JP16 vs. JP160 - How Does The Indonesian Made Guitar Hold Up? | AI's Soundcheck | No Talking

How does the affordable Indonesia-made Sterling JP160 compare to its expensive US-made counterpart? I'm taking a look at it. 0% talking, 100% playing. I threw the songs together very spontaneously, so sorry about the sloppiness.
Disclaimer: this video is not about fairness. It's about finding out if the JP16 sounds 1.500€ better than the Sterling JP160. It's about helping you with the decision if it has to be the genuine product or if the indonesian-made guitar might just be all you need.
Guitars used: Music Man JP16, Sterling JP160
Amps: Mesa TriAxis (Pantera, Dream Theater, Metallica, Slayer), Marshall JMP-1 (Iced Earth)
Cab: ENGL Pro 4x12
Mics: SM57, E906
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[@ChrisBrightwellMusic]

It would be a more realistic comparison if both guitars were tuned the same. The JP16 is tuned to Eb, which will automatically give it a slightly darker, richer feel, tone-wise. I love that you played the same passage between each guitar (which a lot of people don't do) but the tuning does make a difference.

[@artificialinsolence3182]

Yeah, in hindsight I agree with you. The Sterling came tuned in standard and I decided to make a quick unscripted video, so I was too lazy to tune it down. Or the JP16 up, respectively. I experimented with adapting the tuning digitally in post, but I found the sound quality was suffering too much. Anyway... I won't do that again. Appreciate the feedback!

[@leonardgould6657]

@Artificial Insolence NOW THAT!, IS INTERESTING! THAT, ARGUABLY, makes the JP-160's performance even stronger!, b/c IMHO, the only significant superiority in tone from the JP-16 came in its complete absence of "ice-picky" overtone in the mid-to upper register! 😳 Very comprehensively done. I don't think I would change out to the "illuminator" pickups immediately! Thanks for the focus.

[@shubhang_47]

JP160 has a strat type tone, love it

[@drinoyoutubechannel9757]

Hi there, nice comparsion. The Sterling model sounds not bad at all. Thanks!

[@sighermike]

My question is not about how the guitar sounds, but how it feels to play. The sound can be changed by swapping pickups and electronics, or whatever. How do the necks compare? Do you notice the Sterling neck is thicker? Interestingly, I've found the sterling necks feel more like a modern Jackson whereas the EBMM seem to have a thinner neck and are easier to play. Are the frets smoother on the EBMM, is the tuning stability the same? What do you think about the Sterling locking tuners vs the Sperzel ones? There's more to these differences than just the tone of the guitar and their respective pickups. I think it'd be interesting to put the same pickups you have in the JP16 into the JP160 and tune them the same. How does that sound different?

[@rflessati]

Indonesian pickups sound really thin. How does the guitar play in comparison? I remember enjoying playing the sterling few years back.

[@artificialinsolence3182]

The JP160 actually plays pretty good. The roasted maple neck is great and the floyd replica works and retains tuning stability a lot better than the non-floyd Sterlings. The only thing I noticed immediately were the frets. They were pretty rough, almost sharp on the Indonesian. No comparison to the JP16, which is smooth as butter all around.

[@stssundr2807]

I been look for this thankssss

[@voodoochilezee]

What is that 2nd song you played? It sounds like Fates Warning

[@Fisherman6383]

Sir , Is the Indonesian made have a good playability and intonation?

[@thanapatpawakul5166]

JP16 Deep JP160 Bright I like them both.

[@Odyguitar]

Pantera . Nice Bro

[@ramlihassan8238]

The indonesian version one using what pick up?

[@artificialinsolence3182]

Nothing special, just the built-in Sterling humbuckers.

[@pskim1282]

Ive been using sterling jp60 jp70 maj100 so far and the stock pickups were always bad. If you swap those with the dimarzio's , everything would be fine then.

[@artificialinsolence3182]

Yup. Then again, for the price of the Sterling + DiMarzios + labor cost for pickup installation, you can already get a used EBMM, so... consider carefully.

[@pskim1282]

@@artificialinsolence3182 I bought white one and I think it's better than at least old EBMM models. It's beatiful

[@Brad143]

For the price i like Indonesia Made ...