This series was made for well-known long-time Ibanez user Joe Satriani. They are based on Joe’s previous favoured guitar, the discontinued Ibanez Radius. He has been using these guitars exclusively since their launch in 1988.
There are many models, the cheapest of which is the JS100, which retails for about £600.
JS100
- JS custom-specified neck
- Basswood body
- Large frets
- Edge Pro II bridge
- IBZ AH1 (H) neck pickup
- IBZ AH2 (H) bridge pickup
The next model is the JS1000, a higher-end version from the Ibanez Prestige series. It comes only in the special Burnt Transparent Blue and retails for around £1400.
The necks on the Prestige models are exact replications of the neck on Joe’s main stage guitar.
JS1000
- JS custom-specified neck
- Basswood body
- W/6105 frets
- Edge Pro bridge
- DiMarzio Paf Pro neck pickup
- DiMarzio Fred bridge pickup
This model is the JS1200, also a Prestige model, which sells for roughly £1500 and comes only in Candy Apple Red. Aside from the finish differences, the other main different feature is the neck pickup, a Joe Satriani model as opposed to a stock DiMarzio.
JS1200
- JS neck
- Basswood body
- W/6105 frets
- Edge Pro bridge
- DiMarzio Paf Joe (H) neck pu
- DiMarzio Fred (H) bridge pu
The last model is the JS1600, a slightly cheaper model at around £1300, but one that features a natural-finished headstock, a metallic silver finish and a mahogany body where other JS models use basswood.
It also has a fixed bridge instead of a locking tremolo.
JS1600
- 1pc JS neck
- Mahogany body
- W/6105 frets
- Fixed bridge
- DiMarzio Paf Pro (H) neck pu
- DiMarzio Fred (H) bridge pu
Joe’s signature series also features a number of ultra-limited editions, such as the £4000 Black Dog model, of which only 3 have been imported into the UK. This model is much the same as the other JS models, but has a reproduction of the original “Black Dog†drawings made by Joe on a 1990s JS model.
Another model was built for the 20th anniversary of Joe’s endorsement by Ibanez, and features a graphic based on the album cover of Satriani’s best-known album Surfing With The Alien. This model came with a number of extravagances including a CD of the aforementioned album, and Satriani-designed straps and picks. It retails for a similarly extravagant price and is, again, very limited.
In the late 1990s, to commemorate 10 years of Satriani endorsement, Ibanez released another model, the JS10 Chrome Boy, based on a main guitar of Joe’s and featuring a startling chrome finish.
506 were officially made, and the guitar has a cult following, with its own fan website.