THE J CUSTOMS 1996 TO 1997 AS PROMISED

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Author Message Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 7:38 am:    Hey gang, well as you asked for here is the 1996 and 1997 J Customs for all to drool at. Now I must appologise if the specs pictures make you feel a bit like Mr Magoo whilst reading them.. but I did my best ! Ok lets go, the first bunch of pics is from the 1996 Japan Domestic catalogue, they are as follows. Then comes the exotic and different 1997 J Customs, which there are only 1 of each of these in Australia, we only bought them in for the trade show in Sydney for 1997,all with the exception of the RG Archtop 1 were sold on the first day, the RG Archy went to a good home a week after the show \image(97s3040specs.jpeg} This next bunch comes from the 1997 Japan Domestic catalogue Stay tuned for part 2 Captain Ibanez Johns (Johns) Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 10:31 am:    Fantastic Captain! Unfortunately, the specs for the s3040 didn't make it (you typed a paren instead of a curly brace after the word "image"). Can you repost that page please? What does the designation J-Custom stand for? P.S. I hope that big hair in the last catalog page belongs to a woman. Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 6:27 pm:    Will do John, but I must admit looking at the scans on my computer at the office,there a bit on the dark side. Just go to prove how my new computer at home with the LCD screen can make life that lttle bit more difficult to scan pics with, but hey it's all a learning curve. Cameron Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 7:24 am:    Cop these specs John...as per your request...maybe scanner fatigue had set in by this time...but here it is as per your request. Cameron Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 7:29 am:    What I want to know is what do the collective think of the S540Japan and the RG Gear models. Now you would have to admit that a crinkle cut top guitar, with a crinkle cut headstock is better than a plain jane Pringles ( what yanks call potato chips )ordinary top guitar is.....round 1...I want a good clean fight! LMAO Cameron Zoner (Zoner) Posted on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 10:36 am:    Mmmm, S540Japan is Super yummy!The finish is maybe the best I have ever seen on a production guitar (I tire of AAAA... grade woods after a bit). I have to think that while the Gear is a fabulous pice to look at and a marvel of precision guitar craft (lasers? - reverse-engineered alien building tech?)playing it for any length of time would result in a rather irritated forearm. Also, weren't the RGGears oil finished? Gotta wonder about how it would wear at that uncomfortable contact point (assuming of course one would actually, heaven forbid, PLAY the thing!) There is a S3040BS for sale at my local shop and while it is a stunner to look at, it isn't really all that special in terms of playability or tone, but again I may be missing the point here. I would swap my left one for a RGArt or the S540Japan, however, just to gaze upon it and sigh, reveling in its' beauty. My $.02. Z Johns (Johns) Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 3:31 pm:    I just saw something interesting. A 1997 J-Custom catalog scan on IbanezRules.com (http://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1997jcs/s3040bs_b.jpg) says that the S3040 body is burl mahogany (the same for the beautiful S5400) but the 1997 J-Custom catalog page above says it's Sapele Mahogany. Mine is definitley NOT Burl, so I'm assuming it must be Sapele. Can anyone explain the change in the woods and catalogs? Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 9:17 pm:    I have concluded that a lot of the specification discrepancies are caused by translation errors. There's grammer and other mistakes throughout Ibanez literature that are consistant with Japanese to english syntax problems. Plus, you must keep in mind that the catalogs are just a snapshot of what was being used at the time the copy was approved. Any changes in hardware or materials made after the printing are not gonna be there. I can find many examples of this in the Roadstar series. Logic says it's found in all series. Johns (Johns) Posted on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 1:40 pm:    Steve: I see your point. Especially in the older literature. But I still wonder why there is a difference in the two catalogs from the same year? That's not a natural type of translation mistake. After all, there's a picture that accompanies the text. This catalog was for high-end, limited edition guitars, sloppy translation and shoddy proofreading seem even less likely. And it would mean that someone caught the mistake after the catalogs had been initially distributed and they took the time to reprint and redistribute it. That leads to my next question, is it possible that a run of the S3040 J-Custom was made in Burl mahogany and another in Sapele mahogany? If so, were they made to accomodate specific localities or just different times in the year using that particular wood? Questions, always questions. I wish I had both catalogs in front of me. Spiro (Spiro) Posted on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 6:30 pm:    Burl Mahogany is not a actually a type of wood.... Burl is a Characteristic of wood like quilting in wood or curly maple. Burl can be found in practically every wood,be it walnut, maple, ash or even Sapele... Like the original 195X Les Paul literature never mentioned the fact that at least hakgf of them had a figured maple top.. They just used whatever wood was around... I am actually surprised to see interest in later Ibanez Guitars on this website... but its good.. seen a few of these guitars owned by the same person.. Must say they are beautiful.. Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Sunday, August 22, 2004 - 3:04 pm:    Spiro, To refine your point, a Burl is actually a growth on a tree that resembles a wart. They are often caused by an injury or foreign object of some kind. A burl can be compared to a scar that keeps growing! The giant Sequoia (Redwoods) are famous for producing huge burls. The grain structure is random at best in a burl. That is what gives it the wild look. I'm not sure the strength or burl wood is sufficient to make a guitar body by itself. Steve Johns (Johns) Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 4:50 pm:    Cappy: Mr. Jim says we need to open up a channel on the Nippon line to find out about the production figures on my '97 S3040: "They made more than 12 for sure, I know we had at least 12 at Hoshino, This was not the most expensive model so probably between 36 to 48 were made, But these guitars did well in Japan so maybe a few more but not that many more. Sorry I don't have the exact Numbers, Cameron can ask a guy named Jun in Japan, Maybe that is the best way," Pleeeeaaassse, sir.... Johns (Johns) Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 4:53 pm:    Cappy: Could you also ask why one catalog (your's) says teh body is made of Sapele mahogany and another (http://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1997jcs/s3040bs_b.jpg) says Burl mahogany? Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 7:58 pm:    Yeah will do John, I ask the question for you this week. Stayed tuned. Captain Ibanez Johns (Johns) Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 10:13 am:    Thanks Captain! Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 11:17 am:    Captain: Heard anything from your Japanese sources on the actual production numbers for my '97 S3040BS? Also, whether they had two versions, one with burl and another with straight grain mahogany? I'm curious because there are defintiely two catalogs with different descriptions of the same model. Yogi Username: Yogi Registered: 04-2003 Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 1:16 pm:    John: The S-3040 with Burl-Mahogany are definitely existing and one was on sale on Ebay Germany a few days ago. Unfortunately I had already spent my money for some Artists... Juergen J-Custom S-3040 Burl Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 2:58 pm:    Yogi: Thanks for that link! It solves the 2nd mystery: There were two versions of the '97 S3040BS, one burled and one straight grained (described as Sapele) mahogany. The fact that there were two catalogs printed up that year (with correct information about the two grains used) makes me wonder if there were at least 2 batches manufactured. Which leads me to wonder of there are 12-24 or 24-48 total '97 S3040BSs? Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 2:29 pm:    Yogi: Here's another burl top S3040BS, from the UK. Man the price is going up on these! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3768787237&rd=1 Nickuk Username: Nickuk Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 4:31 am:    Hi Johns, I have one of the rare 3040BS J-Customs c1997, it is in perfect condition, however a couple of the saddles on the bridge are showing a slight bit of wear to the pearl gold plate, do you know where I could get some as it would be good to have these “in the bank” before this model gets too old and parts become impossible. Does anyone know how many of these were really made? Thanks Nick. Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 4:08 pm:    NickUK: Nice to meet a fellow S3040BS owner! How about posting some pictures of your's? Do you have the Burl mahogany or Sapele version? The trems are gold Lo-Pro EDGE models. I don't see how you can order specific pieces, but these should still be available. Probably have to call Hoshino directly to get spares. From what I've read, they were made in batches of 12-24. But there could have been two batches made. Lesliegl Username: Lesliegl Registered: 03-2005 Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 11:49 pm:    MMMMM..that SR8100AM is beatiful ..did we get any of those over here in Oz Captain??? i helped a guy out in the US on the net to identify one..so there must have been a few made.. Leslie

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