Advice needed on Ibanez JS Series

Jigsaw

I've been looking at the Ibanez Joe Satriani range guitars recently. To be honest, the lowest spec one (JS100) looks to be the only one in my immediate price range.

What I wanted to know, are the higher end guitars (JS1000 and JS1200) worth the extra money in the long run? For a long time I've wanted a guitar with a tremolo unit on it that can take a fair bit of punishment. You can see guitarists using these Ibanez models doing mad dive bombs with the tremolo and the guitar remains perfectly in tune. I would pay whatever was necessary to acquire this, but would the JS100 do the job, or will I realistically have to start saving up a bit?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

feylya

The trem on the JS100 is very poor quality. It might return to tune for a while but it will lose that ability fairly quickly.

Jigsaw

feylya wrote:

The trem on the JS100 is very poor quality. It might return to tune for a while but it will lose that ability fairly quickly.

Can the same be said about the JS1000 and JS1200 models? Is it a case of getting what you pay for etc?

Although the Ibanez guitars were the ones I had my eye on, is there any guitar you could recommend that has a high quality trem on it that does stay in tune?

Beecher

The JS1000 and JS1200 both have the Edge Pro trem which is fantastic. If you cant afford them but want a good trem and a similar shaped guitar check out the Ibanez S series. They start at around €450 but have the ZR trem which is very nice!

Don1

I don't get the whole sig model thing tbh. All for hero worship but for me it's a step too far. I'd go for this instead. ZR as mentioned plus waaaaaay nicer than the JS series.

Voodu Child

The JS100 is a load of rubbish, avoid like the plague. Same can be said for the budget Jem model (the 555).

I passed on a JS1200 recently because the neck wasn't for me; however, it's a fantastic guitar, and the chrome red looks cool under stage lights. Go with guitarbargains if you're getting a new one, i think they're one of the cheapest places at the moment.

-=al=-

js1000 in the burned blue finish is amazing

the 1000 or 1200 are def worth it, the edge pro trem never goes out of tune, if i was a righty and had to get a sig model it wud be the js1000


what annoys me on the js100 to is the 22nd fret inlay


look at higher end models of the s, sa and rg models u can get a great high end guitar with great specs for a smiler price

Jigsaw

-=al=- wrote:

js1000 in the burned blue finish is amazing

the 1000 or 1200 are def worth it, the edge pro trem never goes out of tune, if i was a righty and had to get a sig model it wud be the js1000


what annoys me on the js100 to is the 22nd fret inlay


look at higher end models of the s, sa and rg models u can get a great high end guitar with great specs for a smiler price

I am getting the impression that I am gonna have to fork out if I want to get a guitar that is going to do the things I want it to, which I don't mind. There are numerous videos on youtube where you'll see Vai/Satch literally lift their guitars from their bodies and throttle the guitar whilst just holding the trem, then start playing double stops around the 12th fret with some distortion and the guitar is perfectly in tune - if it wasn't it'd be pretty obvious. Now I will never be anywhere near as good as those guys but I'd just love to know that my instrument is top dog and is not gonna hold me back. If that instrument is the JS1200 then I better get saving:(

-=al=-

if yer gona do it do it right

they are worth it tho, especially the edge pro trem, its a great trem, once u get it set up the way u like, its never gona go outa tune, and if it does its barely so u can use the fine tuners to do the necessary adjustments


i use my trem a lot and it does what its supposed to,


in fact i use it so much i broke the tremolo bar, but cudnt find a replacement lefty trem, so i just stuck a righty on in there, now on the 2 guitars i have with tremolo bridge's theres righty tremolo bars in both ...but in my strat its stuck =/

Karl Hungus

I'd agree with Voodoo Child, and check out guitarbargains.com as they have the JS1200 for €1347.

Might be worth looking second hand too. I've picked up a few guitboxes for a fraction of their new cost.

Voodu Child

Jigsaw wrote:

I am getting the impression that I am gonna have to fork out if I want to get a guitar that is going to do the things I want it to, which I don't mind.

Not necessarily..

If you just want a guitar with a good trem, you don't need to go up to JS1200 price levels.

The bottom of the line RG1570 has the same trem as the higher end JS guitars. The colours on offer at the moment are pretty boring, but the neck and fretwork are awesome for the price. The stock pickups are pretty average, but in most other ways, it's every bit as good as the JS1200.

The RG2570 is one up from the 1570. Worth looking at too.

EDIT- As Karl says, definitely consider second hand.

-=al=-

ive a 1570, its one of the best things a leftie can get nowadays great specs for a great price but i got it in typical lefty black, but the stock pups arent that bad, id say above average as far as stock pickups go on similer guitars

but added red hardware n nice red pups looks nice, jumbo frets arent really my thing, js has 6105's and lil fatter neck i think but the rg doesnt do a bad job of it, high end s models are great too


http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/alsfotos/Rg07.jpg

getina lil warn down nowawdays its a good few years old, but still great as ever, and the tape over the pickup ring is for the screw, it cought my nail a few times and was rpetty damn sore

but the js models are amazing!! but yeh the high pricetag

Jigsaw

I suppose that the trem is not the be all and end all of me buying a guitar. All other factors are important too such as tone etc. It's just that I am yet to play a guitar whose trem is as effective as those we see the stars playing. Now I know they all have their guitar techs etc, but something's gotta come close I would have thought.

I'll check out the RG Ibanezes - they look good. It's just very difficult getting a chance to have a go on one somewhere. I think the guitar shops in Belfast can order them in but rarely would they actually have them in stock. They concentrate on the aul squiers and epiphones etc. Any Dublin shops that stock Ibanez at all? I be down there quite often so could check one out. Will be own to see Vai on 24/07/07 in Vicar St

Voodu Child

Musician inc and Musicmaker in Dublin both have plenty of Ibanez's, and are only a minutes walk apart.

Any high quality locking trem will stay in tune excellently when setup properly. Ibanez's Japanese trems fall into this category, as do lot's of Floyd Rose style trems in other brands.

Unfortunately, there's lots of lousy trems out there as well, (a lot of it comes down to how well the components are machined), so you do have to ask around before buying.

-=al=-

yeah alreayd got tha evos

musician inc. and musickmaker has a few of em, + stop complaing ya cud be a lefty!

edge pro II and III just feel cheap and tacky compared to the edge pro