[chrose1201]

I have been this way for a long time, I can't make a decision to save my life.... Lately I have been all over the place trying to choose a guitar. I have played Andersons, toyed with ordering a custom Kiesel, talked to Mike Lipe about a guitar looked at a ton of options and guitars and it seems to all come back to Ibanez.

I really like my Jem Jr and I am a sucker for blue so I was really thinking about the Jem77P, until I saw the RG1070PBZ and that Cerulean blue burst!!! So now I am torn. I like the maple fretboard and blue vine inlay more so than the dots of the RG, though the RG does have the luminescent side dots and an 11 piece neck!
The Jem has a monkey grip which I actually found myself using! Both appear to have the Edge II bridge. Not sure whose pups are warmer though.
The RG has locking nuts, although with a locking trem and locking nut I'm not sure what the advantage is.
Price points are close enough.
The Jem is beautiful and the RG is drop dead gorgeous!

What would you choose? And why? I want the steak, I just can't decide between the T-Bone or the Porterhouse!

Thanks for indulging me!

 

[jemsite]

Jem Jr is white castle burgers
The premiums are five guys burgers.
No steaks listed

 

[Formerly Given To Fly]

I would buy an Ibanez that was Made In Japan (MIJ). Start there.

 

[jono]

One of the reissued RG550s is almost certainly a better guitar, but I understand the desire for visual appeal!

An 11 piece neck has little if any advantage over a 5 piece neck, so to be honest, between those two Premium series guitars, choose the one you like the look of better!

 

[karlic]

One thing you might want to consider is that the RG1070 has stainless steel frets. Great because they will last a long time and remain even, but some don't like them because of perceived brightness.

You could get a prestige line RG2550 for a little more and that is a great guitar. Sadly just midnight blue, which probably doesn't appeal to you

 

[chrose1201]

Jem Jr is white castle burgers
The premiums are five guys burgers.
No steaks listed

Ok then, list your idea of steaks.....

 

[taracatac]

Ok then, list your idea of steaks.....

Anything MIJ to start...

 

[IbaNose]

I'd choose the RG1070PBZ with the Cerulean Blue Burst. I'm saving up for the S1070PBZ-CLB in the same colour.

 

[chrose1201]

Anything MIJ to start...

I wasn't 100% sure about these two. I was pretty sure the Jem77P was made in Indonesia and I wasn't 100% on the RG. Is it just the Prestige? It's hard to know for sure these days which are MIJ or elsewhere it seems.

 

[mike570]

Jem Jr is white castle burgers
The premiums are five guys burgers.
No steaks listed

I think this is a good analogy. I like burgers though.

Getting to the question at hand.... I would certainly pick the RG1070 first. I was GASsing a lot for that guitar last year. My personal preference though. I like the TZ/TV/AN Dimarzio combo in the RG1070 way better than the Gravity Storms in the Jem77P. The clear pickguard, rear route, and maple board on the 77P is really attractive though. I still want an RG with a wenge neck though.
I would agree with Jono though and seriously consider the Genesis RG550 or an RG655 for that matter. They're MIJ and what I might call steak. Others might disagree as they're somewhat on the lower end of the steak spectrum - depending on QC I might say. I'm not super discriminating though.

 

[FireEagle]

Looks like you are checking out the $1300 - $1500 price range? I'll bet you could get a very nice used Prestige in that range! If you are patient and look around I'll bet you can find a gorgeous case queen that has hardly been played. You'd end up with an excellent high quality guitar that will retain it's value and play awesome!

That being said, I like the floral blue Jem regardless of quality or sound... they just look so cool! If money were no object I would have one hanging on the wall, plus a white one with pearloid pickguard (Jem7v-wh) right next to it. Then I would pick up my old beater Roadstar frankenstrat and play while I gazed at them... ;-)

 

[chrose1201]

So I saw a very interesting video tonight where a guy blocked his trem and then removed the fine tuning screws and used that to run his strings through with the ball end running into the end of the trem, essentially turning it into a non locking hard tail. Interesting concept. I know that there will be people who will rail against this but if you have a guitar that you really like and can't find anything else that quite fits the bill and don't want a floating trem this sounds to me like a great idea.

Any thoughts?

 

[jemsite]

So I saw a very interesting video tonight where a guy blocked his trem and then removed the fine tuning screws and used that to run his strings through with the ball end running into the end of the trem, essentially turning it into a non locking hard tail. Interesting concept. I know that there will be people who will rail against this but if you have a guitar that you really like and can't find anything else that quite fits the bill and don't have want a floating trem this sounds to me like a great idea.

Any thoughts?

LOL. Unnecessary, introduces instability plus you lose the useful ability of using the fine tuners.

Blocking a trem is a great indicator you don't need that guitar any more.

 

[Formerly Given To Fly]

So I saw a very interesting video tonight where a guy blocked his trem and then removed the fine tuning screws and used that to run his strings through with the ball end running into the end of the trem, essentially turning it into a non locking hard tail. Interesting concept. I know that there will be people who will rail against this but if you have a guitar that you really like and can't find anything else that quite fits the bill and don't want a floating trem this sounds to me like a great idea.

Any thoughts?

If it works and solves a problem, then it is a great idea. If the guitar does not intonate properly, which is something that could happen in this situation, the guitar you really like will never sound in tune, in which case the idea was just an idea that did not yield the results you wanted.

I used to think visual aesthetics were not important. My mind was changed by a simple remark made at an art supply store. Basically, guitars need to look like something so why not make life more interesting and be creative with it. (This was not the remark, just what I learned from it.) What you'll probably find is aesthetics do not improve a great guitar or save a terrible guitar. An easy to play, great sounding, ugly guitar is a beautiful thing. Aesthetics do not override what your ears and hands are telling you about the guitar. This might be something each person needs to learn for themselves though.

 

[chrose1201]

LOL. Unnecessary, introduces instability plus you lose the useful ability of using the fine tuners.

Blocking a trem is a great indicator you don't need that guitar any more.

Sadly probably true. But it was an interesting thought.

 

[chrose1201]

It seemed pretty simple at first... There are a ton of available guitars. Some work better than others, some look better than others. Some have features I like, some don't. If Ibanez still had the custom shop I could get exactly what I feel like I want, if I was a luthier, or a painter I could do what I want. I have been buying and selling and trading guitars for a long time. As a side note, I have been in engineering and I have been in sales for a long time as well. One thing you learn is that if you ask enough question, throw out enough options eventually you will come up with something that works for you. You keep looking and take every little nugget that you learn. But if you don't ask the people with experience in these particular matters you are left spinning your wheels. You just have to look for the wisdom....I'll find something that I like. I am just being very picky as I have something in my minds eye that I want to try and make happen. It may, it may not or I may just have to make do with option B. (I'm also trying to avoid spending $3k on a guitar as I just dropped a bundle on a new amp!)

 

[IbaNose]

If it works and solves a problem, then it is a great idea. If the guitar does not intonate properly, which is something that could happen in this situation, the guitar you really like will never sound in tune, in which case the idea was just an idea that did not yield the results you wanted.

I used to think visual aesthetics were not important. My mind was changed by a simple remark made at an art supply store. Basically, guitars need to look like something so why not make life more interesting and be creative with it. (This was not the remark, just what I learned from it.) What you'll probably find is aesthetics do not improve a great guitar or save a terrible guitar. An easy to play, great sounding, ugly guitar is a beautiful thing. Aesthetics do not override what your ears and hands are telling you about the guitar. This might be something each person needs to learn for themselves though.

Whether worn from passionate playing or brand new, I'm not buying a guitar that I don't find attractive and beautiful to look at. Hence, I'll probably never own a Parker Fly, Flying V or Firebird. An ugly, well playing guitar isn't in my future. I'm shallow that way.

 

[sepulchrave]

If it works and solves a problem, then it is a great idea. If the guitar does not intonate properly, which is something that could happen in this situation, the guitar you really like will never sound in tune, in which case the idea was just an idea that did not yield the results you wanted.

I used to think visual aesthetics were not important. My mind was changed by a simple remark made at an art supply store. Basically, guitars need to look like something so why not make life more interesting and be creative with it. (This was not the remark, just what I learned from it.) What you'll probably find is aesthetics do not improve a great guitar or save a terrible guitar. An easy to play, great sounding, ugly guitar is a beautiful thing. Aesthetics do not override what your ears and hands are telling you about the guitar. This might be something each person needs to learn for themselves though.

Form follows function.

First it must function properly, once that's achieved you can make it look however you like. Recording studios used to be full of ugly guitars that sounded awesome back when studios still existed.

 

[mike570]

So I saw a very interesting video tonight where a guy blocked his trem and then removed the fine tuning screws and used that to run his strings through with the ball end running into the end of the trem.....

O_O

 

[FatKid]

I recently got a 1991 USA Custom Shop "Ice World", almost by accident, and it is by far the best made, most comfortable, easy to play guitar I have ever had my hands on. I liked it so much I immediately started looking for another USA Custom Shop guitar. I've never done that before.

If you're not in a big hurry I would strongly suggest looking for one of the Ibanez USA Custom Shop guitars. They are hard to come by but VERY much worth it.