2004 JEM7VWH Spec change

[Allen Garrow]

Oh dear, my world has crashed! Can't believe they went Rosewood!
Yuck and bummer all rolled into one big sigh...... Man that is going to cause a ruckus,,,now all the Ebony players are going to be HORDING the old stock.....

~A

[jemsite]

there will be plenty to go around ...glen

[steeda]

I like my maple fully scalloped neck/board the best on my Yngwie strat of all my guitars. I do however, like the ebony board on my 02' VWH. I don't like the look of that pic Rich just posted versus the ebony look. Tone... I probably wouldn't notice it. But playability, I like the "feel" of ebony better than rosewood.

[shredmaster]

ebony
rosewood

[jwoods986]

If the reasoning for changing to rosewood is "that's what Steve has on his", then I guess they should change the trem to the Edge.

[disassociative1]

the pic looks good rich, tis a nice bit of rose with nice inlay...........weres the problem, doesnt look any less tight than the ebony on them did.

i wish they would go back to the old edge and lo pro while they are at chaning to match vai.

[Petie]

Originally Posted by jwoods986

If the reasoning for changing to rosewood is "that's what Steve has on his", then I guess they should change the trem to the Edge.

And build 'em in the endorser-only Custom Shop in the US.

[jager]

I'm so glad I purchased mine when I did. '03 w/ ebony s/n 38....k. I was going to order the studs from Rich however my return is almost dead on with a tuner. Whether Vai plays rosewood or ebony doesn't matter to me. He's an incredible player however it's not a fretboard that gives him his chops. Ebony on the VWH not only looks better but feels better IMHO. Besides I purchased this beauty for it's playability and it was definitely cheaper than building my own to my desired specs (which were very similar), not because Vai plays it. I love his music however I like to create my own.

[Anton]

Looks killer!

[Michael Jackson]

Originally Posted by littlegreenman

I've said it more than once, but I'll say it again,

Feel wise, Ebony, Rosewood and maple are quite different, tonally, the difference is sooooo minimal 99% of people would never notice it.

I have out of curiosity and due to opinions on this very site, taken one guitar neck, on one guitar, and over the course of 2 weeks, changed the board from the original rosewood, to maple, and then to ebony just to see what the difference in tone was.

The actual tonal difference, with a solid body guitar, through a bypassed amp (just the guitar tone) Nothing that I could tell and I have a damn good ear.

The only guitar I think I've noticed a difference on is the Strat maple necks where the fretboard is one piece with the neck, not glued on.
The fretboard is such a minimal piece of wood, and with a GLUE joint between the board and neck to rob any actual chance of tonal variation, that it doesn't not do squat for tone IMO. Your fret size makes a greater difference due to string contact area.

That being said, the subconcious mind will tell you that one or the other sounds better, and, chances are good that if you play 3 different guitars, one maple, one rosewood and one ebony, they will all sound different, but due to many more variables than just the fretboard. If you were to be blindfolded, and play the neck that I had changed the board on, and every board was cleared so there was no difference in feel, I would bet that guitar that nobody would know the difference in tone between the fretboards.
So what guitar did that neck end up on, the JEM911USA with the ebony, why did I choose ebony? I like the feel, and I prefer the look of nice dark ebony.

Anyway, that's just my opinion from an experiment, I know many won't believe me, but whatever, I did it, and it's my educated opinion, I'm sure there is a small tonal difference, but I doubt any human ear would actually notice it.
So, when it comes to picking a fretboard wood, I just suggest going with what you like the feel of the best.

Just my two cents

Best post ever maybe.....

[maddog]

Boy am I glad that I traded my Gibson Les Paul Custom for a ebony fretboard/Edge Jem last year. I'm a huge fan of Vai and (as much as I hate to say it) noticed his sound has been "off" since the Ultra Zone. The rosewood "warms" the sound of the Evolutions while the ebony "brightens" the sound. EVO doesn't hit the highs as easily. I own the Jem and two RG's-one with rosewood(570) and one with maple(550). I have Evolutions in the 570 so the only major difference is the pickguard. I can tell the difference. They all sound good but it all in your preference of EVO's era-listen to "Alive in..." vs. "Fire Garden". If there was no difference is sound then Ibanez would slap whatever they wanted on the neck to save money. Sounds like a way to make more money. If I wanted a new Jem, I would just buy a RG and put Evolutions in it. What's the difference? Gold hardware that Vai doesn't use anyway? If I wanted the Lion's claw and Monkey Grip handle I would go to projectguitar.com and use the tutorials to install them. I agree with previous statements, if this was changed to match Vai's current setup, install a black Edge with black harware, a "KONX" piece of tape on the neck pup and put that metal knurled knob on the volume pot. At least Ibanez installs the neck pup "backwards" like in EVO. EVO is truly the benchmark of the Jem line. One man's opinion.

[Jeroenn]

The diffrence is an Alder (Jem) vs Basswood (RG) body... that accounts for a lot more change in sound then just a fretboard.

Furthermore, don't judge between two vai records, he used vast amounts of diffrent equipment (not to mention digital vs analog recording) on each.

[maddog]

True. But that proves a point. The wood from the neck to the body will affect the tone. Correct? I'd still "make" a new Jem out of an RG. Even with getting a replacent Alder body it would be cheaper than a Jem. To me, it was one of it's biggest attractions. I prefer Ebony then Maple. Name another current Ibanez with an Ebony fretboard.

[Jeroenn]

Originally Posted by maddog

True. But that proves a point. The wood from the neck to the body will affect the tone. Correct? I'd still "make" a new Jem out of an RG. Even with getting a replacent Alder body it would be cheaper than a Jem. To me, it was one of it's biggest attractions. I prefer Ebony then Maple. Name another current Ibanez with an Ebony fretboard.

As stated by LGM (who as a luthier is certainly qualified to make such statments), there surely will be influence, but hardly noticable. I'm not up to speed with every Ibanez model, but I believe I saw recently mentioned that there is a prestige axe with ebony board.

Bottom line is that ebony vs rosewood is a matter of look and feeling. Soundwise, it means nothing. Variances in pieces of bodywood make more impact on the sound, not to mention all that bruhaha that 'sound is in the fingers' etc etc. Too many variables make up the sound of a given axe and even two vwh's will sound diffrent. You cannot pinpoint that just on the fretboard.

[Michael Jackson]

Originally Posted by maddog

True. But that proves a point. The wood from the neck to the body will affect the tone. Correct? I'd still "make" a new Jem out of an RG. Even with getting a replacent Alder body it would be cheaper than a Jem. To me, it was one of it's biggest attractions. I prefer Ebony then Maple. Name another current Ibanez with an Ebony fretboard.

What other Ibanez have Alder bodies? That is the bigger factor no doubt. As LGM said there is such a small piece of wood on the finger board and it is glued it will not have a noticeable effect on the overall tone. As stated also a one piece Maple will give you the most notable difference.

If Alder and Ebony are a Must.... Jackson USA is filling orders all day long. I just got a new KV-2 in yesterday.