Jem tone problems

[werx]

Hey, i've owned my jem for a few months now, and recently I noticed that I've stopped playing it. A few weeks ago I took my old 600$ schecter s1 elite back out to do some drop tuned metal with some friends, and noticed that the tone of it is so much more full bodied and thick than the tone I get out of my jem. Now I find it hard to play my jem at all because it sounds so nasal and whiny even in comparison to my friends cheap low quality guitars.

I was thinking that I either have a bad jem, or the pick ups need changing. I know that it's a real one and not korean, but maybe I'm just unlucky.

[mi2tom]

What's you jem?

[werx]

jem7v, I believe (I don't know the history of jem models, so take it easy).

[bulletbass man]

This is a classic case of someone not liking evos.

They're not for everyone. They're very hot and pickup everything. And more positioned for treble and harmonics than most pickups.

You'd be better off with something with less gain and less treble oriented. First re eq your amp however. Thats often a fix. (I had to when I switched from les pauls to Ibanez.)

At first I was liek wow this tone is not so good. Then i raised the mids a bit and just said wow these rule.

[mi2tom]

I don't think evo is really suitable for metal playing, for soloing it rulez though

[bpd111]

Originally Posted by werx

jem7v, I believe (I don't know the history of jem models, so take it easy).

I'm not attacking you, but I find it difficult to believe that someone owns a $1500-$2000 guitar, and they aren't sure what model it is.

Is there a possibility it's a 555 or worse, a Chibanez? Do you have pics?

[mi2tom]

Perhaps a pic of your guitar might help

[werx]

Originally Posted by bulletbass man

This is a classic case of someone not liking evos.

They're not for everyone. They're very hot and pickup everything. And more positioned for treble and harmonics than most pickups.

You'd be better off with something with less gain and less treble oriented. First re eq your amp however. Thats often a fix. (I had to when I switched from les pauls to Ibanez.)

At first I was liek wow this tone is not so good. Then i raised the mids a bit and just said wow these rule.

Really? I react a little differently to the pickups. I like how they're hot and they pick up everything, but the higher the register that I play in the more irritating and nasal the sound gets. In a distorted channel with the bridge pickup I like the lead sound pretty well except once we're getting to notes like 2 C's above middle C. To me, when compared to other guitars, the neck pick up just sounds so weak with no personality whether using distortion or clean. I don't much use the bridge pickup for clean so I don't have much to say there.

Also, I'm not trying to use this guitar to play metal, I'm talking about tone for lead purposes only.

Also, I don't have any pics, but it is a Ibanez Jem 7vwh, and it's definitely not a chibanez or korean or anything. It's made in Japan, code F0606615. Payed 2k$ for it about 4 months ago.

[jemplayer55]

Originally Posted by werx

I was thinking that I either have a bad jem, or the pick ups need changing. I know that it's a real one and not korean, but maybe I'm just unlucky.

A "bad" JEM...... hmmmm. It could be several things, have you tried adjusting the pickup heights? That will affect the tone on a JEM. You could change out the cap on the tone control either to bleed off more highs or add them back.

I will say this..... being so "unsure" of your guitar and how it's set up. You may want to take it to the local music store.... plug in, play for the tech and tell him what you don't like. It may be as simple as just needing a pro setup or he may be able to make suggestions based on what you both are hearing.

Unlucky???? probably more like uninformed regarding your JEM!

P.S. Pic's would be nice..... (all JEM noob's must post pic's to maintain their membership)