stratjacket
Well-known member
Got home late last night from Japan, what an exhausting trip...26 hours from our hotel in Yokohama to my door step in Atlanta.
Anyway, I had 2 full days (Sunday and Monday) completely by myself. I had cash in hand, a JR Train pass and a list of stores and guitars I'd mapped out from Digimart. Spent all my time between Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ochanomizu (aka Guitar street). As with everything else, Japan is not cheap, but the selection of guitars were amazing. First time I'd ever seen stores with sections of Mayones, Caparison, Overload and Rhea guitars and some I'd never heard of. There were deals to be had though. Used Ibanez J-Customs seem to be overall cheaper than in the US. Also, I was looking for things I could not buy (or hard to find) in the US.
I ended up with the Ibanez J-Custom 8540ZD pictured below. The build quality on this guitar is grade A top notch, just well built and great attention to detail. The model was discontinued in 2017, this guitar is a 2012 year in near mint condition. All original with Mahogany body and one the HSS pickups. Also comes with a Seymour Duncan TB-14 Custom5 in the bridge which has recently become one of my favorite pickups.
I was SOOO close to a few different guitars includes a couple of different Mayones and a few ESP's, but in the end, this guitar was just too good to pass up, especially when the only 8540 model's I could find were way more costly than I paid.
One important note: Although in the US you can bring a guitar as a carry-on item on an airplane, they do NOT allow it in Japan. So I was forced to check the guitar in as luggage. The Japanese lady did put big Delta Fragile stickers all over it and it went through the oversized luggage instead of the regular luggage, not sure if that means it's stored any different. The guitar came through fine, but I was worried.
Pics:
Anyway, I had 2 full days (Sunday and Monday) completely by myself. I had cash in hand, a JR Train pass and a list of stores and guitars I'd mapped out from Digimart. Spent all my time between Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ochanomizu (aka Guitar street). As with everything else, Japan is not cheap, but the selection of guitars were amazing. First time I'd ever seen stores with sections of Mayones, Caparison, Overload and Rhea guitars and some I'd never heard of. There were deals to be had though. Used Ibanez J-Customs seem to be overall cheaper than in the US. Also, I was looking for things I could not buy (or hard to find) in the US.
I ended up with the Ibanez J-Custom 8540ZD pictured below. The build quality on this guitar is grade A top notch, just well built and great attention to detail. The model was discontinued in 2017, this guitar is a 2012 year in near mint condition. All original with Mahogany body and one the HSS pickups. Also comes with a Seymour Duncan TB-14 Custom5 in the bridge which has recently become one of my favorite pickups.
I was SOOO close to a few different guitars includes a couple of different Mayones and a few ESP's, but in the end, this guitar was just too good to pass up, especially when the only 8540 model's I could find were way more costly than I paid.
One important note: Although in the US you can bring a guitar as a carry-on item on an airplane, they do NOT allow it in Japan. So I was forced to check the guitar in as luggage. The Japanese lady did put big Delta Fragile stickers all over it and it went through the oversized luggage instead of the regular luggage, not sure if that means it's stored any different. The guitar came through fine, but I was worried.
Pics: