Ibanez JSM20TH – how limited is it?

[guavajelly]

Eventually the JSM20TH (like a JSM100 painted black) shows up in stores here in Europe. It says limited edition – which gives me hope that the value will go up despite the sticker shock. Does anybody know how many they built?

[AllanAllen]

It’s going to be a hard sell if you try and invest in this guitar.

Prepare yourself for a bunch of emails like this. “Why would anyone pay $3,000 for a knock off when you could get a Gibson for the same price.”

[Litterick]

Only thirty were made available in North America, apparently. But I doubt any guitar could be an investment in our troubled times.

[Cunamara]

Buy a guitar because you like it, not because it’s an investment.

[Jimmy blue note]

There have been lots of limited edition guitars that I never ever considered buying, I'm not a collector of course. That being said, I've watched the prices on them go way up. That's their charm and that's why they're made: A collector's guitar for a collector/investor.
I've seen Benson limited editions skyrocket at auctions and collectors riding the wave of mystique. It's a mysterious world unto itself.
If you get one, find Sco when he's on tour and have him sign it. Then don't think of it as a guitar, keep it pristine and in MINT condition and buy yourself a nice workhorse guitar and unlock the treasures you possess as a player.
At some point in time, your abilities will dwarf the value of your investment, or you'll resign yourself to the frustrations of playing and never having enough time to practice, but you'll have a very pretty piece of investment to console yourself with.

They sell those things at a high price, not because of some inherent musical utility, but for a designated place as an arbitrary fabricated historical object. And it works.
It's certainly a lot cheaper than a Gibson limited edition Jimmy Page or an Eric Clapton duplicate distressed replica.

Hope you're happy with your decision.

[Litterick]

"Hey Sco, love your work. Would you mind enhancing my investment? I have a pen."

Locking away your guitar to keep it in pristine condition is a gamble you probably will not win. You will be deprived of the pleasure of playing your guitar and, many years later, you might find that its value has not increased enough to compensate for the loss.

Benjamin J. Burton and Joyce P. Jacobsen's Measuring Returns on Investments in Collectibles (Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 13, Number 4 —Fall 1999 —Pages 193–212), should be required reading for anyone thinking of making money on guitars, wristwatches or any other thing of that kind. TLDR: you probably won't make much.

Would-be speculators should read Michael A. Stoller's The Economics Of Collectible Goods (Journal of Cultural Economics 8, no. 1 [1984]: 91–104), a study that observes how, in the late 1970s, "Collectors, most of whom collect primarily for pleasure, watched with mixed feelings as investors drove the prices of their hobby's collectibles to unheard of heights, only to have them come tumbling down again in the early 1980's, victims of high interest rates, recession and a change in the tax laws" After examining the causes and effects, Stoller concludes, "It should now be clear that the greater the increases in price resulting from speculation, ceteris paribus, the greater the danger of sudden large price decline."

[samoiedo]

For me, it was a great investment. The guitar is beautiful and I love the sound of it, especially the bass, although I'm still in the process of discovering the guitar's potential.

[Gitfiddler]

The tuxedo black JSM20th is a sweet looking semi. It's priced the same as the flame maple (top/back/sides) JSM100. I'd never buy a guitar as an investment. Stocks and bonds are tricky enough. Real estate is much more reliable for serious investors. Predicting if a guitar will appreciate in value is far too risky for my taste.

I prefer the rim mounted jack on the JSM100, but I bet Ibanez sells all of the limited edition 20th models.

Ibanez has a worldwide fan base and have a history of building top quality instruments, especially the top tier MIJ built models.

[guavajelly]

Hi, I wouldn't buy it as an investment – my question is more about getting the money back if I'd sell it. If I'd buy it I'd play it.

[headcasechris]

It was a pricey guitar, no doubt, but it is exceptional quality, plus I think I got mine slightly cheaper than the normal JSM100. I think the pickups are a bit hotter which personally I prefer. I've done a series of videos on Youtube where I am playing with other musicians to see how it sounds. Link below if anyone wants to check them out:

[arnie65]

It was a pricey guitar, no doubt, but it is exceptional quality, plus I think I got mine slightly cheaper than the normal JSM100. I think the pickups are a bit hotter which personally I prefer. I've done a series of videos on Youtube where I am playing with other musicians to see how it sounds. Link below if anyone wants to check them out:

Thanks for posting, from having owned and played the JSM100, I don't know weather it is the newly designed pickups, or the fact the the JSM20th has a maple top/back and not "Anigre", but the guitar has more of a fat punchy mellow tone that is defined and clear. Love it!!


Arnie...

[tbeltrans]

There have been lots of limited edition guitars that I never ever considered buying, I'm not a collector of course. That being said, I've watched the prices on them go way up. That's their charm and that's why they're made: A collector's guitar for a collector/investor.
I've seen Benson limited editions skyrocket at auctions and collectors riding the wave of mystique. It's a mysterious world unto itself.
If you get one, find Sco when he's on tour and have him sign it. Then don't think of it as a guitar, keep it pristine and in MINT condition and buy yourself a nice workhorse guitar and unlock the treasures you possess as a player.
At some point in time, your abilities will dwarf the value of your investment, or you'll resign yourself to the frustrations of playing and never having enough time to practice, but you'll have a very pretty piece of investment to console yourself with.

They sell those things at a high price, not because of some inherent musical utility, but for a designated place as an arbitrary fabricated historical object. And it works.
It's certainly a lot cheaper than a Gibson limited edition Jimmy Page or an Eric Clapton duplicate distressed replica.

Hope you're happy with your decision.

I heard that Gibson hired Pete Townshend to do custom distressing to their guitars.

Tony