thx fer the tips,Bros, but my SK is set up perfectly!!! The e string thing was pretty much part of the early JEM design!!! That was back when Mr.Vai was utilizing the off neck string bend effect where the note will jump up a 4th or so when yanked that way!!! it didn't happen all the time, but whenever i used my JEM, i would have to conciously remind myself of that possibility, and frankly, the last thing i wanna do while performing, is think, or at least not about that kinda stuff!!! That was before i found Zachary Guitars, so now i'm totally spoiled by Zachary's 46mm nut width,sound, and playability!!!

I would say, literally, buy a guitar that fits your hands. A friend of mine has very big hands and the only guitar that fits his hands well is a Jeff Beck Strat with a thick, clubby neck. It's the opposite for me. I prefer the wider string spacing on RG's and Jems and the thinner necks. When I first picked up an RG, it felt "right."

Once you've found the brand that fits you best, you can look at what pickups and other features offer the right sound for you.

It's interesting to know that you were also an Ibanez player in your pre-Zachary days...

Correcto el mundo my friend!!! the JPM neck known as the viper neck is amongst the best necks Ibanez has ever built!!! a real pleasure to play!!!
I have a vid on youtube where I am playing my JPM3. If you watch it, it will give you an idea of how good they sound and play but in the end you would have to play one to see if it really is for you!!!

Can you link me to your clip, I would love to see? So the idea behind the closer string spacing is... they are closer together so you dont haver to travel as far to pick the string? What other guitars have this?

are you certain of that? it seems a bit strange to me, i've never heard of that from any old jem owners before.. Vai didn't use that technique quite that extensively and if he did have the setup modified, it would have been in his personal setup- would be silly for ibanez to make it a stock setup option esp without even mentioning it anywhere..

any axe could be perfectly setup and playing awesome with great action yet still require a common neck pocket adjustment (otherwise it would be a nut problem which i doubt)

check Rich's tech section, he has it in his cleanup to setup tutorial, you can check the centering of strings on the board by eye but not the gap in the neck pocket, it'll look tight enough but there's still room to play with it

it does no harm to read it and if it fixes something you obviously don't like about the guitar, great!

From my playing experiences, Capraison Horuses are nicer IMO.

I'll go with the opinion expressed by the guy near the top of this thread -- that is, mold yourself to the guitar.

For years, I was molded to the wizard neck. My first Ibanez was a great (little did I know at the time) RG570 which I found in a pawn shop. Later, I had a 520QS that I adored -- the so-called, and justifiably so, "super wizard" neck. But happenstance dictated for tone reasons that my new favorite be the RG3120 -- a bit thicker neck. Now, after a couple years of the RG3120 prestige neck being my favorite, the wizard seems a bit too thin to me, a thing which I found to be very surprising. At first I much disliked the 3120's non wizard neck. But, I got used to it. So, what to make of this? What you mold yourself to, via practice, within reason, will be your favorite. And, with more practice, you can deliberately, and with premeditation, _change_ what your favorite is. Your favorite is, to a large extent defined by what it is that you're used to.

I could not agree more. I have a yamaha eterna (pacifica - but with a single coil in the bridge) and its my favorite best playing guitar. Why? Becuase Ive been playing it for over a decade and it fits me perfectly. Sure, its been tweaked - but any guitar set up will will play well. Its a matter of the old cliche of whos playing it....

Big Job

Suhr's are the ultimate bolt on guitar. The build quality is second to none and blows away any Jem.

As its a custom you can spec them any way you want so by definition it will better suiting to any individual's playing style, rather than a Jem shich is built to suit Steve Vai's taste - although his style is not a bad one to follow !!

Here is the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ki21YRXT60

I gotta know why Suhr is so much better than a jem in your opinion, or else it doesn't help me much. I checked these guitars out^ great specs but I can't stand their appearance. So why do they blow jems out fo the water? Is i a certain spec in particular? help me out?

Not everybody thinks Suhr's are better. Pro series S3 model with "down to earth" price of $3000? They are nice Strats, but I don't know if they are that nice. I have only played one, and it wasn't a life changing experience like my Zachary.

Best thing to do is just go out and play as many guitars as you can. find one that is right for you. Or just buy a Jem if you like the way they look. Get a good setup and don't look back. It's a great guitar and you can't really go wrong. You learn to appreciate the control you get from a guitar with a wider neck.

Suhr's are just plain nice. Better woods=better tone. They play better than any jem I have ever played or owned. Each one is made by a single builder not one guy does this and someone else does that. And the some cnc machines of course. Look it is simple It is just a step past what a normal production guitar can offer. Is it better than other guitars made in a similar way hard to say? But way better than a production guitar. When I play one of my other guitars and then plug in the suhr is like I just removed a blanket from around my head. The guitar is clearer and has more sustain than any guitar I have owned.

lets just say that i spent 25 yrs looking for my perfect guitar, and that search ended w/ Zachary!!!