To my knowledge- Gio - China Standard - Indonesia Iron Label - Indonesia Premium - Indonesia Prestige - Japan J. Custom - Japan Then there's LACS and Sugi builds but those are more niche. If you're buying one of those you probably know what you're looking for already. Aren't they also opening up a new Japan-based semi-custom shop as well? They previewed like a white.RGD I want to say?
And to quote a post from some other Ibanez thread. J.custom - some features / best quality = $$$$ Prestige - less features/ better quality = $$$ Premium - more features / less quality = $$ Standard - less features / less quality = $ Personally I'd stick to the SSO motto: 'Buy a used Prestige'.
They even put Team J. Craft decals on the headstock, Made in Japan and an F06xxxxx serial number on this white JEM. ( F0606786 ).
To my knowledge- Gio - China Standard - Indonesia Iron Label - Indonesia Premium - Indonesia Prestige - Japan J. Custom - Japan Then there's LACS and Sugi builds but those are more niche. If you're buying one of those you probably know what you're looking for already.
Aren't they also opening up a new Japan-based semi-custom shop as well? They previewed like a white.RGD I want to say? And to quote a post from some other Ibanez thread. J.custom - some features / best quality = $$$$ Prestige - less features/ better quality = $$$ Premium - more features / less quality = $$ Standard - less features / less quality = $ Personally I'd stick to the SSO motto: 'Buy a used Prestige'. Click to expand.+1 It is is interesting how some of the premiums are actually more expensive than the prestiges.
Take a look at the rg1070PBZ: 11 pc neck, luminescent side dots, stainless steel frets, gotoh tuners, natural binding, wenge fretboard etc. I would have jumped it immediately, but the playability on the premiums I've tried havn't been on par with my prestiges. And I would allways put playability first.
That said It would be nice to see this as a prestige with a fixed bridge or low pro edge. I'm not getting why the prestiges can't have the cool features. IIRC the only difference in build quality between a J-Custom and a Prestige are the rounded fret edges, which prestiges don't have (anymore?). Other than that, the upcharge comes from the features and selected materials rather than from build quality. Premium quality is pretty much all over the place for newer models but a bit more consistent on models that have been available for a while, at least that's my experience. However, premiums don't have a neck as thin as the prestiges and I honestly don't like the shape of the necks so I personally stick with prestiges.
RG550s (pre-prestige MIJ Ibbys) are considered by many to be the golden era Ibanez'es but it's up to you whether or not you agree. Having briefly played one, they are nice but I still prefer newer prestiges. I seem to be an outlier though, as I also like my Edge Zero alot. Tl;dr: buy a used prestige.
The J-Craft moniker is stuff made out of the Fujigen plant prior to calling them Prestige. Prestige made now are from Japan and start the serial number with the letter F. Artist models like the Satriani JS2410 also come from this Japan plant with the letter F starting the serial number. Artist models such as the JEM77WWDP Steve Vai 'Woody' are Indonesian made with the serial starting with I. Regular S series, RG series, RGA series, Premium, and Iron Label guitars also share this serial and origin. MiKro guitars are made in China and start the serial with a C.
This can all be confirmed for current production Ibanez guitars with a quick look at serial numbers from the in-stock item photos for Sweetwater.