Ibanez Nita Strauss Signature JIVA10 Electric Guitar - Deep Space Blonde Reviews

I got this guitar because I had to send back an Ibanez jem that had problems and I'm actually so glad I got this guitar. I had it plekd and set up at sweetwater and when I got this guitar it was absolutely PERFECT. I have 20 other guitars and this is by far my favorite now. I've had it for a few months now so it's not just because it's my new guitar. I definitely waited a while to see if my love wore off and it hasn't it's only grown stronger. The neck is perfect for my hand and very fast. The perfect shred machine. A very wide variety of different tones. excellent clean sound and even better when you crank it up with lots of dirt. I definitely recommend this guitar and definitely recommend getting the plek and set up by sweetwater. I couldn't be happier with mine

Love this guitar. Well worth the wait. Comfortable, lightweight, incredibly well balanced. Tone is amazing. Pickups thick and crunchy. Finish is gorgeous. Love the Jivas so much I own two -- the 10 and the Jr. (couldn't resist the blue). It's obvious Nita and Ibanez aren't willing to compromise, even on the "affordable" version. They're both great guitars. Kudos also to my Sweetwater sales agent, Ben Nielsen. Dude has helped me into my own personal museum of great instruments, from PRS to Jackson to Ibanez to ESP and beyond. Love Sweetwater, love this guitar.

My JIVA-X just arrived today. That's right JIVA-X not JIVA-10.I HAVE TO USE THIS SITE TO DO THE REVIEW. NO IMAGE OF JIVA-X. HANDS DOWN THE BEST S-SERIES I HAVE EVER OWN. THANKS TO SEAN GEYER/SALES ENGINEER FOR SITTING IT UP. IT'S IN LIMITED QUANTITY SO IAM SO GLAD I JUMP ON IT. I WAITED 6 MONTHS. AND IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.THANK YOU SWEETWATER.

I had been in the market for a new guitar and actually wanted a Les Paul. Several years ago my 80s Les Paul Custom was stolen. I really wanted to replace it. I ventured into several different music stores and tried about every model Les Paul made. I didn't find any of them that played like my old one, and to be honest the quality just isn't what it used to be. I am very familiar with Nita Strauss and have been aware of her signature models. I actually seen a Jiva 10 hanging on the wall when trying out the Les Pauls and asked to demo it. After playing the Jiva 10 I fell for it. The ebony fretboard feels awesome, and the neck profile is perfect. With the pickups and selector you can get any sound you need. The guitar is not heavy as it weighs around 7 pounds. No neck dive because it has perfect balance. The tremolo stays in tune and I believe out performs any Floyd Rose I ever owned. The finish is amazing and a photo doesn't do it justice. I have never even been an Ibanez fan, but this guitar has made me become one. I also said once that I would never have another signature model of anyone because I wanted to have my own guitar with nobody's name on it but the manufacturer. I'll have to say that Nita helped Ibanez design the most perfect guitar for me. I am very pleased with my new Jiva 10. Thank you to my Sweetwater rep for helping me through my purchase and for the high resolution photos that he sent of the guitar I picked out. That is what is great about Sweetwater, if they have 10 guitars available of the guitar you want you can see all 10 and select the one that you want. This guitar will not disappoint.

This guitar is nothing short of amazing and one of the most versatile guitars I have played. This can do everything from country twang to shredding metal. The Pandamonium pickups are clear but can dial up the gain when needed. It's super comfortable to play, and when its set up correctly, it's hard to even knock it out of tune. It's my #1 guitar in one of my bands that has a lot of different guitar tones in the songs. The Jiva can play them all without me having to switch guitars.

This is a beautiful guitar, very well built and can not wait to start shredding with it !

Thanks again to Sweetwater and IsRael !

This guitar is incredibly beautiful and amazing to play. I knew I wanted something special, and it needed to check a few boxes on my list of wants. But, I got so much more than I bargained for. This is my new favorite axe and it is so nice to play! The action is right on and balanced perfectly. The tone is commanding and bright. The lightweight design is fantastic on the shoulders and back. If you're looking for a sexy guitar that is great to play and sounds unbelievably awesome, look no further than Nita's signature Ibanez JIVA-10! Thanks so much to my reliable and knowledgeable sales consultant, Ryan Sloan. He's the best!

Ok...I waited for 2 months for this guitar to arrive. It was worth it. Thanks to my support guy Ian, he was very patient with me when i became impatient and i thank him. This guitar is the best one i have ever played. I have had it a week and can't put it down. I play a bit of everything from country/gospel to zzTop to ozzy...it sounds amazing on all of them. The play is so sweet. It looks amazing and is so light i almost flung it across the room the first time i picked it up. I can't even begin to describe how great this thing plays and sounds. I've tuned it once this week and it's still in tune and i have bombed like crazy. Wow...oh...Wow. It's almost perfect. I would have liked locking tuners and straplocks on it but these are simple upgrades. Thanks Ian for all your help you did a great job.

I been playing off and on over 20+ years guitar, piano, bass ukelele, etc. I have always had hand me downs or student or used instruments. I just had surgery and was between guitars. My RG broke, and I'm waiting for another guitar I ordered to come in stock. So bored at home, i called Sweetwater, I knew what I had in mind. Their guitar gallery allowed me to picked to very wood pattern I love. When I recieved that box, I waited the 24 hours acclimate period and opened the box like a kid on Christmas day. I was blown away by the meticulous attention to detail with this axe. The binding is layered. The neck binding with the wood sandwiching the white is so sexy. All the signature qualities about this piece; the pick ups, covers, frets, inlays..all done so well. I can't believe what I hot for the price. This really lives up to its expectations. Ty James Wroblewski the Sweetwater sales engineer who helped me. Best service from picking it out, shipping to my hands.

First of all, I wanted to thank Ben Rys for all of his help.

This is my new favorite guitar. Its thin, lightweight, and sounds incredible. And just look at it. After 7 fenders and a schecter, this is my first Ibanez and now I feel like I'll never go back. I'm already looking at cheaper models for my son. I'm seriously blown away by the quality and how easy it is to get speed anywhere on the neck. I called a friend immediately so he could hear this thing. I said, after 20 years of playing fenders, I was a little concerned about the neck but this just feels right. At least now I don't have to play Cannibal Corpse on a super strat...

Have to say I'm very pleased with this guitar. It's my first Ibanez and she's a beauty. Definitely a fast guitar which is good as I'm just getting back into jamming. I was always a rhythm player but have been striving to be both lead as well as rhythm now. I have to say I look forward to picking this axe up All the time.

I agree with all the praise this guitar gets in the other reviews here. I've known and loved Ibanez guitars since the late seventies and this one just blows me away! Plays like a dream, love the inlay on the fretboard and the overall aesthetic of it, and although it rocks hard I have been playing it clean most of the time since I got it last week and I am loving the sound of the pickups. Stays in tune solidly and I love how thin the body is. I think this will go down as one of the best guitars in the modern history of solid bodies. I normally play partscasters spec'd and assembled to my personal likes but this guitar is going to get regular use in my music. Nita Strauss and Ibanez were the perfect match.

Amazing! Light, fast and beautiful. it is every bit a 3 or 4 grand prestige at 1/2 the price. Absolutely stunning.
Odd fact :In Hinduism Jiva is a living being, or any entity imbued with a Life force. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit jivás, with the root to live to be ALIVE! Well that what this piece of art wants to live so let it :)

So far my favorite guitar.....so fun to play...hard to quit!!! The finish is amazing!! No imperfections anywhere!! Stays in tune even after dive bombing lol. I love the ebony fretboard with the ekg on the frets...looks awesome! The fret markers glow really do glow in the dark. The pickups have alot of punch...and this guitar also has the best clean sounds I've heard yet!!! Big thankyou to Nita Strauss for her jiva and Mr clapper at Sweetwater...you rock!!!!

This is my first purchase with Sweetwater. My rep Josh Lively was great. I originally purchased a different guitar , wasn"t happy, josh took care of it, sent it back abd purchased this amazing guitar. I have numerous ESP"s, BC Rich, PRS but nothing shocked me more than tbis guitar. It sounds amazing! It plays beautifully, its so thin & light. I thought this guitar might be a little girlish cause of Nita Strauss but no way, its perfect & love showing it off

Out of my 20 or so guitars collected since I started playing in 1975, this is the best instrument I own. There is something to be said for an ebony neck that gives a great bend and fast action. I met Nita Strauss at Gearfest and she showed me the features of her signature guitar. The pickups are phenomenal, I love the Purpleheart spine, and even the glowing feet edge markers give Nita's Jiva an edge. I always wanted a Jem, but I love my Jiva even more.

I chose this guitar with all the helps from the Sweetwater folks. It is an incredible electric guitar (especially if you are a fan of Santana). Everything is wonderful from the look, the touch & feel, and the sounds when you are soloing. I can not say enough but thanks to Sweetwater for how they prep up this guitar.

Sincerely.

The sound, playability, and appearance of this guitar are amazing! Nita didn't just design a guitar for herself, she designed a guitar that everyone will love.
This guitar is absoltely beautiful. From the Deep Space Blond finish to the beaten path inlays to the purple heart stripe, and even the hardware , this guitar is just stunning. The chargeable luminescent lumilays are a really cool feature. Big help in low light conditions.
Playabilty is great. Very comfortable to play either seated or standing. Really thin and very lightweight. The Nitro Wizard neck is really fast, almost too fast. I find I have to concentrate a little more because if not I'll fly right of the fretboard on fast runs lol. The only slight complaint I would have is that it feels a little cramped in the higher fret areas as opposed to my Ibanez RG. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, just not as roomy as the RG that I've played for over 20 years.
The sound is incredible. It even sounds great unplugged. In fact it is much louder unplugged than my RG. Plugged in? Hold on to something because this thing rips. The pickups are great for any kind of sound you want. From beautiful cleans to searing shred. Even under heavy distortion they are incredibly clear and tight with lots of punch and great sustain. My RG has a Dimarzio X2N in the bridge which is an extremely hot passive pickup. I just knew when I pluged in the Jiva it wasn't going to be as loud, boy was I wrong. She is every bit as loud, I was really surprised.
The Edge Zero II trem is very responsive. You can definitely pull off any whammy trick you want and it somehow stays in tune. The only tuning stability issues I've had were just from going into a different temperature environments. But after she gets acclimated it's fine. The screw on style bar is nice because you can set the tension and it stays where you want it. Also if you pick up on the bar and lift the whole guitar up and shake it you don't have to worry about the bar popping out.
In other words I really love this guitar! I highly recommend it to anyone, especially fans of Ibanez or super starts in general. It is a phenomenal instrument. I swear by Japanese made Ibanez's but can't say enough good things about this Indonesian girl. Just an absolutely great guitar. Check one for yourself you will not be disappointed.
In regards to service Sweetwater can not be beat. Jed and the whole team are without equal. I ordered mine with the pro setup and it was well worth the money. It was packed and protected very well and arrived fast and safely. All around a great experience.

This guitar really lives up to the hype. Amazing pickups, massive sustain, amazing sounds from rip your face off metal to very clean. I'm trying to think of accolades that haven't been given to this guitar already, and I'm coming up short. The only thing that I would really address is some negative comments about the finish on the guitar. I'm not sure where these people bought their Jiva, but it certainly was not Sweetwater.
Fit and finish are flawless, I cant bounce light off the guitar at any angle and find fault with it.
Special thanks to Mike Grebe, who hooked me up with one, but also reminded me not to open the
box for 24 hours as to let the guitar warm slowly to the warm studio. Thanks Mike, you guys at Sweetwater are the best!

First of all a special thank you to my Rep Bart Good for his service and professionalism provided for this purchase. Also special shout outs to the guitar techs for the 55 point inspection on the guitar. It was flawless and ready to go out of the case. Finally to the photographer for the professional pics sent just prior to shipping. Great job to all. It's not the easiest guitar to photograph.
Ok here we go. As I slowly opened the case I could not
help to think if only Nita could be here to witness the new addition to my guitar family. Low and behold as I opened the case there she was. A 8x10 autographed glossy photo. You take what you can get. After carefully removing the photo the beauty of this guitar really stands out. The Beaten Path EKG fingerboard inlay on the Ebony Fretboard is mind blowing. As you follow it down to the black and gold humbucker pickup covers it just keeps getting better.
The first thing you'll notice as you slowly lift the guitar out of the case is how light it is.7lbs. The body style and design is also beautiful and mind blowing. Already had my guitar strap ready to go and checked the strings for tune and very little tuning was required. Now for the moment of truth. How does it sound.
The Pandemonium DiMarzio pickups for the Neck and bridge are hot and deliver incredible sound. The sustain you get is off the hook and will only end when you end it yourself. I could go have a cup of Jo and it continues. The siren sounds I'm getting just make playing this guitar more fun. In all five blade positions you will not be disappointed. The middle true velvet single coil pick up is a clear as I have ever heard. Just a beautiful sound.
The nitro neck makes playing the JIVA like a hot knife going through butter. The ease and speed you get is incredible. There were times I thought I had to stop to see if my finger tips were on fire. They weren't. They were just smoking. Ha ha.
It's that fast.
The guitar comes with D'Addario 9/42 strings. They are good strings. I paid for them so I used them for almost three weeks while I broke in the guitar. Nice sound but it's time to change out to NYXL strings. Oh yeah.
This guitar has increased my speed incredibly and when I switch off to my Steve Via Signature JEM 77 P Blue Floral I notice a significant change in my speed.
I really enjoy playing my JIVA 10 in every way. Absolutely no regrets whatsoever. One last note. The body was flawless From head to toe. A great addition to the family. You will enjoy this guitar. When you check out the guitar on the site scroll down to the picture of Nita holding the guitar. You'll see what I'm mean in how it looks.
Thanks again Sweetwater.

First off a special thank you to Bart Good for his assistance on this purchase. Pure professionalism all the way. Also a special thanks to guitar techs for 55 point inspection. Great job to all.
Received my JIVA 10 September 11. I was very anxious upon its arrival. Always hope to receive guitars without shipping damage. No problems. As I took the guitar out of the box I put it on the sofa and slowly opened the case to view a masterpiece. As I was opening the case I started thinking
wouldn't it be nice to have Nita here and low and behold there she was . A very nice 8x10 autographed glossy pic.
Now for the guitar itself. First off the photo you see on Sweetwaters web page does not do this guitar justice.. The colors like clouds expand so much further across the body. The beauty of the guitar stands out immediately. The fretboard heartbeat inlays are a conversation piece when I shared with other guitar players.
Next removing it from the case. The first thing you will notice is how light this guitar is. This makes very comfortable to play for an extended period of time standing up and no pressure on your neck or shoulder. The finish was perfect on mine.
So how does it perform. Over the past few weeks I've played this ax through a Fender Mustang 3 Amp, a Blackstar core I'd 150 stereo Amp, and finally my Peavey Classic 50. The sounds are phenomenal. The DiMarzio Pandemonium Humbucker pickups for bridge and neck are hot. The sounds eminating from them exceeded my expectations. The DiMazio True Velvet Single cool is exceptional clean. Just beautiful. I have got yo mention just how fast the Nitro Wizzard neck is. Between the Neck and Ebony Fretboard your fingers will move effortlessly from on end to another. So smooth is this fretboard the best description is like a hot knife moving through butter. You're going so fast you feel like blowing off the flames on your finger tips. Yes it is that smooth and fast.
Insofar as effects, the sustain you're able to achieve is off the hook. You could wash your car and when finished still have the sustain going. Once you start mastering this ax the sirens you are able to produce are just amazing. One sound i use that many like is the Neck Humbucker with blade to 5th position and tone completely off. Its a mix if Claption and Santana combined sound. Really cool.
The guitar comes with D'Addario XL 9/42 strings. These are decent strings and since I paid for them decided to use them for 2 weeks during the break in period. I STRONGLY suggest after this period to change theses out for the best strings on the market. NYXL 's. All the guitarist I know, including Nita Strauss love these strings. For an extra bonus I highly recommend NOMAD STING FUEL cleaner and string conditioner. You will be amazed how your strings feel. Wipe down your strings top and bottom after you play and apply. Do this everytime.
Finally this guitar is made just as much for men as women.
I go back and forth between my JIVA 10 Signature and my Steve Via Signature JEM 77 P Blue Floral . Truly the best of both worlds but because of playing the JIVA my speed has increased phenomenally.
This guitar is fun to play, and puts out great sounds. If you want a better look at it's best go to You Tube NAMM 2018 Nita Strauss. Enjoy your purchase.
One last mention. The covers for the Pandemonium Humbuckers , black and gold, really pop when you see them.

Received mine last Tuesday...quality build.
A modern metal guitsr...those picdk ups are out of this world.

The guitar has low fast action, smooth body design with a large array of tones for all styles. It is hands down one of the best guitars I own.

I like is guitar I have to go back to playing guitar 20and I love it so much

With out a doubt, the most comfortable guitar in my collection. Hats off to Nita and Ibanez!

This is a great guitar and I would recommend it to anyone playing any kind of music the pickups are awesome the action is awesome everything about it is awesome with the exception of the Finish for this price I would expect the Finish to be flawless which it isn't Ibanez needs to to step up the quality control on the finishes

This is the 4th Ibanez guitar I've owned, and by far the highest priced. I currently have 2 RG models that were 1/3 the price new as this.

I ordered the JIVA10, and after waiting 5 months to get this it I have to say the quality is less than stellar. One finish flaw on the surface; not a huge deal but on a guitar in this price range it's quite sad. Also, the tone control has some resistance and doesn't turn smoothly. I've never had this problem with budget Ibanez guitars, Squiers, or really any guitars I've owned. Also, the trem is at a higher angle in the back than I'd expect.

The kicker is the gig bag. The earlier releases of these came with a nice poly-foam rectangular bag, where as mine came with a much cheaper gig bag that's lower quality than a Road Runner budget bag. With a guitar this thin and light, I'd never rely on a flimsy run-of-the-mill gig bag, so I'm guessing I'll have to get a better case.

I had played 2 of these at local shops before pulling the trigger here, and those didn't have the issues that this one does. I can live with these flaws, but really see no advantage to buying a higher-end Ibanez again.

Received this guitar about a month ago. Nice finish and very light. The neck is thinner and narrower than any other guitar I own. Very easy to play and fast. I am not sure if I like the 9's on it they are a little to flimsy for me. I will probably change to at least 10's when I replace them. After looking at the tremelo spring adjustment, when I change the strings I will probably have to add another spring because there is not much adjustment left with the 9's on.
The reason for the 4 stars:
The fret job was awful... The edges were not filed well at all. Out of the the 10 other guitars I own and most of them cheaper, this was the worst.
The volume knob sticks.
The guitar jack is so tight that I have to be careful unplugging the cable because I might pull it apart. I like the position of the jack though, I just think they should have routed it a little bigger to make it easier to unplug a cable.

Overall I would recommend this guitar to anyone especially new players because of how easy it is to play. I just think they should have paid more attention to some of the smaller fixable details.

First off let me say I love this guitar and my sales person Roq is fantastic. I buy pretty much everything that I buy new from him and he is awesome. Now, I have never owned an Ibanez because of the thin necks and the fact it is made in Indonesia. (Don't let that worry you) I am the owner of several EVH Wolfgangs, A Suhr Modern Pro and a Fender Ultra Deluxe Plus. All high-end guitars...all American made. I thought I would step outside of my comfort zone and try an Ibanez and I must say I was amazingly surprised. Because my playing style over the years has changed a bit the thin neck did not bother me at all, and surprisingly I found it comfortable and easy to play fast. This guitar is great looking, I love the slim body of the S series. The 1/4 jack at an angle on the front of the guitar....brilliant. The pickups...OMG...these things are smoking hot. So hot in fact I had to roll the gain down from my normal settings a bit. The pandemonium pickups absolutely rock. The ebony fretboard with the EKG inlay looks great and you can wail on the tremolo and it stays in tune. So why the 4 stars??? Well, the frets were trashed. I had to immediately take the guitar to a guy here in town that does amazing fret work. This is no doubt the worst fret job I have ever seen on a guitar that is over $1000.00. Actually I am a little amazed that it got passed Sweetwater 55 point inspection. So, right out of the gate i was out another $100.00 for fret work. Roq asked me to send it back and he would send me another but I was pretty sure it would be exactly the same and I know that I will be installing stainless on it very soon anyway. Regardless, do not let that dissuade you from getting this guitar. This thing is an absolute beast and it has already become one of my main guitars.

I have been playing strats, teles, 335s, and les pauls for many years, and wanted a more modern guitar for gigs I am doing with more modern bands. This guitar is exceptional in many ways: plays like a dream, beautiful finish, beautiful balance. Out of the box when I picked it up I couldn't find anything wrong with it. However, when I plugged it in I did have some issues. I used it for a gig recently and found that the pickup volume balance is all over the charts. The middle pickup has very low volume, whereas the humbuckers are very high gain. I couldn't find a good balance live, and my volume was all over the place. Pretty disappointing. If I went to the second, middle, or fourth position on the switch the guitar dropped out significantly. I tried adjusting the height of the pickups, but raising the center pickup made the cover come off and the humbuckers were already as low as they can go. Don't think I can really use this guitar live since its not that versatile, but it will probably be good for recording or for bands that are strictly metal. I would not buy this guitar if you are interested in using it for multiple genres.

First the good: This guitar is gorgeous in person. The pickups rock and are some of my best you can buy. I really like the versatility of the switching and middle pick up provides. The neck feels good; the dimensions are comfortable and fast as you could want

The bad: the fret finishing on this guitar is bad, I mean really bad. I adjusted the action to the same height ad my other guitars and its unplayable. The fifth fret is useless. Maybe I'm bitching, but for this price range it's inexcusable. The edges are sharp enough to cut you.


I started looking into reviews for modern Ibanez guitars and it seems to be a trend. I played some of Iron Label RG's and they are maybe even worse!

I tried contacting Ibanez... good luck. They straight out tell you on their they don't read the emails they receive. Try to call....pointless. It's one thing to ha e something make it out the door that's bad, but to not care is another.

Ibanez used to be a lot of guitar for the price,and they played awesome. Not anymore, it's a bummer...bigtime.

Sweetwater is the best guitar set up nicely
Service amazing problem was in the craftsmanship scratches in the frets. That's a no go sent back