Is the new Jem VSBL selling?

[elfstones]

Anybody know if sales of the VSBL has been good or bad? There's a couple that have been sitting in our local music store and the employees there told me NOBODY has shown ANY interest. But, that they've sold 3 VWH's and half a dozen 3120's since the VSBL has been sitting around.
When I was in the store, a couple of guys were trying out some Ibanez axes. I asked them if they tried the Jem VSBL. One guy said he had a VWH already and the VSBL didn't appeal to him because "you can't even tell it's a JEM cause you can't see the frickin vine". The other guy said that it's ok but couldn't find any reason to pay $100+ over the price of the VWH.

Did Ibanez blunder on this one? Has the current Jem design run its course?
Yeah, I know it's what Steve wants but is it still what the public wants? Maybe just a radical new paint job?

FWIW, I tried the VSBL. Maybe I'm crazy but the VWH just seemed to play much better. Any yeah, it is hard to see that frickin vine...

[jemsite]

i don't know company expectations, intended sales projections and profit forecasts. i can't speak for actual sales either...

but hype is low and preorders from "fanatics" here is pretty abysmal too. i don't believe your experience is out of the ordinary here in the States. not that ibanez or vai cares, but if you brainstormed here, the VSBL would not have been the "new jem" that would have been chosen. From style, to price, right on down. Not by a longshot.

but as a "product" you cannot call it a success or a "blunder". as a "jem" the buyers can voice their opinions however ...glen

[Ekim]

If I knew for a fact I'd be sticking to playing guitar, I'd likely buy one in a heartbeat. I like it a lot better than the 7VWH. But one, I don't know that I will stick w/guitar playing, two I'm broke and three I still haven't seen one in person!

[BrianH]

Its the vine I think that will keep this guitar from selling. Also doesn't it have a rosewood board? and costs more!!!? Don't think so...

[Black Napkins]

In paris there is only one VSBL (universal guitar/pigalle)
(certainely the only one in france)
, and it seems, no customer for it, i am almost the only person who try it , but i won't buy it (too much "yamaha pacifica" like :P )

[mike777]

I LOVE mine. I wouldn't say that I like it more or less than the VWH. The price thing really gets me, though. My guess is that the antiquing process of the hardware and the finishing method (so the metal flakes stay evenly spaced and not clumped together) have a lot to do with why this guitar is above the price of the VWH. We are so used to the options of gold-toned hardware and ebony boards costing more and we don't have much experience with the other types. Maybe it does cost Ibanez a little more to do so (sparkle finish and antique h/w) and they want to maintain the same profit margin. Just a guess.

On another note (about the vine) the earlier VWH's abalone pieces on the upper frets tended to be very dark but they got a little more noticeable, it seems, over the past few years. Maybe the same will happen with the VSBL and they'll inlay the future models with a brighter and/or lighter blue.

Although I'm really happy with it, the original pictures of it took some getting used to for me and was very happy when I saw it in person (much better looking). I can understand the lack of excitement compared to past JEMs since this gutar is cosmetically very "Strat-copy" like. I think most JEM fanatics are going to want something more true to the JEM tradition and potential JEM customers will want something that is significantly different in that price range.

Mike 777 Haug

[Two hands31]

Bring on the next swirl!

I'd love to see a FLO or PIA JEM. Y'know, with Sustainiac and/or Double-Edge?

[Black Napkins]

Originally Posted by Black Napkins

but i won't buy it (too much "yamaha pacifica" like :P )

If the vsbl was green , i think i would have buy 2 or 3 , i am stupid but i really love green guitar (am i alone?), and its hard for me not to buy all the green guitar i see around

[PekkaM]

Originally Posted by Black Napkins

If the vsbl was green , i think i would have buy 2 or 3 , i am stupid but i really love green guitar (am i alone?), and its hard for me not to buy all the green guitar i see around

No, youre not alone. I love my BSB and before that I had a metallic green (with kind of metal flakes, you could call it VSG if it had vine but more sparkling) Gibson Les Paul Studio.

I was wondering, why there are not even pics of VSBL on main Jemsite? Is it just that there have been no submissions, or is the mainsite no longer updated?

[jemsite]

Originally Posted by PekkaM

I was wondering, why there are not even pics of VSBL on main Jemsite? Is it just that there have been no submissions, or is the mainsite no longer updated?

LOL. the site was updated last week... scroll down. No one submitted nice JPGs and i have not purchased one = no pics... glen

[elfstones]

From a purely marketing point of view does Ibanez even really care if they don't sell a ton of Jem's? Most likely they make the bulk of their profit off the cheaper RG & S-series guitars. Maybe it's good enough for them that they have Steve signed in that it adds some credability to the brand as a whole.

I didn't want this to evolve into a "what kind of Jem would you really like" thread - that discussion's been already done a number of times. I just seems to me that the best business decision might have been to ask Steve to bite the bullet and come up with a slightly different ax in order to regenerate some excitement and demand. Even if he loves EVO, etc. wouldn't it be kind of cool if for example, Ibanez came up with something like the Parker Fly Classic (I'm just suggesting something/anything new - I'm not endorsing Parker) and Steve started showing up with one?

I just think coming up with a "blue" Jem is just not enough to keep this guitar popular. Now, the RGT3120 - kudos to Ibanez. There is an example of something NEW and something HOT!

[foureyezonme]

As to the 'aged' chrome hardware costing more than the standard powder coat to produce, I say:

"What a big steaming heap of !@?# that is..."

To the spacing of the flakes in the paint, I would say the same thing.

To the rosewood board costing more than the ebony equivalent, I'm not sure. First off, rosewood COULD cost more than ebony (don't ask for specifics, just a guess), but then ebony is a lot harder and so higher machining costs?

Just my opinions, by the way.

Nick

[kirk]

Could be another sleeper like the BFP. Three years ago, noone raised an eyebrow at the BFP. I even passed up an opportunity to buy one for $800, and it was in good condition. I am afraid now that the same BFP would sell for at least a grand.

Also, let's not forget that there were Jem models that only were produced for a year, and this may be another one of them. In a couple of years, it may be recognized as a highly sought after Jem - "rarer" than the rest because noone bought them in the first place.

IMHO, there are plenty of production details that certainly did not warrant a price increase. The obvious being things that have already been mentioned, but some little-er known facts such as the mismatched hardware - can anyone explain this yet?

It almost seems possible that they got a discount from Gotoh because they over produced the tuning gears enclosures, and then matched them up with the new "vintage" tuning keys (I dunno the "vintage" stuff looks like the powder coated stuff used on the BSBs and the other high end RGs - maybe these were from a failed batch of powder coated hardware) The mismatched hardware reeks of "frankenstrat" to me.

Finally, the plastic/paper vine inlays vs. abalone/pearl.

I'm sure I am not the first person to bring up these points conisdering the length of the "new Jem" thread.

I like the way the Jem looks, but it is out of my price range, even at the $1200 that the "Music Gear Guys" are trying to unload them for.

[Rich]

MGG is out of buisness. Lost the store, lost the Ibanez authorization, lost his mind

[caprile]

at about the same price, i'll take the vwh anyday. i'm not an expert, but i don't see a long production for the blue jem.