Whats with the Ibanez JEM's?

[skarhead]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Originally posted by 2Loud2Old:

Tell me something, if Steve pissed in the paint, would it be worth more, or less?

What about if he jacked off????

I guess I don't understand the thrill of a butt-ugly paint job with someone's body fluids.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">[img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
imho dna is not the best looking jem ever
created : the jem 10 and universe (black + mirror pickguard are )

[edgar allan poe]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Newc...

"And Basswood is inexpensive because it is plentiful, not because it can't be used for furniture and can't handle trans finishes.
Mahogany is used for furniture AND guitars, as is maple (saw some seriously nice flamed maple paneling in a house once - woulda kicked ass on a guitar), and those two are constantly going up in price for quality stock."

Its plentiful *because* it can't be used in furniture...if it were a useable wood it wouldn't be as readily available. I do have a beautiful set of Basswood blinds for my windows though...lol

[Venomous]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

I got $1600.00 for my 1990 Ibanez UV77MC if any wants to talk about resale value of the ugly swirled basswood guitars that are over priced.and it was a jap swirl not one of the ATD swirls.It had chips in the finish non original hardcase and the logo was chipped all to fuck to.
So if you have a chance to grab a Jem or Universe at a cheap price (yes it does happen) get it and resell it and double your money.

[slayer]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

I agree Venom, if you can get one for a steal, buy it and resell it and get a Jackson USA baby!! Jack.

[hippietim]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

I have one of the white JEM 7VWH models. It is alder (not basswood) and the fingerboard is ebony. Everything about the guitar is top notch. There are a lot of thoughtful design elements - great upper fret access, scalloped top frets for easy bending, nicely balanced and not too heavy or light, smart placement of output jack, cool monkey grip, cool whammy route, cool inlay.

As for the cost of a JEM, sure you're paying something extra for it because it's the Vai model. In the end you are basically paying the same amount as any other high-end guitar.

Simply put, these are wonderful guitars that are as well made as darn near any other guitar I've seen.

[GiantBaba]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Originally posted by Newc:
But the blood thing was a MAJOR selling point (i.e. heavily mentioned in the ads). I think Vai did say once he did it as a nod to KISS when they allegedly donated their blood to the red ink used to print their comic books, but even then it's just a marketing ploy, and anything that a marketing team dreams up to sell more of anything instead of relying on the quality of the product itself is a big fat waste IMO.
Advertising and hype are two different things.

Newc

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's a fair point, certainly. I wasn't aware of the ads, nor am I a huge Vai fan.

I like some of the JEMs, but I see both sides of the fence on these debates. But I think nearly every guitar is overpriced, so what do I know?

[edgar allan poe]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

"Simply put, these are wonderful guitars that are as well made as darn near any other guitar I've seen."

You should get out more often. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[RacerX]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Don't know why I'm defending the hippie, but Tim actually has quite the collection of different makes of guitars. So he may know what he's talking about! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[edgar allan poe]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

So do I...slayer can attest to this if anyone doubts me.

McInturff
McNaught
Baker
Heatley
Hamer USA
Jackson USA
Anderson
Heritage
Pensa-Suhr
Schecter USA
Gibson Custom Shop
Fender Custom Shop
Ibanez
PRS
Thorn
San Dimas Charvel

I have owned all of these guitars, and still own most. The Ibanez guitars ranked a distant last IMHO. I respect Tim's opinion...but I am *not* talking out of my ass. lol

[quiksilver]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Thanks to you guys for teaching me a few things about JEMs - specifically, the fact that you can, or could, get 'em with ebony or maple fretboards, and with alder bodies. Anyone know which ones came with ebony? Also, what's the dif between the full-out JEM and the cheaper 555 version (besides the vine not going all the way up the neck)?

[Chameleonfong]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Originally posted by quiksilver:
Thanks to you guys for teaching me a few things about JEMs - specifically, the fact that you can, or could, get 'em with ebony or maple fretboards, and with alder bodies. Anyone know which ones came with ebony? Also, what's the dif between the full-out JEM and the cheaper 555 version (besides the vine not going all the way up the neck)?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The fatal flaws are widely believed to be the TRS tremolo and Korean construction of the 555.

BTW, i did ,mentioned in my first post that i like Jem just can't afford to have them around [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Fong

[fuel0707]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Originally posted by quiksilver:
Thanks to you guys for teaching me a few things about JEMs - specifically, the fact that you can, or could, get 'em with ebony or maple fretboards, and with alder bodies. Anyone know which ones came with ebony? Also, what's the dif between the full-out JEM and the cheaper 555 version (besides the vine not going all the way up the neck)?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Check out the JEM fan site for all of your JEM info needs: JEM site It's the equivalent of the JCF for JEM fanatics. I think you'll find a lot of useful info there on model specs and lots of pictures.

[quiksilver]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Thanks, John. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[BTB007]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Wow, 2Loud...chill. And, I'm not ever going to sell my DNA. So, I don't really care what it will be worth in 20 years. I was just kidding!
To me, these swirls done by ATD are a work of art. I can sit and stare at it and am just amazed at its beauty.

[Newc]

Re: Whats with the Ibanez JEM\'s?

Originally posted by GiantBaba:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Newc:
Vai's blood in the DNA paintjob: Where's the big deal in that? It doesn't make you a better player, or make the guitar sound better, ergo it's pointless.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, by that logic, why have any paint at all? Why don't we all just play jazz boxes, with floating pickups('Cause, you know, pickups are magnetic, and that sucks tone, and having them affixed to that top sucks tone, blah blah blah)?

I was just pointing it out as interesting tidbit, not to make a "big deal", or even as the smallest selling point. I thought your comment was a teensy bit off-base. I'm not offended or angry in the slightest, I just wished to make my thoughts clearer... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">But the blood thing was a MAJOR selling point (i.e. heavily mentioned in the ads). I think Vai did say once he did it as a nod to KISS when they allegedly donated their blood to the red ink used to print their comic books, but even then it's just a marketing ploy, and anything that a marketing team dreams up to sell more of anything instead of relying on the quality of the product itself is a big fat waste IMO.
Advertising and hype are two different things.

Newc