NG(s)D - Gibson SG something or other, Ibanez Jem Jr

[mbenigni]

@stonge and I took a drive over to the local GC today. My plan was to pick up the used Kim Thayil he'd seen listed there. We played it a while, along with an Epiphone SG and a couple of old Gibson SGs. I wound up buying the ugliest, most beat up Gibson on offer. I didn't want a red guitar; I hate this pickguard; I wanted P90s; this guitar was ostensibly the worst value in terms of price vs. condition... But we both agreed it just "had something" none of the others did. Extremely playable, tons of sustain, and a nice smooth, compressed tone (that's really satisfying to play in isolation but may or may not vanish in a band mix? We'll see.)

As I was negotiating a price, I also noticed a white Jem Jr on the wall, with an uncommonly dark (could almost pass for ebony) fingerboard, and had to have that, too. Basically, things got totally out of hand. I did manage to leave the other SGs behind, and the Thayil, and a Charvel DK24 I really loved, and a bright yellow Spirit L-Series clone that would have been great for travel, and... I'm going to have to stay out of these stores for a little while.

(Jem Jr on the left is the new one. It needs a set up, but I don't see any reason I can't get it performing like the one on the right.)

 

[la szum]

Love it!

So stoked for you. SGs are so much darn fun to play.

Do you happen to know the year of it's build?

 

[mbenigni]

Love it!

So stoked for you. SGs are so much darn fun to play.

Do you happen to know the year of it's build?

@stonge said 2007 2009? I’m half blind at short distances, and forgot my readers lol. I passed on a near identical 2020 in better shape for the same price. It was nice enough, but it didn’t have “it” the way the 2007 2009 does.

 

[la szum]

Sweet!

I totally get it---as someone who is well-used, but has loads of Mojo myself.

Super happy for ya. You deserve a No Doubter!!!

 

[SillyOctpuss]

That's cool @mbenigni. I hope you enjoy it dude.

 

[mbenigni]

Poking around teh intarwebs trying to figure out what I actually did yesterday. Looks like I bought a 2009 SG Standard Reissue in "Heritage Red".

And if I hadn't impulsively thrown in an import Jem and gig bag as if they were a couple of pack of strings (which, in retrospect, I could actually really use right now), I'd have gotten a pretty killer deal.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Love it! Congrats!

 

[DrewJD82]

Sweet!!! It’s getting harder to remember days like that in a music store. I’m getting a bit jealous seeing 2 JEMs together like that.

 

[mbenigni]

Sweet!!! It’s getting harder to remember days like that in a music store. I’m getting a bit jealous seeing 2 JEMs together like that.

I was telling stonge, feels like I went about 10 years without setting foot in a music store, and now I can't seem to go a week. And Guitar Center of all places was full of stuff I wanted to bring home with me. I was a bit disoriented.

As for the Jems, as much as I love mine, I'd trade 10 Jrs for one "real" one. (Well, technically, that's about what it would take LOL.) The trems on these imports aren't even pretending to be Edges. I'm actually still up in the air as to whether I'm going to keep the 2nd Jem Jr. Partly because I don't really need it, and partly because the cheapskate in me wants to have made it out of that store for under a grand. Which I did not.

 

[DrewJD82]

I was telling stonge, feels like I went about 10 years without setting foot in a music store, and now I can't seem to go a week. And Guitar Center of all places was full of stuff I wanted to bring home with me. I was a bit disoriented.

As for the Jems, as much as I love mine, I wouldn't trade 10 Jrs for one "real" one. (Well, technically, I suppose you could LOL.) The trems on these imports aren't even pretending to be Edges. I'm actually still up in the air as to whether I'm going to keep the 2nd Jem Jr. Partly because I don't really need it, and partly because the cheapskate in me wants to have made it out of that store for under a grand. Which I did not.

I’m pretty sure Gotoh 1996’s fit right in those routes!

I’m more concerned about those jatoba fingerboards, that’s the biggest thing holding me back from snagging one, they’ve all been really dry feeling when I’ve tried them.

 

[JiveTurkey]

What's the difference between a Jem and a Jem Jr as well as those Pia things?

 

[norminal]

I’m more concerned about those jatoba fingerboards,

My buddy bought a guitar for his son that had a jatoba board. It’s not bad to be honest. I Micro Meshed the board and eased the edges when going over the frets and it feels much better than the way it was delivered.

 

[Warmart]

That's the way to impulse shop!

Huge congrats and may you love them long time!

 

[JiveTurkey]

That's the way to impulse shop!

Huge congrats and may you love them long time!

 

[mbenigni]

What's the difference between a Jem and a Jem Jr as well as those Pia things?

 

[mbenigni]

I’m pretty sure Gotoh 1996’s fit right in those routes!

I've read as much, and I've considered it. The only hitch is I really dig the color of the hardware on the Jem (gunmetal grey or whatever Ibanez used to call it) and I don't want to start mixing and matching. Until I absolutely have to, i.e. until the trem starts to self-destruct. (And the stock bridge isn't terrible; it just isn't an Edge. A little more slop in the arm, inevitably. Adding a couple of O-ring bushings helps.)

I’m more concerned about those jatoba fingerboards, that’s the biggest thing holding me back from snagging one, they’ve all been really dry feeling when I’ve tried them.

This is actually the very reason I bought the two Jrs I own now! The first one I found was used, but it played a bit nicer than the new ones hanging right next to it, and had a darker fingerboard that could pass for rosewood, vs. that weird ugly orange jatoba crap on the other guitars. Then yesterday, the Jr hanging behind the counter had what looked like ebony from a distance or really dark rosewood up close. (The photo above makes it look lighter than it does in person, for some reason.) I've always been really fussy about fingerboard wood, having a preference for ebony.

(I digress, but the Mexican Charvel DK hardtail they had in store had a perfect ebony board. I don't know how Charvel is finding this quality of wood to put on sub-$1K guitars, but wow.)

Anyway, moral of the story if you want a Jr to bum around with, is keep your eyes peeled for one that has a good fretboard on it. They're in the minority, but they're out there. (Unless they're all in my basement now LOL.)

 

[mbenigni]

P.S. @DrewJD82 - I'm keeping the 2nd Jem Jr.

Five minutes with a phillips head screwdriver and it kills. I just can't stay mad at these guitars for ~$500.

This won't stop me from obsessing over the extra $30 I spent on the gig bag I had to buy because I had taken the empty gig bag out of my trunk the day before. Because I'm weird like that. Maybe I'll bring the bag back and test the boundaries of the word "used".

 

[mbenigni]

What's the difference between a Jem and a Jem Jr as well as those Pia things?

Seriously, though - the biggest differences will be in the pickups and the bridge, especially the bridge. Wood selection will be superior on the real Jems/ Pias, presumably, and the paint job will be better. (The Jr looks great IMO, but you can find rough spots inside the handle, inside the trem recess, etc.)

 

[spawnofthesith]

Congrats!! double NGD is elite

 

[mbenigni]

Congrats!! double NGD is elite

Would have come off as a real baller move if I weren't visibly nervous about an impending divorce at the cash register...

(In actuality, my wife is way cooler about these things than I am. She didn't inherit the depression era "can't spend money gracefully" gene.)