Anybody remember JB Player guitars?

[daan]

Dating your JBP: if the headstock looks like this, it’s from about the late 90’s to now. (From my research, the same group that bought the Hondo brand, bought the JBP brand, and now have a wide range of all instruments sold under the JBP name. Not the same guys as the original, early-mid 80’s people selling either brand.
These necks just feel like the usual “import” stuff, nothing special.


If the headstock looks like this, it’s the original, early-mid 80’s guitars. These are the super awesome feeling necks!



If it has a pointy, shreddy Metal headstock, it’s middle-to-late 80’s era (presumably after Fender told them to stop using their headstock shape, but everyone wanted a hockey-stick by then anyway. All the ones like these felt super thin to me, not the nice full shape of the earlier ones.


This era is when “Vixen” was endorsed by JBP, and they had a weird, built-in Wireless system (which won’t work today because of the bandwidth they used, or you’ll pick up the local Police channel or something) None of the Wireless guitars I’ve run across have had both the guitar AND the transmitter together, and the one transmitter I’ve seen, was being sold sans batteries, so... good luck?

 

[daan]

Can you tell I TOTALLY geeked out on these? I spent WAY too much time and $ on my JBP quest, to the point of emailing both Cort and Samick, before I knew who was building these. I even managed to get in touch with a guy who worked for the importer (a music company from Texas, that’s long since gone out of business) I got told stories about the cops showing up at the same time as a shipping container of the original guitars, and them being shown a C&D from Fender, and having to band-saw the necks off of dozens of neck-through guitars, and remove the necks off all the bolt-ones and saw those up, too. They got to keep all the bodies of those, but the company folded before they did anything with those, the guy said.

 

[so1om]

Can you tell I TOTALLY geeked out on these? I spent WAY too much time and $ on my JBP quest, to the point of emailing both Cort and Samick, before I knew who was building these. I even managed to get in touch with a guy who worked for the importer (a music company from Texas, that’s long since gone out of business) I got told stories about the cops showing up at the same time as a shipping container of the original guitars, and them being shown a C&D from Fender, and having to band-saw the necks off of dozens of neck-through guitars, and remove the necks off all the bolt-ones and saw those up, too. They got to keep all the bodies of those, but the company folded before they did anything with those, the guy said.

It's all good info. I just remember them more as an entry level guitar. I don't think there's any reason to spend more than $100 as anything more than that opens options on what you can buy for the $$. I'm not against buying something for any reason at all. I was willing to go up to $130 for a used sparkle Bullet HH even though 6 months previous they were on blowout for $99 new.

My framing of them was "decent guitars in the late 80s if you couldn't afford a used Gibson or Strat." Thinking back, it was 1987 when I got my 1964 Rick 360-12 for $400, 1986 I got my 1969 Gibson EB-3 for $165. So why would I spend "more" for "less" sorta thing. In 1989 my g/f now wife bought me a Squier MIJ Jazz bass and I think that was $200 or so brand new.

So it's all relative. But a decent JB at a decent price is on my GASOO list.

 

[daan]

I must have grown up in the worst place for guitars, because I remember paying the prices you say, for Hondos and other plywood crap. I never handled a genuine Gibson until YEARS later, and I knew ONE person with a Fender. And he wouldn’t let anyone touch it. The one store I could get to that had “name brand” stuff kept it way up high above the counter, and they wouldn’t even consider taking it down unless you showed them cash... I would have gladly paid those prices for decent used guitars, had I ever seen one!

 

[DJGranite]

I have an old JB Player guitar...
it has the strat headstock, with an explorer body, DiMarzio pickups, brass nut, and a Kahler bridge...
I took off the Schaller tuners and the locking nut while I waited for some new knobs for the tuners to come in. Really should get them back on there.
oh..... You probably want pics...
Its pretty dirty.
it lives in a stand at the foot of bed.

 

[so1om]

I must have grown up in the worst place for guitars, because I remember paying the prices you say, for Hondos and other plywood crap. I never handled a genuine Gibson until YEARS later, and I knew ONE person with a Fender. And he wouldn’t let anyone touch it. The one store I could get to that had “name brand” stuff kept it way up high above the counter, and they wouldn’t even consider taking it down unless you showed them cash... I would have gladly paid those prices for decent used guitars, had I ever seen one!

So true. Location is everything. Fortunately we now have Squier and other brands as well as the internet.

 

[daan]

I have an old JB Player guitar...
it has the strat headstock, with an explorer body, DiMarzio pickups, brass nut, and a Kahler bridge...
I took off the Schaller tuners and the locking nut while I waited for some new knobs for the tuners to come in. Really should get them back on there.
oh..... You probably want pics...
Its pretty dirty.
it lives in a stand at the foot of bed.View attachment 142338 View attachment 142339 View attachment 142340

Wow, I’ve never seen one of those before! How long have you had it?

 

[jeepster61605]

Northwoods Mall! Then some of the malls in B-N when I was at ISU.

Watsons was corner of Forrest hill and university. I cruised northwoods as a kid.

 

[so1om]

Watsons was corner of Forrest hill and university. I cruised northwoods as a kid.

You're still a kid compared to me, lol! Oh Also Flores Music, but I am not sure if they carried JB.....

 

[jeepster61605]

Not that I know of. Nor did Elmores musical warehouse. What was the name of the place in the mall. They moved across war drive and only shill pianos now...

 

[jeepster61605]

You're still a kid compared to me, lol! Oh Also Flores Music, but I am not sure if they carried JB.....

And I'm only a year younger than you.

 

[so1om]

And I'm only a year younger than you.

Age is only a number, LOL!

 

[DJGranite]

Wow, I’ve never seen one of those before! How long have you had it?

about 10 years or so, yard/barn sale find.

 

[Mr Bones]

I have a black '86 neck thru body that I bought while stationed in Port Hueneme.

After th stock trem was trashed while shippin to myself in Sicily, I put a Kahler on it.

Yellow knobs an PU covers, otherwise all stock.

It is in storage, so no pics today, sorry.

 

[Roccobagadonuts]

July 16 1986... A kid drags his mom into Rupps Drums in southeast Denver and is on a mission... A 1st guitar for his 13th birthday... Out of all the cheap used guitars a JB Player strat seemed to be the best for some reason...

Took like 20 more years or whatever to realize why I had never seen another like it. Then I ran into a message board where a guy was discussing how he worked with them and at 1st they had made a few prototype models in California before then having Korea do a bunch of low budget models for the masses... No clue how that guitar found its way to Denver and into the used bin at Rupps Drums back when they used to sell guitars... But I aint complainin...

For 100 bucks I got a US built strat with full width wood body, West German made Schaller tuners, full size block, steel saddles, full size pots and etc... Blind luck never hurts especially when ya had no idea what u were doing at the time... After years of sitting in a closet in pieces MKGearHead put it all back together a few years ago and got it going again... Original tuners swapped out and a few other changes like Tusq nut and etc...


Zzzzzz…

 

[bianchibike]

Anyone remember these? I remember them in the late 80s, early 90s at a lot of mall-based record stores like Musicland (esp in central Illinois). I did a 30 second internet search last night and they were MIK at the Cort factory so they may share some of the same ear Squier characteristics. Made/Imported by a relative of the Mighty Mite guy and Jack Westheimer.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J._B._Player_Guitars

They had a lot of various configurations of parts. Here's a pair on eBay right now.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338148356&icep_item=264480701275

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338148356&icep_item=333284859737

I have one . A black strat Hss copy with the crappy wireless system embedded in it. I just dug it out and plan on having it serviced / set up pretty soon.

 

[Rodiebobw]

I have a MIK JBP Sledgehammer model. Great guitar for $25. Converted it to HH with a set of Bullet pickups and a GFS bridge/trem. Keep it in DADGAD tuning.

http://www.squier-talk.com/threads/cl-score-jb-player-strat.83582/#post-394706

View attachment 142305

Michael that an acoustic alt tuning or drop D? A guy i listen to claims its the best for acoustic..Never heard of an electric player doing that.. Advantage?

 

[Michael7]

Sorry, I meant to say Open G. I think this is what I was trying at the time.