3 Years after a hard recovery from G.A.S., I finally become a Jem owner again. Got a fairly good deal off evilbay for a 88 JEM777DY. For a player condition guitar, this one is really sweet - only a few chips and dings, very few scratches on the pickguard (which is rare) and the maple board is almost too clean for a 17 years old guitar. The pink pickups are faded as expected, but all the hardware is in good shape. I don't mind not having the latest Edge and AANJ. In fact the older Jem sound is what I was going after.
My first Jem was a 2001 BSB. I still miss it because it's my all-time favorite sounding Jem. Later I acquired a used Mint VBK and sent to Herc Fede for a fantastic GMC swirl (with a touch of pink). Changed out the PAF Pros to Breeds. That was my second favorite Jem.
After that I went through a bunch of different IBZ guitars, including a NOS JEM90HAM, new JPM P2, a used PBK (also swirled), a used JS-6, a brand new UV777BK and a beater RG-550 which was supposed to be another
swirl project. My wife wasn't too happy seeing my expanding
guitar collection against our shrinking savings account. All of these were sold not long after I got my RG-GOLD1 which is the only Ibanez I kept until now. I still like the RG-GOLD1 but I must say I do not find it as hot sounding as a Jem. I love the clean sound of the RG-GOLD which I use mostly for rythm tracks, but I just cannot get that "bite" from the GOLD. I guess that's the nature of an Ash body.
The DY arrived earlier this week. Played for hours and still don't want to put it down. I guess I really miss the old Jem sound. The only thing I may do to it is to change the pickups to Evos. Can't decide yet because I like the vintage Jem sound just as much as the Evos.
About the DY color - My first Ibanez was a FGM100 DY. I love that bright Desert Sun Yellow color, it's so 80's (hey, can't help it I grew up in those days). FGM is a great model, very playable especially with the Wizard neck (or is it Wizard II?) but the S-body FGM does not have enough wood IMHO.
Back in 1988, I paid something like $750 for the FGM100 which was a pretty good deal. It was the most pricy guitar I bought at that time, considering the most expensive guitar I own was a $450 Kramer. At the time a JEM777DY or SK was already over a thousand bucks. I actually wanted a JEM777DY so bad but couldn't afford one.
So they say things come to a full circle. Now I finally own a JEM777DY.
At Guitar Center in Concord, CA, there is a 91 Jem777DY hanging on the wall. It's been there for at least 5 years (still there today). You guessed it right, they price this to sell - that's if you are willing to pay $1750 for a used JEM777DY.
HERE'S THE LINK TO PICTURES OF ALL MY GUITARS:
http://www.geocities.com/swirljem/IBZCollection.html
