For the past several months, I have been working on a Jem project for my son. After several setbacks and three different necks, we finally have a finished project.
The guitar was mostly built from parts purchased on ****, except for the pickups and electronics.
First up is the body, a custom made ash Jem body with a swirl paint job. The body and paint look great, but there were a few routing issues that made it less than perfect. Paint could be a bit more smooth...you can "feel" the swirl in some areas, but its not bad and there is a nice clear coat. The colors are purple, white, yellow, black, and...sea-foam green! I thought this combo would be aweful but I think it turned out pretty cool. I've definitely never seen this color scheme before.
The neck is a 24 fret reverse head, maple with
rosewood fingerboard, wizard profile, off of an Ibanez PGM-30 Paul Gilbert model...very fast and comfortable.
The electronics consist of a Dimarzio Super III in the bridge and a
Dimarzio Evolution in the neck, 500K single volume, 3 way blade style switch.
Hardware is all "cosmo chrome" Ibanez parts, except for the straplocks and volume knob. Trem is an Ibanez Lo-Pro II.
So, how does it play? This thing absolutely rips! It is much ballsier sounding than my BFP Jem, while at the same time having much better harmonics (they fly off of this thing). I love the pickup combo with this guitar...it's the first time that I've used a Super III and its wicked, and the Evolution is a nice compliment to it in the neck.
The neck is very fast and plays like a dream. It's weightier than a Jem, but I haven't weighed it yet so I'm not sure how heavy it is...it's lighter than my Les Paul Custom though.
My son absolutely loves it...I tried to trade him my Soloist for it and he wouldn't bite
Here are a few pics:
