Ibanez JS1200

2007 JS1200 purchased from Rich at Ibanezrules. Basswood body with maple neck. Very light and easy to play for extended periods of time. Good balance to the instrament. 22 6505 frets. The neck is more like a Strat neck than any other Ibanez necks. It is nothing like an RG. Dimarzio Paf Joe and Fred pickups. Coil tap on the volume pot makes the humbuckers single coils. High pass filter on the tone pot gives a clear trebly sound at lower volumes. Came with the fitted case and several wrenches. Would never buy an Ibanez from someone other than Rich

I play mostly Satch type music with a healthy mix of classic rock and blues. The guitar is extremely versitile. Overall, it is a bright sounding instrament. It obviously excells as a distorted lead guitar and the tone will cut through a band mix easily. With coil tap engaged, it will give a nice Eric Johnson sound over a clean to slightly driven amp. Turning the volume back and playing with the tone pot yeilds several tones from vintage blues to modern high gain rock. The guitar runs the gambit for that. This is not, however, a metal guitar and you would have to severely EQ the amp and pedals if you wanted even an 80's metal sound. There are a lot of mids to this instrament that you'd have to dial out. If that's what you play, don't buy this guitar. That said, the JS1200 works for just about everything else.

Rich at Ibanezrules is a legend for his pro setups. He offers different levels now, but it's worth it to get the higher grade setups because he does a great job. Shipped to me in perfect tune, intonation and the action is incredible. I don't think I had to touch my tuners for 2 weeks after it came. Even now, a year and several string changes later (following the instructions on the Ibanezrules tech site) the guitar still maintains great tuning stability. The frets were well dressed and rounded nicely. Of my 7 guitars, this one was easily the best out of the box and is still my favorite to play.
The only defect in my 1200 was a small dimple in the finish in between the pickups. The light has to hit it just right to catch it and you can not see it otherwise, but it was there. That was nice because I was able to purchase the guitar for much less because of the imperfection.

I've played live with this guitar for the last year and it's never let me down. I usually keep a backup handy because it has a floating bridge and if a string broke, the whole thing is out of tune. Still, I've never broken a string on it, period, live or at home. I don't abuse the trem too heavily (but I use it), and I change the strings fairly often. The hardware are all in great shape. I usually give it a quick wipe down after each play to keep the neck from getting grimy and the chrome from tarnishing. Strap buttons are huge and I hate when I have to remove the strap because it can take a minute to slide the leather on and off because of the size of the buttons. They're not straplocks, but solid enough (unless you're Steve Vai).

Rich has been excellent. He took care of the instrament for me and it's been a pleasure dealing with him. Personal email answers and helpful tips to keeping things well maintained. I have every confidence recommending him. I don't know the guy other than dealing with this instrament, but I'm satisfied enough from the experience to recommend him highly.

I've had the guitar for 1 year. If lost or stolen I would find out who took it and kill them slowly. If I couldn't find the jerk, I would go and buy this guitar again (albeit after saving up the money to buy from Ibanezrules). I've played it against other high end guitars and never found it wanting. It is a not a shredders guitar like other Ibanez models, nor is the neck too bulky like a lot of the strats I've played. I find it perfectly in between offering good aspects of vintage style instraments with versitile modern tonal options and feel. Can't be happier with the guitar, it's a dream to play.

This guitar was made in 2005, I bought it used about two weeks ago. You know all the features, if you don't, check Ibanez dot com.

I tried this guitar with a Triple XXX halfstack without effects and a Roland Cube 30 combo. The bridge humbucker (FRED) is a very straightforward rock pickup, it doesn't have any special characters in it's tone, it's more of a standard tone, but does it in a great quality. Has a very round tone with rich harmonics and it screams if you want it to. The neck pickup (PAF Joe) is the best neck pickup I've ever heard, has a very beautiful, deep, warm tone and if you turn the volume down it has a very tube-like tone. The middle position gets very single coil-like when it's not coil-tapped. The FRED gets crystal clear when coil-tapped, and the PAF Joe has a very Strat-ish feeling to it, only it's a bit warmer. The middle position when coil-tapped is a bit more of a humbucking tone than a Strat's 2nd or 4th position, but it's nice.

The JS1200 is a very comfy instrument. It's neck is a bit thinner than a Strat's, it's easy to get used to. I bought this guitar used, so it's in a used but nice condition, with only some little flaws. The Candy Apple Red is just like a Strat's CAR, and it's even a bit lighter. This thing is a lot more beautiful live than in pictures.

When I bought this guitar and plugged it in for the first time, the bridge pickup (FRED) sounded very thin with a low output, had almost no bass at all. It turned out that it was faulty, and this is a somewhat common problem with FREDs, so it had to be replaced and it's amazing now. The guitar doesn't have a rock solid feel to it, but it's a very comfortable and fine instrument. The Edge Pro doesn't go out of tune, doesn't matter what tortures you apply to it. The pots are very easy to turn. And there's a funny thing with this guitar, a bit like a bug (LOL): if any of the pots are pulled up, the whammy bar can hit into them, making them to go down :D

The Hungarian Ibanez Dealer and Repair-shop is a bit strange. I felt like I'm going into another dimension when going to the shop :D When we went in with the guitar, an old guy (maybe the shop's owner) plugged the guitar in to check if the FRED's really faulty, and started hitting the pickups with a guitar pick, LOL!!! :D I wanted to get out of the shop immediatley, but hey, they're Ibanez :( Then the guitar specialist came, who replaced the FRED quick and set up the guitar good, but left a few scratches in it, the FAG.

I've been playing for 3 years now, I didn't have much guitars before this, but I tried lots of different guitars like an YJM Strat, Gibson LP STD, EBMM JP. I had an LTD F-100FM before this baby. I wanted this guitar for a long time, and now that I have it I have to say I got what I wanted. This is a modern guitar with a vintage feel to it, with an overall tone between a Strat and an LP, what I like so much. The best thing about this guitar is that it's small, lightweight, comfortable and modern. If it was stolen, I'd probably buy another one, but I won't say that I'd use this guitar forever yet. Hell, I'm only using it for two weeks now, and I don't have that much experience with it.

I don??t know when it was made. I bought in 2008 july at Sam??s Ash.It is made in Japan.Hard plastic Case is included.

Dimarzio sounds very good, very wide styles of music can be reached with the pickups configuration.

The action is low, not as much as I wish, but it is good.The red painting is perfect and very nice.

I bought it new, and it still have a few months, so I can not say if it is durable or not. Seems like.

I didn??t need.

Just one thing to say here, if you are used to the Jem or RG style necks, then you might not like the JS, its only 1mm narower at the nut, but feels much tighter between the strings, having played RG/Jem width necks for over 10 years I found that the JS did didnt do it for me, despite the tone, the looks etc, I just wasnt as fast or accurate as I am on the wider necks.. so it had to go.

Great for everything other than thrash, pickups are medium output according to Dimarzio, but not very high.

If you're lucky and get a good one, then you'll rate this as a 10, however the 1st I was sent had filler in 2 places in the fretboard.. and it was new direct from the main importers warehouse.

No problems to report

Dont bother talking to Ibanez, your importer or retailer should be happy to help though.

A great guitar if you like the rather cramped string spacing.

The JS1200 comes in Candy Apple Red. That metallic red colour that most women want shoes in or a dress in. 22 frets as usual with Satriani models, and the smoothest guitar you'll ever hold/play. Edge Trem (great since no need to cut off ball ends off of the strings) Fitted with Dimarzio Paf Fred and Paf Joe pick up. Excellent cutting tone with the fred and with the joe, that tubular telephone sound that we all like with neck pick ups. Very close to Michael Angelo Batio's sound. This is the JS1000's big brother when compared. The Neck is a JS prestige neck, the body is basswood, The unique, lightweight JS aerofoil design allows the guitar to rest comfortably against the body and provides easy access to upper frets. Thinner towards the left side of the guitar kind of like the S prestige models. This is one of my "perfect guitars" along with Dean Razorbacks.

I play solo guitar and metal. I've been learning some Satriani songs (Cryin, Just look up, If I could fly) Im using a Line 6 amp on Sweet Lead setting but seeing videos on youtube and hearing people perform live, I'll probably have to go get a marshal cabinet when my guitar playing gets very serious not that it isn't now. You can change the sound of a guitar with pedals,amp. This guitar doesn't look like a doom metal guitar but it works for it.
One aspect of this guitar i love is simply the diveristy in tone that you can get just by using your pick in different ways and the different types of pinch harmonics you can get (of course this is with all guitars and different parts of the strings) but they really stand out with this model.
All you need with this is a Fat finger sustainer.
To compare sound to other models, I've played with INF 4, INF 3, D-Activator, Paf Pro, Dean single coil, Dimebucker Treble, Dimarzio humbuckers, V7 & V8, strat single coils, Epihone firebird humbuckers and own Two Razorbacks, and Ibanez RG350DX, Ibanez JS1000BTB, Ibanez RG1570MRR and a random Wesley guitar. I'd only recommend buying one of these if you are serious about playing.

The set up on this was perfect. Still is. Very low action sans buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The guitar has absolutely no flaws. Really happy with this one. No complaints whatsoever. I actually looked as close and hard as I could to find any kind of flaws on it or in the finish. Used a torch too to see closer. Nothing!

I haven't owned this long, but you can tell when you have good judge of guitar (character) from doing your homework and trying a load of different models out. I trust Ibanez and Dean guitars (Even after the diappointment of teh Xiphos being made in Indonesia and some of the models being flawed in design) I dislike most others (including gibson and fender - disgustingly clean). As I have said, no complaints, but if any problems were to come up, they'd probably be from someone else doing something to it or accidentaly hitting it against something while not paying attention. I haven't played live yet but Satriani uses it constantly for hours on stage. He switches yeah but good enough for him, good enough for me (blind faith excluded).

Never had to deal with Ibanez customer support. Don't think I would since any problems can be pretty much worked out by the guitarist, again, if he/she does their homework and knows how a guitar works. It has 12 months warranty.

I've been playing for 10 months (I know, not long) but I've got very into this and won't stop til either I'm dead or my robot hands cease to play anymore. I own seven guitars 1. Dean Razorback Explosion 2. Dean Razorback Slime bumblebee 3. Ibanez JS1200 4. Ibanez JS1000 5. Ibanez Rg1570 6. Ibanez Xiphos XPT700 7. Ibanez RG350 and a Line 6 spider 3 plus Digitech EX7, DF7 and CF7 pedals plus a Digitech Scott Ian Black and Reverb pedal. I use Dunlop Jazz 3 picks as well as Ultex. If this guitar were lost... umm... who LOSES a guitar? I understand losing keys but ... you know, my guitar was on the stand, the next it was gone. I dont know where I put it? LOL If it was stolen, id track them down and kill them somehow. I still don't understand the whole high pass filter feature but I'll look that up properly. I know you shouldnt follow one guitarist or want to be like any guitarist since there is one already but I love Satriani's sound as well as Michael Angelo Batios & Andy Timmons. Later on id like to create my own solo pieces and use a sound similar to this. A perfect JS1200 would be 24 fretted. THe fret size is great but this is a high end guitar only for the SERIOUS and dedicated player. It is a guitar for playing, not mounting on the wall. Last guitar I want is an Ibanez Jem 1990s model. Either 7VWH or a Swirled model (herc or Japanese) DNA or Green black GMC. This is pretty much best quality guitar I own. Even the case is awesome. J craft prestige case. Its the only axe I have in the case unless im playing. The rest are in various places around my room. I wonder what it would be like to dowse the neck in petrol and play with it while on fire.... hmmmm....

A nice ferrari red!!
Prestige JS neck, basswood body, rounded curves uuuulalala
3 way swithc with coil tap, edge trem

2 humbuckers>PafJoe and Fred
22 frets

plugged in i felt like a rock legend playing

i mainly play satch stuff with a bit of vai, van halen(trying to), hendrix and my own weird instrumental stuff i'm experimenting

yep this baby does it all

PAFJoe's sound is clear. no matter the amount of effects i load in, u'll hear all my notes(and mistakes) and it has good sustain too
FRED>>i have this installed in my RG550, it's crunchy and clean
will be sweeter sounding if back down gain and increase volume(back off tone n volume in guitar)>great for anything but Death Metal

I have doubts here cause it's still in the shop

(i haven't bought it......YET!!!)
i don't see any flaws but then again, i'm an amateur shredder

i mainly play an RG550 so the neck will take some time to get used to cause i mainly play flat necks but i still reckon it'll be comfortable after a while

Can't comment but should be well made

jap craftsman should have pride in their work

Crappiest of the lot HISHINO GAKKI!!!

After trying it a year ago, it still is on top of my wishlist

obviously beat Fender and Gibsons(if you like a brighter sound, stuff fender<this one will do)

ppl will find a pain in the arse about the floyd rose but then again i'm a whammy player so no complaints

I think if you are reading this you know the specs. Mine is a 2004 blemish model purchased on Ebay. The only difference from the JS1000 is the bridge pickup, this has the PAF Joe. The candy apple red is a beautiful color, none of the pictures come close, its similar to a metal fleck paint used in cars.

After playing the guitar for thirty plus years and owning a ton of guitars I find myself mostly playing at home thru a POD or GT-6 thru my computer. I upgraded the sound card in my pc as well as I am running excellent speakers out of it. I fell in love with this guitar the moment I played. I not one for caring how the guitar looks, it has to feel good and sound great. this guitar not only feels rgeat, but looks great and sounds great. Doesn't sound like a les paul, a strat or a jem, but the is a WIDE tonal range and this guitar has a very vocal quality, in short, it sings and that what I want my guitars to do. The coil splitter works great, Harmonics are easy to come by. Building a great guitar is a little magical, I have $100 pawn shop specials that sing and $1000 Ibanez's that just fought themselves. This guitar is special.

Action fit was spot on, it truely is a dream to play!!!!

Time will tell, although my other Ibanez guitars have held up well over the years. This was a B model so we'll see what happens. Here again I don't care if the paint chips, she purrs like a happy pussy cat!

This review is for the 2005 model. You should know all the specs already, virtually the same as a JS1000 but has the Dimarzio Joe at the neck position, and only seems to come in a metallic red, which looks excellent. The neck feels great, you cant put it down once you start playing, very easy to setup to get a nice string height without too much buzz.

Sounds amazing, cant decribe the tone, way fuller than the Rg1570 and S470DX it replaced, both HBs perform well, not amazingly high output from the Fred but more than enough to make a DSL100 scream, if you want a Megadeth scooped-mid type sound then you'll need more than just the amps valve overdrive (add a DS-1). Clean is good too, and the single coil tap works well to produce a good strat sound if you like a fender "twangy" sound.

Well in the past 4 days I've actually owned 2 of these, the first was a DISASTER!!! The 2nd is perfect (thanks god). Let me explain, the first I bought cheap as a grey import for #940, it was missing a little filler on the bass side of the 8th fret slot, but apart from that looked perfect and sounded amazing, then 2 days later I noticed that two hairline cracks were appearing at the neck cavity!!! Maybe they were there all along but I didnt notice. Anyway I trawled the Satriani forums and it turns out that the older JS1000's, (lots of non AANJ Jems) and a few other JS1200's that are shipped in the J Craft case are suffering from this problem. Some guys said that it could happen to any JS guitar or old fender after about 12 months. Anyway spoke to an official Ibanez dealer (in the UK) and he told me that he'd never seem a neck crack on the JS1200's so I guess that JS guitars imported officially into the EU dont have this problem. To be sure I've e-mailed the main UK importer directly but awaiting a response. I'll give the 2nd JS1200 10/10, the 1st I'll give 1/10.

Everything seems solid, doesnt seem to break strings (as I set the trem up correctly), anyone gigging should have a spare... I'll give it an 8 as I'm awaiting the day that the finish does crack.

No contact with Ibanez direct, the shop www.imuso.co.uk were fantastic though.

Not cheap but you actually do get what you pay for, its not just the name you're paying for afterall! The neck is superb, the best guitar I've ever played. If it were stolen I'd buy another the same day, then burn down the village that the idiot who stole it lives in.

Model: F0408864
Year: 2004
Origin: Japan
Frets: 22 Medium Warmouth #6105
Body: 2 Piece Basswood
Finish: Candy Apple Red
Neck: Maple
Fret board: Rosewood
Fret markers: Abalone dot
Controls: Volume & Tone, pull to give High Pass & Coil Tap respectively
Pickups: Passive H/H, DiMarzio Paf Joe Neck and DiMarzio Fred Bridge
Bridge: Ibanez Edge Pro Double Locking
Tuners: Gotoh 6 in a line
Accessories: MC100 Ibanez Hard shell Case with blue lining, 3 Allen Hex Keys (2 with ball ends), 2 spare Nylon Trem Bushes, Ibanez Prestige Instruction Manual.

The guitar has a full warm round sound. On a clean setting the humbuckers deliver a good deal of depth, without sounding boomy. They have a great deal of sustain which is sweet and ringing. With the coil tap engaged the pickups gain a new level of clarity, they are almost piezo acoustic. The single coil sound is still warm, but not as strong bodied. Harmonics and single notes of a chord ring so clearly it is unbelievable, yet still keeping a subtle warmth and rounded treble.
With the introduction of distortion, these pickups in humbucking mode have a huge presence. The neck 'Joe' is powerful, strong, and fat. It is still articulate and allows a good deal of harmonics to ring through clearly. When on the bridge 'Fred', the sound is amazingly clear. A heavily overdriven chord is still allowed to let out each note as its own sound. Legato phrases are extremely sweet, and smooth. Sweep picking is clear and defined on both pickups equally well. In single coil mode with gain, there is some noise, but much less than on most Strats for instance.
The high pass filter allows 'the highs to be retained while lowering the volume' as Ibanez described it. What occurs is a bleed off of the bass frequencies when the volume is lowered. This stops the mushiness that occurs on most guitars when the volume is turned down, and allows the brightness to prevail. Of course this can be left pushed in for a classic tonal feel, but is very useful for the extra sublet tone changes available.
In short these pickups should please most tastes, with the ability to coil tap to single coils this guitar becomes even more versatile. Satriani's tone is not only the sound that you get here, Van Halen, Santana, Steve Vai, Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour (yes its true), Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton and many more...and, more importantly, your own personal tone too!

Auditions were through Line6 POD2.0 through Fostex PM0.5 Active Studio Monitor speakers. Planet Waves and Leem cables were used, as well as D'Addario XL+ 0.0095's strings.

As the guitar was pre-owned when I purchased it, I cannot comment on Ibanez's set up. I can say, however that the body finish does allow, in the right light, one to see that there is a join between the two pieces of wood in the body. This join line runs from the centre of the neck right through the pickups and behind the bridge, but blends out before the reverse of the body. This would appear that Ibanez's sanding process before lacquering needs attention to detail, but as it is not really noticeable there is not a great problem. As for the rest of the guitar, the quality of workmanship is unprecedented, it really does seem amazingly well put together, right down to the abalone that was chosen for the fret markers, they are wonderfully coloured blue and green and other shades. The lacquer colour is a warm colour that looks deep, and especially nice under darker conditions or false lighting. Do not take the guitar in the sunshine, in my opinion it looks horrid outdoors. The headstock looks a little tacky being the same shade of red, but it is amazingly well painted and there is no overspill past the face of the head. The edge of the fret board is slightly rounded to give a great feel, and all pots, tuner etc are firm but not tight, with no crackles or graunches. A couple of points, against the design on the JS range (I have 2 others in the house, JS6 & 6000), and most probably the Radius 540 predecessor, the back plate for the controls has 3 screws at the top edge and one at the bottom, thus making the plastic bend ever so slightly, if more thought had been taken it would fit that little bit better. Also the fact that the earth wire from the controls through the body, that attaches to the trem spring/screw plate is situated rather badly where the spring can rub and possibly snag. Other than those minor points, the guitar is wonderfully constructed and designed, with an amazingly comfortable body shape, and with the recessed area behind the neck plate (as Fender are now starting to attempt) plenty of access to high frets.

As for tuning stability, once the strings are stretched in well (a day left tuned, then some bending/dive bombs, or sheer abuse for 3 hours) the guitar stays in tune 98-9% after any whammy treatment. With the recent humidity and temperature changes in the UK, I would be expecting the guitar to be having a struggle staying in tune, especially with the double locking trem, but there appears to be no problem at all. For this reason I feel that gigging should not be a problem with a fully stretched set of strings. I was [playing for one and a half months, more or less everyday with 0.008's and it only just broke the high E (at the tip of the bridge saddle), so that proves the saddles on the Edge Pro, that they are not over violent to strings. The tuners seem robust and are only slightly different to those being used on the original JS's over 10 years ago, so they will be fine for many years to come. As for the lacquer finish, it seems extremely durable. I tend to use a micro fibre cloth to clean my guitars now, after using dusters and causing hairline scratches in Strats, but the duster doesn't hurt this guitar, the finish is very tough indeed. The strap locks are of a good size and will hold most straps, without a problem, although they are too large for the Dunlop Lok-Strap device, if one was needed. As for using on a gig without a backup, hmmm, I just am sceptical of double locking trems, If a string goes, the tuning is as good as no strings at all, always carry a hard tail.
A final note, the trem arm is push in, and has two little nylon bushes on it. These wear out fast if you use the guitar a lot. At a cost between 60p - 85p (UK Sterling) each, it can become expensive over time.

As for Ibanez, I have not dealt with them, but their website is not bad in the sense that they give you most part numbers for a large amount of parts, unlike a lot of manufacturers that leave you to your own devices. The availability for most parts is usually quite high, as is help and expertise from people who do not directly work for Ibanez. www.Ibanezrules.com and www.jemsite.com are two invaluable resources to not only Ibanez owners but also general electric guitar players.

I have been playing for around 5-6 years now. I have had amplifiers, but have gone down the route of the POD2.0 and Speakers as I live in a semi-detached bungalow, and like my ears. I usually will use the following:
Guitar ==>Morley Bad Horsie VAI-1==>Fulltone DejaVibe2==>Marshall Bluesbreaker BB2==>Marshall Jackhammer JH1==>Line6 POD2.0==>Fostex PM0.5 Speakers.
I also own some Fender Stratocasters (Customshop Classic Player and Mexican 50's with Texas Specials), an Ibanez JS6 and a Hohner L59.
I bought the guitar on the basis of wanting a 'Satch guitar' for some years. I acquired a JS6 and wanted the double locking trem, to get those 'noises'. I had previously played a few JS1000's in local guitar shops, so knew that this shouldn't be too different. To how I remember them, I think the Edge Pro stays in tune better and feels that bit stronger than the Lo-Pro Edge (admittedly spring tension and set up play a part), and the neck is that bit more comfy in the hand. Setting up and re-stringing is not the nightmare I anticipated, just reading and learning how to do it properly will get things sorted quickly.
I don't think I'd change anything, except for the few bits mentioned in "Action, Fit, Adjustment", it has a wonderful feel and tone, and I believe will please many a tone connoisseur.
The case is worth ?100 on its own, and is pretty great at protecting this prized possession. For the price I paid, this guitar is an amazing bargain, and is well worth ?1050 that they are going for new.

In all, a beautifully sounding and playing guitar, with an overall impeccable finish to parts and paint.

JS1200CA 2005 model, Candy Apple Red. Neck pickup is a Dimarzio PAF JOE (not a PAF PRO that's in the JS1000). Passive electronics - volume & tone - pull volume for hi pass filter, pull tone for coil tap. Body basswood, neck maple, fretboard rosewood. Prestige case.

What can't this guitar do?
With the Fred & PAF Fred, hi pass filter and coil taps I believe that ANYTHING is possible.
Played clean, the sound shimmers with gorgeous harmonics from the Fred. The PAF Fred is deep & warm without losing any definition or creating boomy bottom end.
Satch's ability undoubtably comes from his touch and technique, BUT, this guitar delivers all his tone and more. It's work of Art to the eyes and ears.

Amazingly this guitar travelled over 3,000 miles to get to me and it was perfectly in tune straight from the case.... I was amazed.
The trem is set perfectly and stays in perfect pitch.
The colour is just breathtaking and the finish is flawless.
I did drop the PAF Fred a little, as I prefer slightly less output from neck pick-ups.
The neck is just a dream, and you can sit and play effortless for hours. It doesn't matter if you're shredding out fluid legato lines, or playing mellow chords, this neck has to be played and felt to be believed.

I have a 1998 JS1000 that is still going strong.
I have absolutely no doubt this guitar will stand the test of time.
I will always use this guitar live with my JS1000 as back up.
The strap buttons are huge, but I still use a 'planetwaves' locking strap. I prefer to be 100% sure as this giutar is far too good to be dropped.

Never had to contact them about any of my Ibanez guitars.

Yes I got a bargain !!
I paid just over $1,000 dollars for this and brought it back as luggage after a trip to the US. I played and fell in love with this guitar in this country (UK), but could never find the ?1,100.00 I needed to buy one.
I've been playing 25 years and this giutar is the best I've ever owned. I play through a Marshall TSL60 into two 4x12's. I have a Boss CH1, Boss DD3 and a JD Cry-Baby... what more do you need?
I play in rock covers band, and just play along to Satch backing tracks at home.
This guitar has the perfect Satch tone, but is so versatile it can be used for anything from Dire Straits to Foofighters.

Although fairly expensive, you do get what you pay for.
Yes it is a Satch signature, but don't let that put you off if you're not a fan of the man himself, as the pure sound and build of this guitar make it perfect for anyone, whatever their style or preference.

JS1200CA Made 2005 in Japan, Candy Apple Red. Essentially a JS1000 except the headstick is colour co-ordinated & the neck pickup is a Dimarzio PAF JOE (not a PRO as in the 1000). Passive electronics - volume & tone - pull volume for coil tap, pull tone for hi pass filter to let the trebles through at low gain. Body basswood, neck maple, fretboard rosewood. Gotoh tuners and the lovliest case I've ever seen. A perfect fit & finished in plush candy apple red velour!

I've played a 1987 USA strat since I bought it in 87. It was thin sounding & weak so I upgraded the PUPs to Lace Sensor Hot Gold's. Better.... but not enough. I needed humbuckers. The JS1200 is the answer - Ibanez's Super Strat. Playing clean, it has a beautiful deep and warm tone. Almost verging on acoustic tones at times. I play through a Marshall AVT50 by the way. It doesn't need much in the way pf pedals as the Marshall has a killer OD channel. I use a Boss Blues Driver in line for a solo boost. Also use a Boss DS1 which nails that Satriani sound via the clean channel. Boss Digital Metalliser for my Van Halen attempts!

2 humbuckers: The neck PU (PAF JOE) is meaty to say the least. Strong with a rich thump. The bridge uses a PAF FRED. Its's sharper but lets all the tones through - not at all 'tinny'.

Pull the volume & the coil tap kicks in to make the guitar run in single coil mode - a la Strat. Works well. 1 gripe - pull the coil tap out & the whammy bar can't pass the volume knob. I guess they've assume you won't be doing any dive bombs unless you're humbucking.

Pull the tone & it activates the hi pass filter - brightens up the tone when at low volumes. Works well.

This guitar is my perfect match. Like a strat - but oh so much better. It does it all from clean deep sound to screaming leads. Listen to a few Satriani albums & you'll hear the range. Also, its not been one of those guitars that gets the signature but doesnt come close. This puts out Joe's tones to perfection. Haven't lifted my Strat since I bought this.

Giving a 9 for the lack of attention to detail with the whammy bar hitting the volume. Maybe thats fussy..... as I dont use it that much. The bridge by the way is a work of art - its the Edge Pro (Flloyd Rose lisenced). You can fit strings with or without the ends on this one. One the strings got broke in, its kept perfect tune.

Loads of talk about rubbish action from the factory - and yes its true! 6th string buzzed badly on 4th & 5th fret. Just needed to lift the bridge a bit once I worked out how! Intonation was spot on all round. Neck is perfect - fast and has a real quality feel about it. Its a digitized copy of Joe's favourite so feels worn in.

The bridge & electrics areas are well routed & nicely painted inside. Good attention to detail indeed. The Chrome hardware is lovely. Only allowing 7 here - cant forgive the bad setup on this level of a guitar.

Only had it 2 months - no issues at all. Feels solid & dependable. Not yet sure enough to gig without the Strat for backup - if a string goes, it'll be a 10 minute job. Strap buttons are massive - no locks needed. Paint finish is deep and beautiful. The Korean JS100 shows its grain though the translucent paint, but the JS1200 is a solid candy apple red with a thick gloss.

No idea! Bought from a friend who runs a music shop so I won't be worrying as I get the best of treatment.

I've been playing on & off for over 20 years now. Mostly at home & in a worship band. Started to take my playing more seriously this past few years, trying to push my skills on (catching up on my Van Halen years & learning stuff using PowerTabs software). Without doubt, for me, this is my perfect match. The fretboard is just gorgeous. If you've played strats (good ones!) you'll lift this guitar & feel right at home. It cant give the Strat quack, but its got everything else and then some. I did go with the intention of buying an Ibanez JS1200, but did keep my mind open & try everything on the rack, from RG's to S's to the top of the range JEM... but at the end of trying them all, none had the lovely mellow sound of this guitar on clean, yet the ability to sing (scream!) on high gains. Awesome.

I have played for 25 years, teach, write, record and play in bands so hopfully this review counts for something. It's 22 frets so the "sweet spot" is over the neck pickup. That another reason for switching from a 24 fret guitar. The body is bass wood with a maple neck and rosewood finger board. I can't say enough about the finish. The candy apple red is so rich that it seems to change in different light. When you open the case the first thing that hits you is the color (in a good way) with the chrome hardware. I love it. The bridge is also the best trem i've ever used in the flyod rose style. The tuners are grovers and everything seems to be locked down tight. I have to say that I got my guitar from Rich at Ibanez Rules. He is a great guy who listens to you and cares about his products. I got the full blown set-up and the guitar played perfect. I would recomend him to anyone.
The neck is a cross between modern and vintage. Its a compound radius and gets fatter (front to back) as you go up towards the head stock. I have medium-sized hands so this neck is perfect for me. Fast runs are fast thanks to the radius and yet chords are comfortable to play over an extended peroid of time because of the shape of the back of the neck. The frets are medium sized in height and width.
The shape is VERY comfortable. If you think that just because this guitar is missing wood(it is very thin and aerodynamic)or that it being made out of bass wood in some way detracts from the tone, you are wrong (more on that later).
The volume pull/pushes with a high pass filter. This is makes clean soft tones shimmer. The tone push/pulles with coil taps and sounds good, not quite strat sounding, but still better then having none.

The pickups are great. The Dimarzios are a perfect match with this guitar. Just listen to any Satch Song and there is the Fred and the other is new, a PAF Fred. It is thick yet still retains definition in any situation. The over-all sound is great and is a good match to my Boogie DC-3. I have got jazz, classic rock, sparkle clean and heavier sounds out of this guitar. I'm not sure what it will not do. It real sparkles!!!!! I have a 1x12 sov cab made by Earcandy and this guitar really makes that cab thump in a high gain setting.

Due to Rich, this guitar's action and set-up was perfect!! The volume knob was a little loose but that was easily fixed.

I think that the finnish will hold up ok.

NA

This is my "life guitar" as my wife calls it, because this is the last one I get, (married guys you know what I mean). I teach guitar so I had to scrap and scratch together enough money to get this. But on the other hand I am not disappointed. I love this guitar.

2004 model, made in Japan. Serial number F0428340, j-plate number 012364. Prestige Ibanez hard case was included as usual.

Same basic spec as the JS 1000 - Basswood body, 22 frets, rosewood board, abalone moon inlays, H/H configuration, JS prestige multi-radius neck, DiMarzio pickups, Gotoh tuners. The volume and tone pots are push-pull, activating high-pass filter and coil-tap respectively.
The new 1200 model number is due to the colour matched headstock and the new PAF JOE neck pickup that replaces the PAF PRO. The 1200 also has chrome hardware, whereas the current 1000's (BTB and BP) have Cosmo Black.

The finish is CA (Candy Apple). No photos I've seen of a 1200 do justice to the colour. In person, it's a gorgeous, slightly metallic and very deep red. The appearance is that of a satin finish, but it's lacquered, so no danger of it rubbing off on your sleeve! If you've ever owned/played a Jem BSB, an EDR 470 or Mex Satin Strat, you'll know how easily 'flat' finishes wear off.

As this is a 2004, it has the new Edge Pro Trem, which is actually not that bad. Ibanez downgraded the studs/inserts when they moved over to the EP, but I have actually been pleasantly suprised by the return to pitch after a little vai-esque whammy abuse. Still, if I had it my way, 1200s would all have the old Lo-Pro Edge.

I'm mainly a lead player and that includes Blues, classic rock (DC etc..) and the obligatory Satch and Vai stuff.
This baby sounds as good as it looks. It's not for everyone admittedly, but god can this thing sing if you want it to. I had to drop the PAF Joe down a little on the bass side, as things were a bit too boomy at first when switching from the FRED, but with that out of the way, a world of creamy blues tones was opened up. The JOE really is great for blues and clean chording. It has a very rounded tone. With the coil-tap engaged, you can a great sound that really works well for Dire Straits etc...
For distorted/overdriven tones, I find the JOE works best with a more crunchy, lower gain setting. For full on OD/dist, you need to switch to the FRED...
Simply put, the FRED rocks! It's not a full on shred fest and hardcore metallers will want to look elsewhere (EVOs etc..). This thing doesn't scream, it sings. The FRED is a chimey, bright sounding pickup, with very defined highs and a nice, tight bottom end. If you dial the treble down a little on the amp and crank up the gain, you can get some true Satch tones. As far as harmonics are concerned, the FRED is eager to please and sweet spots are numerous on all strings.
I've rambled on for a while, so I'll finish up.
I'm using the 1200 through a Vox Tonelab into a Peavey 5150 head and XXX cab . At home, just a Marshall 50 watt combo and no pedals. I usually steer clear of chorus, but a little delay goes a long way!

Factory action was perfect, which is a first for any new Ibanez I've purchased. I don't like a super-low action as it muffles the tone and notes don't ring out clearly. I need to be able to bend at least a minor third at the 15th fret without any choking. Also, I find low action encourages lazy technique. If you can master legato with a 3.0mm action at the 22nd fret, you can do it just as well on pretty much any other guitar. If you master it with a 1.5mm action, you might run into problems when someone hands you a 60's strat strung with 11s to solo on!
One thing I haven't mentioned is the neck - the JS neck is fantastic. Fast, but with a kind of vintage feel. The prestige process involves creating a 'played-in' feel and it works really well. Feels almost like an old tele neck. Nice small 6105 gauge frets, perfectly finished. Oh, and the neck has a 250mm radius.
As far as finish is concerned, I have examined every nook and cranny on this guitar and have not found a single flaw. The neck pocket is tight but not too tight and the trem rout is immaculate. Either I just got lucky, or the Japanese factory really is churning out some great instruments at the moment.
The tone and volume pots are a little crackly which annoys me, but that should be easy to sort. Other than that, the earthing is perfect and I've heard no buzzing on high gain settings.

The volume knob came off the pot shaft the first time I pulled on it (to engage the high-pass filter), but the screw had just come loose. I put the knob back on and tightened the screw. Problem solved. Given that this guitar has travelled a few thousand miles to get to me, I'll let them off on that one.
Every else is very solid. As I've only had it a couple of weeks, I'm treating it with kid gloves and being very careful with it in case I break my new baby! But I know from having previously owned a JS1000 that these things are strong and can take some abuse.
Strap buttons are huge and I would play standing without strap locks. Lacquer is thick and the finish will last well.
The tuners are high quality and the Gotoh made EP should hold up well, but time will tell....
It really depends on the gig as to whether or not I'd take a backup, but the chances are I would.

Never dealt directly with Ibanez. Standard 12 month warranty.

I've played for around 10 years. Other gear includes an ESP H-302 and a Maverick F1

I love the JS series, pure and simple. They are expensive, but that's what you get for buying a signature series. If you want one, you pay the price.

It would be nice to see a 24 fret JS model.