Guitar Journal: Ibanez Tube Screamer Watch & More!
Josh Scott's custom Bilt guitar goes mainstream
5,0 / 5,0 | 
This week, we check out the latest Ibanez release (and it is not a guitar or a pedal), the limited-edition Tube Screamer watch! Next, we take a brief look at the Josh Scott Signature JHS Relevator, which is about to drop. Finally, we check out the Gibson 1968 T-Top Reissue humbuckers, which came out today!
Guitar Journal
Tube Screamer Watch
The Ibanez Tube Screamer is arguably one of the most iconic and well-known guitar pedals of all time. Now, it’s a stompbox you can literally set your watch to, well, not really an effects pedal, but it is certainly a watch!
Ibanez has teamed up with Japanese watchmaker Citizen to release the Tsuno Chrono Custom Tube Screamer watch.
Tone Time
The watch’s distinct green dial is inspired by the finish of the premium, hand-wired TS808HWV2 pedal. To complete the guitar-gear aesthetic, the three auxiliary chronograph dials directly mimic the pedal’s famously simple layout, even wearing the labels Drive, Tone, and Level.
Limited Run
Ibanez notes that the design “seamlessly blends the exhilaration of shaping guitar sounds with everyday fashion,” which sounds like extreme marketing hype for a green watch, but then I’m not a ‘watch person’, so what do I know?
Price & Availability
This release is ultra-limited. Only 500 units are being made, and they are strictly exclusive to the Japanese market. It is aimed at collectors, so if you like Tube Screamer pedals and telling the time, it could be for you. Unfortunately, they aren’t including a pedal in the deal, and so it is of zero interest to me.
The Ibanez x Citizen Tube Screamer watch is available now for ¥44,000
Josh Scott Signature JHS Relevator
The Josh Scott Signature JHS Relevator is about to be released and recreates his custom boutique guitar as a more affordable option. This one is made in Korea by World Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. and has not been handmade in the US, etc., making it much more affordable at $1,599.
My understanding is that the first 100 guitars are available only to JHS email list subscribers.
Retro Styling
It has a retro-modern aesthetic featuring an alder body finished in high-gloss Arctic White, paired with a classic medium-C hard maple neck and a pearloid block-inlaid rosewood fretboard.
What truly sets the JHS Relevator apart is its highly unconventional, multi-pickup configuration and specialized electronics layout; it is equipped with a Firebird humbucker in both the neck and bridge positions, a Jaguar pickup in the middle-bridge slot, and a classic Lipstick pickup in the middle-neck position.
Kill Switch!
Hardware includes an Adjust-o-matic roller bridge and Jazzmaster-style vibrato. Perfect for most styles of music that require a subtle shimmer, rather than locking trem divebombs.
Players can sculpt experimental, shoegaze, and indie tones using an intricate array of controls, including a 3-position blade switch, dual red slider switches for middle pickup selection, and a white slider kill switch.
I’m not 100% sure if these will make it outside the US marketplace yet, and exactly how many will be built, but it looks like fun. It has a similar vibe to the custom guitars that John Squire played in the Stone Roses, with that offset body design.
Gibson T-Tops!
Finally, Gibson has today released their new 1968 T-Top Reissue humbucker pickups. These models are based on their late sixties models and were used throughout most of the 1970s as well.
Rock Classics
Manufactured from 1966 to 1979, original Gibson “T-Top” humbuckers earned their nickname from a “T” marking used to guide factory assemblers. Known for a brighter, tighter, and more aggressive bite than 50s PAFs, these pickups fueled the legendary tones of Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and Pete Townshend.
Alnico 5
The new Gibson 1968 T-Top Reissue perfectly recreates that coveted vintage vibe without the collector’s price tag. Built for any position with unpotted Alnico 5 magnets, double-black or double-white bobbins, and a 7.5k DC resistance, this 2-conductor reissue is described as delivering authentic, hard-rocking 70s punch straight out of the box.
Old original T-Top humbuckers have shot up in price over the last 5 – 10 years, so these new official Gibson recreations are a more affordable solution for anyone seeking that rocking ’70s tone.
Price & Availability
You can order them now at Thomann for $194/£175/€199, and they should ship soon.
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