Question Music Man JP6 vs. Sterling by MM JP100D

[zzomer]

Hi guys.
its maybe not the most objective place to ask but anyway….
There are new Sterling JP100D which is a low budget clone (Indonesia made) of the JP guitars, 6, BFR etc.
I have a JP6, it's one of the best guitars I owned, specially the neck, it feels like it was cut to my size.

Anyway, I'm looking for a good backup but don’t want to spend too much, it's only a backup but on the other hand, I will use it both home and live so it have to be ok, what do you think about the JP100D? they sure look awesome, I wonder how they feel and sound.
I'm sure it's not like the US made JP's but overall….?
Anybody had a chance to compare these with a US one?
Thanks.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I dont know, ive never played the jp100 but the ax40 is scary close feeling to a real axis, after a few small mods.

 

[Svava]

Hi guys.
its maybe not the most objective place to ask but anyway….
There are new Sterling JP100D which is a low budget clone (Indonesia made) of the JP guitars, 6, BFR etc.
I have a JP6, it's one of the best guitars I owned, specially the neck, it feels like it was cut to my size.

Anyway, I'm looking for a good backup but don’t want to spend too much, it's only a backup but on the other hand, I will use it both home and live so it have to be ok, what do you think about the JP100D? they sure look awesome, I wonder how they feel and sound.
I'm sure it's not like the US made JP's but overall….?
Anybody had a chance to compare these with a US one?
Thanks.

The most obvious difference to me between the JP 6 and the 100D is in acoustic resonance and in the feel of it.

The 100D is just nowhere near as resonant as a JP 6 or any of the actual music man guitars. You don't feel that it's as alive in your hands.

It also feels a bit stiffer. I found bends a bit more difficult on the 100 and the neck, while extremely similar, just wasn't QUITE the same.

It's also not as dynamically versatile as the JP 6 was, some of the things I was doing with my hands were lost somewhere between my fingers and the speaker.

But I don't think it's really fair to compare those two guitars. Even though the 100D is a sort of clone of the actual JP it's still more comparable to like an Ibanez Premium (maybe even prestige) guitar. I've owned a Ibanez 970 actually and I prefer the Sterling's to it even though they're way cheaper. They just feel better and have a more satisfying tone.


I haven't had a 100D in my possession for long enough to talk about tuning stability or overall durability, but based on what I've seen I'd say it'll meet your needs. But I guarantee if you have them both at home you'll rarely pick up the sterling when an actual EBMM is at hand.

Maybe you could consider a JP6 without the Piezo option or something. I've seen some of those go for as low as 1000 used or 1500.

The Guitar Center in Arlington Texas has a red JP6 that just got brought in- I played it a few days ago. They're selling it for 1400 and I could find no flaws with it if you want to consider that.

I hope you find closure on this!!

 

[zzomer]

Thank you very much, this is the type of info i needed

 

[PaoloGilberto]

well I have both, JP6 from 2009 and JP100D from Febr 20th )
I will write my review here after a while , but until then:
-first JP100D is based on the “Ball Family Reserve” Model JP6 and not on the JP as you may already know and we are talking about a price gap of 2000 $ at least, so how rational or fair is to compare them
-I can't talk about the BFR JP6 compared to JP100D cause I have only the JP6
-compared to the JP 6 the quality of the JP100D is very good, but attention to details and craftsmanship is for sure higher on the JP6
- on my JP100D fretwork is very good, paintjob is great, but if you are picky you will still see the a difference for sure compared to a JP
- sound is great for sure , the only thing I've noticed the dynamics thing stated above and that harmonics are not so easy to get on the JP100D as on my JP6 and maybe the sustain is a little lower
- biggest difference in my opinion would be the hardware: nut, pots, switch, tremolo system...the tunning keys look/feel very very much like on the JP
- nut is not compensated and nut slots are not cut deep enough like on the JP - you can easily adjust that with patience
- pots and switch are not high quality for sure but that is a 30 $ investment to have quality ones if you feel the need
- tremolo system: well the tunning stability on this 3 weeks in my opinion is just as good as on my JP. after a good setup, lube on the nut, knife edges, studs tunning stability is similar to my JP. the thing I dislike most is the fact the tremolo arm is not pop in style like the JP. you push it in and it's hold by a screw which if you don't want the arm move in it's pocket 1-2mm before the whole tremolo starts to move you will have tightened pretty hard and then the arm will be stiff and practically a major inconvenient in removing it from picking area after you used the tremolo
- the overall feel of the tremolo is OK but the way the tremolo arm was designed is a major disappointment for me at least. a pop in style would have been heaven. I said the tremolo feel is OK but nowhere as smooth as the JP6 tremolo. this is the biggest difference that you can not easily change it after purchase
- the neck is very comfortable, for me actually I could say that after 3 weeks seems more comfortable the JP6 neck. this is stated to have 42 mm at nut , I measured it and re-measured it , has 41 mm at nut and 42 mm at 1st fret. the JP6 has 43 mm at 1st fret. the the 100 D is a D shape for sure, very thin, but has more shoulders compared to the JP6 which is more of a C to D shape. to me having small hand is very comfortable
- is the JP100D worth the money ? well I will just talk about the US prices ) and the answer is YES. you can buy it between 650 $ - store displayed model mint condition and 829 $ new unboxed
If it had the pop in style tremolo arm maybe I would think twice if I need a JP6 (currently I'm just a home player, no band now) and if it had the whole JP6 tremolo system I would think 100 times if I would spent 3 times more on a JP )
but then again, if they would make them just as the JP6 who would pay 3-4 times the price )
they have a very fair price in US, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one...and as I said I did not hesitate even if I live in Europe and bought it mainly just to have the chance to compare them )
on Saturday I've checked a few ibanez guitars at a local guitar store...and in the same price range they are pure crap , made in indonesia also btw
they can easily be compared with Ibanez premium that's it for sure ...if not actually with Prestige, leaving apart the double locking tremolo systems on those which is very appreciated by many
if it is just a back up guitar and don't wanna spend more money on a JP definitely it's a great choice.
anyway in US you can return the product for a full refund, so I'll go for it before even asking ) as I said I did it already and I live in Europe and the cost with VAT and customs and shipping is almost 50 % more than US price (EU stores sell it for 1745 $!!!) and not regret it

 

[zzomer]

wow, a big thank you sir!
I know what im ordering now.......

 

[dedeman]

I wonder if the wood is the same in both. That would be my main concern. I assume the US made guitar manufacturers would pick a good wood for their xxxx $ worth of instruments. On the other hand, the trees are the same species and they might give acceptable wood for a cheaper instrument as well. I don't think wood selection process would go that low for a lower priced instrument. I would also like to have a good neck with stainless steel frets. the electronics and mechanics are all replaceable.

 

[zzomer]

2 very important things in wood selecting are how dry is it and the way the fibers run on the piece, that’s way most common option for the body is "book matched" so you have a "mirror" picture of the fibers from the center and out.
I don’t think they do that with the sterling.

 

[GHWelles]

I think I sold one of those today. I went to the local guitar center and tried out the JP100D hanging on the wall. It was set up well and very playable. This guy was walking over telling his son . . "the most important thing is the way the guitar feels when you pick it up and whether it is comfortable, not how it looks. So I turned and handed him the JP100D and said "here you go." I told him I had an EBMM JP6 and this was a quality licensed version and feels pretty close. Hi tried it and said "wow, thanks!".