the bodies). The '05 McCartney delivers a similarly rich tone overall, but adds those metallic overtones that I find very appealing. And in fact, that slightly metallic quality also comes through on my 1966 Epi Cortez, with it's original plastic adjustable bridge & ceramic saddle.

Anyway, all this just goes to prove that, whenever possible, it's wise to immediately grab a stellar guitar when you find it, and never assume that you'll find another one down the road with similar characteristics.

This post has been edited by bobouz: 15 April 2018 - 01:22 PM

[frenchie1281734003]

Totally agree with both of you. I've played a few IB_64 Texans from most production years that are nothing to write home about, but there is the odd gem out there too. On the specs front, there is no mention of what the bridge is made of, but I am pretty certain that on on both the 09 and 2015, the bridge is made of Walnut. I am toying with the idea of tapering the braces of my IB, along the lines of my old 62. But having said that, it does sound rather good as is.

Steve.

[byrds1965]

frenchie1281734003, on 15 April 2018 - 02:45 PM, said:

Totally agree with both of you. I've played a few IB_64 Texans from most production years that are nothing to write home about, but there is the odd gem out there too. On the specs front, there is no mention of what the bridge is made of, but I am pretty certain that on on both the 09 and 2015, the bridge is made of Walnut. I am toying with the idea of tapering the braces of my IB, along the lines of my old 62. But having said that, it does sound rather good as is.

Steve.

Agree with all of this. I bought the 2009 IB from MF for a very reduced price and was really surprised at what I ended up with. Just the luck of the draw.

My friend was looking for a good acoustic at the time and we spent some time the next couple of years playing all the IB Texans we could find at GC and Sam Ash trying to find one as good as mine, since I paid under $300 USD for the first one.

Never found one that sounded as good as my 2009, so he ending up buying a Gibson Songwriter instead. We both played several of those as Gibson around 2010-2011 was all over the place on assembling the Deluxe Songwriter models, some had the mustache bridge and some just the reverse belly, some had all the bling and binding and some others did not. Gibson themselves were all over the map just slapping that model together, some had the smaller pickguard some the large.

He found a good one after much searching and dropping that kind of money on a Gibson/Martin is something I would never do without playing a pile of them first.

For the cost of the IB Texan had no problem with the on line order and getting the luck of the draw for the kind of price I paid.

[bobouz]

byrds1965, on 15 April 2018 - 03:56 PM, said:

dropping that kind of money on a Gibson/Martin is something I would never do without playing a pile of them first.

Yes indeed! If at all possible, I try to play at least three examples of a given model. Every time I've ever been fortunate enough to do that, one seems to always stand out.