A review of my first JEM. - Wow.

slug · #1 01-25-2001, 10:23 AM

Hi, all--
I wanted to post this as a humble thank you for all your advice. *It was a great help to me in purchasing my first JEM. *I bought a JEM7BSB off of a great fella named James. *Thanks once again, James. *
I received it yesterday, and it arrived in great condition. *The first thing I noticed was the weight. *It can't weigh more that 8 or 10 pounds!! *As soon as I could, I did a string change and oiled the fretboard. *It walked immediately into tune, even after a couple of minor bridge adjustments. *When I plugged in, I was substantially more than pleasantly surprised. *I will never let anyone tell me that basswood cannot sound "meaty." *It has a ton of punch, and the lead sound is out of this world. *The thing has a tone all it's own. *The neck is more comfortable than I could have imagined. *The thing just feels......right. *I could not believe the neck pickup didn't get muddy, even on extreme gain settings (I play the 5150, and the gain is always on 6 on the rhythm and 5.5 on the lead). *I even punched my settings up to see what would happen. *Didn't change a bit. *But the most impressive thing was the clarity of the note separations, even with massive gain figured in. *It was very defineable. *I think this guitar is a real talker, and I'm proud to own her.

Downsides? *Just a couple. *The board hadn't been oiled in a while, and it soaked up plenty of lemon oil. *The only other thing is that the trem didn't really want to stay in tune, even after the strings were good and stretched. *I'll be picking up new springs for it, and I assume that will help quite a bit. *Any advice is appreciated on this.

Overall? *A fantastic axe. *Once again, thank you all and especially James. *It will be my main player now, at least until I get a swirl.

mg

pri0531 · #2 01-25-2001, 10:45 AM

Congrats!!
I myself play with a 5150. *The distortion is way out of hand. *I have the distortion set at the same levels as you do for the respective channels. *My VWH sounds very good through it, but I have to tweak the amp (reduce the bass and res.) a bit for my UV. *What are your eq settings? *BTY - A sonic maximizer really WAKES up the amp. *
Out,
GP *

slug · #3 01-25-2001, 12:28 PM

Hey, pri--

My settings are as follows: *Low-6, mid-3, and high-7. *The resonance is usually around 4, and the presence about 5 or 6. *That amp can really be uncontrollable. *I'm trying to sell it so I can get a Blue Voodoo.

Later,
mg

pri0531 · #4 01-25-2001, 12:37 PM

I know what you mean. *I put new tubes in the combo and it did help out a bit. *The stock tubes are horrible. Lately I have been playing through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rec and it sounds great. *You know how it is - one day your amp sounds great the next it sounds bad. *
Out,
GP *

slug · #5 01-25-2001, 04:17 PM

Really--

Doesn't that suck? *It's like, I could have my total dream rig and go see someone with a completely opposite setup and then want to switch. *The grass is always greener, I guess.

mg

jippy · #6 01-25-2001, 04:20 PM

Slug, glad you dig the axe. I'm glad it went to a good home! Regarding your question on the trem: I replaced the trem-mounting posts shortly after I purchased it (I think aroung August 2000). I never bothered to check the knife-edges of the trem itself. They could have some wear which would cause the strings to go out of tune. Hope that helps!

davenit · #7 01-25-2001, 04:36 PM

Enjoy!!! Love that guitar. Great look. I will eventually get one....

Dave

ripl3y · #8 01-25-2001, 07:12 PM

Congrats!!!

Treat her well and I'm sure she'll do the same for you

Could you possibly elaborate more on the neck.
I have the chance (in 2 weeks) to buy a BSB and I just wanted a little more insight.

Thanks

Steve

slug · #9 01-26-2001, 11:01 AM

Hey, ripl3y--

I guess I was expecting the neck to be a lot like my RG770 that I just sold, but it's really not. *The frets are smaller, and the neck is a bit wider. *Not baseball-bat style, but thicker in the middle than the Wizard. *At least, that's the way it feels to me. *It's bare (of course) and really looks killer with that blue stain on it. *I was thinking when I bought it that the top frets would be scalloped, but they're not. *It doesn't really bother me, though. *The phillips-head screw inlays are probably the coolest thing about the neck, though. *It gives it a "workhorse" look, and that's what this guitar really is. *Light as a feather and sounds incredible.

Hope I helped,
mg

alienx · #10 01-26-2001, 12:49 PM

Congrats! Rock on...

firegarden · #11 01-27-2001, 11:09 AM

One thing though, the last 4 frets are not scalloped. I makes quite a difference. I may be getting one soon but I'm deciding between a UV or a JEM.

littlegreenman · #12 01-27-2001, 01:37 PM

Hey Slug, congrats on the new axe dude!!!
Welcome to Jemland and the Jem family :biggrin:
They are awesome guitars!
Firegarden, if you want an axe with scalloped frets, remember that the UV's don't have scalloped frets at all. *It's not a hard modification but if you don't want to do it yourself or hire someone to do it, just remember that.
Jeremy