THIS SPECIFIC IBANEZ BLACK DOG IS THE FIRST ONE RELEASED IN THE WORLD! I bought it from the G-Taranaki show which had it since 14 JULY 2008. I had it in my hands on the 16th of August and they didn't start shipping until late September! Mine has the case and the Certificate of Authenticity, as well as a letter from Ibanez congratulating me on being the first to purchase one! Confirmed off the initial production run for these rare collector guitars! I also have noticed that from all the photos I've seen of all other black dogs, they seem to have the blue squiggle above the trem cavity, mine appears to be the only one that doesn't! More (Older) information reproduced from Rich's Site ( http://www.ibanezrules.com/new/jsbdg.htm ): "THIS is the guitar I saw Joe play 20 years ago that turned me into the JS Junky I am today. Blackdog was the very first prototype JS that Joe used to decorate with colored metallic Sharpie markers as the mood struck him. It was immortalized when a picture of the freshly redrawn guitar was used on the back cover of FIABD, which has made it a favorite of long term Satch fans. Faithfully recreated by a Japanese doodler, this tribute is very accurate. So much so they went to the original photographer that shot the picture and got the original 4" x 5" negatives to make very clear enlargements for the artist to work from. Of course the graphic is under clear so you won't rub it off, but the doodles on the pickups and mounting rings, bar, fine tuners, and knobs isn't. Nearly dead on accurate in spec, Ibanez used the correct knob arrangement, and knobs, Silver Silk headstock logo, pearl dots, straight jack, black plastic p/u mounting rings, and the graphic is superbly done. The only minor inconsistencies I noticed were the JS Series moniker on the head instead of the original Roadstar Series [the original neck was a Korean neck from a Roadstar because at the time those were the only necks Ibanez was making with the "Strat" truss rod rout [skunk stripe] and straight headstock 1 piece neck], and the rubber grommet around the switch nut that H&S used on the Radius', JS3's, and first batch 4's and 5's. All Japanese built/assembled JS's got the all metal switch nut. It is sporting the current top mount locking nut and the trems now have the "Licensed" line ground out of the mold. Of course, it looks fantastic and I'VE GOT TO HAVE ONE! Limited production to 88 Worldwide, with 50 to HUSA. Only a couple available."