2019 Jem Jr Review/Mod
So a few weeks ago I managed to get ahold of a new Jem Jr. It's a 2019 version so it came with some "different" features compared to the older rosewood/mahogany options.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the construction of the guitar.
Pros
-The trem is actually fantastic. This may have been a one off but the DL trem on this one is super stable and has better chirps that my Floyd equiped 450.
-Obviously a Jem body and inlay
-Great price point. (got it for 400 new)
-Just about perfect setup out the box.
Cons
-The handle is a bit rough, as expected. It's not terrible but it isn't polished smooth
-The neck pocket screws are missing some white paint and there is 1 small neck pocket crack.
-Jatoba fretboard is pretty pink and rough. Didn't feel fully sanded since it has Alot of open grain across it.
-Some inlay pieces have some super glue squeeze out, I will scrape that off eventually.
-Fretboard was stupid dry. I sprayed it with conditioner and it disappeared instantly. This went on for about a week before I was able to start wiping it off
Typical of Indo quality.
The pickups are soso. They are not really fantastic, as they are somewhat thin, however, they are leagues beyond the infinity pickups that came on my 450 10 years ago. The bridge and mid pickup have alot of dynamic range, but the neck pickup just sounds like a single coil strat pickup rather then a humbucker to me.
Although the fretboard feels rough to the touch, it doesn't seem to affect the playability or the sound through the amp.
Moving on to the mods I want to do.
I have an extra edge pro that I am debating dropping in, but I am currently happy with the DL.
I have read that some users here have managed a drop in while others have had to heavily mod the cavity.
I want to add a black pickgaird, since I'm not too keen on white on white on white guitars. It needs a little something different.
I know many users, myself included, have ordered pickgaurds from Perle Guitars, but all his listings have him set to away and has not answered my emails as of yet.
If anyone knows exactly what pickgaurd pattern the Jem jr follows I would appreciate the feedback so I can look into ordering one.
I also plan on dropping a set of invaders into this bad boy. I am going to pull my invaders out of the 450 before selling it, as well as my Cosmo hardware from a prestige guitar I had moved down to it. (knobs and tuners and locking nut)
I will have a 5 way switch to imitate the different coil split options on the humbuckers, And install a dummy Chinese copy of the invader as a single coil just to fill the space aesthetically.
My plan is
1-bridge
2-bridge split
3-bridge+neck
4-neck split
5-neck
First time doing something like this, but I feel rather confident as my understanding of electronics in guitars grows.
I have not started the project just yet since I'm sourcing little things like pots and wires (lefty curse finding lefty pots) but I sketched out my plan while thinking over my options.
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Overall, I'm pretty happy with the construction of the guitar.
Pros
-The trem is actually fantastic. This may have been a one off but the DL trem on this one is super stable and has better chirps that my Floyd equiped 450.
-Obviously a Jem body and inlay
-Great price point. (got it for 400 new)
-Just about perfect setup out the box.
Cons
-The handle is a bit rough, as expected. It's not terrible but it isn't polished smooth
-The neck pocket screws are missing some white paint and there is 1 small neck pocket crack.
-Jatoba fretboard is pretty pink and rough. Didn't feel fully sanded since it has Alot of open grain across it.
-Some inlay pieces have some super glue squeeze out, I will scrape that off eventually.
-Fretboard was stupid dry. I sprayed it with conditioner and it disappeared instantly. This went on for about a week before I was able to start wiping it off
Typical of Indo quality.
The pickups are soso. They are not really fantastic, as they are somewhat thin, however, they are leagues beyond the infinity pickups that came on my 450 10 years ago. The bridge and mid pickup have alot of dynamic range, but the neck pickup just sounds like a single coil strat pickup rather then a humbucker to me.
Although the fretboard feels rough to the touch, it doesn't seem to affect the playability or the sound through the amp.
Moving on to the mods I want to do.
I have an extra edge pro that I am debating dropping in, but I am currently happy with the DL.
I have read that some users here have managed a drop in while others have had to heavily mod the cavity.
I want to add a black pickgaird, since I'm not too keen on white on white on white guitars. It needs a little something different.
I know many users, myself included, have ordered pickgaurds from Perle Guitars, but all his listings have him set to away and has not answered my emails as of yet.
If anyone knows exactly what pickgaurd pattern the Jem jr follows I would appreciate the feedback so I can look into ordering one.
I also plan on dropping a set of invaders into this bad boy. I am going to pull my invaders out of the 450 before selling it, as well as my Cosmo hardware from a prestige guitar I had moved down to it. (knobs and tuners and locking nut)
I will have a 5 way switch to imitate the different coil split options on the humbuckers, And install a dummy Chinese copy of the invader as a single coil just to fill the space aesthetically.
My plan is
1-bridge
2-bridge split
3-bridge+neck
4-neck split
5-neck
First time doing something like this, but I feel rather confident as my understanding of electronics in guitars grows.
I have not started the project just yet since I'm sourcing little things like pots and wires (lefty curse finding lefty pots) but I sketched out my plan while thinking over my options.
