Vesper! - Ibanez SAS32EX-BK – 2010 Cosmo Black Electric Guitar

2010 Ibanez SAS32EX-BK Electric Guitar in Cosmo Black

Meet Vesper, a rare and discontinued 2010 Ibanez SAS32EX-BK combining a carved mahogany body, three-piece maple set neck, rosewood fingerboard, dual True-Duo Bucker pickups and SAT Pro II tremolo.

Vesper spent most of her life virtually untouched on a rack in a workshop. While this preserved her remarkable Cosmo Black finish, years of storage combined with unfinished factory fretwork, a dry fingerboard and extremely high action meant she needed considerably more than a dusting before returning to active duty.

Following extensive fretwork, servicing, finish correction and a complete professional setup at The Stray Chord, Vesper was successfully rehomed for £360.

About Vesper

The discontinued Ibanez SAS32EX sits in an interesting corner of Ibanez history, combining the sleek, sculpted character associated with the S family with a set-neck construction and unusually versatile electronics.

Vesper's carved mahogany body is paired with a three-piece maple set neck, creating a combination of comfortable body contours, excellent upper-fret access and substantial sustain.

The rosewood fingerboard carries 22 medium frets and distinctive abalone chevron inlays, while abalone body binding adds a particularly striking contrast against the deep Cosmo Black finish.

One of the SAS32EX's most interesting features is its pair of Ibanez True-Duo Bucker humbuckers.

Rather than limiting the guitar to conventional dual-humbucker sounds, the True-Duo system allows access to brighter single-coil-style tones alongside the fuller output and punch of the humbuckers. This gives the SAS32EX an unusually broad tonal range from a straightforward two-pickup layout.

The bridge is Ibanez's SAT Pro II, a non-locking two-point synchronised tremolo offering considerably more freedom than a fixed bridge without the additional complexity of a double-locking system.

Combined with its sculpted heel and sleek body profile, Vesper was designed as a genuinely versatile player's guitar rather than simply another black rock machine.

Restoration & setup

Vesper's long period in storage had preserved her cosmetic condition remarkably well, but her playability needed substantial attention.

During her rehabilitation at The Stray Chord she received:

• Complete professional setup
• Three-piece maple set neck correctly adjusted
• All 22 medium frets fully levelled
• Frets recrowned and polished to a mirror finish
• Fret ends inspected and refined
• Rosewood fingerboard thoroughly cleaned and deeply conditioned
• Controls flushed, cleaned and serviced
• Stiff factory residue removed from the potentiometers
• True-Duo switching system checked
• Pickup heights balanced across all six strings
• SAT Pro II tremolo fully serviced and adjusted
• Action lowered and optimised
• Full intonation
• Carved mahogany body thoroughly cleaned
• Years of dust and finish haze removed
• Multi-stage paint correction and polishing
• Protective carnauba wax applied
• Gloss neck polished and treated for a smoother playing feel
• Final electronics and playability inspection

The result was a dramatically transformed SAS32EX with smooth fretwork, low buzz-free action, responsive electronics and a deep mirror-like Cosmo Black finish.

Specifications

Vesper's adoption

🦇 REHOMED 🦇

After spending most of her life lurking in the darkness of a workshop, Vesper was resurrected and eventually found her next victi... home.

She is no longer available for adoption, but her page remains permanently in The Stray Chord Rehomed Archive, documenting the instruments that have passed through our workshop and providing a reference for players researching the discontinued Ibanez SAS32EX.

Rescue • Restore • Rehome