How Did Japanese Guitars GET SO GOOD? (4 Amazing Guitars...)
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- Опубліковано 11 бер 2024
- From having a bad reputation to being arguably the best in the world, Japanese electric guitars have come a long, long way! Let's look at 4 examples of some beautifully made Japanese guitars: Ibanez JEM, Fender HM Strat, Vola OZ, and a Jackson Rhoads??
What's the best Japanese guitar you've ever played? What was the first one you played? How was it?
My full conversation with @SFBGuitar • Import Guitars, GOOD o...
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Rubric: -5 points for Danzig references. -5 points for not reading the description. -5 points for not watching far enough into the video to answer your own question. -5 points for misquoting me in your comment. 20 points possible. Everyone starts with an A!
They've been making stringed instruments for thousands of years. I think they know what they're doing.
and Japanese knives👍
Wow, thousands of years! Those dudes must really eat right and exercise!
Well, I mean, ninjas and whatnot.@@EETMySheet
Benn around longer than anu modern day empire @@EETMySheet
Japan famously was just very very good in inplementing industrial fordist line assembly: cars, electronics but also instruments. they had such tight qc that it basically blew the competition away in the post-war period, while also being cheaper. toyota back-engeneered some jeeps from the 50s and 60s to try to establish what they made so right back then that the shitty thing just would. not. stop. working even after 50 years.
Modern factory built instruments have close to nothing in common with artisan luthiership of premodern pre-electric instrument building.
My first guitar was a 1975 Aria Les Paul custom with a bolt on neck that I bought in 1982. I was pretty good. Once I installed a Dimarzio Distortion 3 and PAF in it, it was awesome. I sold it in 1993. Now I own a 1977 Aria Pro II Les Paul custom with a set neck and another 1975 Aria Les Paul custom with a bolt on neck. I replaced all the hardware and electronics and put Dimarzio Distortion 3 and PAF in both guitars. They are awesome! I also own Les Paul copies from South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and China. After a good set up and better hardware, electronics and pickups, they all sound, feel and play awesome. Agile, ESP/LTD, Vintage, Epiphone and Michael Kelly make some really high quality guitars. I can verify these brands because I own LP copies made by them.
They've always been great!
MIJ have been some of the best bang for your buck guitars for a long time. 70s and 80s Ibanez guitars are great. The RG550 is still under a grand.
New 550 is yes but not a genuine one.
@@richardjones2811 I’ve seen some late 80s ones going for ~800 on Reverb.
I have a black MIJ Ibanez Roadstar II that I bought in 1986. It is an excellent guitar that started my life-long love affair with Ibanez guitars. I also have a Japanese-made RG570 from '93 and a 2007 RGA321. I bought them all new back in the day and they are all exceptional guitars.
yep Jap Ibby's were around 500 bucks 20+ years ago ah the good old days!
Title totally twisted me around lol. I thought you were saying Japanese stuff was only recently good, but you went WAAAY back and educated me on when they were indeed not.
My first MIJ was a bass,1990s Soundgear SR885 active bought new. Not the best electronics by today's standards, but EXCELLENT workmanship top to bottom inside out. Popped in a new 9v the other day and she still works and plays perfectly all these decades later.
Aria Pro 2 Diamond series Made in Japan, was an awesome guitar of 1980's. The best guitars i've ever played
My Matsumoku Arias are among my favorites ❤. 1980 Aria Pro II Les Paul Custom.... Still one of my favorites.... Unbelievable great quality.
I like my 1986 Charvel Model 6
I’ve got 5 MIJ guitars, all different brands, and they are all fantastic!!
I'm planning to get my friend to bring me one when he visits. Any specific one that you suggest? Appreciate the help
It's not about the type, but more about what's special and much better from there.
@@SorabhSaluja-bc2gt …one of my favorites is FGN…anything Fender mij or Edwards or Tokai…that should get you started!!
I have a MiJ Jackson King V. Got it from a pawn shop for my fifteenth birthday. A couple years ago I stripped it down, repainted it bright red, and replaced all the hardware. The Jackson branded Floyd Rose was changed to a Floyd Rose 1000, new locking nut, and Fishman pickups. Never found another Jackson with a neck like it. It's thinner and flatter than every other Jackson I've played.
U only tapped for 5 secs...we are making progress addiction is never easy to beat
whammy bar addiction can be bad also lol!
@@markdoolan3424 true I never fixed the broken post on one of my Jacksons so there's no whammy so on one guitar I'm forced not to milk that
My first japanese guitar was an Ibanez RG450, i bought this thing in 1986 and i still play it regularly
I LOVE that random star.
My 1980 Ibanez Ic300 Iceman was absolutely amazing bought brand new when I was 14.
have a late 80s made in japan charvel still rockin 30 yrs later. really great guitar.
Simple, and extraordinary work ethic!
I used acoustic guitars in the mid 60's and I used to drool over Gibson and Martin's, and used to play them for hours at McCabes guitar shop on Anaheim St. in Long Beach. He also carried Yamaha's and I bought one from him. It was a great guitar! Great video Max.
thanks again, Marty
I bought a Teisco Del Ray in 1965. It was beautiful, but I didn’t know how to properly set up a guitar back then. In 1979 I bought a Ibanez 2350 custom, a used 1976. I’d put that guitar up against the L.P. Great guitar that I won’t sell. Black Beauty, indeed!
Really a great show tonight❤
When I was 16 in '96 I scored an '87 rg550(pink) from a oawn shop for 150 bucks..bad ass guitar...still have it!
Yeah, "made in Japan" stuff is great. Love it. Cars, motorcycles, guitars, knives, ramen, you name it.
Speaking of JAPAN... have you checked out a band called: LOVEBITES?
I have a fiesta red, maple neck '83 "JV" squier, they basically shipped over Fender USA parts and said ok build some guitars. Nicest strat I have ever played.
I like the P38 Lightning in the background.😊
My first Japanese made guitar was a 70's "Tulip" Les Paul Custom. That I got around 93 early 94'. It was amazing..Found it in a mom and pop guitar store, I traded BC Rich Warlock and Peavy Banit 112 and walked out with the Ibanez LP and a Marshall Valvetate V40 I believe, I loved that amp especially compared to the banditt 112. . I still kick myself for the letting that guitar go. I traded it for something stupid. And the amp got stolen. But I've had quite a few Japanese made guitars ever since, never had a bad one. I do remember seeing a used Passion and Warfare coloredUV77 jem hanging in a guitar shop in San Diego around 93, I'll never forget the price tag it was 1799 For being 19 years old, It was cool to see one in person, but there was no way I was ever going to afford it, I was in the military only making like 700 a month back then ha
First Japanese guitar I ever owned was the first guitar I ever owned. 1977 gold top dark back LP copy Hondo ll. Loved it. I used it and cash to trade up to a Strat. I found the same model Hondo on the bay of E last year and had to get it! Nostalgia is a helluva drug. :)
My first Japanese guitar was an Ibanez acoustic. I don't remember if I bought it in 86 or 87, but it was around that time. If memory serves me correct I think I spent about $500 on it. I still have it. I love that guitar.
Max when are going to make a 'Surfing with the Alien' - style, instrumental album ? or just your own shredder album style. that Ibanez sounds so good.
Wow man quite the collection of badass guitars.
Amazing video!
Thanks!
I have many electric guitars, but the only MIJ I have is my first guitar, a 1973 Epiphone classical guitar bought new by my parents as a gift for me. Still have it! Excellent workmanship.
My fretless Ibanez is MIJ in the late 1980's, I've had it since I was in my teens, it's a wonderful bass! Or my B.C. Rich Warlock is a original NJ so it's MIJ and was shipped to L.A. and assembled in the U.S.A. My only short scale guitar and I love it! Even my Gibson snob friend Mike Dees liked my Warlock! Hell, even my Takamine is a MIJ copy of a Martin D-28 from the lawsuit era!
My first japanese guitar ?! Wow... If I remember well, it might an Aria Pro II XX (flying V style) bought in the 80s (1982 ?). It was not an expensive guitar but it was quite good 🙂
Got a Fender back in the 90's from Japan really good quality
Hi Max, my main guitar now is a Jackson DK2M with flamed maple veneer. Honestly, it's pretty close to an HM strat. It has a Seymour Duncan JB pickup at the bridge which is a pickup I really enjoy. It's made in Japan and love every inch of it. It is also versatile enough. Not for Heavy Metal/Hard Rock only. I can also do my regular pop and dance gigs there.
80s mij fender strat. Still have it. Love it
I bought an Ibanez Roadstar II RB650 left-handed bass back in 1984 built in Japan and it was a very nice instrument, but I sold it about 6 years later. I sure whish I had it back.
Yup I’ve been buying up vintage Ibanez RGs. I recently found another hidden jem that are really affordable and that’s the 80s Peavey Tracer and Nitro and they are USA made.
Got an 80s Charvel that's a beast. When you play, you can really feel it from head to endpin like it's one piece of wood. Amazing instrument.
My first good guitar was Kramer Focus 3000 I got in 1984. It was the MIJ version of the Pacer (HSS) and came with genuine Floyd Rose and I still have it today. I wanted an Ibanez RS530, but it was $400 and the Focus was $325 w/HSC and as a poor high school student who had to take a loan from his church credit union to buy it, $75 was a big difference at a time when I was just starting a job at $3.75/hr. (I finally got that Ibanez in 2010 off eBay and because they didn't want to pay licensing to Floyd Rose, they put the lock above the nut and it hangs and goofs the tuning. Real Floyds FTW!)
Since then I've got a a pair of Kramer Proaxes (which were MIJ by ESP) and a MIJ Fender Strat Fotoflame in the mid-1990s.
Never considered Japanese guitars to be bad probably because they were getting good when I started shopping. Not crazy about the Ibanezes I've tried because the necks are too thin for my taste and they're too metal oriented. Only regret is not having the means (or foresight to see what they'd be worth) to grab the korina wood Ibanez Explorer and Flying V I saw before Gibson stomped those.
Reverends are made in South Korea by Mira.
I think this is a great subject.
My frist MIJ guitar was 1976 Lespaul lawsuit copy, great guitar, wish i never sold it. All the rest of my guitars are mostly MIJ & are the best playing guitars IMHO. 86 Charvel model 3, 86 m 4 87 m 6 & my 89 Charvel Pro 750 XL best guitar MIJ ever! ! 87 Ibanez RG 550,
2002 Ibanez UV 7blk , 08 Jem 7vwht , 10 Rg prestige 1570. 19 ESP. Ep 2 eclipse and 94 Jackson RR pro like you shown here, all top notch well built machines MIJ.
First guitar was an ESP Horizon FR I bought it back in 2004. Amazing Guitar wish I have never sold it 😢! I own 3 MIJ guitars now and I’m really happy with the quality!
All the Pro-Series Gretsch guitars, with the exception of US-based Custom Shop specials, are MIJ, mostly from the Terada factory. The quality of craftsmanship is consistently amazing--of course, the prices tend to be commensurate. You really do get what you pay for . . .
I bought a Westone Dimension IV in 85 or 86. It was my first real electric guitar. It was an awesome guitar. I still have it today thought now it just sits in it hard case.
Great content , I like the history you presented. 😊 Especially how the Japanese were game changers , but it took them a while to master the technique 's for building guitars .
My first Ibby was a $129 2001 or 2002 Ibanez GiO GRX45 in candy apple glitter. I got it for my birthday in February the year it was made, along with my dad's hand-me-down Zoom 505IISE his brother had gotten him the previous year for HIS birthday; I was 12 or 13 at the time. It PLAYED fine, but the truss rod and trem were not built to last. By the time I turned 20 the neck was permanently bowed, the spring tree was warped, the springs themselves needed replacing a few year prior and I didn't know or notice, and the axe ended up in a dumpster. I'm pretty sure it was a made in China or Indonesia model. I have a 2003 RG7321BK, a 2005 B.C. Rich Platinum Virgo in white, and a 2006 RGT42DXFMQRBB, all made in Indonesia or Korea; zero complaints.
I've got a Jackson JDR Concept MIJ with Gotoh Tuners and Takeuchi Bridge, and is a shredding machine!
Bought an Ibanez S561 guitar last year, with an eye toward getting a lighter weight guitar that could be played for a long practice session without fatigue. It set me back three hundred bucks. The pickups are ceramic, and I have come to enjoy them. They do not sound like more expensive pickups, to be sure. They are what they are. I can get a satisfying jazz tone out of the neck pickup.
Really have nothing to complain about with the guitar. It weighs a whopping 5 lbs 9.6 oz. For my practice purposes, it's great. Fast neck, matte finish. They kept it simple to keep costs down. It's a relatively unsung guitar-- you never hear UA-camrs talking about it. But I've been pretty happy with it.
The first japanese guitar I owned and played was a 76 Ibanez 2351 LP copy. It was an awesome looking and playing guitar, I picked it up in 91 or 92 and it's one of the few guitars I still have from my teenage years. By the way that PMC Jem is gorgeous, that's a bucket lister for me.
I recently picked up an 86’ MIJ E Series Squire since the neck felt and played better than many American Strats I’ve picked up (especially from around that time). The Fujigen factory is incredible and the guitars that come out of Japan never cease to amaze me!
I grew up playing a Westone Spectrum LX (198mbk) it kept perfect tune & it tickled my throat & made me cough when I would really shred! After playing it from new so, 1985-1986 till 2011 I added 13 gauge strings for a few years & eventually broke one string claw/ saddle on a bendmaster tremelow/vibrato. I swear by them! It was a HSH with 3 pull pots for splitting the coils & a 3 way switch WHERE IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE, IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER. I lost all of my 22 guitars, 1 of the 1st five Steinway & Son's pianos ever made which all shipped out on the same truck in the 1890's, five amps, prob 10 pedals, & prob a mill in gold & silver. I swear by Westone guitars!
Ibanez made some beautiful ornamented les paul style guitars in the late 70s for certain signature artists or even session players. Check out the Randy Scruggs models for instance.
My first made in japan guitar 1988 charvel/jackson cobalt blue active jackson p/us jackson trem shark tooth inlays bought it in 1988...killer guitar back then
My first Japanese guitar was an Ibanez JS 1000. It's fantastic. I still have it and I love it.
I have an ‘86 PL2550 from brand new. Best guitar I’ve ever played.
My first guitar was a Kramer Focus 3000 With the Floyd Rose system. It played great loved it
i'm a Simp for Japanese guitars since the Early Ibanez Gibson copies of the 70's. The bang for buck on many MIJ's is Incredible. There are many MIJ Fenders that rival their much more costly US counterparts. Some of the best MIJ Jackson's imo are/were the 90's SL-3 and SL-4's. Those were Gold standard at Convenience store pricing. Answering the OG question my first MIJ that was what I considered a good guitar was a used Aria Pro II in 81. A Les Paul Custom copy that was Heavy, well finished and performed better than the US Fender Lead III I was contemplating on getting. The only issue was it was all made in mm's so any US after parts didnt quite fit and not all instrument shops understood the metric conversion so well.
I had some Guitars from Japan! Two Ibanez Saber and a John Petrucci signature. And a SV Universe! All these guitars are amazing in Sound and quallity ! Greetings from Frankfurt in germany !
My 1st Japanese guitar was a Vox standard model 24. Purchased in 1980.
I still have it. Shes my #1. I want to be buried with it.
Still awesome!
I had a 90 or 91 Charvel Fusion Custom with the platinum sparkle, smooth as ice and could shred or bring the jazz too 🤘🤘
My first was a $100, 3 Pickup Les Paul copy made in JAPAN! It rocked!
I started out on a Sears budget Korean guitar in 1984 (well enough), a Korean Hondo (definitely better!), and finally an '83 SQ-series Squier Stratocaster, that was made in Japan (bought in late '87). I now own several MIJ Charvels, an MIJ Tobias Standard bass from the early 90's (Burbank, CA / pre-Nashville), the aforementioned SQ Squier, and a black HM Strat reissue. I've always considered Japanese workmanship as, at the very least, on-par with USA.
Great video!
Yes, MIJ are great guitars
and there are great new imports .
My first Japanese electric guitar was a samich strat copy. Made in 1982.. honestly since then I judge all necks when I'm playing by that guitar best neck to date I've ever grabbed. Now electronics was the best or worse just decent. But the wood to my opinion was incredible you could normally decently give a strum and feel the whole guitar vibrate like crazy all the way up the neck and body.
My first and only MIJ electric guitar, in which I still own, is my Westone Leader made by the now defuncted Matsumoku factory. It features a two piece alder body, hard maple neck and fingerboard in natural finish, with I'm guessing nickel frets, simple volume and tone knobs with a toggle coil split switch... The neck is a C shape, and the humbucker is an in-house pickup. It's not a super hot pickup, but the guitar has really good sustain. It was a Christmas gift my parents agreed with to purchase, I think it cost around $220 with case. The fit and finish is to good, and it played well for all that time, and I had never got it intonated nor setup until this past summer, where the luither man said it was hardly out of spec, so he only basically had to lower the action, polished the body, neck, and frets with new 09-42 strings (I may go to 10-46's). I don't ever plan to sell it.
I remember back in 1988, my first electric guitar was a Profile, biggest pile of crap, it looked fantastic, dark metallic grey, but the tremolo broke in the first 2 weeks lol. Took it back and Bought a beautiful Metallic Red Kramer 300ST. I had that for about a year or so. Then I traded it in towards my dream guitar in 1989/90, A Kramer Nightswan Aztec. I still have to this day, and no other guitar I've bought has ever come close to the neck or feel of this guitar. I didn't find out till several years later, the necks were made in the ESP factory. I absolutely love the R1 nut profile, some don't like it, but it's the fastest neck I've ever played to this day.
This question hits a nostalgic spot for me. My first guitar that I purchased was a Masada Stratocaster copy, early 1980s. I believe this was later considered one of the "lawsuit guitars", as companies were getting sued by Fender and Gibson for blatantly copying their products. Right off the bat, the pickups were garbage. I replaced the bridge pickup with the dual humbucker in a single coil footprint that Yngwie was using at the time (HS2?). I couldn't afford to replace them all at first. Later I would get and EMG 81 pickup, and I routed the body myself (moved the HS2 to the neck). The body seemed to be a mahogany plywood, and burned out to router bits doing the job (the wood density gave it an insane amount of sustain). I loved this setup, being active and passive pickups, I had to have two volume controls, so I could offset the volumes like you can in a Les Paul (which would be my second purchase, although this a genuine Gibson). I love this feature of being able to go from clean to distortion right from the selector switch. Only other mod was I replaced the tuners with Schaller.
I played that thing so much I wore down the frets. By that time I had a few other guitars, and a friend wanted to buy it on the cheap, and unfortunately I sold it to him. Many years later I decided to try and find another and put in a search on eBay. After three years I snagged one up. The plan was to do the same pickup setup I did originally. After sitting for 5 or so years, I decided to do it up, but keep it traditional. I replaced all the electronics with Dimarzio stuff, and replaced the tuners. This was just in the past few months. Again, with that dense wood, it really sounds great.
Mine was a Tiesco, branded Audition by Woolworth chain store here in the UK. 1970-ish. I also had a Hondo LP copy with a bolt on neck. I'd had a Hofner and a Watkins Rapier before that, but my first really playable instrument was a Gibbo Melody maker that I bought second hand in '72. Night and day my brothers and sisters, night and day...
Ta Max.
The Lawsuit era ushered in Fuji Gen Gakki & Matsumoto to 1st class citizenship in electric guitar manufacturing.
My very first guitar was, I think, a Harmony strat style sunburst guitar. I ordered it in the mail from either Sears or JC Penney, can't remember which, it was $99 and you got a little amp with it so a complete starter kit. This must have been 1985. I remember it being hard to play barre chords but don't remember if it was just because I was new to guitar or maybe a thick neck and high action (I didn't even know what action was back then).
In 1998 I bought a 1962 reissue Fender Telecaster made in Japan. It was made in 1986. It is the best guitar that I have. I use it for Rock, Punk and Metal.
I never bought a Japanese or a USA guitar back in the day. They were just too expensive. All my guitars now are mostly made in Korea and I have a few Indonesia. But I have seen the quality come way up and I would say some of those Japanese guitars are on par or better than USA made. There's another channel I watch called a flash flood of gear. They do a lot of guitar buying in Japan and they get them for a reasonable price and then bring them to the US and sell them and make a profit. Some of the early 2000s Korean made stuff is pretty high quality right below USA made at the time imo. Great video!!!!!🤘 Those guitars all sounded pretty good My favorite is the Jackson and the Viola!🔥 I feel like the video could have been a full half hour no problem!!! Thanks Max ttyl my friend...
Hey, Max. Real trip. I was living in Hawaii in the 70s and the word there was that guitars from Japan were a joke. It was so gospel, that I never met or knew or heard of anyone who had one. It was real bad for Japan back then. Nowadays things are different, but back then, you would have needed a gun to get anyone to buy one. They were just straight up garbage. It’s amazing they were able to pull out of that dive.
I started on a fender mij bass as a teen. Never had an issue with the quality, and assumed if I am willing to spend 600 bucks on gear it will be just as good. When I switched to guitar a few years back I quickly realized 600 bucks can buy you alot of things now. You can get stainless steel frets, any kind of pick up combo, almost every kind of neck/fretboard wood combo, push pull pots. But, you can't get that same quality I bought as a teenager not even for the same price adjusted for inflation. The 90s and 2000s was really an era we took for granted.
I started out on a 60s Heit Deluxe. That my mother had cut a guys hair. Traded a hair cut for the guitar in 1989. It was a great playing guitar. I regretfully traded it off.
Just picked up my 2024
Charvel MJ So-Cal Style 1 HSS FR M Electric Guitar - Snow White
It is the gas ⛽️ KILLER
I can’t believe what a monster this thing is! Just wow!
I own 20+ MIJ guitars. From a 75 Navigator(the first year run) to a 2020 ESP Eclipse and tons of off-brands in between. I'd throw any of them at a Gibson and laugh when they hear the sound and feel the quality. There are some really cheap hidden gems just sitting in Japan waiting.
First was an ESP in 86 I almost bought instead of my USA Jackson, when Grover still had the company. I was astonished it was on par with the Jackson and Kramer I was considering…
My first Japanese-made guitar was a Squier in 1987. It played well.
Man I want that jem
My first Japanese guitar was a Bc rich Mockingbird.ecxellant guality build and pretty decent hardware and electronics. I still have it. Also had an Aria pro2 strat copy and that was a great guitar.
Don't forget about their vintage guitars as well. There are some *excellent* vintage MIJ guitars. I have a 1978 Greco EG-900 (Les Paul clone), great guitar.
My first electric guitar was a 1983 or 84 Squier Bullet MIJ. I was 13 years old back then. I didn't know anything about setting up a guitar, so my Dad and I did our best. I'm 53 now, and I wish I still had it. It was actually a very nice guitar. It just wasn't what I wanted at the time. It was all about Motley Crue, Dokken, Ratt, and so on. I sold it to fund a more "metal" guitar.
Ahhhh Akira's random star, or a copy of ❤
I had an Aria
Pro ll with a lightning bolt in 1983 and it only had one pickup and to be honest the thing played amazing … cheap but the thing was a horse and for what it was I wish I still had it … I ended up doing a Van Halen tape and paint job on it … fun guitar !
Max have you ever done a review of a mini strat with a maple neck I just picked one up. What must do mods do you recommend
Wish I still had my black MIJ Strat! Early 80's butt kicker Metal Monster. Humbuckers were standard. Best Squire ever.😊
I worked in a pawn shop back in the 70's. The quality of the MIJ's was very low. We used to put them on the "starter rack" of low-end merchandise. Its kind of hard to describe but they felt flimsy and cheap.
In 1976 I had a Man Les Paul copy. It was made from 16 different pieces of wood. Quality was very poor. But it was a cool wine red colour
Mine was a strat Style Samick...... black with gold Hardware early nineties
I have an ‘85 Strat that was made in Japan that is my favorite guitar I own and plays incredible! I traded straight across with my Gibson hollow body electric that was appraised at $400 for it in ‘86
my first japanese guitar was a harmony acoustic. it was decent. but bad storage when i went to college ruined it.
I'm over the five year addiction of Buying guitars just to sit in a rack and look at them. When christmas came all but two of my guitars left. I gave them all. To kids charities so they get out of purchase presents.I never played them.I just thought I had to have it. Now i'm back . A strat, An acoustic electric. And a cheap Bass guitar . And I'm back to being a guitar player. Not a good part collector
Epiphone limited edition Les Paul 1998 played Beautiful so good I sold it and Bought it back with seymour Duncans in it
I've got a MIJ Jackson from... hmmm... the mid to late 90s? I have no idea what model it is, as I cannot find it in the archived Jackson catalogues. It looks like a Dinky of some sorts to me, but it's of a HSH configuration with shark fin inlays, regular headstock (i.e. not reversed), Floyd Rose, and a control layout that I cannot find a match for on other Jackson guitars. In any case, it's great and still my go-to guitar to play. I got it set up a while back by a massively pro-Ibanez tech, and he loved it too.
That guitar is DOPE!
Great guitars. I love the entry level ibanez rg out if Japan. I think it goes for 1000 or so.
I got a bit of one of blackmores guitars that he smashed up on stage,it didnt have a make on the headstock but it did say made in japan,unfortunatly the lower half of the neck was missing,but he played that guitar fot the encore,it sounded no different that the strat hd played earlier,this was back in 1978
Gosh, interesting question: The first Japanese guitar I owned? I've so many guitars it's a thought process. I'd guess it was my Ibanez RG 550 (still my favorite guitar to this day). It was my first "real" guitar. But I'm sure I've acquired different guitars that were, essentially, made in a foreign country. To me that's the adventure: Get an inexpensive guitar & "customize" or "cherry" it out--for less money than to buy a high-end guitar made here.
My dad bought me a guitar Christmas 1965…I was 12. It was a solid body KENT MIJ it cost about $35 . it was pretty bad but I learned cowboy chords on it. A year later 1966.. I got a MIJ MAXI TONE..BRUNO , 335 type copy it was way better! I still see those out there on ebayselling for about $600. So I started out with Japanese instruments..I was in Florida at the time.