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Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

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  • #1

    Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

    So I stopped by Guitar Center Carle Place today, and the Guitar Tech was setting up a brand new Ibanez Jem 70V... Just like any other one, but the tech was sweating setting it up and taking alot more care than I usually see. I chatted with him a little bit, and he said it was Vai's personal guitar, just shipped from Ibanez that he was setting up for Vai- the difference being all of Vai's personal Jems come stock with the Ibanez Backstop (tremstop), which he showed me through the trem cover.

    Don't know if it's true, but the case had Steve Vai marked on it, and the tech sure believed he was setting it up for Vai, and doing some insane tricks to test run the guitar.
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  • #2
    Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

    I was in a shop a few days ago and saw this new Jem hanging on a wall; looked ok.

    Yes, Vai does use the Backstop in his guitars. I don't think the item has come stock in a regular Ibanez guitar for 20 years or more.

    So, you gotta be Vai for a tech to show a modicum of care towards your guitar :P.
    Originally posted by dominus
    Your rant would sound better with an A8 magnet, it'll beef it up some without sacrificing some of the whine.

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    • #3
      Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

      Isn't the 70V the Premium Series (Indonesian) one? I'd never heard of him using anything other than his Prestige signature guitars.
      http://www.six-string-samurai.com - Gear reviews for and by the terminally GAS-afflicted.

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      • #4
        Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

        I guess I'm wrong with the model number- it was the 7VW maybe- the white one, gold hardware, pearloid pick guard, etc... The guitar case did say J Custom Prestige, so maybe he gets the ones made by J Custom, a step up from Prestige...

        It was brand new out of the box

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        • #5
          Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

          Ah right, I'm guessing that would be a 7VWH. Lovely guitars, definitely my favourite of the Vai JEM range.
          http://www.six-string-samurai.com - Gear reviews for and by the terminally GAS-afflicted.

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          • #6
            Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

            I can't think of any reason Ibanez would send a guitar meant for Steve to Guitar Center unless it was meant for a promo of some kind. Steve's personal guitars usually go directly to either Steve or Thomas Nordegg (Steve's tech).

            All Jem (and all Prestige) models in a "Team J Craft" Prestige case.
            -Chris

            Originally posted by John Suhr
            “Practice cures most tone issues”

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            • #7
              Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

              Ibanez was trolling the tech for sh!ts and giggles LOL.

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              • #8
                Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                Originally posted by tc View Post
                Ibanez was trolling the tech for sh!ts and giggles LOL.
                lol. Now that would have been funny.

                I have my doubts as to this theory that Vai's guitar would have made it to a GC...but ultimately, you never know.
                "The amp has been making a lot of noise and acting funky, perhaps it may be aware of the amount of rock it's about to be punished with" ~GearMannDude
                "30 days of dating doesn't seem like cheating. It seems like legitimate playing the field, and you happened to catch a pop fly..." ~Aceman
                "If all else fails, wank, fall asleep, come back to it the next day." ~GuitarStv
                "The crowd has no perception of tone...only timing and flow." ~Glassman

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                • #9
                  Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                  Originally posted by Markk View Post
                  lol. Now that would have been funny.

                  I have my doubts as to this theory that Vai's guitar would have made it to a GC...but ultimately, you never know.
                  I have no doubt the tech believed it was Vai's personal guitar, but again, I had my doubts. Steve originally came from Carle Place but lives in Cali now, I didn't see any promos/store appearances scheduled for him in the near future. For all we know he could be giving it away to a kid in the Make a Wish foundation.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                    Originally posted by jmh151 View Post
                    For all we know he could be giving it away to a kid in the Make a Wish foundation.
                    That is what I was wondering. Steve is always doing something charitable that involves guitars or gear.
                    -Chris

                    Originally posted by John Suhr
                    “Practice cures most tone issues”

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                    • #11
                      Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                      Originally posted by Ayrton View Post
                      That is what I was wondering. Steve is always doing something charitable that involves guitars or gear.
                      Another reason he's one of my favorites.
                      “Practice cures most tone issues” - John Suhr

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                      • #12
                        Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                        Originally posted by Markk View Post
                        lol. Now that would have been funny.

                        I have my doubts as to this theory that Vai's guitar would have made it to a GC...but ultimately, you never know.
                        Doesn't he have a tech at his disposal full-time?


                        Originally posted by nedcronin
                        Pretty much what you suggested Ink.
                        Originally posted by metalmachine
                        dont worry about it bro. even if we dont like it...... were just internet ppl. not real ppl. more like a hulicination of a mythical forest creature.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                          About 15 years ago I was in a buddy's shop. His shop did all the work for guitar center. It was a slow day & it was he, one tech and me. The phone rang and it was the Guitar Center in Carle Place(Long Island where Steve grew up). They needed Steve's Jem setup. He had come home to spend some time with is folks and needed some work done on two guitars. Well both of the guys were very busy working on stuff, so I volunteered to go get the guitars and bring them to the shop. the only instruction they got was to set the action as low as possible. I brought both guitars back to the shop and the guys immediately started working on them. One was his famous white Jem with EVO inscribed behind the whammy. the other one was a 7 string. When they were all done my buddy handed me the Jem and asked me to play it and see what I thought. I had my Strat with me & believe me I was looking forward to playing it even though I am more of a blues player. I plugged it into a Tweed bassman and the guitar really sounded like crap by comparison to my Strat. But in defense of this guitar I was playing it straight into a bassman not through an assortment of signal processing like Steve would have used. Once we made a few more adjustments we headed back to guitar center. Steve wasn't there so the manager was going to call him. The Guitar Center was closing so the guitars got locked in the store, but Steve did show up and we did get to meet him, but he couldn't get the guitars because the alarm had already been set and the manager could not reset it or something, so he would have to come back in the morning to get his guitars. He seemed like a really cool guy and really down to earth. he was pleasurable to talk with and was sincere in his questions/answers that we bounced back and fourth. It was a pretty cool day all in all. the thing that I remember most is how crappy that guitar sounded through the bassman... just goes to show you how important effects are to a shredder!

                          "So you will never have to listen to Surf music again" James Marshall Hendrix
                          "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace."-Jimi Hendrix

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                          • #14
                            Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                            The guitar tech was playing the guitar through a Boss GT100- basically because the boss pedal demo section was right next to his workstation. The tech sure got it playing well though the processed high gain, though the guitar did sound too compressed.

                            Overall the guitar seemed a slight step up from a normal Jem- gold plating looked richer, and white paint looked brighter

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                            • #15
                              Re: Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem

                              dunno about you guys, but GC is the last place I think of to take an axe to have anything done to it, and I'm a nobody! (maybe some have awesome techs?)
                              Last edited by DankStar; 12-21-2012, 05:03 PM.

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