Why does my 555 play better than my 7v?

[wilch]

it's all about the "mojo".

[djanggo]

My rg550 plays better sounds better to me than jem but jem are more beautiful

[coolngroovy]

My '90 550 plays better. Jem sounds better. Some days i wish i had 4 arms.

[robhayes]

Originally Posted by mkh02

Hey guys

Had a Jem 555 for years now that I use as a practise guitar and sometimes on stage...never let me down and really like it.

Decided to get a Jem 7V the other week and received it last night.

After a clean and a new set up i am enjoying it but it doesn't feel as comfortable to play as the 555. Legato passages especially high up the neck and tapping isn't as responsive!

The main positive thing I notice is that when I bend a string it doesn't have such a severe effect on the trem so the other strings stay in tune during bends if that makes sense compared to the 555.

It also sounds better and the build quality is superb..looks great too but I notice that I feel my fingers rubbing the fret board more than the 555.

I note that the 7V uses 6105 frets whearas the 555 uses Jumbo frets....could this be the difference?

Any thoughts would be welcome as i thought it would play like a dream...slightly disappointed!

Cheers in advance!

nothing wrong with a 555 mate i love mine. but with my jap ibanez guitars i find they allways come with the lock nut shimed far too high. the secret to a slick playing guitar is a low nut i always set mine up myself good luck mate

[mkh02]

Thanks for all the replies and insight guys!

It is strange but I would agree that I have got so used to the Jem 555 I am expecting it to play exactly the same...I wouln't pick up my Les Paul and expect it to be the same I suppose!

Gonna give it some break in time and see how I get on! At the end of the day got it for a great price on ebay so no loss!

Funilly enough I grabbed my Strat last night which has fairly small frets and I could flail around performing fluid legato all over the place...perhaps ned to investigate the set up a bit more!

Failing that i have a luthier who is a friend and there is some very nice 'jumbo' gold fret wire on Waromth's site....All gold....might be a bit over the top but could look spectacular lol!!

[jemboyee]

Could be something as simple as a truss rod adjustment.

[Cymbaline]

You've been playing the 555 for years, it's comfortable and you've got it all dialed in and broken in and tweaked to your liking.