Huge difference between these. The JR’s are decent for what they are, a $400 guitar aimed at preventing people from buying Chibanez stuff. You can put a Gotoh 1996t Floyd on them instead of that junk it comes with. My biggest gripe about them is the jatoba fingerboards which feel and look like dry, plastic rosewood. I’ve heard mixed reviews about them taking oil to darken them up and getting them feeling better.
If you want a more intermediate level guitar, the Premium would be the one to go for. It’s nearly identical to the Japanese version they sold for years (and the one in my profile pic), but the pickguard is shaped slightly differently and it’s made in Indo. The Premiums have been hit or miss, my biggest gripe about them is the bodies have felt plastic-y and the frets have been either outstanding or ‘Eeek, this needs work’. You get the ebony fingerboard and Edge trem.
That said, if you keep your eyes open, you can sometimes find a used MIJ JEM7V for the same price as a new Premium. There’s so damn many of them out there that not everyone thinks to sell them at the $3000+ mark many people are selling MIJ JEMs for.
