NGD: Just traded my Gibson SG for an Ibanez SS300-DVS! (my first Jazz Box)

Burstbucker · #1 04-02-2017, 05:40 PM

I had put my Gibson SG Standard for sale on Kijiji but I wasn't getting much attention, low-ball offers and crappy trade proposals, etc... I was just getting ready to yank the ad when all of a sudden yesterday a guy emailed me asking if I would be interested in trading my SG for his Ibanez SS300.

At first I thought, what's an Ibanez SS300 anyway? I figured that it would be some less than stellar deal that I was being offered. So I did a Google search and came up with this review by Tom Quayle:
https://www.guitarinteractivemagazin...j300_reviewmp4

He does a review on the SS300 first, then finishes with it's slightly larger bodied big brother the SJ300. The DVS stands for "dark violin sunburst" BTW.

I was floored by what I was seeing in that video. It's like, yeah, lets get busy with that trade!

I read really positive comments on these two guitars on various Jazz forums online, so I thought that it would be something that I'd like to add to my stable.

The guy with the Ibanez lived about an hour away so I said that I could meet him halfway and that's what we did. I met the guy this afternoon outside of a McDonald's, his guitar was basically in mint condition, and so was mine.

During our first couple of emails back and forth yesterday, he said that his guitar retailed new for about $500.00 more than a new SG (here in Canada), I checked it out and he was right. So he was kind of looking to even out the trade with me paying him $200.00 cash. I said that I was tapped out but had an old Flanger pedal for sale and he could have that if he liked, he said that he had no use for a Flanger. So that was that. I didn't expect to hear back from him but lo and behold, I got an email today saying that he could probably use the Flanger as a Leslie effect, so we were on again.

The Flanger only cost me $60.00 second hand, so that was no big deal. And luckily, I bought the SG used for $750.00 CDN, for a combined total of $608.00 USD

I was totally happy with that deal. When he opened up the case, I was pretty stoked, what a beauty!

I was a bit surprised that this guitar was built in China rather than in Japan but my goodness, the Chinese are building some pretty scary good stuff by looking at this guitar!

I've heard less than flattering comments about MIC guitars but Ibanez sure is doing something right because this thing is soooo beautiful, and with a sound to match. They didn't cheap out with materials either:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--IBASS300

This is my first Jazz box, too bad I don't play Jazz but it's great all the same.

MC5C · #2 04-03-2017, 05:21 AM

That is a real nice guitar, for anything. Solid spruce top, etc. Might be feed-backy at high volumes, but should give you solid tone.

Burstbucker · #3 04-03-2017, 07:14 AM

Thank you MC5C!

I feel really fortunate to own such a beauty. And it also sounds as good as it looks, which is a real bonus.

BTW guys, sorry but I somehow managed to create a double post of this topic last night, not sure how I did that.

Jabberwocky · #4 04-04-2017, 07:52 AM

Congrats, man. I have the bigger brother, the forerunner to the SJ300DVS, the SJ500VLS. The smaller one, the SS500VLS, is the forerunner to your SS300DVS. The 500 series was for sale only in Japan but a few made their way to the US.

Ibanez conducted a small survey and a few of us responded that we would like to see the 500 series in NA. The result is the SJ300 and SS300.

The SS300 is really modelled on the GB10. It has almost the same proportions but it is a little deeper in the rim.

It is a great sounding jazzbox plugged in. Get it set up right. String her with D'addario Chrome, 12-52. It need make no apology in comparison with more expensive jazz archtops. Play it in good health you.

bholder · #5 04-05-2017, 04:48 AM

That video gave me serious GAS for a SJ300DVS.

jim777 · #6 04-05-2017, 03:01 PM

That's a cool looking guitar, congrats! Ibanez makes a very nice guitar.

Burstbucker · #7 04-05-2017, 03:05 PM

Thanks!

BTW Ibanez claims that this guitar has their Super '58 pickups in it but I read something online that since the SS300 and SJ300s are made in China rather than in Japan they aren't the "real" Super '58 pickups but merely a knock-off.

Can anybody here say whether that statement is true or not?

I guess it doesn't really matter because at the end of the day it sounds great to me no matter if my Super '58s are real ones or not.....

perttime · #8 04-06-2017, 11:52 AM

There's all sorts of confusion about Ibanez Super 58 pickups. Just google it... I'm not sure anybody has all the answers. To add more confusion, there's also Super 58 Custom - which was ceramic at some point but apparently reverted to one sort of Alnico, or another.

If you like the sound, be happy

Jabberwocky · #9 04-06-2017, 07:38 PM

Whatever those Super 58s are, they sound really good. Mine are engraved in the corner.

zombywoof · #10 04-07-2017, 09:23 AM

Congrats! That is one sexy looking guitar. I only know one guy who owns one. He snagged it off eBay a couple years back for about what you have invested in yours which he has always said was a killer price. He surely loves that thing.

Burstbucker · #11 04-09-2017, 08:32 AM

Burstbucker · #12 04-09-2017, 08:36 AM

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28...pso35ngc1u.jpg

Burstbucker · #13 04-09-2017, 08:45 AM

bholder · #14 04-10-2017, 03:03 PM

Wow, she's a real looker!

Burstbucker · #15 04-10-2017, 07:11 PM

Thanks bholder,

Yes she certainly is a real looker, even looks better in person than in the pictures. The quality of these Ibanez guitars is really something, I must say!

Solid spruce top, solid flamed maple back and sides, 2-ply flamed maple binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge, ebony pickguard(not plastic), bone nut, etc... The way that they rounded the fret ends with the neck binding is simply beautiful, superb craftsmanship all around!

From what I can tell, it's basically a more affordable George Benson model but built in China.