# How stupid is Ibanez "Custom Made" inlay at 21st fret?



## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

I have a few Ibanez s540 guitars with "Custom Made" inlay at the 21st fret.

These guitars are from the early/mid 90s. Back then, the world was a much smaller place. It was a time before the internet was in everyone's home. People didn't know as much about. . .pretty much everything. 

These guitars were pretty great quality compared to Fenders and Gibsons of that era. "Custom Made" seemed plausible.

But the reality is that these were Japanese assembly line guitars. Granted, these Fujigen guitars were/are fairly highly esteemed. Its essentially a Japanese superstrat with neck binding and abalone inlays and a lo pro bridge.

I believe they predate the J-Custom line.

So is "Custom Made" just false advertizing? How could they claim these were custom made? For that matter, now that I think about it, are J-Customs really "custom"?

I like these guitar, but it seems kinda sketchy.


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## russmuller (Aug 10, 2016)

It's dumb, but it was just a marketing thing. Just like how Gibson sells the Les Paul Custom. There's nothing "custom" about from the standpoint of the individual consumer.


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## TedEH (Aug 10, 2016)

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but lots of guitars have used the word "custom" on production models, or just in difference contexts. Does it mean fully custom? Does it mean that it's a production model with some requested changes? Does it mean a designer for the guitar company altered a standard model to make it their "custom" version? It's just a marketing thing. Sketchy? Maybe, if you're not careful. I would hope that someone would see the price, or do a bit of research, and understand the context of "custom" being used before making purchasing decisions based on that alone.


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

russmuller said:


> It's dumb, but it was just a marketing thing. Just like how Gibson sells the Les Paul Custom. There's nothing "custom" about from the standpoint of the individual consumer.



Good point.


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

TedEH said:


> I can't think of any off the top of my head, but lots of guitars have used the word "custom" on production models, or just in difference contexts. Does it mean fully custom? Does it mean that it's a production model with some requested changes? Does it mean a designer for the guitar company altered a standard model to make it their "custom" version? It's just a marketing thing. Sketchy? Maybe, if you're not careful. I would hope that someone would see the price, or do a bit of research, and understand the context of "custom" being used before making purchasing decisions based on that alone.



I've though about having the Custom Made inlays routed out and replacing it with a name. Like giving the guitar a name. Or is that even more stupid?

Then it would actually be "custom".


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## Wolfhorsky (Aug 10, 2016)

It is just a marketing trick. Many brands uses "custom" gimnick. Outside the guitar world we have lots of funny gimnicks: 3d HD 4K GT GTX X-something. It helps selling stuff. As long as the info is true, it is OK. But in our guitar world it is often abused.


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

After thinking about it, I think I may know why they called it "Custom". From that era, I'm not aware of any other Ibanez with neck binding. But of course, five years later they were putting binding on even low end guitars.


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## dr_game0ver (Aug 10, 2016)

Like Epiphone end their "limited edition custom shop" on the back of the headstock...
Also because Japan. Japanese people like to put some random English words on things to make it cool.


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

dr_game0ver said:


> Like Epiphone end their "limited edition custom shop" on the back of the headstock...
> Also because Japan. Japanese people like to put some random English words on things to make it cool.



Good point. I never saw an ibanez with japanese writing on it. I suppose the custom made inlay was shipped to japan.


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## knet370 (Aug 10, 2016)

hey atleast they play great. mine is a s540qstk. still plays like butter.


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## Jacksonluvr636 (Aug 10, 2016)

Sales tactics.

It works on many people. I remember when I got my S540 my drummer said wow that is a custom made guitar. 

I told him yes, they are all custom made lol.

Mine has a Maple neck and is a really awesome guitar. For as small and thin as it is, with the right pickups it really sings.

Is so old though and probably needs to see a good tech badly.

I kind of like the inlay personally but yes I can see how dumb it is having a mass produced assembly line guitar that says custom made.


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## hodorcore (Aug 10, 2016)

it says "custom made", not "custom" as in PRS custom 24 or LP custom
you got scammed mate


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

knet370 said:


> hey atleast they play great. mine is a s540qstk. still plays like butter.



Hey, I've got one of those, but it's deep green. I dont know the color code, s540qs??. Great guitar.


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## sharedEQ (Aug 10, 2016)

Jacksonluvr636 said:


> Sales tactics.
> 
> It works on many people. I remember when I got my S540 my drummer said wow that is a custom made guitar.
> 
> ...




I just realized, for people not versed in Ibanez lore, this might look impressive on stage or auditions.

I got one of mine new in 97, and its still in top shape. Had a couple fret levels but the neck is straight.


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## tedtan (Aug 10, 2016)

Ibanez introduced the S Series in 1987, first in the 500 series (like the 540S) and later in a 400 series (like the 430S). All had dot inlays and no binding at first, but Ibanez brought in the oval and shark fin inlays, the binding, and the "custom made" 21st fret inlay for the 500 series around 1990 and kept it through 1998. All of the 540S guitars I've seen with the "custom made" 21st fret inlay have been in North America. I've seen some similar models from Europe and Asia made during this time period and none have had the "custom made" inlay, though that doesn't mean that no guitars shipped to those markets had it.

As others have said, they are not custom made guitars, so I can see the issue people have labeling them as such. But they are Fujigen made Ibanez models that are comparable to higher end Prestige models available today in terms of quality, so they are still great guitars.

Also, J Customs are not custom made, either. They are just higher end factory models that receive a bit more attention during their build.


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## dr_game0ver (Aug 10, 2016)

Really? I live in France, i've seen more than a couple of s540 (it is NOT a rare guitar) and all of them have the "custom made" inlay...


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## broj15 (Aug 10, 2016)

i don't mind the inlay but what pisses me off is when uneducated people actually think they're really "Custom Made" and jack up the price.


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## bostjan (Aug 10, 2016)

IKR?

Custom means made to order, so "custom made" means made to order made, which is neither grammatically correct, nor true.

It's like when someone says they need to punch their "PIN number" into the "ATM machine," and they aren't even using an ATM.


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## Demiurge (Aug 10, 2016)

It can be just puffery in many cases: also, like "premium", "deluxe", "special", or "limited edition" [when said "limit" is quite large]- it's like the product name equivalent of a stripper acting like they really like you. It ain't special, that's what everyone gets.


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## Forkface (Aug 10, 2016)

Demiurge said:


> a stripper acting like they really like you.



oh man i could've sworn we had something special goin' on.


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## MaxOfMetal (Aug 14, 2016)

Those 90's Sabers were custom made. To order. 

Back then the Saber wasn't selling as well and in order to try and boost retailer orders Ibanez offered several finish options and would allow distributors and retailers to order what colors, hardware color, and pickup layout they wanted. Opposed to the RG series which were made in set batches of predetermined colors. 

This mirrors what was done with the USA Customs.

As for the JCs, when they first debuted they were custom made to dealer specifications, and still are today. 

While today we associate the term "custom" with completely bespoke instruments ordered by the end user, that hasn't always been the case.


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## Vrollin (Aug 14, 2016)

It's a fret marker on a model that was made mid 90s, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it...


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## Guitardick (Aug 23, 2022)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Those 90's Sabers were custom made. To order.
> 
> Back then the Saber wasn't selling as well and in order to try and boost retailer orders Ibanez offered several finish options and would allow distributors and retailers to order what colors, hardware color, and pickup layout they wanted. Opposed to the RG series which were made in set batches of predetermined colors.
> 
> ...


I love reviving these older threads. MaxOfMetal, I believe you are correct. Both my sales rep, Virginia, and the facilities manager told me that the 540S that GC sold back in the 1990’s were custom “made to order” and that GC was allowed to specify exactly what they wanted, I think this even included extra setup time, as the fret jobs were not stellar in that period, but my 540SLB arrived with the frets milled and they were dead flat! 

1991 made in Japan
Mahogany body
Wizard Neck
22 Jumbo frets
Oval Inlay
HSS USA Dimarzio PU’s
Laser Blue
Double locking Low Pro Edge Tremolo
Stereo Jack
5-Way switch

This is everything you would expect to see on a 1991 Ibanez 540S. However, mine has no binding, unless the binding is just a lacquer type binding.

My 1991 540SLB is a great guitar, as is my 1987 Ibanez Proline PL2550 Alder body neck thru. I have had several Ibanez guitars over the years, but these two played and sounded the best. The pickups really are fantastic and I believe both are old school Alnico 5’s. They have a very organic sound with a nice bite, deep growl, great sustain, good chunk and gunk for strong palm muting…and a nice strong pick attack. The 540S sounds more like a High End BC Rich with Dimarzios and the PL2550 sounds a lot like my Les Paul with 489T/490R. I highly recommend both if you are after that “80’s Monster Tone“ through a hotrodded Marshall.


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## tedtan (Aug 23, 2022)

Guitardick said:


> This is everything you would expect to see on a 1991 Ibanez 540S. However, mine has no binding, unless the binding is just a lacquer type binding.


Only the models with shark fin inlays were bound. The models with dot and oval inlays were unbound.


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## MaxOfMetal (Aug 23, 2022)

tedtan said:


> Only the models with shark fin inlays were bound. The models with dot and oval inlays were unbound.



Not necessarily.


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## Wynseun (Aug 24, 2022)

Doesn't really bother me. Same way thst ESP on the 12th fret doesn't bother me on the standards


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## mpexus (Aug 24, 2022)

Mine reminds me that I paid a lot for it in 93 and that its still the best guitar I ever owned and they are to me the best ever S Series Ibanez ever produced.


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## MaxOfMetal (Aug 24, 2022)

mpexus said:


> Mine reminds me that I paid a lot for it in 93 and that its still the best guitar I ever owned and they are to me the best ever S Series Ibanez ever produced.



Yeah, the 540s were like $1k out the door in 90's money.


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## tedtan (Aug 24, 2022)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Not necessarily.
> 
> View attachment 113024


I stand corrected.

In doing a bit of research, it looks like they started adding the binding to the models with oval inlays in ‘93 and stuck with it through ‘97, after which the Prestige line was launched and the models changed a bit.


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## MaxOfMetal (Aug 24, 2022)

While we're talking about Saber inlays. 

Sharks > Ovals

Because:


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