If we were to make a generalization about Ibanez's most misunderstood guitars, in my opinion, one of the models that should be at the top of the list would undoubtedly be the guitars from the JS series. Despite having many great features, it is unfortunately preferred mostly by guitarists who are Joe Satriani fans, which limits its market. But don't be fooled by the "Joe Satriani" name—there's much more to this guitar...
Let's start with a bit of history.
In the mid-80s, Ibanez made a major breakthrough, thanks to its American office. Especially at the Ibanez headquarters in Bensalem, a core team consisting of Rich Lasner, Mace Bailey, Bill Reim, Bill Cummiskey, and Leon Reddell—which I believe is the team that shaped today's Ibanez—launched a trio of models: the Radius, Power, and Saber. The Saber series, made from mahogany, eventually adopted the name "S" series after causing some issues with Music Man, and it stood the test of time the best. The alder-bodied Power series faded away along with the basswood-bodied Radius series. However, the years when the Radius series first emerged also marked the beginning of Steve Vai’s collaboration with Ibanez. While working on the "Jem" series with Ibanez, Steve didn't delay in introducing his guitar teacher and friend, Satriani, to Ibanez representatives. As a result of this relationship, the company sent Joe a guitar from the Power series. This guitar was the white 540P featured on the covers of Satriani's first albums.
Over time, Ibanez also sent Satriani a black guitar from the Radius series, which he liked even more. This guitar was later painted by Satriani’s wife, Rubina, and it became known as "Black Dog," one of Satriani's most iconic and beloved guitars.
When it came to designing his own signature model, the process was simple: they took this model as the basis and applied some features that Joe liked. Although they appear very similar, there are a few small differences between the first JS models, released in 1990, and the Radius series. These differences include the neck profile, inspired by an acoustic guitar Joe loved (which I will elaborate on shortly), a reversed input jack like in the Jem models, a hi-pass filter, and push-pull pots, among other features.
By the way, Joe would later say the following about the first JS prototype
"The Black Dog prototype JS guitar started out as a black, hum-sing-hum Radius model that Ibanez sent my way for my examination. I was intrigued by the sound, and smooth contours of the body. However, we had to do something about the pickups, pots, fingerboard radius, frets, whammy bar, etc. So, it went back to the shop to have the single coil pickup removed, and the cavity filled and painted over. This was the first step in creating what would ultimately become my favorite electric guitar.
To get the most comfortable and useful compound radius fretboard possible, we finessed the playing surface over and over until it was just right. This took quite a lot of time and experimentation. I wanted a vintage neck and fretboard feel, but wanted to be able to bend my notes anywhere, without ever fretting out. I also wanted the option of low action for two-hand tapping techniques.
Soon, Larry DiMarzio and Steve Blucher got involved by supplying a few pickups for me, pickups that were essentially 'Fred' prototypes.
We bent the whammy bar in an effort to get the perfect angle. We even tried many different lengths. San Francisco luthier, Gary Brawer, was working on Black Dog as well, testing and implementing many of my ideas along side the Ibanez custom shop.
All this time I was recording and touring. Black Dog was my main guitar in the studio and onstage for years. The 'Flying in a Blue Dream' album saw the Black Dog used on every song, as well as gracing the back cover.
I started drawing on the guitar as soon as I started touring with it. The distressed black paint job had seen too much prototype work, and I felt the need to put some artwork on it. My wife Rubina, an artist herself, encouraged me to cover the entire guitar with my scribbles. Metallic paint pens seemed to do the trick, but the images would rub off almost as quickly as I drew them.
There were some 'golden moments' however, where the multiple layered illustrations seemed to form a beautiful mosaic of sorts, and we would be fortunate to have it photographed, preserved for future reference. Little did I ever expect to have the illustrations replicated for an anniversary model!
Now, it just might be my favorite guitar, all over again."
Before diving into the details, let's list the catalog specifications, as usual:
Neck: 1-piece Maple / JS Profile
Body: Basswood
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: Warmoth 6105
Bridge: Edge and Lo-Pro Edge (1990-2003 and 2011-present), and Edge Pro (2003-2011)
Neck Pickup: DiMarzio Paf Pro (for JS1200: PAF Joe)
Bridge Pickup: DiMarzio Fred
Hardware Color: Cosmo Black (for JS1200: Chrome)
Tuning Machines: Gotoh
Nut Width: 42 mm
Last Fret Width: 58 mm
Scale Length: 25.5 inches
Electronics: 1 volume, 1 tone knob, 3-way selector switch
Joe Satriani sure has good taste. One of the first thoughts that comes to mind when you open the case is exactly this, as the guitar greets you with great elegance inside the case. The moment you pick it up, two things stand out: first, the guitar is noticeably lightweight; second, its incredibly sleek yet refined, curvy design is striking. On JS1000 BTBs (the blue ones), the body is made from lightweight and well-grained two-piece basswood, while for the black models (JS1000 BP), it’s hard to tell since the paint is opaque. The BTB (Burnt Transparent Blue) models are slightly darkened/burnt with a heat gun, and then a delicate blue/navy finish is applied. The BP (Black Pearl) is a metallic black color.
Ibanez describes the body design as "Aerofil," and it’s incredibly comfortable both sitting and standing. The balance between the neck and body is also commendable, contributing to the overall comfort. The guitar is slightly smaller in body size, making it feel like a piece of jewelry or an accessory draped over you.
Looking at the neck, we see that it is made from a one piece quartersawn maple. Until recently, Ibanez used the term "multi-radius neck" both in catalogs and on its official website. Whether they did this intentionally to give a misleading impression, I’m not sure. However, many people confuse this with the term "compound radius." The curvature of the guitar's fingerboard is 250mm, or 10 inches, and this radius remains constant. In other words, there is no changing radius—no situation where it’s 10” at the top and 14” at the final fret, for example. This term actually describes the neck profile, which was modeled after one of Satriani's acoustic guitars, and this is one of the biggest differences from the old Radius series.
As I mentioned earlier, although this guitar draws more attention from those interested in shredding, the JS profile is quite different from the ultra-thin wizard neck profile and is relatively thicker, which may appeal to players of more traditional styles. However, from what I've observed, there have been some variations over time. The latest models have a very comfortable profile, with a nut width of 42mm, closely resembling that of Stratocasters, and it leans towards a "D" shape. The fingerboard is made from high-quality, dark-colored Indian rosewood, and the fret markers are made of abalone, adding an extra touch of elegance to the guitar.
The neck-body joint is an old-school metal plate type, and access to the higher frets is extremely comfortable. In fact, the neck offers great ease in all positions. Whether you’re playing solos or rhythm parts, there’s no discomfort. One of the reasons why this guitar is described as "Modern Vintage" is that, like older Fender models, it has a straight (non-angled) headstock. There is no truss rod cover, and the tuning machines are from Gotoh's high-quality lineup.
There might be some confusion when it comes to the tremolos. Ibanez’s Edge and Lo-Pro Edge Floyd Rose-style tremolos were featured on JS models from their initial release in 1990 until 2003. In 2003, Ibanez started using the Edge Pros, and this remained the case until early 2011, when there was a return to the original Edge system. Among Floyd Rose-style tremolos, these are considered some of the best. I have a RG570 from 1991 and its Edge trem still functions perfectly.
The backbone of the guitar's electronic system is formed by the DiMarzio PAF Pro and Fred pickups, designed for Satriani by Steve Blucher from DiMarzio. Personally, I have to say that I’m not a big fan of the Fred pickup. It tends to be too bright for my taste in the bridge. However, I do appreciate the PAF Pro, especially for its clarity in fast, shred-style picking and relatively high-gain passages. Since i had written very detailed PAF Pro review, i will not repeat here. So click here to read it! So, if you're aiming to play Satriani’s music, the stock pickup choices work perfectly. That said, if you want to increase the guitar's tonal versatility, I believe the pickups could be swapped easily :)
Unfortunately, I no longer own a JS1000, and we had to part ways a long time ago due to necessity. But if I still had my old JS1000, I think I would keep the PAF Pro in the neck and try something different for the bridge. Most likely, I’d go for something medium-output. Maybe something like the Virtual Hot PAF, or Al DiMeola bridge. Maybe the PATB-3 or Custom Custom from Duncan. Yes, I would definitely want to experiment with the bridge tone a bit...
Anyway, one of the features that Ibanez highlights in their catalogs and on their website is the "hi-pass filter," which is activated by pulling the volume pot. In reality, this feature is standard on nearly all Ibanez guitars' volume pots. The difference on the JS1000 is that it can be engaged at will. In my opinion, having this filter always active is essential, so making it switchable via a push-pull pot seems unnecessary. At least for me :)
However, the push-pull feature on the tone pot, which splits the humbucker coils, is quite useful. Thanks to this, when the main pickup selector switch is in the middle position, you can achieve tones reminiscent of the in-between positions on a Stratocaster. Additionally, splitting the PAF Pro on the neck pickup allows for clear and pleasant tones, adding even more versatility to the guitar's sound. On the other hand i always tend to split the bobbin towards to the neck, not towards to the bridge. The one closer to the neck sounds, due to the position, better to me.
In my opinion, the guitar's biggest parts to be upgraded (i don’t want to use the term “drawbacks”) are;
i) its Floyd Rose-style tremolo: Edge Pro is truely amazing but ,imo, needs bigger brass block for a JS.
ii) the large routed electronics cavity: though this isn’t a major issue, it doesn't really need to be that big.
iii) the the bridge pickup: Fred may suit well on a warm tone guitar, maybe on a SG but i felt a JS needs more balls and lows in the bridge.
These three factors are disadvantages that are not flaws or something serious. They are not worth dwelling on too much. They are all about my preferances. Furthermore, there is a drawback about the JS1000 BTB. While BTB finishes are way too hot when new, in time, after hours of exposure of sunlight its color tone changes into greenish. And unfortunately it is not as good as its blue form.
On the other hand, if we talk about the JS1000’s sibling, the JS1200, I can say they are largely the same guitar—same neck, same woods, same tremolo, etc. The biggest difference but the appearance is that the JS1200 features a DiMarzio PAF Joe pickup in the neck position. I haven’t had much time to test this pickup, especially not in my own setup, so I won’t say anything definitive, but the PAF Joe seemed to me like a slightly brighter version of the PAF Pro. But only slightly. Still, you might not want to take this too seriously, and I've explained why. It would be dishonest not to say that the JS1200's appearance is stunning. The guitar is truly beautiful. I also have to mention that I’m a big fan of the matching headstock detail. In my opinion, aside from classics like the Fender Strats or Teles, all guitars should have a matching headstock—it’s a feature I really appreciate. But i were a guy from Ibanez or Joe himself, i would pick my humbuckers double cream :)
Conclusion
The JS1000 can truly be evaluated under the “modern vintage” concept. Fans of Satriani will find a lot of Joe’s essence in this guitar. However, if people approach it with an open mind, they’ll discover that there’s much more to it. Even in its stock form, it's safe to say that the JS1000 is a highly versatile guitar. As you know, it’s not easy to say that about every signature model guitar. For instance, even though I’m a huge fan of the Jem, I don’t think it’s as versatile as the JS. In short, the guitar's greatest strength is, for some, its versatility. There's a phrase I particularly dislike—“a guitar that can do it all.” I don’t believe such a thing exists, but this guitar comes pretty close to that. Considering the guitar’s lightweight build, ease of playability, and comfortable form whether sitting or standing, I can confidently say that it’s an ideal alternative for anyone touring or performing with an HH-configured guitar. Its design makes it a great option for those who value comfort during long gigs or sessions. This is a guitar that can satisfy studio musicians, gigging guitarists who play every night, and bedroom players who never take their guitar out of the home.
I haven’t sold many guitars over the years, but out of the ones I’ve owned, the one I miss the most is my JS1000BTB.
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Ibanez JS1000/JS1200 Review
Guitar Pickup Reviews