To celebrate 20 years since the release of John Scofield’s first-ever Ibanez signature model, the guitar giant has once again teamed up with the jazz virtuoso for a stylish celebratory offering – the JSM20TH.
Based on Scofield’s original JSM electric guitar, which in turn was modeled after the existing Ibanez AS200 with a few added tweaks, the hollow-body JSM20TH celebrates the pair’s partnership in style with a series of sleek finishes and appointments.
In terms of specs, the body of Scofield’s six-string sports a maple top with maple back and sides, as well as a set-in African mahogany neck with bound ebony fretboard.
22 jumbo frets, finished with Ibanez’s prestige fret edge treatment, appear on the ‘board alongside acrylic and abalone block inlays. The neck also carries a 24.7" scale length, and features a 184mm to 250mm compound radius.
Instead of a sunburst or matte black colorway, as seen on his previous models, Scofield opts for a gloss black finish, which is paired with a gold Gotoh 510BN bridge and Gotoh GE101A tailpiece, as well as gold Gotoh 510 tuners.
The model also boasts a half-bone/half-brass nut, designed to deliver smooth Scofield sounds, with the fusion guitar god’s signature etched into the gold truss rod cover.
Under the hood, the JSM20TH comes equipped with a pair of gold-covered JSM Special humbuckers wired to a conventional control layout composed of a three-way selector switch, two volume controls and two tone controls dedicated to each pickup.
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Ibanez is yet to officially confirm a listing price, so watch this space for more details as they emerge.
To check out the stunning signature in the meantime, head over to Ibanez.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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