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King Loudness « Vintage feeling Ibanez »
Published on 09/05/11 at 14:30The Ibanez JS1200 is an updated version of the guitar that Joe Satriani designed for Ibanez all those years ago. Joe's always been more of a vintage guy and his guitar is an excellent blend of the typical Ibanez superstrat and some more classic Strat type guitars that Joe played back in the day. It features a basswood body, rosewood fretboard with 22 6105 frets (taller and narrower in design) the recently added for 2010 Edge Tremolo (replacing the old Edge Pro bridge used for many years prior. It also has DiMarzio signature Satriani pickups - a PAF Joe in the neck position and a FRED in the bridge position. They're made in Japan at the Ibanez factory there.
UTILIZATION
The JS1200 is definitely an ergonomic and streamlined instrument for my tastes. Though it's not quite as thin or fast as a typical RG, it eschews that extra bit of speed for a more comfortable vintage spec'd feel that I personally love. I had an original Ibanez Radius that was quite similar in feel to the JS1200 - nice comfortable medium sized neck and a body that sits very well both sitting and standing. It's a good medium weight that is easy to play for extended periods too. The upper fret access isn't as good as an RG or a JEM but it's fairly good - kind of like an old Strat.
Getting a good sound out of this guitar is pretty easy. Joe tends to like more of a vintage voiced tone than typically is found in Ibanez guitars, so this is a treat for players like me who prefer an old school tone. There is also a high pass filter to create a different set of tones as well... very cool.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through a multitude of amplifiers and have concluded that at its core it sounds like a typical Ibanez RG guitar, but with thicker lows, a more prominent midrange and less spiky highs. The clean tones are excellent for blues or jazz type settings, and with the high pass filter engaged it gets into kind of a Strat territory which is pretty cool. The drive tones are exactly what you'd expect from a Satch guitar - very open and refined but with enough output to work with higher gain modern rigs of today. It's a perfect compromise between the vintage Fenders and the more modern superstrats. Rhythms are fat and chunky, with excellent articulation and clarity on the low strings. The lead tones have great sustain and richness on both pickups, excellent for legato or alternate picked passages.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Ibanez JS1200 is a really cool and unique take on the typical Ibanez superstrat. It's a bit expensive at $1,800 new but they can be had for a reasonable price on the used market. It's well crafted and sounds great for hard rock styles, plus the feel is enough of a departure that fans of a more vintage feeling guitar will dig it.
UTILIZATION
The JS1200 is definitely an ergonomic and streamlined instrument for my tastes. Though it's not quite as thin or fast as a typical RG, it eschews that extra bit of speed for a more comfortable vintage spec'd feel that I personally love. I had an original Ibanez Radius that was quite similar in feel to the JS1200 - nice comfortable medium sized neck and a body that sits very well both sitting and standing. It's a good medium weight that is easy to play for extended periods too. The upper fret access isn't as good as an RG or a JEM but it's fairly good - kind of like an old Strat.
Getting a good sound out of this guitar is pretty easy. Joe tends to like more of a vintage voiced tone than typically is found in Ibanez guitars, so this is a treat for players like me who prefer an old school tone. There is also a high pass filter to create a different set of tones as well... very cool.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through a multitude of amplifiers and have concluded that at its core it sounds like a typical Ibanez RG guitar, but with thicker lows, a more prominent midrange and less spiky highs. The clean tones are excellent for blues or jazz type settings, and with the high pass filter engaged it gets into kind of a Strat territory which is pretty cool. The drive tones are exactly what you'd expect from a Satch guitar - very open and refined but with enough output to work with higher gain modern rigs of today. It's a perfect compromise between the vintage Fenders and the more modern superstrats. Rhythms are fat and chunky, with excellent articulation and clarity on the low strings. The lead tones have great sustain and richness on both pickups, excellent for legato or alternate picked passages.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Ibanez JS1200 is a really cool and unique take on the typical Ibanez superstrat. It's a bit expensive at $1,800 new but they can be had for a reasonable price on the used market. It's well crafted and sounds great for hard rock styles, plus the feel is enough of a departure that fans of a more vintage feeling guitar will dig it.