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  • Ibanez JEM and PIA

    Question for the Ibanez fans...

    With the release of the PIA, did they move production of the JEM7V (the White “standard” JEM) from Japan to Indonesia or something? They seem quite a bit “cheaper” than I remember a few years ago.
    Oh no.....


    Oh Yeah!

  • #2
    Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

    No, they just have a Prestige version and a Premium version

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

      Originally posted by jmh151 View Post
      No, they just have a Prestige version and a Premium version
      Is Prestige Japan and Premium Indonesia? Then the JR below that?
      Oh no.....


      Oh Yeah!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

        Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
        Question for the Ibanez fans...

        With the release of the PIA, did they move production of the JEM7V (the White “standard” JEM) from Japan to Indonesia or something? They seem quite a bit “cheaper” than I remember a few years ago.



        Years ago. No JEM's are MIJ anymore. Its all Indonesian crap that has no resale value. The JEM's don't even have Vai's sig on them anymore. Pia is supposedly mij but who knows how much of it really is made somewhere else & "assembled" in Japan. I had a chance to get a nice JEM from a guy who was new to recovery & strung out on drugs. Being that ive been sober almost 20 years i chose not to take advantage of the situation for personal gain. The guitar was nice but made in Indonesia & basically worthless as you'll never get your money back when you try to sell it. Any JEM with the 5 piece walnut/maple neck its almost always 100% Indonesian. I got rid of all my shredder guitars 15 years ago. Ibanez/Jackson/Peavey Vandenbergs. There is no value in that crap.

        Consider paradise found! The Ibanez Steve Vai PIA guitar is Vai and Ibanez's collaboration, and offers the highest quality design in aesthetic and sound.


        And the Pia is $3500 bucks, hardly cheap. Ya played one Ibanez you've played them all.

        Pia is just a JEM with gold tone hardware for an extra $2K.
        Last edited by JMP/HBE; 06-02-2020, 07:23 PM.

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        • #5
          Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

          Originally posted by JMP/HBE View Post



          Years ago. No JEM's are MIJ anymore. Its all Indonesian crap that has no resale value. The JEM's don't even have Vai's sig on them anymore. Pia is supposedly mij but who knows how much of it really is made somewhere else & "assembled" in Japan. I had a chance to get a nice JEM from a guy who was new to recovery & strung out on drugs. Being that ive been sober almost 20 years i chose not to take advantage of the situation for personal gain. The guitar was nice but made in Indonesia & basically worthless as you'll never get your money back when you try to sell it. Any JEM with the 5 piece walnut/maple neck its almost always 100% Indonesian. I got rid of all my shredder guitars 15 years ago. Ibanez/Jackson/Peavey Vandenbergs. There is no value in that crap.

          Consider paradise found! The Ibanez Steve Vai PIA guitar is Vai and Ibanez's collaboration, and offers the highest quality design in aesthetic and sound.


          And the Pia is $3500 bucks, hardly cheap. Ya played one Ibanez you've played them all.

          Pia is just a JEM with gold tone hardware for an extra $2K.
          Thanks for this info. I wondered where this stuff was made. That's a lot of money for any signature model made in Indonesia, no matter how many gold pieces it has on it. FYI, I think PIA is about as gaudy as a guitar can get.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

            Originally posted by JMP/HBE View Post



            Years ago. No JEM's are MIJ anymore. Its all Indonesian crap that has no resale value. The JEM's don't even have Vai's sig on them anymore. Pia is supposedly mij but who knows how much of it really is made somewhere else & "assembled" in Japan. I had a chance to get a nice JEM from a guy who was new to recovery & strung out on drugs. Being that ive been sober almost 20 years i chose not to take advantage of the situation for personal gain. The guitar was nice but made in Indonesia & basically worthless as you'll never get your money back when you try to sell it. Any JEM with the 5 piece walnut/maple neck its almost always 100% Indonesian. I got rid of all my shredder guitars 15 years ago. Ibanez/Jackson/Peavey Vandenbergs. There is no value in that crap.

            Consider paradise found! The Ibanez Steve Vai PIA guitar is Vai and Ibanez's collaboration, and offers the highest quality design in aesthetic and sound.


            And the Pia is $3500 bucks, hardly cheap. Ya played one Ibanez you've played them all.

            Pia is just a JEM with gold tone hardware for an extra $2K.
            There's no value in that crap, so you got rid of it all?? If it had no value, why not keep it?

            I've found the Indonesian Ibanez guitars to be sound instruments. Why would you get rid of something simply because it didn't hold value?
            -=The Dali
            --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

            Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

              There's a big difference in high-end Ibanez and low-end Ibanez. The difficult part is even the low-end guitars are solid instruments.

              Sure, nothing holds is market value like an American guitar. If you keep guitars as investments, though, you might be disappointed.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and in took me 19 years before I actually pulled the trigger and purchased an Ibanez. It was an 80s graphic model that was kinda cheesy, but it was a solid guitar. I bought it paint...but after I saw how much it was worth I flipped it and haven't looked back.

                That said...I'd wanted an S since I saw the S5570 at NAMM, and I finally bought an Ibanez to KEEP in 2018. I just bought another the other day. The S2620 I asked about a little while back.

                Ya know, it's sad...both of my Prestige S series are KILLER guitars, but it was so hard for me to buy an Ibanez becasuse they have diluted their brand SOOOOO much with the various tiers and countries of Origin over the years.
                “That which we do for ourselves dies with us … that which we do for others lives forever.”

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                  I don't really see the issue. If you plan to keep the guitar, don't worry about resell price. If not, buy used.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                    Originally posted by The Dali View Post
                    There's no value in that crap, so you got rid of it all?? If it had no value, why not keep it?

                    I've found the Indonesian Ibanez guitars to be sound instruments. Why would you get rid of something simply because it didn't hold value?
                    I would guess that he is just mad that he sold his stuff off just at the time 80s guitars started to increase in value again. For myself, I wish I had the money and knowledge to BUY more of that stuff in the late 90s and early 2000s!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                      Just one word about Indonesia : I have one Epiphone thunderbird made there (the upper EPI range).

                      While the mahogany is most probably not classic (honduras) mahogany (maybe the wood they call Tun in India ?)
                      the indonesian luthier craftman's work was pristine (very nice neckthough).
                      The pickups (not made in Indonesia BYT) would better be swapped.
                      Smartphone Zombies won't shred

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                        Originally posted by The Dali View Post
                        There's no value in that crap, so you got rid of it all?? If it had no value, why not keep it?

                        I've found the Indonesian Ibanez guitars to be sound instruments. Why would you get rid of something simply because it didn't hold value?
                        To buy gear that does which is what i wanted in the first place. Im done with $400 to $600 guitars forever. But hey thats me call me old fashioned.
                        The CL of the world are clogged full of all that PV/Carvin/Ibanez/Bugera crap that doesn't sell. They can't give it away.
                        For $3.5K id rather have an ATV or a one of a kind amplifier rather than a Indonesian guitar massed produced in a 3rd world country.
                        Vai has soaked the JEM thing for damn near 40 years. Time to stop exploiting 3rd world countries for the almighty buck.
                        Last edited by JMP/HBE; 06-03-2020, 11:25 AM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                          Originally posted by Nagisa View Post
                          There's a big difference in high-end Ibanez and low-end Ibanez. The difficult part is even the low-end guitars are solid instruments.

                          Sure, nothing holds is market value like an American guitar. If you keep guitars as investments, though, you might be disappointed.
                          https://media.giphy.com/media/eykivHQOsXrmo/giphy.gif

                          I buy guitars to play. I sell guitars that retain their value, that simple. Its called being smart after 40 years of buying/selling gear.
                          If i want a guitar with a "monkey grip" i'll break out my jigsaw & save $4K.

                          Calling every guitar with a monkey grip out of Indonesia a JEM cheapens the brand. Its like calling every first responder/Military member a "Hero" just for wearing the uniform since 911 or giving every kid a Trophy just for showing up.
                          That crackhead kid could not give away that new JEM on CL for $700 bucks, that ought to tell you something.
                          Last edited by JMP/HBE; 06-03-2020, 11:25 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                            There have been MII Premium JEMs for years, but the JEM7V (the white one) was MIJ until this year I think, now it is a Premium version and the PIA is MIJ. It's still easy enough to find MIJ JEMs out there on the used market. I agree with JMP/HBE about the MII ones being overpriced, although I hear good things about the current Premium line.

                            https://www.ibanez.com/usa/artists/detail/213.html - Basically if it has a P after the model number it is a MII Premium, if it has a JR after the model number, just say no.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Ibanez JEM and PIA

                              Originally posted by JMP/HBE View Post
                              To buy gear that does which is what i wanted in the first place. Im done with $400 to $600 guitars forever. But hey thats me call me old fashioned.
                              The CL of the world are clogged full of all that PV/Carvin/Ibanez/Bugera crap that doesn't sell. They can't give it away.
                              For $3.5K id rather have an ATV of a one of a kind amplifier rather than a Indonesian guitar massed produced in a 3rd world country.
                              Vai has soaked the JEM thing for damn near 40 years. Time to stop exploiting 3rd world countries for the almighty buck.
                              Ok, I get what you are saying.... although most people who say "I buy guitars to play" don't tend to care about what the resale value is.

                              But, whatever, we all have our preferences. I've come around to the fact that unless I'm spending $2000 on a guitar, anything in the $400 - $1500 range is going to be super playable and satisfy my need. I went through the "has to be USA or Japan" route and ended up realizing that super playable instruments are made at all price points and I should just buy what I like and have fun with and not worry about the name or manufacturer. If I were collecting that would be different because you are correct that guitars in the $400 - $800 range are not worth much after you purchase, and certainly won't go up in value!
                              -=The Dali
                              --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

                              Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

                              Comment

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