JS ART 2
Ibanez JSART2 Story
The Ibanez JSART2 is the second JS guitar customised by Joe Satriani himself. The first was released last year in 2015 for the 25th anniversary of the association and collaboration between Ibanez and Joe Satriani : the JS25ART. Joe went again to the Los Angeles custom shop, last time was for painting black bodies, now the white is his base material.
According to Joe, 76 bodies have been painted at the end, but only 35 are currenty sold in the US, the other will be distributed to the rest of the world. The starting price seems to be $7999Au in Australia, 5999$ in the US, between 5999-6999€ in Europe and around 5799£ in the UK. However, numbers 46, 49, 50, 51, 59, 74 are missing, more likely reserved to Joe himself.
The features stay pretty close to the JS25ART, but stole new features from the recent Prestige model the JS2450. The body is basswood like the majority of JS guitars, but here the neck is a 3 pieces neck with maple and bubinga, and a rosewood fingerboard. That’s the second time they made this wood assiciation between body and neck, the first being the JS24P. Pearly dots will fit the neck nicely, going along with the body white base.
On the electronics side, the JSART2 has two DiMarzio pickups, without surprise a Mo’Joe for the bridge and a Satch Track on the neck. They are chromed, no-common feature in the Ibanez JS history, indeed the chrome was only reserved for the JS2PRM and JS90HAM until the JS2450 came out.
This guitar has a push/pull system on both the Volume and a high-pass filter and a coil tap on the Tone pot as the other high-end Ibanez JS. The chrome hardware isn’t a surprise, along with the Ultralite Tremolo Arm, included with the Edge bridge.
Specifications
Name: JSART2
Years: 2016
Areas: Worldwide
Made in: Japan
Finishes: ART (original graphic Paint by Joe Satriani)
Models: 76 (including 35 in the US, 6 missing)
Body
Body material: Basswood
Neck joint: Tilt Joint
Bridge: Edge tremolo
w/ Ultralite Tremolo Arm
Hardware color: Chrome
Neck
Neck type: JS Prestige
Material: JS 3pc Maple/Bubinga neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Mother of Pearl dots
Frets: 24 / w/6105 Prestige fret edge treatment
Electronics
PU Config: HH
Neck PU: DiMarzio Satch Track
Bridge PU: DiMarzio Mo’ Joe
Controls: 1 Volume (On/Off High Pass filter)
1 Tone (On/Off Coil Split) / 3-Way Toggle
Neck dimensions
Scale length: 648mm/25.5″
a: Width at nut: 42mm
b: Width at last fret: 56mm
c: Thickness at 1st fret: 19mm
d: Thickness at 12th fret: 21mm
Radius: 250mm
JOE SATRIANI WORDS
“The JSART guitar project has once again proved to be an exciting and profound artistic experience for me. It represents my successful partnership with Ibanez Guitars in the most creative way.
I illustrated every instrument by hand, bringing my collection of strange and hooky characters to life in both black-on-white and full-color. The new artwork achieves an extraordinary three-dimentional quality on the white JS bodies. The brilliant high gloss finish captures the light perfectly and makes each drawing look animated.
Each guitar features a one-of-a-kind set of drawings designed to surprise, inspire, and make a bold original statement. I’ve signed each one on the back so you know it is an authentic, original work of art.
I hope you enjoy owning and playing your one-of-a-kind JSART guitar, and, yes, they should be played!”
TEST & REVIEW
Exclusive review of the JSART2, made by Saturax at the shop Metal Guitar in Paris, France. Model #53 was featuring on the video, all pickup configurations were tested on three main sounds of the amp. Subtitles are available in the video. See full test
PAINTING PROCESS
A film by ZZ Satriani, filmed by ZZ Satriani and Kelly Wourms, edited by ZZ Satriani.
