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Ibanez JEM7V Steve Vai Signature Electric Guitar White
Searched Ibanez JEM7V Steve Vai Signature Electric Guitar White in Reviews
Get one of these, with an ebony neck :)
| Sound |
The sound of this guitar is pretty much spot on what I'm looking for as a metal guitar. The harmonics are great, the treble and mids cut pretty well and the bottom end isn't over pronounced and tight. The original evo pick-ups are great and provide me with a very dynamic setup, the amount of sounds you can conjure up from them is versatile.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
This is amongst the best I've ever played in relation to finish, action and feel. The ebony board (02 model) on the guitar is spot on, there isn't much better out there. Only my seriously tightly bound rosewood VSBL slightly edges it out, otherwise my hands feel totally at home with this guitar, I couldn't ask for more. The dimensions of every aspect of the guitar are well thought out, fast and allow you the access to play where you need to play at devastating speed.
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| Reliability & Durability |
So far this guitar has taken a bit of a pounding but has come up trumps. The previous owner didn't exactly take massively good care of it but since I've had the instrument (about 4 years) I've taken care of it and it has lasted very well indeed, including being taken apart twice. The pickups and the term have mild tarnishing due to it actually being played, but all the electrics are sounds, the frets are still in good condition and the board is the best you can get.
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| Customer Support |
Never dealt with Ibanez so far, can't comment.
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| Liked about it |
What isn't to like. The guitar has high spec hardware, is manufactured to a high level and has the best feel I've ever played in a guitar. The look is a bit "posh bathroom" feel, but don't let that put you off, this is a beautiful instrument and more importantly, brilliant in feel and sound.
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| Didn't like |
When they moved to a rosewood board, just not the same! :)
Not a major dislike, but I'd buy another one of these guitars in a heartbeat (and have considered it)
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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The best guitar ever. WORTH EVERY PENNY fine craft 
| Sound |
Let the sound sample speak for itself this was played through riffworks guitar software.to let you know i tried to show the versatility of this guitar from metal to blues to steve vai stuff lol. |
| Action, Fit, & Finish |
Action fit and finish well to say the least this is the guitar all others are judged on in this way. The quality in the inlay and the beautifull gold hardware with the whit pearl pickguard and covers its a masterpiece.the guitar is built extremely well and the monkey grip and lions paw are jaw breaking.this is the one you want.The playability of this guitar is amazing and every little not just sings out , some thing you wouldnt even hear on another guitar.
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| Reliability & Durability |
as far as reliability i just have to say its a japanese ibanez what can go wrong they last forever.The guita rarely goes out of tune and while the others are tuning you are jamming out.The woods on these guitars are of the highest quality and wont be any issues down the road.
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| Customer Support |
with an ibanez you really dont need customer support , other than learning to use the floydrose. but on the ibanez website there is a diagram and explanation on how to set it up, change strings, even wiring diagrams.
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| Liked about it |
i love everything about this guitar even the new edgepro bridge.
i love the uniquness of the body with the grip and lions claw you cant mistake a jem for anything else anywhere.
i also have to say this is the best playing guitar in the world , proven to me time and time again .ive had almost every high end guitar out there.
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| Didn't like |
i wish ibanez would try some new color combination on these jems like in the 80s era.
i wish they still had some jems with maplke fretboards i love the looks so much their gorgeous.
i also think they shouldnt play with the bridges so much the older edgelopro and edge where in my opinion way more appealing to the eye and seemed to be way more stable with the locking trem posts and all.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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My dream guitar
| Sound |
The range of sounds I'm able to get from this guitar is truly staggering. Both the neck & bridge pickups split & shared with the middle can product warm, rich or punchy blues tones, and the bridge pickup alone gives you crystal clear bright sounds when on a clean tone, and paired with a distorted tone is going to blow you out of the water.
I really like the Evolution pickups. In two words? They sing. The harmonic overtones are better than anything else I've played. These probably are the hottest pickups I've ever experienced, and it did take a little while to get used to them. Clean playing was a little challenge at first since every nuance from your fingers gets translated so well. If anything, though, that will just force you to become a better player. ;-)
When I brought this guitar home I didn't put it down for four hours. It was like buying a piece of heaven. I play everything from 70s & 80s rock, to metal, to blues, and funk. There isn't any style of music that this beast can't handle, as long as you know how to dial in tones with the rest of your equipment. You may have to compensate for how hot the pickups are (can you believe they're passive?) but it isn't tough to design very nice sounds when using this guitar. Do NOT listen to anyone that would tell you this is a "metal or heavy rock only" guitar.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
The action? Guitar Center was able to set this guitar up very nicely for me with very low action. Not a buzzing fret anywhere to be found, and I can play fast with much ease.
The fit & finish? Flawless, beautiful, pure eye candy. What can be better than all gold hardware? The tree of life vine inlay is gorgeous. The guitar is so well built! The guitar stays in perfect tune through dive bombs with the trem as well as pulling up as far as you can go.
The neck just "feels right" in my hands. And the shape of the body has the perfect comfortable contour.
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| Liked about it |
I love the amazing tone, the look, and the quality of the JEM7V. It was worth the money.
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| Didn't like |
It was a bit pricey.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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well made and worth it
| Sound |
I was able to get a nice variety of tones out of the Jem. The 5 position pickup selector really gives a lot of options. I wouldn't use this in a country band, but for rock/metal it is fantastic. I think with it being a signature guitar of a well know hard rock musician it would not find it's way to a larger spectrum of players, but I used it exclusively in a pop rock band for 2 years.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
This guitar came to me flawless. It was well setup by the retailer I've not had to adjust it since I've gotten it.
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| Reliability & Durability |
Perfectly ereliable. I never gig without a backup, but with that being said, I never even broke a string live with this guitar, and I yank on the whammy bar quite a bit.
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| Customer Support |
I've not had to deal with Ibanez at all.
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| Liked about it |
Craftsmanship was flawless on this guitar, the finish, while white, the gold hardware match with black is a great looking guitar. This one of the few floating bridge guitars that will not go out of tune
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| Didn't like |
The only thing I would like to see possible on the guitar is to split the humbuckers without being in postition 2 or 4. Sometimes a single coil in the bridge or the neck would be nice.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Slick Guitar!
| Sound |
Sound was amazing the evo pickups is just right for this guitar, powerful and defined. It's not noisy even with a Hi-Gain Distorion. Worth every penny!
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
The action is ok when i got it, but i have a habit of bringing my new guitars to my luthier as soon as possible so that he could set it up to my liking.
What more can i say?
This guitar is perfect for shred, funk, ballad and metal.
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| Reliability & Durability |
Built like a tank
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| Customer Support |
NO idea
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| Liked about it |
Inlay
Feel
Sound
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| Didn't like |
Fading Gold Hardware (for a guitar this expensive they should think of a way so that the gold hardware will remain gold for a long time)
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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most have.
| Sound |
well i guess not alot to add if you read all reviews but anyway,i love the variety of sound out of this baby,evry switch position sounds very cool ,you can can a very fat or brigth sound if you like, got pretty good
sustain not as the 77GMC but still good, well ,when i need a strat vintage sound i'm swithing to the 2ed or 4th position and lower the volume down, and there ya go an ibanez made vintage sound,i play vai styl satriani and some classic rock you can go rong with that one,im using a yamaha dg-112 amp 5 differant boss pedals and o.9
gauge strings.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
well what can i say that was the first jem that i got, and it was a love from a first site:), graet color combo white and gold hardwear just perfect,the lion claw at the edge of the bridge and the monkey grip gives you a feel you'r in a zoo,the pickgurd and the vine inly jus stuninig,can't say more you'll do the rest.
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| Reliability & Durability |
i have it for 8 years no issues so far.
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| Customer Support |
did't had too.
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| Liked about it |
neck, sound ,looks.
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| Didn't like |
like it all.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Sake of owning a Vai's Signature.
| Sound |
I love the EVOs! The bridge pup really screams and makes harmonics really easy to nail. The neck pup sounds fantastic, both distored and clean. What a wonderful guitar. The middle pup by itself seems a little lacking, but when used in the 2 & 4 positions, it matches the split humbuckers well for blues sounds.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
No major problems with this guitar from the factory setup (meaning there was nothing i couldnt do myself--nothin i had to take to a shop to get fixed)action was a TINY bit too high but this category is subjective anyway...what is perfect action? they did a crappy job with intonation...had to rework that a good bit but now it is perfectly intonated and stays that way. (BTW--i have never seen a floating style setup that stays in tune as well as this guitar has--you could walk around the house holding it by the whammy bar and beat it against the walls and it stays in tune......dont do that though!!!) anyway--gotta deduct points for the setup.
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| Reliability & Durability |
I've used this guitar for almost every gig I've played in the past five years or so and have had no problems, other then putting a few dings in the finish. The hardware seems reasonably sturdy, though I've had to clean and tighten up the pots and selector switch a couple times and gold will eventually wear off of any parts, especially the bridge. Fortunately, I could care less about that, since it's half gone already.
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| Customer Support |
Ibanez is a real slow company. I contacted Ibanez once and got a run around. It took me 3 months just to get my spare LockNut.
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| Liked about it |
JEM cannot be compared with any other guitar as it has its own personality.
Great sound, dont try playing it clean, but yeah fantastic guitar.
Plays like a dream.
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| Didn't like |
I never was a fan of white, but they didn't make the 7v in any other colour the year I bought it. I will not let the colour of the guitar persuade me into giving the guitar the rating it deserves, besides, it really grew on me anyway.
Ibanez are overpriced.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Great Guitar!
| Sound |
I've played various guitars over the years and Ibanez have always felt the best for me and i own 5 different models including the Jem 7vwh. The sound on this guitar is very versatile, starting with the bridge pick up selector it really suits any metal tone you are going for (depending on which distortion pedals you use of course, but it certainly wont be the guitar that would cause a problem with your sound set up if you are aiming for a specific sound). I never use the middle pick up selector but on the neck pick up position you can get some really nice warm clean sounds, i find the top pick up a little too loud though which is a shame as it gives a great warm sound but why does it have to be so loud! so because of this i tend to use the position below (if changing during songs, if not then choosing top pick up option isnt so much of an issue).
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
I got mine via internet with factory set up so of course had to make some minor tweaks with intonation, action and the floating trem was way off angle so i had to adjust the springs tightness to allign the bridge in line with the body. Finish of the guitar and craftmanship is stunning you really can see the difference. The feel of the neck is very nice, guitar neck is so smooth and the strings bend so gracefully on the frets.
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| Reliability & Durability |
Reliability, well mine is almost 3yrs old and no issues so far, i must admit i'm very carful with it and it doesnt leave the house so I cant comment on how well it would survive under gigging/touring circumstances but it does feel a solid guitar and built very well.
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| Customer Support |
Not had to deal with them yet.
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| Liked about it |
I'd say my favorite thing about this guitar is the neck, it feels wonderful to play and the vine inlay is a nice bit of work. The low pro trem responds well and keeps in tune. Lookwise its a love or hate, i do really like the blingy look to it but i totally understand why people would not like it. I wouldnt feel comfy playing it on stage though as it is very flashy and you are setting yourself up to be an amazing player, so if you are then thats ok, but if your not, then I think even one note missed would give that one person in the audience the chance he's been waiting for to mock you lol. Outside guitar geekdom i dont think you need to worry about 'oh he has a vai guitar' as 99% of people would never know.
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| Didn't like |
Just the top pick up being so loud, besides that i dont have any bad issues with this guitar, it's just pretty much perfect...pricey though!
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Good Guitar but not for everyone
| Sound |
I know this is Jemsite but I have to write a somewhat negative review of this guitar. I've played a few different Jem7V's over the years as my love for Steve Vai has waxed and waned and I always come back to the same complaints about it, but I'll start with what I like about it. It is a pimp guitar with it's white finish and gold hardware/highlights. The very cool vine inlays, lion's claw and monkey grip turn heads. Tonally speaking, it's bright and articulate on all settings. The 5 way selector allows for a lot of options. I don't use the middle pick-up on it's own very much, but positions 2 and 4 offer some nice strat-like tones. The Evos are a bit too hot to really nail that vintage strat sound, but with the volume turned down, it can get close. I've found the pickups excell with heavily processed sounds but was not a big fan of their tone when going straight into a clean Fender Blues Jr. I like to be able to keep tones simple, so the character of these pickups was a bit disappointing to me. To each their own. For hi-gain, this guitar really does just about anything you want. It can get as heavy as you need it to be without getting muddy. It's also bright when you want to cut through the mix on solos. It's a good sounding guitar and has great aesthetic appeal; the biggest complaint I have is the feel of the neck. It plays like a brick to me and I've never felt comfortable with it despite several concerted and expensive efforts. The flat radius and wide string spacing are great for shredding, making it easy to do fast alternate picking runs and sweep arpeggios but the neck is so wide to me that I felt like I could never really dig in and grab a note on a bend. This is my personal experience, but I felt like the neck was a little too wide and too thin for my tastes. Steve's got huge hands so it probably isn't an issue for him, but I found the JS and even some other RGs to be much more comfortable. Sounds great but the feel isn't for me.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
The new one I had was set up reasonably well at Guitar Center. The intonation wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible either. There was nothing flawed with it and all the alignments/routes/etc. were correct. The other Jems have all been used.
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| Reliability & Durability |
I never had problems with any of my Jems. Yes, the white would dirty up a little if I didn't clean it after a gig or something, but they were durable and never gave me problems. I didn't take it out too much anyway because it was too nice/expensive for me to want to worry about messing it up. I would bring back-ups to gigs simply because of the floating trem, but other than breaking a string, I wouldn't have any worries.
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| Customer Support |
Never dealt with Ibanez.
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| Liked about it |
1. Stunning looks, you will have the best dressed guitar wherever you go.
2. Pretty versatile tone options with all the different pickup configurations and very good with processed guitar signals.
3. High quality and well made instrument. Good durability and very reliable.
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| Didn't like |
1. Feel of the neck was something I tried very hard to like over a long period of time. It' not for me.
2. I know I put stunning looks under the likes, but sometimes it's a bit too flashy and screams Vai-fanboy.
3. Expensive.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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3.0 |
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A must in everyone´s collection
| Sound |
I used it through a Marshall JCM900 half stack and a tubescreamer Dx. Although the sound of this guitar is known by everybody it is amazing how different it sounds than the basswood bodied jems. The bridge EVO provides high output for heavy-metal style soloing, lots of harmonics and a very articulated sound that makes easier fluid legato and tapping phrases. The neck EVO suits better alternate and sweep picking techniques with a very deep and smooth sound. In the 2 and 4 positions this jem sounds more Strato than the other jems due to its alder body. To my ears the change from ebony to rosewood fretboard makes it sound clearer but thinner.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
This guitar was bought new from Ibanez Rules, so the set up was amazing (including the locking stud mod). For this reason the new factory set-up can?t be eventuated. The neck feels very straight and the strings are very close to the frets without buzzing with a very smooth touch. The AANJ is an advantage that other brands or models can?t compete with. Having tried older VWH models these newer one seems to be more fragile constructed than the olders. The edge-pro bridge has a different flutter sound and it?s stiffer than the edge or lo-pro edge bridges but it is not a reason to blame this guitar for.
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| Reliability & Durability |
The high end Ibanez guitars are made for life. Having played it during 3 years (at home, rehearsals and some gigs) it is still perfect.
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| Customer Support |
Never needed but here in Spain is very bad reported.
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| Liked about it |
- Smooth neck feeling
- Very rich sound
- Versatile
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| Didn't like |
- Seem to be fragile than older Jems
- Ebony fretboard preferred
- Lo-pro edge preferred
- Price increase
To sum up: If you can buy an older one jump on it but if you have a 2003 or newer model enjoy it also and don?t blame on it for not being an ebony or edge pro loaded axe.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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internal use: spec97 spec484 spec555
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