JB Player Professional

Superstrat double-cutaway body with rounded edges. Originally had EMG Select pickups in a Humbucker/Single/Single configuration. 5-way selector switch. One tone, one volume knob.
Wilkinson tremolo system.
Roller nut.
Cherry burst (yellow to red) over flamed maple; some quilting in the corner.
24-fret neck with rosewood fingerboard.
"Professional" inlayed at 12th fret.
(Personally modified, more on this later)

Post-modification: 10
Pre-modification: 8 because the Humbucker couldn't be split, and the roller nut wasn't enough to keep the tremolo in perfect tune (although it was decent/usable).

The sound was decent before modification.
The EMG Select pickups are adequate, but not wonderful.

I put a Carvin M22SD in the bridge, an AP11 in the middle position, and a double-blade TBH-60 (humbucker sound from single-coil size) in the neck position. The sound is much improved now.

Rating: 6 pre-modification
9 post-modification.

The action was good. The fit and finish is very, very good.
The paint is wonderful; it is a very beautiful guitar.

However, I'm going to knock them on wood selection; the quilting of the maple is in a position covered by the arm when playing, and hard to see in the deeper red of the outer burst in any case. They could have done a better job with orientation to make the quilting be more easily seen.

I got the guitar in 2001, and I have no idea how old it was at the time. Since then, over the years, it has developed one fret that buzzed and frets out when bent. I adjusted the neck with little result, and had to raise the action slightly. It still plays well, but probably needs a new fret job.

Between the two, I'll give it a 7.

But to be clear: there are no actual flaws in the guitar construction or craftmanship.

Very reliable, very durable.
I never had any problems with this guitar whatsoever.

n/a.

I've been playing for 18 years, but I'm just a decent amateur who screws around.
I'm really, really glad I got this guitar from the pawn shop. It's the only guitar I've ever kept this long (I keep buying/selling in search of the perfect guitar).

I have some Westones that I started collecting. I also have 4 Fernandes guitars, because their high quality compared to low price makes me think the current models will be collectible in 20 years. But even though 80s-era JB Players don't seem to be worth anything right now, they can compare with the best of 80s guitars (as good as Carvin or Matsumoku-made guitars) for quality and sound, for a much cheaper price.

I guess I can't recommend JB Player as a collectible guitar because no one cares about them. It's hard to find any information on JB Players, too, which makes it harder to collect or get excited about. Even worse, they seem to lack any model numbering system to help identify and search for information on them. But I would recommend a JB Player for anyone who wants a good playing, good sounding guitar.