TYVM Ibanez! - Time for cudos instead of complaints!

[Patrick Deno]

This is my personal message to Ibanez/Hoshino. You guys RULE, OWN and ROCK! I have been playing Ibanez guitars for about 12 years now (anyone remember the Roadstar series? ... LOL!) and have been a full fledged fan since day one. I love Ibanez guitars and have had few complaints (except for the JEM555 which was a feasco I don't want to go into right now). My first Ibanez was a Roadstar II I believe (It's been so long that's about all I remember) in sky blue. I've since had a Sabre which I've been playing for years, a JEM555 (not going there) and I just got ahold of a JEM7DBK which is a true love affair and now my wheapon of choice. * Every guitar I have gotten was a step up from the last in quality and playability. I have played many guitars over the years such as Gibson, Fender, Charvel/Jackson, Kramer, B.C. Rich, ESP and a plethora of cheap no-names. It has to be said that I find Ibanez guitars the most comfy and playable axes by far. *

Thank you Ibanez for many great years of excellent guitars and KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND IMPROVEMENTS!

Patrick Deno
JEM owner and damn proud of it!

(Edited by Patrick Deno at 10:16 am on Jan. 27, 2001)

[IBZ Freak]

Fellow Jemsiters,

* * I for one only have good things to say about
Ibanez the Guitar and Ibanez the people.
Having worked in guitar retail for a few years now
I have never had any problems with the customer service. There are two inside CS guys there that are the best, I'll call them "R" and "B"(to protect the innocent)
they work thier butts off to try and get to everyone's
needs. From what I understand they are a little short handed right now, so if anybody feels that they can do it better and are in the Bensalem Pa. area swing on by and drop off an app!
I don't mean to sound soap-boxish but, they've gone to some huge lengths for me before,
"R" one time personally went back to the wharehouse,
pulled a J-custom off the shelf, had the guys set it up,
very nicely I might add, and then overnight the darn thing to me."B" did the same thing on another guitar. That ROCKS! You'll never get that at any other so called guitar company.
I love Ibanez, I've played them and them only for almost 14 years now, and I think it sucks to know that
there are some great people at Ibanez putting up with alot of stick from alot of ungreatful people.
One way to look at it is, why should they help us with
more j-customs,more finishes,fixed bridges etc..., if all
we're gonna do is crap on them for their efforts.

So maybe we should stop biting the hands that feed us.

Peace
Jeff

[Kevan]

Ditto.
If I'm not mistaken, "B" is a HUGE fan of Kevin Smith movies. *"V" is also cool and works at a bar with hot bartenderesses. *:biggrin:

I'd also like to extend a huge THANKS to the guys that don't deal directly with the customers, but still hear our tiny voices (yes- JEM's are hugely popular, but don't sell as many as the cheapies. *Money talks and expensive guitars walk...or stay in Japan, or they only make one of them, like the RG-EGYPT, WHICH I'LL NEVER FIND! EVER!...whoa...sorry...gotta replace that 30A fuse I just blew...).
The guys that work hard behind the scenes trying, in earnest, to get us the QC we need, the innovations we'd like to see (Double Edge anyone?), and realilisticly present some of our ideas to the big guys with all the money. *No- not all of them will happen, but sleep tight knowing that they do hear us...us the JEM/UV/J-Custom/Prestige owners and players.

As a bonus, EVERYONE should pickup a great "book" by Jim Donahue. *Jim kicks much booty over at Ibanez (he did build the first JEM after all. LOL) and has put about half of his brain on CD-ROM. *It's called "Guitar Design, Production & Repair". *It covers so much stuff, but is easy to get around and is perfect for everyone from first-time string-changer all the way up to...well...Jim Donahue. *:-) *I consider myself knowledgable about my own guitars, but I own this book and have dropped it in the computer a bunch of times for helpful hints and info that only Jim would know. *It's $24 for US customers (versus Luthier School which is about $24000) with proceeds going to the John Hodges Memorial Scholarship Fund. *John worked with Jim and did the wicked soundtrack on the disc, right before his life was unfortunately interrupted. *
Go here to order: http://www.comcat.com/~alnico5/cd.html
Trust me; it's worth every penny.

I'd also like to thank Ibanez for their continued support of Jemfest since it's inception. *They may not be as vocal as we organizers are about their involvement, but....it's truly the thought that counts. *Even if they only sent us one poster of Joey Allen to give away, we'd still thank them. *They've been awesome. *(BTW- if you guys read this, we don't need any more Vai posters with his macrame' sweater on; I still have about 50 from last year. *LOL)

(Edited by Kevan at 2:32 am on Feb. 15, 2001)

[Coolstu]

I totally agree, Ibanez produce great guitars and I love mine to bits. I don't think I will ever sell it and hopefully soon I will be able to afford my first JEM. But there are always going to be problems and I think what happened to Member RG550 is out of order. By the sounds of things his guitar is not in great shape considering it is only 2 weeks old. If the guitar store he purchased it from won't do anything about it then Ibanez really should and they should stop supplying that particular store with their guitars.

[bob oakman]

My UV777PBK was the first Ibanez guitar I actually owned. IMHO, It is the most superior instrument I have ever owned. Steve Vai’s endorsement played a big part in my decision to go with Ibanez. I’m glad I did.

[jem7vwh]

It's funny, often times on this board a lot of us (especially the longtime members) get very cynical and caught up in the minor problems which pop up. *But in the grand scheme of things, Ibanez truly is THE one and only guitar company that creates a constantly impressive and worthwhile product for my needs. *So while we may complain and moan about the 555, or the lack of lefties, or poor choices of finish- we still have a lot to be happy about. *Without Ibanez, there are few companies who would receive a dollar from me. *No one else makes a decent neck. *No one makes a better Floyd Rose trem. *And very few companies are willing to integrate high end parts into production models. *You don't see Fender opting for DiMarzios. *Most companies want you to use their electronics. *Ibanez has shown a lot of flexability and individuality. *And for that they have earned my business. *Thanks.