Ibanez JEM Forum banner

Very old Ibanez Js1

Tags
js1
15K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  nousnothem 
#1 ·
I have a JS1 sn:J000024 from about 1988 or 89. 24th made.. in mint cond. With original case. Bought a new tremarm though cus the old was broke. Think about maybe selling it cus i never play it. Maybe get a SG or LesPaul instead. Or should i save it for a rainy day perhaps? If someone wants to buy it gimmi a holler and i'll think about it.

Peace!
 
#8 ·
Ive heard the first JS1 came out 1988 but i must be misinformed then. Its an early 1990s then. The only thing that is different with my js1 against later models that it doesent have JS1 in the headstock. Its only the Ibanez logo on the headstock. White with dual humbuckers with coilsplit and treblebleed. Haven had time to take pictures. Where to put pictures then? Or should i link to some?
 
#13 · (Edited)
That's very nice, and rare.

Outside of the JS Series script on headstock found on common JS1000s, is it exactly the same guitar otherwise?

I really love rare stuff and there are other 'unnamed' guitars out there which collectors drool over so this one you have should always be a keeper. I would simply keep it and buy the Gibson you want later on.

At vintage store near me, a Paul Reed Smith dealer of new and used, they have a couple of early era Paul Reed Smiths when he was in mom's garage and headstock has inlay but no "Paul Reed Smith" logo and those unnamed ones are very rare. The designs are slightly different than current PRS models but the giveaway are the flying bird fretboard inlays. And early Santa Cruz Guitar Company boutique acoustics only have label inside guitar but don't have commonly found headstock or fretboard inlay logo.
 
#15 ·
That's very nice, and rare.

Outside of the JS Series script on headstock found on common JS1000s, is it exactly the same guitar otherwise?

I really love rare stuff and there are other 'unnamed' guitars out there which collectors drool over so this one you have should always be a keeper. I would simply keep it and buy the Gibson you want later on.

At vintage store near me, a Paul Reed Smith dealer of new and used, they have a couple of early era Paul Reed Smiths when he was in mom's garage and headstock has inlay but no "Paul Reed Smith" logo and those unnamed ones are very rare. The designs are slightly different than current PRS models but the giveaway are the flying bird fretboard inlays. And early Santa Cruz Guitar Company boutique acoustics only have label inside guitar but don't have commonly found headstock or fretboard inlay logo.
It looks the same but i dont know the exact specs of the JS1000 though.
Why im maybe selling it is that i rarely play it cus i play mostly blues and classicrock. And I dont want to gig with it cus its in such good cond.

Ive got an $1700 offer for it and thinking about selling it and get a LesPaul or SG instead. But the js1 is so amazing to play and sound really good.

Haven't decided 100% if I want to sell it yet though :?
 
#17 ·
Thank you for that reply. I know its rare and thats why i dont just sell without thinking about it first. I have as i think many of us have done is that ive sold some really outstanding guitars and amps over the years and regreted it afterwords. But why im thinking of selling it is because i rarely play it and thats to bad when I have such a great guitar. I mostly play my strat and my tele cus they suit my playingstyle more. :)
 
#18 · (Edited)
I pretty much have played Fenders most of my life and I disposed of some really great, vintage Gibsons because I didn't think I would ever use those. Not too many people were into the Gibson thing in most of the 1980s with the Fenders and superstrats dominating everything until Guns and Roses almost single handedly put Gibson back on the map again. Slash showed you could slow down and don't have to be Paul Gilbert and he showed you don't have to be Van Halen and use a tremolo. His playing was equal parts metal but also equal parts Robbie Robertson or Derek and the Dominoes preferring the blues scale over fancy diatonic Bach stuff. Gibson was drowning in its expensive manufacturing costs and big debt and Peavey almost bought them out as an add on.

When I got over the Charvel/superstrat thing in the 1980s, I turned to Fender again and never thought I would ever think superstrat again, but now decades later I am considering a superstrat with the Floyd or Edge trem. Sometimes guitars come full circle and if ever you get back into superstrats, you may be sad if you dispose of that JS1 which could be the best and most versatile superstrat ever made, RG included.

Joe liked classic rock and Hendrix, though we didn't know it when Surfing with the Alien came out and as he progressed and he sometimes backed off the superstrat gunslinger thing which he conquered, and did some more stratish, classic sounding things. That's where the JS came in where it can actually back off and sound and feel a lot more like a Fender than some super fast Jackson or RG. With the RG it's very hard not to want to play as loud and fast as you can because of that Wizard neck, but the JS neck is just in between where you can still comfortably be a diatonic supershredder but then play on it as if it's a '62 strat. It's a perfect classic rock sounding guitar with just enough neck radius that just happens to have the Ibanez Edge trem. If you had to have one guitar to do it all (Gibson tone, Fender tone, classic rock, full octane metal soloing), I can't think of a more versatile and easy to use guitar than the JS series.
 
#26 ·
I have an old JS Series as well with serial no J000724. It is straight black not black pearl that appeared on later versions. I have had it since late 93. I found it used and traded in a one year old Fender Malmsteen Strat (HATED that one) to get it. I have a few 70s Strats, five Les Pauls, an SG and a Jem FP2. Out of all of them Satriani has the most comfortable guitar ever.

I had trouble finding a reliable source for serial numbers and was worried I had a JS1 which is low end crap but the neck plate clearly says Made in Japan. It just was never called aJS1000-yet. Was going to upload a pic here but I don't have enough posts yet.
 
#30 ·
I know this is an old post. I just scored a JS6 and now feel compelled to get an original JS1, like my first guitar, serial #73. This guy has one in great condition, with the serial in the 700s, does anyone know if they started putting "JS Series" on the JS1s at all? I know mine didn't and none of the others I see have it. He doesn't want to take the neck off.
 
#33 ·
Let me ask you guys this—I haven’t played a JS1 since I was 20, and I didn’t have great amps and pedals then, but I know everyone in all my bands hated it, and it was terrible at cutting in the mix. Like I said, it’s a lot of nostalgia, but are the new JS guitars better? I’m a little turned off by the 3 piece neck, but they seem to sound better with the alder bodies. Anyone here have both and if so could you compare and contrast? Is there anything great about the vintage versions or have they truly improved the instrument? Do the necks feel exactly the same (aside from the wood)?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top