JEM7BSB Note - The guitar and rear of the neck was burnt and then stained. There is no clearcoat on the guitar so the stain can rub or scratch easily. Fretboard not scalloped on frets 21-24. The color varies from blue to green, with a varying degree of burnt wood appearance. In short, no two BSBs are alike.
JEM7DBK Note - First JEM with the Breed neck and bridge pickups. Unlike the original PAF PROs, the Breed (and Evolutions) come with a "neck" model and "bridge" model. The neck has a bubinga "skunk stripe" truss rod reinforcement. The headstock is plain black paint and does not have the "textured" finish. The neck profile is a bit thinner (front to back) than the traditional JEM neck as requested by Steve Vai. It is described as unique to the JEM but "kind of a Wizard neck at the nut but not at the 12th fret".
JEM7PBK Note - It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.
JEM7RB Note - The Root Beer model has a wide variety in color. Some are very dark, and some are much lighter.
JEM7VWH Note - First JEM with the Evolution neck & bridge (matched set) pickups. The tremolo arm itself is black (not gold) as Ibanez only makes black bars for the Edge/LoPro. Ultra-bright white done with a special paint process to eliminate "yellowing" with age. From Ibanez: The JEM7VWH "has a super thin 0.5mm basswood veneer on the top and back. We do this with all alder woods because otherwise the finish would settle into the grain and have lines like a strat does in it after a few weeks. We do this with only alder wood that has a solid or metallic color on it. Just to let you know."
VWH Vine Inlay - The VWH vine inlay is perloid (synthetic) for the large leaves and abalone for the small leaves. This offers a visual contrast in the vine, while allowing the guitar to be more affordable as the abalone is more expensive and more difficult to apply & work with.
VWH Scalloping - The scalloped fretboard (frets 21-24) will cause some fading or discoloration to the small abalone inlays on fret 24. This is absolutely normal and not a blemish or defect, and is inevitable due to the scalloping of the inlay itself along with the fretbaord wood. Around 1999 Ibanez began implimenting an improved technique of scalloping the fretbaord (and inlay) so as to attempt at allowing the abalone inlay to appear more vibrant and natural.
VWH Fretboard 2004 change to Rosewood - Ibanez unexpectantly, abruptly and without notice changed the VWH fretboard from ebony to rosewood in 2004 after NAMM. From the geniuses at Ibanez of Japan (paraphrased): Vai's EVO has rosewood fingerboard from the beginning. JEM7VWH is the signature model, so we changed it for matching his own JEM.
