2005 'Bad Horsie' and fixed-bridge model (confirmed by Vai)

[Jeroenn]

Originally Posted by gash

the tech admin at vai.com said this "...the code for this one appears to be Jem77BRCH (Black Reverse Chrome)."

...which was a quote I found here from Jono & Rich...

-
Jeroen

[RaspberryJam]

Hey, posted this link in another thread, JEM77BHC http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=36053
but here it is again.

http://www.hvguitar.com/shownews.asp?news_id=126

[jem7vwh]

that thing looks great. I have a feeling some of those are going to get chrome vines from Jeremy

[littlegreenman]

So much for really calling it a "chrome jem"

From the other post on this guitar.............

Ibaneznorthwest

I can't decide if it is cool or not!!

Why the Faux pearloid binding?!?!?

The Faux pearloid binding is there to protect the edge. Look closely at the edges of that "chrome" top. It's nothing more than the mirror pickguard material on the top of the guitar, I said this probably a year ago when the first rumors started coming out with the dimarzio ad.
Take a close look at the inside edge of the horn here, you can clearly see the mirror is underneath clear plastic, like the pickguard. This is about the smartest way Ibanez could have done this. I'm glad to see they are doing this and not using the chrome paints, or films, or plating that will deteriorate so fast on wood. This is the best solution, it's not "chrome" it's mirror. Still looks good, I just still don't really get the huge desire to have chrome guitars, fingerprints are bad enough on black much less chrome

[si-m]

I noticed this on Ebay does anyone know if it is genuine?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...92405&rd=1

It describes it as a Jem 77 BHC

[Jammy]

It is indeed. Ive been talking to the guy - he can import from his brother in Japan (who is a ibanez dealer out there)

[RCB]

OK, so its "confrimed" that Ibanez went the way some of us though, and just used the same material they use for the reflective pickguards.

I agree that this is the cheapest way to achieve the effect, but I cant help thinking that Ibanez is abusing its customers. How can they charge 3000USD for a guitar that is SO cheap to make????????.

When a company thinks it can get away with something like this, then it has a very poor concept of its customer. In other words, Ibanez is pretty sure that jem buyers are clueless morons who would pay a huge price for just a decent guitar as long as it has the monkey grip and the lion claw.

I have nothing against this guitar. I think its a cool model worth releasing with a cool finish and an interesting neck, that I would ´ve probably bought...... if it retailed for about 2/3 or 1/2 of the price its going to have.

To make things worse..... this guitar will probably sell pretty well, particularly if Steve Vai starts playing one live often enough.

You have to give some credit to the Ibanez management if they actually get away with this. Anouncing that all major production is going to be made outside japan and at the same time introducing a hyped model to "cover" or compensate the turn down the first anouncement could create (that, by the way, its probably the lowest cost ever Ibanez Jem at the higher price ever)..... and still be able to sell them, and still be able to get (almost) everybody excited about the new model and loyal to the brand.

If they get away with this, I have to tell you, I want this guys on my company.

[jemsite]

in all fairness... you guys knew the "bad horsie" mirror jem was nothing more than a mirror-pickguard on the body.

Now that the production happens, you are surprised? ROTF... glen

[darren wilson]

As soon as good pics of Vai's "bad horsie" guitar were available (August 2003), many of us concluded that it was done using mirrored pickguard material. Many people have continued to call it "chrome" even though it's "mirrored" and that has perhaps elevated others' expectations that the guitar would be chrome plated or have some kind of chromed top on it. But those photos have been available for well over a year, so there really should be no surprise.

It's also been well documented that Steve's prototype has some irregularities in the mirrored finish under the clear plastic top, from bending it over the forearm contour. I would expect the mirrored film to buckle when it's adhered to a flat plastic sheet and that sheet is bent to conform to a curved surface. Ibanez has clearly done a lot of R&D to get the material and the bending process to work so the finish holds up and doesn't buckle.

It's not a matter of simply buying a sheet of mirrored pickguard material and topping a guitar with it... you'll get the same buckling problem Steve had on the prototype. If you don't want to pay the price Ibanez is asking for their refined version, by all means go out and buy a sheet of material and do it yourself and live with the results.

And plenty of very expensive production guitars have black headstocks and dot inlays. If the mirrored JEM goes out the door this way, it's for one reason: Steve wanted it that way.

Personally, i would have rather seen no inlay and a matching mirrored headstock, but i'm not Steve.

But let's not get our shorts in a knot. Official pricing and specs haven't been announced yet. Let's wait and see. Anyway, if the price is too high, nobody will buy them and dealers will be blowing them out at this time next year. My guess is that there are enough JEM/Vai fans who will give these guitars homes at the price Ibanez sets. If the market won't bear that price, it'll be corrected.

[RCB]

Im nt surprised at all. I was pretty sure that it was going to be made like this.

Im not complaining about the model at all. I think the pricing is insane..... then again, in all fairness it is not, since it will probably sell, wich brings me back to my previous post.

[Rotti]

This will probably have a nicer looking finish than chrome. I've seen some photos of the satch chrome guitars and they seem to have lots of imperfections in the finish.

[matt_cater]

i don't care if it isn't chrome...its really sexy!!
but i can't afford a JEM, so i'll stick with RG's

[mike777]

So if this is basically a Jem with a mirrored pickguard, I wonder how long these will hold up. Call me crazy but - I just have this image of the top separating from the body over time from being able to hold the contour or something over time. Ah, well, maybe not. I still want one.

Mike 777 Haug

[jem7vwh]

Originally Posted by RCB

I agree that this is the cheapest way to achieve the effect, but I cant help thinking that Ibanez is abusing its customers. How can they charge 3000USD for a guitar that is SO cheap to make????????.

Who said this guitar would cost $3000? I'd be stunned if it was listed at much more than the DBK. It seems clear that it is the entry level JEM (no inlay).

As for the way that the effect is achieved, I think this is Ibanez doing a service to it's customers. Anyone who's tried to chrome something that expands and contracts like wood will tell you that it's a shaky proposition. Here you have a great looking guitar at a reasonable price (chroming would be far more expensive- maybe even your ridiculous $3000) shouldn't crack and flake the first time the weather changes.
I know you can't please everyone all the time, but puh-leeze. I think this is a case of Ibanez really getting something right. No one's even mentioned the nice looking binding. It's probably to hide the seem of the mirrored material, but it still looks good.

[learningtolive]

Interesting that people are unhappy with the price - the one on ebay is £1650 whereas a new 7V would cost you around £1699 at the cheapest here in merry England. Of course, that price doesn't really have a bearing on the final RRP because it is on ebay, but you would think the seller would try and catch this hype and list it for higher to make a tidy profit. Maybe they don't realise what a buzz this guitar is making in forums like this...