NGD...I have a woody..

Phantasmagoria

Phantasmagoria

watch where you point that sabre
Jem-1b.jpg





Been gassing for a Jem since about 1990....ver since Passion & Warfare :laugh2:

Oh...I mean yeah it's gimmicy, and it's all Floral & neon (not my thing).but eh....Mr. Steve Vai plays them :D

This one's not quite kosher...but it IS a Jem. A JEM77WDP "Woody". And it's more my thing visually...

I got it looking untouched..which it apparently was (dude who sold it to me said he "preferred fixed bridges so he'd hardly touched it.") Hehe..no problem at all. I paid less than half price with the soft/hard case it came with. They are Indo "Premium" models. Specs differ from other JEM's in that it's Indo not Fujigen, Mahogany w/ a rosewood top not Basswood .and it has an Edge Zero II (which was first introduced on this model) instead of the original Edge's that the MIJ JEM's are fitted with.

It also has a titanium reinforced 5 piece wizard neck, MOP "Tree Of life" inlay, poplar burl pickguard & matching headstock & the cool looking Dimarzio "Dark Matter" Vai steampunk-ish sig pup's that I'm dying to check out.

Of course this one arrived with a set of new strings that the seller said he just put on it prior to shipping one of which was broken when it arrived...so I'll have to wait till I replace that before I can play the axe and check the pups out. All I've done is plug into my amp & check that everything works..which it does :bigthumb:

Otherwise it's absolutely a work of art to look at ...easily the prettiest axe I own. And it's absolutely flawless as far as fit and finish goes (unlike the crappines that Top-Ls been having to deal with lately) The action seems to be insanely low. I'll only be able to check that later when all the strings are on..


Jem-2c.jpg



Jem-3.jpg
 
Man, I'm sitting around twiddling my thumb's cuz I've run out strings and need to wait for the new lot I just ordered to arrive :(

Here's a demo of the axe/Dark Matter 2 pup's by the man himself. I think, besides looking as sweet as it does, it sounds (and probably plays) absolutely awesome. Sucks that all I can do is sit around waiting for strings :cussing:


 
Since I can't play it...I polished it :p



F'd up string... (but what a sweetass headstock!)

JEM-5-Headstock.jpg



After a little spitting & toiling..

JEM-4-Half.jpg


Unfortunately my cheap phone cam sucks...but it has the most awesome dark streaks, highlights and wood grain... I can gape at it for hours :bigthumb:
 
Wow, that's nice!

How's the general fit and finish?

Personally, I'd much rather have a mahogany body like this than basswood.
 
Weird pickup covers. Do you have to dig out the crap that gets stuck in them, or is that a printed pattern?
 
Masta' C said:
Wow, that's nice!

How's the general fit and finish?

Personally, I'd much rather have a mahogany body like this than basswood.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm lucky to have snagged it in the condition (and for the price) that I did.

The fit and finish is absolutely flawless as far as I can see. Easily on par with the MIJ Prestige I bought last year..The fretwork is out of this world with the same perfect machine-rounded edges my Prestige has.

As for the neck....it's a work of art. Every shredder's wet dream :laugh2:

They say it's a "Premium wizard" neck. It looks /feels as thin as the neck on my old S540..very similar. Thinner and flatter at the back than the new Wizard III necks. Maybe it's the titanium rods that allows it to be that way? Anyway, It's insane. I play classical style (only thing I do classical style :laugh2:) w/ my thumb behind the neck and it feels super comfortable/perfect for me.

As for it being Mahogany...that's fine w/ me. The RG Prestige I bought last year was ash instead of the usual basswood & this one's a mahogany JEM. Seems like I'm destined to have atypical models. :lmao:
 
I got an "advance pack" of D'addario XT strings last night (only ones I could get quick on Amazon) cuz my usual EXL/regular D'add's would take a couple more days to arrive and I hate waiting...it came pretty late so I just swapped out the broken string...I'l swap out the rest sometime today hopefully..

Anyway, tuned up and, believe it or not ..yup.... I played it! :eek5:


The action was crazy low ..the lowest I've ever seen probably ...but w/ NO buzzing whatsoever! Pretty f'n incredible!

Obviously that's fun to play, but I'm going to raise it a bit and perhaps adjust pup height to taste later...so it's more what I'm used to :p

 
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I think the Gravity storm's are fantastic. Really responsive to picking with a lot of chirp/pick attack and those slightly nasally mids thst I love for solo's. Overall ..the axe sounds/plays as good as it looks :bigthumb:
 
GuitarStv said:
Weird pickup covers. Do you have to dig out the crap that gets stuck in them, or is that a printed pattern?
Click to expand...

I like weird :D

..& no they're lazer cut not printed. Though I would imagine a simple monthly or so brushing with a paint-brush should keep things in check. I actually do that to the pup's in all my guitar's if they're out on stands.. In the guitar case, it shouldn't be of any consequence. I mean it's 2017-18 model and was in MINT condition when i treachd me ..no crap in the pup's at all :D
 
And for once I did'nt have to adjust the bridge angle. It was perfect the moment I got that missing string back on. The seller had apparently set it up for E Flat tuning as well. All I had to do was plug in and *gasp* play :lmao:
 
Changed the rest of the strings & while I was about it..I gave the neck the Gorgomyte treatment as well. Not that it was in the least bit cruddy but now it's even shinier!

I thought I'd try a clip with the neck pup. Finally changed the backing track too. I enjoyed that last one, but eh, all good things come to an end. Time to move on.. :p

Pup needs a bit of height adjustment to fine-tune the top end...but it's super clear, present & articulate. Action's still super low. But I'll keep it this way for a while and see how things go...I like the ultra-shreddiness it brings to the table :p

Anyway...some ballady/mid-paced neoclassical stuff with the new strings...using the Gravity Storm II neck pup

 
Slow blues w/ the bridge & middle single coil. What a fantastic sounding axe (IMO)!!! Yep, even at half price it was'nt cheap...but man, this is what I call $$$ well spent :bigthumb:


The pup's are pretty much just out of this world. It's unbelievable how touch sensitive & responsive they are. Such a beautiful, warm, 3D sound...

Are they're HOT too...I love they way they feedback harmonically ..so sweet & musical. Lol, who says you need low output vintage pup's for touch sensitivity/responsiveness...
 
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Wieghs about 7.6 lbs so pretty average weight for a superstrat. I actually thought it felt lighter..

Another thing that jumps out at me is how amazing it works for tapping! I guess being Vai's sig axe that was always going to be a given :lmao:

The fingerboard seems a bit broader and perhaps even a touch flatter than all the Wizard neck's on my Saber's. That, coupled with the Gravity storm II pup's (just the right smooth compression, hotness & presence to cut through), make tapping a hell of a lot of fun :D
 
No point having a woody if you don't wank a little (or a lot) ..heh...

So ..w/ the middle pup only (for now) :lmao:


I'll say one thing...for a 23 yr old kid the previous owner really knew how to set up a guitar (or had it professionally done). This thing plays so effortlessly it's not funny. I think I'll just keep it set up the way it is. The tone obviously has'nt suffered from the ultra-low action at all & digging in/bending is'nt really a problem either ..so eh, why mess w/ it? :bigthumb:
 
Oops..my bad ^^ that's the neck + middle (notch) position...

Next up Bridge + middle (notch)... If you recognize the tune ...good on you :bigthumb:

 
Another mid-paced melodic/neoclassical track w/ the bridge pup...


It really has a unique sound & response...it's like it introduces a bit of harmonic feedback into every high note you bend...almost like a sustainer does..but it's more subtle and very musical. The highs are really what make these pup's special ..they're incredible...
 
Same track/another solo w/ my AMT Stonehead....





Yup, it's definitely the pup...it does the same feeding back thing here..
 
Neck pup does does the same cool feedback injection thing....

Again with my Stonehead..


Damn, I love soloing on guitars like this :smokin:
 
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