I Was SO Wrong about the Ibanez JS1200

[@ludomuso]

Love the Terminator theme! 5:20

[@MrMJAWhite]

Thank you for posting this! Exactly what I was thinking.

[@jimmyeich6250]

Thank you for playing this guitar without over saturated gain setting for a time. It allowed me to hear the pickups. Definitely on my dream list.

[@stealthy7]

I could happily just have an RG550 as my sole guitar....but the JS or S series are also brilliant guitars in their own right. Ibanez are a great brand at all price levels

[@hubieh3374]

I love my RGAT62!! Needs a fret job though! I have worn it out!!

[@DonJoe-EX-NAR]

I agree 💯%. I’ve had a few Js 1000s. And, I’ve had an RG550. And the RG was soooo much more versatile. And just kicked.

[@alien4422]

Ibanez guitars are made by different companies for Ibanez with Cort making the cheaper to medium price guitars in Indonesia and fujigen gakki making the Prestige and artist models in Japan.

[@derekgenre8057]

Agreed!!! RG550 is one of the best modern guitars EVER made… it’s a Swiss Army Knife guitar.

[@emelle1283]

@@alien4422 The Fujigen factory kicks ass - they make so much good stuff. Check out FGN guitrs (their in house brand) - i have 4 - they're all beautiful.

[@robertogarza5377]

the fact that you played the Terminator 2 theme around 5:30 was a welcome surprise

[@philbrannigan5854]

Re the switchable treble-bleed, I had my JS2000 rewired so that the treble bleed was permanently engaged (it's so smooth and natural that I never switch it off). I had the two push-pull controls wired so that they split the two pickups individually. That allows me switch from split neck pickup to unsplit bridge pickup with one flick of the pickup selector. I can also have any combination of split and unsplit, which means provides two extra, quite useful tones from the pickup selector middle position (split/unsplit and unsplit/split).

[@lyricbread]

Hey John, if you dig the JS1200, you ought and try to find a JS6, JS600, or JS6000, which are all hard tail versions. Same bones, but without the hassle of a locking trem.

[@LilOlFunnyBoy]

I love a Floyd (Ibanez Edge in particular). I took my RG out of its case a couple of months back. It had been in there for about 5 years. Still in tune. I also love that you can just lift the bridge out to work on the guitar and pop it straight back in. In tune.

[@MostlyElectrolytes]

Many years ago I gave a friend a bass for his birthday and so he gave my son a JS100 (Korean version) for his birthday. This was at least 15 years ago. I pulled it out about two years ago and put proper DiMarzio pickups in it, but after working on it discovered it had a warp in the neck and forgot about it. Well I bought a Fretkisser from StewMac and needed a practice guitar and managed to get it playing pretty good....good enough to start looking around for a JS1000 for me. Anyway I found an absolute mint white (looks cream) one and its funny because its so easy to play, but it's not what you would think that a shred machine would be. Its got the same electronics...what I really like about the Floyd Rose is that its got center locks for the studs as well as spring locks on the block and the early versions like this one had hardened knife edges that just never wear. Its a criminally underrated guitar that can cover a lot of ground.

[@Alex_Martz]

Ibanez from the FujiGen late 80s - early 90s era are the BEST ever made, I have the 540SFM and it's still awesome

[@clives555]

I'm still loving the RG, you're right about the Floyd though, complete pain the arse but lots of fun

[@horebstevewinword3698]

I want this tone man so lovely❤

[@kierenmoore3236]

Had one. Sold it. Kept the Jem. Wish I’d kept both.

[@posarelli]

I own one of this just from fe months now and it's quite amazing. Very very nice guitar indeed.

[@lights_camera_coffee]

Once again some of my favorite playing of yours on the channel, and it’s with this guitar. As someone of (presumably) similar age who also fawned over Ibanez in my younger days before being kind of put off by them… there seems to be a thing about this one

[@mikegrisafi541]

Aw man. You'd love my Carvin. I spent a lot of time dialing in the treble bleed circuit to get it just right. Its not switched but I stuck a trim pot in the back to kinda pan between 2 cap values while dialing in the series resistance. I use a single channel amp set crunchy which dials back to an incredible clean...makes for awesome dynamic control right at my fingers.

[@chadwickhurlburt6529]

The Ibanez JS guitars are simply some of the best playing guitars on the market. They don't look like much, but once you have it in your hands, you know. I've been collecting guitars for decades. The best playing guitars I have are Ibanez Radius models and JS models. Other guitars do not compare. Either in playability, tone, response, or stability. The old RG550 guitars are classic, but these guitars where a cut above those from the start. The 540 Sabers had a few notable models as did the Power series guitars. But the Radius and JS guitars were the best.

[@RobbSutherland]

Love the Terminator theme. I had one for about five years. I've also had a 7v for five years before that. My experience of the fancy sculpted Floyd on both guitars is that they don't return to pitch. I bought a Jackson with a flat plate Floyd and it is bullet proof. It comes out of the case. it's still in tune. I do a two hour gig abusing the whammy doing 80's Rock, it stays in tune. It goes in it's case in tune. If I ever tune it, it has got cold and warmed up. The other thing I didn't like about the Satch was that the knobs make a massive clank through the body when you push or pull them. I had a luthier lower the nut by about 0.5mm to make the action right. I did love it. But gigging it every weekend for five years highlighted the problems I found with it. My Jackson is bulletproof. Sounds amazing. Coil tap on the blade switch. Just fantastic.

[@fixedgear37]

You’re wrong about everything.

[@tonystartup3817]

Lenny?

[@shredenvain7]

Almost anything Ibanez makes in the Japanese factory is extremely high quality. Not just their Prestige line but everything made in japan before they made the prestige line.

[@kamiros9739]

I find it so weird after listening to so many guitars and even having been a Satriani fan when I was young, I never gave this guitar much credit our thought. Blows my mind watching reviews like this one 😮

[@donaldblankenship5163]

Dude you’re playing is next level 🔥❤

[@nathanieldahman9268]

The JS guitars are so good. I haven't played one in years. That switchable treble bleed is SO COOL! I've never had a problem with the Ibanez locking system. It's rock solid for me. The key, I think, is setting the spring/string tension balance just right. I always set it to where the saddle screws sit perfectly parallel with the top of the guitar.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

The pick ups are underrated. Joe is super great with tone. A lot of it is also in the fingers, but a 22 fret neck pick up sparkles just right. Nice playing.

[@lollofunky]

Another thing that I really like about this guitar is the body shape, no sharp edges / areas...it looks very sensual with all these gentle curves :)

[@jackprice7828]

John I have to say you sound like a completely different guitar player when you are on that Satch Signature. Wow! I think part of it is how you use the wammy. But overall beautiful! The sensitivity of those pickups has got have Satriani paying attention to someone of your caliber!

[@JohnMcGFrance]

That’s real difference in tone with the treble bleed switch. I love the shape of the JS models too. Sadly, I just don’t get on with Floyd Rose trems.

[@uziforyoutosay1749]

Andertons “free” t shirt…..? Product placement in video or Teams meetings is important 😂.

[@vincentc.4722]

I absolutely love the JS1200. It has been my favourite guitar for a few years. Recently I got a Jeff Beck Stratocaster which is competing for top spot in my (fairly small) guitar collection. They are not too dissimilar. Well, they are both guitars. ;-) The JS1200 has more sustain, I can play lightly and it lends itself to faster playing without being as extreme as an RG. (I have two RG, an original 1992 RG570 and a gorgeous J Custom). The strat demands that I use more vibrato to keep notes ringing, is very sensitive to when I dig a little more into the strings with the pick. Both are capable of screaming harmonics with a slight advantage to the JS. The JB Strat shines in providing incredible tuning stability during trem abuse, just with its roller but and locking tuners, which are a breeze to set up and tune compared to the JS's more advanced trem. And although it's a "Jeff Beck" strat; it can easily do Hendrix or Gilmour-esque souds. But overall, two dream machines that I feel lucky and blessed to own and play. You, John Nathan, are an amazing player. I listen to your videos more for your playing than for your talking. I am going to shop on your BandCamp page today!

[@alanparkinson4568]

You played different stuff from normal. If the guitar brought that out of you, that’s a good thing.

[@junito1957]

iBANEZ IS REALLY KICKING ASS AND TAKEN NAMES ON HIGH LEVEL GUITARS EVEN THEIR $200 GUITARS ARE GREAT

[@jessenicholson1777]

These are wonderful guitars and totally overlooked, even by Ibanez fans.

[@bennyk6389]

It's one of my favorite guitars EVER! I'm a Satriani fan myself, played this one couple of times (borrowed friend's guitar). Don't know if I'd get one today though. Time moves on and taste changes... But it's an amazing and beautiful guitar indeed!

[@alexmackenzie4070]

Nice one, love your playin. it’s funny that it’s probably the most under-recognised perfectly conceived and executed vintage super strat/gibson crossover ever created. I got a JS1000 20 years ago off US ebay for a £500 bargain as it had a ding on it. Never has a guitar defied my expectations so much, It felt more stratty than my USA strat and makes you play delicately. It’s bodily dinky and found needs to be strung with 9s to come alive. I was completely obsessed by Satch’s neck sound, he describes this as being ‘tubular’ and is clearly Gibson inspired but on this guitar, you get that sound instantly. That Mighty Turtle Head thang.

[@daysleeper3910]

I got a 1000 after owning a 100 for years.... The TB is fantastic and opens the door to a whole diff. palate. After I set it up properly it just doesn’t go out of tune.... like ever…even if I don’t play it for a week, its insane!. It’s consistently the 'best' sounding and playing instrument I have.... And Ive got a few. ;) And it sounds fantastic through EVERY amp Ive pugged it in to. If you ever wondered what a 'Strat' would be if Ferrari/Lamborghini made it....or indeed Ibanez (The S Type was the origin of the JS line) Here you go, fantastic guitars!.

[@brucesguitardemos8197]

Loverly nod to the terminator theme dude ❤

[@mkrj2576]

Hey man, that little cool lick you kept playing around 5:20 was a recurrent background melody on the original Terminator.

[@coreybray9834]

I could have sworn that the Js1200 had an Ibanez Edge in it, not a Floyd Rose. I used to own one, but the wife made me sell it. Great axe. Although, I’ve taken a fancy to the Kiko Lerairo Ibanez these days. But, there was something subtle and special about the neck pickup on the JS1200. It added what sounded to me to be like highlight hollow overtones to notes when you had the right amount of grit dialed in.

[@tonystartup3817]

'floyd rose' in this case is like hoover. A generic term for this type

[@kevinmcguinness1113]

You need a new wife.

[@coreybray9834]

@@kevinmcguinness1113 As it would turn out, my wife figured that out long before I did. The good thing about being single again is that I get to spend as much time I want with my growing guitar collection and other gear. And the gear doesn’t talk back.

[@kevinmcguinness1113]

@coreybray9834 sorry to hear that, I was only being facetious and trying to make a light-hearted joke. Sounds like it might have worked out for the best anyway. All the best, stay strong.

[@johnmessenger5395]

John - love you dearly - but sort out your fucking timing!..you often run ahead of the beat, especially during legato work (but not the triplets!?!) - it's undermining the quality/feel of your musicality which is pretty amazing otherwise - sort it out!!

[@robshrock-shirakbari1862]

Rude. Criticizing someone publicly whom you don't know personally is both arrogant and troll-ish. Especially when not accompanied by any evidence of your superiority as a player. Even if you presented that evidence, you are still being rude. I would hope you were raised better by your elders and just forgot yourself for a moment.

[@MikaTarkela]

Such a beautiful intro song. Amazing! 👌

[@jackrutkowski7038]

Would love to have one in my collection.

[@SouthpawSatch]

I own a lefty JS1200. I was so lucky to get one of the few left handed ones out there. It plays like a dream and become one of my main guitars instantly. John, you should definitely look into getting a JS model of your own. There's quite a few variations and I'm sure you will find one with the specs you like

[@dylanposselt]

I'm using it as my only guitar. It's amazing

[@cunjoz]

it's a shame it doesn't have 24 frets

[@AnimeAsLeaders998]

i think it is high pass filter not coil split

[@tonystartup3817]

Has both on the different controls. High pass filter is sometimes referred to as treble bleed

[@Johnny-oy9fh]

Satch knows how to design a great axe

[@Chris_Mckean]

I play in a function/pub band and use the newer purple JS. I initially used it for rock stuff and my Tele for everything else, but there's so many tonal possibilities it's ended up being my main guitar. And yes, the newer ones have the treble bleed and the added bonus of 24 frets.

[@MarcusFHurt]

Yes.. All the new versions of the JS series have the high pass filter in the Vol pot. Those without the Sustaniac have the coil split. The only thing I don't like is the lower horn in the newer models has been really reduced and almost like a rounded rod like a broom handle. Still all amazing guitars. I've got like 6 at this point lol

[@simonjonasmusic8410]

Awesome guitar, not talked about enough in my opinion. As theyre Made in the Fujigen company, i'd love to see you feature one of FGN's EOS 2 Superstrats in comparison!❤

[@robertritchie2860]

It may play well but in my eyes looks like a piece of plastic. I can't connect visually with rounded corners and edges. The colour looks very artificial. I guess I'm a boring old fart 😂

[@ryanvergara3603]

My main axe for a good 10 years or so was my Ibanez Prestige RG1820x which has a Piezo bridge. It was very versatile and served me well in gigs. Thing is, I am just too old now and tired of the intricate process in restringing, intonating, and tuning it. It was just taxing. I just keep it in the storage room now, sort of its retirement phase now. My main guitar at the moment is a PRS SE Standard 24 08 and I never looked back. Plays the same, if not better, than my Ibby and waayy easier to maintain and tune up on stage.

[@christopherbuck7679]

I’ve got 2 540 sabres with the wizard neck and Ibanez c series pickups, they have custom inlaid on the neck. I would never let them go. I think JS used to play that model at one time. They can play any music style and are magical.

[@donkarnage6032]

The JS guitars really are fantastic and pretty underrated because of the Satriani/signature guitar stigma. I've had a JS1000 for about 15 and it is still one of my favorites that I own. The 1000 is the same as the 1200 except for different body color and different neck pickup.

[@Cmarquezl8]

Ibanez is my favorite brand. I've owned different guitars, but the ease of playing and the versatility of the tone are just unbeatable. Sometimes I think it looks too pointy, and I feel like I need a more traditional style guitar, such as a Strat or a Tele, but when I play them, I always go back to Ibanez. Who else feels the same?

[@nedludd3641]

Wots wrong with Ibanez? I was shocked by the fit & finish of my new AS93, comparable to PRS Cort. Another thing that surprised me was the neck which was a no-BS pleasure to play - I thought it might have a narrow nut width but it's excellent. The pickups sounded like they had a really chesty cold - full of phlegm - magic guitar

[@SAIBOT64]

I’m lucky enough to have lots of nice guitars. My JS1000 is still amazing after 12-15 years. Great guitars.

[@farko63]

I have the old JS1000 signature : the neck is to much little for me...

[@Malediction99]

I have an old EX370FM that I bought using money from my first real job because I was a huge Satriani fan and wanted something like his signature Ibanez. Of all the guitars I've owned since it still has the most comfortable neck. It has been played to death but one day I'll resurrect it.

[@BlugubriousMusic]

What does a guy have to do to get a full cover of that Terminator theme?

[@hawkhead418]

Wait. Didn’t you already make this video?

[@tonystartup3817]

Kinda. The JS is back for a job. I guess John still feels the same as when he borrowed it last time

[@putchmillernetwork1799]

im 99% sure the trem is set up too low... i know its a low pro but its still looks low?

[@tonystartup3817]

No, I don't think it is. It's parallel to the body and the action is fairly medium, I don't like any fret buzz so set the strings high enough to never buzz out

[@picksalot1]

Long ago, I tried a Treble Bleed on my Strat a couple of times, but never really got on with it. Having it be easily switched on or off makes it something worth reconsidering. 🤔 Thanks

[@bobparsonsartist564]

guitar schmar, that was great playing!

[@JamesFlorio-ti8gc]

Loved the intro . That was first time I seen you use tremolo that often lol . All the Japan Satch 🎸 are incredible

[@johndeschain2156]

I just don't see a need for a Floyd or a neck humbucker anymore

[@azharkhan8796]

Is that Terminator 2 soundtrack?

[@Gorbyrev]

Lovely playing hood sir and a resplendent JS. Here's to the treble bleed capacitor, a superstrat staple.

[@MrChrisJDalton]

Ibanez did a limited run of left handed versions of this. I’ve been after one for years!

[@KozmykJ]

So John have you bought this one from your mate yet or still looking for one ?

[@1980JPA]

That jam at the beginning needs to be developed as a song to go on your Spotify.

[@mikeblue385]

if you do that flick as the attack for a half step bend, you can get kind of sax thing going on.

[@MrHitthespot]

Beautiful guitar. If they made it in left handed I would have had one years ago.

[@alien4422]

My big problem with top end guitars in general is how much they have gone up in price since covid. So even though I have plenty of good guitars including Ibanez Prestige I find myself very tempted by the Antiquity Legends EX1-NAT which is an Explorer type guitar made by Harley Benton for PMT music here in the UK.

[@tonystartup3817]

I paid £850 for this guitar just over a year ago. There are deals out there if you're patient

[@alien4422]

@@tonystartup3817 That's are very good deal. Most of my guitars were bought second hand including my two Ibanez Prestiges. But I'm talking about new prices.

[@tonystartup3817]

@@alien4422 I realised that. But who exactly buys top end guitars new? It's a mystery to me, everything I have is at least second hand

[@pepeowen]

The reality is that Ibanez make amazing guitars.

[@jimmcdougall9973]

It looks and sounds like it was made for you. The Ibanez Edge tremolo is far better than the Floyd Rose. I have both tremolos.

[@musicplaylists59]

this guitar really suits your style of playing

[@AlexSmolniy]

Pickup rings is what is bad about this guitar. The only guitar is good with them is Gibson and similar.

[@tonystartup3817]

They do look better in person than pictures. But yes, hard mounted would be cool

[@hugomartinho2555]

The T1000 aproves this tone!

[@firstmountain7479]

Proud owner of a rare JS6 Hardtail

[@harrysearia1784]

I picked up one at a pawn shop some years ago. I just couldn't develop a relationship with it and back it went.

[@Domn879]

Just like my second marriage.

[@dropac]

I sold my signed one to get a Cornford MKII. Still crying under the shower from time to time. Didnt like how easy the pots are to turn but the rest is just pure porn

[@DaveDurango]

Sounds so good

[@digsy1303]

It's definitely just another guitar. Nice colour though. Shame about the Floyd Rose and double locking.

[@bongo2565]

The "wobbling" sound. As far as I know, Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) is the 1st guy who mixed it in his solo playing in an obvious way. Check "Play Rough" in their debut "Dawn Patrol". I think Brad was calling it as "crickets" sound.. Good time ;)

[@geezberry8889]

most of these have that weird trem. i believe ibanez at the time had an Edge patent issue. The last couple years they made these came with the original Edge. these being Prestige were better made , fit and finish than the previous JS1000

[@RobCowie]

I'm 100% sure you already knew this, but put the bar pointed away from the neck and then flick it. The warbles are noticeably pitched upwards rather than downwards, and it can also sound cool...

[@DC11GTR]

I started on a JS-1 in the early 90s. I have a JS-1000 as my backup and a JS-2450 as my main. I’m a die-hard Satriani fanboy but that’s not why. If Ibanez let me build my perfect guitar, it would be 90% a JS