[moebius]

Hi folks,
I am interested in perhaps purchasing a used JS 700. However, the pictures I have seen of the guitars I am thinking of buying show the bridge to be slightly angled so that the treble side is closer to the neck. This is what I see on Les Pauls and such. However, the pictures from the Ibanez website and catalog show the bridge to be straight across.

Can anyone who actually has one tell me whether the bridge is straight across or is angled?

Thanks!

 

[Sean777]

I use to own one, from memory it was pretty straight

 

[stratoskier]

You are an astute observer!

Yes, they were very inconsistent in how they drilled the post holes on the JS700. Some are indeed straight across -- you do not want one of those because they will not intonate properly. I've exchanged messages (and there may be old posts here) from owners who had trouble intonating the straight-across ones, but I've never owned one. I have had 2 with the angled bridge and both intonate correctly.

It's not just a Japan vs Korea difference (JS700s were made in both countries, though the MIJs are far less common). I've been puzzled for a long time as to how they managed to get it both ways. Perhaps they used multiple factories in Korea and only one of them was setup correctly.

 

[moebius]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I like the look of the straight across bridge but I feared there might be intonation issues. I was hoping perhaps there was enough adjustment in the bridge to make it work.

Cheers.

 

[Rich]

700's are not rare guitars so unless it's stupid cheap just pass. A crooked bridge will always bug your eye.

 

[moebius]

Rich has it been your experience that the straight across bridges won't intonate?

 

[Rich]

There is a lot of adjustment built into any bridge but any bridge can be put on in the wrong place. The $8000 Niti basses are put on too far back to intonate the high E.

 

[moebius]

Thanks for the reply. In which condition would the bridge on a JS700 have been put on in the wrong place? Which is correct, straight across or angled?

To put it another way, do the JS700s that have the bridge straight across suffer from intonation issues? I am sure it varies from guitar to guitar, but I was wondering if I should look for ones that are angled or ones that are straight if I want a fully functional JS700?

Sorry for being dense if I have missed the answer.

 

[moebius]

I truly appreciate you guys taking the time to provide replies.

 

[Rich]

I'd never handle a 700 so not in my box, but if the catalog shows it straight it should be straight.

 

[OCDemon]

I have a Japanese JS700 and the bridge is straight. The intonation is not great on the guitar but I think it's just the way it is, it's not anywhere near the quality of the JS6 or JS1600 I have. It sounds different thanks to the mahogany neck and the P90s and it pairs really well with my fender amp, but intonation and staying in tune is not it's strong point.

 

[OCDemon]

JS700s are fairly common, Japanese 700s are more rare. If it's Korean, I agree with Rich, just pass and wait for one that looks the way you want it to.

 

[stratoskier]

The Short Stop II bridge does have little allen screws on the rear of the bridge that push against the posts and enable some fore/aft adjustment (angulation) for setting intonation. However, as I mentioned earlier, some users have found that the amount of adjustment was insufficient to properly set the intonation on JS700s having straight across posts.

I can't remember the username but the last guy to contact me about this problem was a Jemsiter from Germany who was very frustrated with his JS700 and wound up unloading the guitar. Apparently it hasn't been a problem for some others -- Like Rich said, any bridge can be put in the wrong place but your chances of having problems seem to be greater on the non-angled variant. A few mm's can screw it up.

 

[moebius]

Thanks for the info gents.
Cheers.