2004 JEM7VWH Spec change

[Dylanthebody]

I have an '04 7v with a rosewood neck and i perfer it over the ebony!

[MacMusica]

Me too, I had both and the rosewood does hold a brighter sustain. It also has a slimmer & silky (not glossy) neck than the 99 ebony I had. It has a few improvements: -
*Edge3 - faster string changes and better sustain and no saddle wearing.
*Neck pocket is angled at it's base to stop cracking the paint in time.
*Better inlays at the 4 scalloped frets (inlays not cut into).
*It still uses scarf-joint neck which is better than 5pce J-Craft in feel.
However, I still had to install locking studs. Glad I got a backstop too.
It's tuning went from 85% to 100% with lip balm on its studs. The locking nut also needed a tighten.
I would not buy any other year. 2004 was it

(beware that older Jems need routing for the Edge3 to fit with full motion)

[RenatoNYC]

I don't mind Rosewood, but Ebony has its place. It has a certain softness to the touch, even though the grain is tight and the wood heavy. Ebony is also more expensive than (generic) rosewood.

[JJLipton]

In Japan, they offer two models with Steve vai specs like Sustainer and Buzz Feiten. They also offer a "perfect mod" which has both. Very expensive!

[jono]

Originally Posted by JJLipton

In Japan, they offer two models with Steve vai specs like Sustainer and Buzz Feiten. They also offer a "perfect mod" which has both. Very expensive!

But these are, as you mention, "mods" and not factory options.

[typedeaf]

The J Custom are the "pride and joy" of Ibanez guitars. I do not believe there is or ever was a single J Custom or USA Custom that offered an ebony fretboard. This, to me, seems to imply that the decision makers feel that rosewood and maple are the best two options. Vai, Satch, Yngwie, Timmons, Johnson, and Gilbert all play rosewood or maple fretboards. This must mean something. It would be one thing if Gilbert played ebony and his sig model was rosewood. Everyone would complain. If Vai plays rosewood then his sig model should be rosewood. Everyone should have complained when it was ebony! Clearly Via does not think of ebony as "superior" to rosewood or maple.

I was adamant on getting a 91-02 VWH, but after considering all the facts, I think that its clear that rosewood IS the proper signature model choice. You could take my word for it, or maybe just have a little faith in Mr. Vai himself.

PS. Now, my main concern is trem. Why does Via perfer the original Edge?

[kjj913]

nice..

[RemyL]

I haven't played a guitar with an ebony board in a while. I currently own a JS1000 that has a rosewood board obviously. If I get a JEM, I'd want it with an ebony board for variety. I'm not a fan of maple boards.

The butt of my pool stick is in ebony and I chose this wood over maple because its unlikely to warp and it had a fatter sound(yeah, the sound a cue stick does when you hit a cueball is VERY important for me). Funny how woods react differently depending on what you use it for.

[freakguitar]

I own JEM7Vwh with ebony.
Ebony, Rosewood - each has its own characteristic, none of them is better.
Ebony has more punch, less brightness, for me it sounds smoother than rosewood. Tha same thing is in Les Pauls.
It's physics - ebony is very hard wood - it repulse frequencies faster than softer woods.
On mine ebony is black as hell and it looks really awesome. Under fingers it feels like glass. The neck is a little bigger than in newer models - soo the sound is.

[jim777]

Originally Posted by typedeaf

The J Custom are the "pride and joy" of Ibanez guitars. I do not believe there is or ever was a single J Custom or USA Custom that offered an ebony fretboard.

Old post, but really, really wrong and needing correction regardless. There have been a lot of JCustoms with ebony boards. I've only owned two JCustoms, (9570 & 8670) but both were ebony boarded.