PLEASE HELP, WHICH JEM TO BUY ? Also I could use some help about the guitar...

[lukat93]

Ok, I want to buy my first JEM guitar, so I need some help.I read a lot about JEM on the internet, but there is a lot that I can`t understand in English.
Let`s start...

1 First I think of buying a JEM7VWH, I know Vai uses this gutiar called Evo? But then I saw JEM77BRM costs nearly 1000 dollars more. Why is this?I thought Evo was better? Which of these gutiars do you recommend and think is better and why?

2 Then the tremolo.Edge Pro is supposed to be better than Edge, right? But I read on Wikipedia that the Edge Pro doesn`t have any Floyd Rose patents or something that is Floyd Rose`s.Does that mean Edge Pro is better or worse than Floyd Rose tremolos? Is the Edge Zero the best tremolo actually?But are there Jems with Edge Zero tremolos?

3 And the pickups.They have breed and Evolution pickups?Which to buy ?What`s actually the difference ?

That would be the main part but you can write about any small details which could make my choice easier.

I actually think seriously of buying JEM7VWH, so I need your comments to make me sure that this is the right guitar or to make me search for more guitars.

Please comment the 3 main things (JEM7VWH or JEM77BRM, tremolo, pickups).

THAnks

[Benji]

So lets start!
- jembrmr is a basswood made guitar, with an awsome finish (this is where the price is from) and with breed pups, i tried thoose pups and im a little bit deceived, sound kinda muddy to me, i had better to buy PAF . The 7vwh jem is "the" jem, made in alder and evo equiped (evo is actually the first evo equiped jem, and the only one belongs to Steve Vai, "she" is the most used one). If what you want is a vai tone, you should buy a 7vwh, according to me.
-For the license, edge pro is a floyd rose licensed, as far as i remember, its written on my edge pro, im using it for more than 2 months and its an awesome trem, didnt tried the edge zero, but it seems a little better, since you can adjust the arm and got a perfectionned spring system, can't answer if its "the best" tremolo, may have drawbacks to (I think Vai uses Lo pro trs), never seen zero equiped jems
-Evos sound awesome to me, try both, it's a too subjective judgement.

I bought a jem7vwh, and this guitar is the best i've ever owned or played, versatility, playability, (and what a gorgeous guitar....), you just can't be deceived by such a wonderful instrument, according to me its more than just a signature model, expensive due to it, but not too much compared to its quality. As a Vai fan its the guitar i needed, if you got the money and need a marvelous guitar that will kick ****! Just order it !

[alecmm61]

your right! the breeds do sound a bit muddy in the basswood from my experience in the guitar shop.
i recomend the 7vwh if you want vai related tone it.
the edge pro is licensised by floyd rose
the zr trem is a bit stiff i like the edge pro better
and with the original edge it is almost like the newer edge pro but higher slanted and and more floyd rose like.
i think it depends on your opinion which tremelo is the best. I think all are good if setup right.
the finish on the brmr jem is really nice but the rosewood board with plain dots really is quite boring
with the 7vwh you get that rosewood board with the famous vine inlay which is great!



overall i really think you need to play these in person t o chose which you like best.

But i would go for the 7vwh for the price and the tone you get
i just got one and love it, has great tone and versatility with different types of genres.

[jono]

First of all lukat93, welcome to JEMsite

Now I'll chip in with my advice.

1) Is the JEM7VWH (Evo) better than the JEM77BRM?
The answer to this all comes down to personal preference. They're very much the same guitar with a few slight differences. Some people prefer the fac they can play a guitar that looks exacly like the one Steve Vai plays, other people don't want their audience to think they are a Steve Vai wannabe, and so on.

The non visual differences as have been said come down really to the wood the guitar is made of, basswood or alder, and the pickups that are in them.

Overall, the JEM7VWH sounds a LOT like Evo and if you want to sound like Steve Vai, I'd suggest you get this guitar.

If you want to have a very cool guitar with a more "classic rock" sound (so you sound great but don't sound exactly like a Steve Vai CD) you might want to look at the BRM.

Overall neither guitar is "better" it's up to the guitarist playing it to choose which he likes best.

Which bridge is best.
The Edge series of trems has been going for over 20 years and each one is a slight change to the last. The newest trem the Edge Zero is perhaps the biggest change and as far as I know isn't yet on the JEM guitars it shares some features with Ibanez's own Zr trem system.

The "Edge Pro" "Lo-Pro Edge" were redesigns of the original Edge trem and are great trems.

My favourite is the original Edge trem from all those years ago, Joe Satriani still requests it on a lot of his custom instruments from Ibanez and it's been very popular on the recent "re-issue" series.


The pickups are different models designed to Steve Vai's tastes. The Evolutions (as found in Evo) have that very distinctive "Vai" tone and many guitariss (especially those here) either love them or hate them. They're very focused and modern sounding. They're a great way to sound like Steve Vai (but necessarily play like Steve Vai ) very easily. If you listen to Sex and Religion or Alien Love Secrets you can hear these pickups distinctive tones.

The Breeds are more "regular" sounding pickups, designed to sound more like a traditional, fatter, "Les Paul" sound.

So I'd say you need to decide what's most important to you, and if looking and sounding like Steve Vai is high up there on the list, the white JEM is the way to go. If you have other goals, you might need to think a bit more about which to buy

This is a really fun decision to have to make though

[Left Lane]

Originally Posted by jono

First of all lukat93, welcome to JEMsite

+1

I would see if you can try out a few used ones against the new 7VWH. For the money you might be better off with a nice used player condition to get you up to speed on the whole Jem experience. Sometimes the bay has good deals especially if you're lucky enough to find one close enough you can try out before hand. You can't go wrong with the 7VWH though, it's the flagship of player (vs collector) Jems. That's my main axe.

Good luck

[Lee Carlson]

I personally would get the Jem7VWH because of the Alder body and pup combination...