When I was a teenager taking lesson's. My guitar teacher/mentor/advisor, taught me how to play using a Ibanez Jem. I'm not by far an Ibanez fan,but that guitar sounds, play's amazing. Keep up all the great work.
All I ever wanted was a guitar to have my back... as far as I can tell, they have always conspired against me! Those Vai licks brought back memories... nice work.
I bought my Jem in 2002. The wood, and instrument have really aged well, and its finally bloomed into an awesome shred machine. Nice Vai appreciation there my friend! Good Stuff! Keep em comin mate!
I’ve got one of the mid priced Premium Jem’s in Sea Foam Green - double the price of your Jr, half the price of a Japanese 7V - and it’s a great all round guitar. I’d certainly have no qualms recommending it. Good to hear the Jr’s are decent value for money.
I had one of the first releases of these (mahogany body and rosewood fretboard) from 2015 and it was awful. I couldn't lower the action without loads of fret buzz, trem was really clunky and wouldn't hold its tuning and a few other niggling things. After a couple of years I ended up selling it tand put the money towards buying a Charvel which is a far superior instrument in my opinion. If you get a good one of these then all's well that ends well but, I wouldn't bother getting a budget Ibanez again.
@@JohnLloydDavis Was that one of the “Woody” Jems? I always quite liked the look of those, so I’m sorry to hear yours wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. If I remember correctly, the Woody (and other later Premium Jems) didn’t have the original Edge term, whereas the 70VSFG did have it. Mine is a 2012 model, so very early in the history of the Premium Jems - maybe quality control was a bit better back then as it was a new factory at the time, or maybe I just got lucky. The only issue I’ve had since I bought it was a scratchy pickup selector switch, but playability wise it’s been great.
@@guitardave No it was one of the Jem Jr guitars. As I suspect you don't represent Ibanez or any of its qualty control or production facilities, your apology isn't really necessary or required but thank you anyway.
I love my jem jr, I swapped the trem for a gotoh, it stays in tune no matter how hard I use it. Also polished the back of the neck with steel wool, it feels smoother, it actually even made it shine. The pickups are surprisingly good. My first ever HSH guitar, the tones you get with this pickup configuration are really good, clean and overdriven.
In 1988 myself and a few friends played jems. Between us we had all the colors available, even the rare rootbeer one. I wish I had the insight back then to buy a few and store them untouched. Thanks for making this video on the jem jr!
I have a yellow one also. I would have preferred the green, but they don't make that one anymore. I got it for $424 as a factory blemished item. The "Blemish" was the monkey grip not being sanded smooth. I had every intention of swapping the pickups for DiMarzio Evolutions, but I ended up really liking the stock pickups. The trem, however, sucked. Wouldn't hold tune and the bar never stayed tight in the collar. I was constantly having to tighten the Allen screw so I just left the back plate off. I ended up getting a Gotoh GE-1996T and that thing is heaven compared to the stock unit. I also added green knobs and a pink cap on the pickup switch. I just need to find a matching pink paint for the claw area. I use an old Korg AX-1000G effects processor and a BOSS 7 band EQ. Pinch harmonics galore with the right EQ setting. 😃 EDIT: I paused the video and typed this comment just seconds before you held up the bag with the knobs and said you really like the pickups. lol
@Joe R Same here, green knobs and pink cab look so cool! I put a tremmory in to keep the tremolo tamed, keeps it in tune and you still can bend up, put it’s pretty stiff and looses sensitivity. Does the Gotoh fit right in or do you need to mess around with the body?
@@JoeR203 There was a guy on another channel who bought stainless steel post from original floyd rose, so there wasnt a need for him to do any drilling. Says it worked out great.
Man I think the driven tones on here are great! Killer amp. I bought an RG450DXB which seems similar to the Jem Jr. and put a Dimarzio PAF Master in the bridge, Thornbucker in the neck, and a Tex-mex single in the middle. The PAF Master is unreal. One of the best humbuckers that I’ve tried.
I changed out the stock bridge for a Gotoh (took minor mods). Instantly, the guitar sounded better with a ton more sustain. I had plans to switch out the pickups, but I’ll wait until I need to switch out the pots etc. Fortunately, my frets were not that scratchy.
Rub the back of the neck with some 00 steel wool, it will lessen that cheap feeling matte finish and make it slick as ice, then a full fret polish will really make a huge difference. The trems are good new but with the lack of hardened knife edges, they wear out super fast.
What’s a direct (once OEM worn-out) drop-in replacement? Can one upgrade these via an aftermarket , i.e., FU-TONE, etc.? Edit: someone else mentioned the Gotoh GE1996T. Just considering long-term use possibilities of upgrading! 👩🍳
Thanks man! I've been hunting for electric guitar #2, and have a chance to grab this used for $275. I'll be giving it a test run Sunday 😊. Thanks for the review!
I had a mid 90’s Jem Jr or Jem 555 as they were called back then. They cost about $1k and came with Dimarzio Evolution pickups… LO trs trem and a basswood body. The vine inlays were nice but only went the 12th fret. It was a great guitar and I wish I still had it!
The first Jem I saw was in a music store just before the Sam Ash and Guitar Center boom it was a "Passion And Warfare" model with the trapezoid inlays being a Steve fan myself, I just had to plug one into a Fender Chorus combo. Fell in love with it right away. The one I tried had awesome clean tones anywhere you threw the pick up switch, threw some chorus in there too. Same deal on the dirt channel. If I would've had the money I would have brought it on the spot. Fast forward to about 1999, I had the money for a new guitar and ended up getting a white Jem with the Evolution pickups and a brass Floyd and brass nut. Paid $1600 for it at the time of course they're a little more expensive now for a good one but if you have the money it's worth it.
I picked up one of the hot pink ones a couple years ago just for fun (and partially to annoy Scott because he has an irrational fear of the color pink). It’s not bad at all! Totally a fun guitar and gives me a smile every time I see it there in the rack and pick it up to play.
Love mine to death, but! Fret polishing was a must! Tremolo Block had to be replaced with big ol’ Bell 🔔 Brass 37mm trem block, and fresh set of .008’-.038 Rotosound’s and a complete set up! My baby is the Friggin Bomb now! The next upgrade will consist of Hot rails single position, one EVO neck pick-up and one Tone Zone at the bridge. Then maybe a pleck job on the fretboard along with a slight scallop of the fretboard along the edges, to give it that played in feel. All things considered, it’s way less than Jem!
How did you get the Vai cab? I noticed he signed it, nice! I’ve played a couple of Jem Jr’s & honestly thought they were terrible. I couldn’t get past the awful neck. I like a worn unfinished maple neck but these felt, as you said, cheap. Glad you’re digging it though, to each his own.
I've been fairly disappointed with the quality of the lower priced ibanez guitars lately. The last one I tried I really liked the finish but the neck felt cheap and the fret sprout was so bad it bordered kn unplayable. I've had a few ibanez in the $1000 range and they were excellent so I don't know if that was just a particularly bad one or if the quality dips that dramatically.
I have a Jem Jr, but the white one, I think it's the first year Ibanez switched to the "DL" trem's. Which are horrible. But, I bought the Jem Jr. cause I had some extra hardware and electronics laying around and wanted to put it in something cool. So, I installed a real Floyd (which fits perfectly ) which is black, and I had black locking tuners, so I threw those on there as well as a black pearloid pickguard and I threw in a Dimarzio SD3 I had laying around as well as an EVO neck. It plays and sounds amazing...
I picked up a 2012 white one a few months back off Reverb. Was from a store but the previous owner had stuck in green and pink Evolution pups, which I think put most people off as it was only £350, which considering it seems pretty mint, I at least can't find any dents etc is pretty good deal. I was reading the Ibanez wiki and it seems I got lucky, the 2012 was the last year it was manufactured before the current offering started in 2015. Mine is the 3 piece neck, also while not an expensive trem it stays in tune and I guess the fine tuners are different as they feel fine. The woods are different too so if anyone fancies one, I'd scan for a decent second hand one first and see if you can get the old ones for a good price.
I found a deal on 2020 model for 250$ in a pretty mint condition complete with the box and all the stuffs inside, plus the seller's willing to give me a softcase. Pretty difficult to get the models from 2018 and before which had mahagony body. But wdyt? Is it a good deal for 250$? EDIT: for Ibanez, I've only had GIO GRG170DX back in 2014 or 2015 I guess. And I didn't really like how it played. How do you think does JEM Jr compare to the GIO? The latest guitars I've had were the Squier Deluxe Strat that I really liked but I still had the craving for Les Paul back then, so last year I sold it and got the LP Special SC Pro TV Yellow. I liked the P90s sound but just couldn't grow the Les Paul's neck into my liking. So I just sold it last month and planning to get a JEM Jr that's for brand new, it's actually more expensive than my previous Les Paul's current new price. This 250$ deal that I'm about to go for, is gonna leave me some cash left from selling my Les Paul.
I bought one for...well curiosity really and it was okay. I wasn't overly rapt in it though and ended up giving to a friend and bought a 70v, which is very nice to play.
Nice review. Steve Vai is a favorite of mine for sure. Kids today have it so much better when it comes to gear and learning tools. You know what I mean. 😂🤓🤟👍
*Edit - I saw it. Sorry bout that. BUUUTTT.... A Q-Tip with2 drops of 3-In-One Oil lightly rubbed on the threads of this fine tuners will make a WORLD of difference. 1200 grit, good quality sandpaper will smooth out those janky frets as well. It's light enough to take off the surface schmooo but removers very little, if any, metal. I would LOVE to see a Feature Presentation on that cabinet! Ultra-detailed. Down to the screws holding the corners on, what kind/brand/gauge of wiring and how it's wired. Congrats on getting it!
I used to own several jems many years ago. One of which was the Yellow. Life got in the way. Jesus Michael is there anything you can’t do? Gardening? Car maintenance? . Fantastic episode as Always 🤘
I was going to get one of these when they first came out, but ended up getting the Sea Foam Green used (mint) for a great price. I played a JR after that and there is no comparison for quality. The neck felt very rough…but I wonder could it be sanded a bit and cleaned up so to speak.
I hope Steve called you and said thank you for this Review 🤟🏻😜🎸. Ive been all into Glam again lately and want one of these Jackson Dk3xrs. (Which look identical to this lol) they perform PRETTY Well* … but im finding almost every affordable guitar has that “scratchy” type thing going on. This Vai looks & sounds pretty sick for $500 though! Proof there ARE Deals out there
Yeah the PAF Pro he bought is killer! It is one of dimarzio;s best. The took the classic PAF tone and added clarity,output,string balance presence and harmonics. very underrated model.
The JEMJRSP has the INF1 & INF2 pickups which are the original Infinity ones from 1994, not the crappy newer INF3 & INF4. If it sounds like Vai, it's good enough.
They're the same. At this level, each guitar is going to have a different level of quality control. So it's more about finding the best individual guitar. Sometimes it might be luck.
Mine sounds good, plays well, stays in tune incredibly well, but needs fret work, and I've heard of other people not having the same luck. So, try to play it before you buy it.
I just bought the JEM Jr in white and bought an Amp Smasher t-shirt as well. :-) I just had to have a Jem. I can update later if I have to with new trem system.
Love your videos brother, I've had 2 of these including the same one you're holding and I couldn't get a good sound out of the pickups that were in mine. I did however switch out the bridge for gravity storm. I was a little disappointed as I figured out that basically the gravity storm is a slightly weaker tone zone. I put a tone zone in my next one. I picked one up for 300 bucks in a pawn shop. Had a idea ended up emailing one of those chinese manufacturers and told them what i wanted. Got an ebony fretboard maple.neck ash body reverse headstock no tuning keys no pickups no electronics just a body and bridge and neck purple stain on body 200 bucks. Plays amazing
I'm lucky to have gotten my jem7v in the early 2000s for a great price, these days I couldn't afford one either. That said.....some elbow grease on the fretwork and pop in that PAF pro and you're in business. I wanna see another video with an update on how the green knobs affect the tone 😋
my biggest concern whether the trem is up to heavy use and can the trem arm stay where left it. You mentioned that it stays in tune well which huge for a floating system like this. Thanks!
This particular guitar made in Indonesia, not in Japan as original Ibanez Jem. Recently my student bought this model but asked for return due to manufacture fault. The 1 st string was too close to the edge and always slipped out of fingerboard.
I had a RG550 Genesis last year. I thought J-Craft quality, so just did the deal without test driving. Wrong. The downsides you describe for the JEM were much the same on the RG, e.g., stuff felt cheap and the five way selector was junk and faulty out of the box. I was really surprised. I sold it a week later and got a mexi Strat that I love the neck on, but some stuff on it is a little meh (pups, trem and tuners). Some kid had bought two of them. One for him and a matching one for his friend. He had never played it. Not once. He was selling because he was off to cop school to learn how to arrest people. An Ibanez fanboi could not buy it off me faster enough, so I did not lose a penny.
I don't know how these compare to the late 90's version of the jr, but I played one whilst I owned a Jem 7bsb, and other than the visuals they had nothing in common at all. I would like to like this guitar, as I couldn't buy a Japanese Jem now, but I am skeptical. Plus is there a guitar that wouldn't sound awesome with that set up? Saying that, I got myself a Squier Jim Root Tele to use a mod platform and I absolutely love it
HI Micheal, I have the same exact guitar with green knobs, change the bridge pickup for a Dimarzio Breed and replace the bridge with a Ibanez Edge tremolo with FU Tone big block. Its WWOONDERFUL, The breed pickup is a hotter version of the PAF Pro
Hi. Only if you’re recording. You would run Headrush with no cab emulation into Daw. Then put cab on with TwoNotes. OR use a CabM and apply cab with that. Sorry it’s not as simple as dropping a cab into the headrush
I have the pink Jem Jr. Plays good not the Best trem but it does the trick. Still trying to find the perfect bridge pup. I put a JB in it but I'm not feeling it.
The trem is a deal breaker....I would take the Edge III over that TRS bridge....I mean both are not great but the TRS even looks cheap with it's wonky base plate shape...at least the Edge 3 has the Edge "look" and can be upgraded with parts from FU Tone
that sounds great! but would love to see you upgrade to paf pro and demo it. heck, would love you to demo some dimarzio pups cuz most of dimarzio demo videos suck lol. you got a great sense of tone and great hand tone
Lacks sustainability you must replace the trem block with a big ol brass 37 mm block! #0000 steel wool the neck and then sand lightly with 15,000 paper! Or forget all that and just add a Axe Fx unit and fine polish the frets!
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA Finals D3 | Fall | รู้ผลทีมแชมป์ พร้อมตั๋วสู่ PMGC](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7NxsN0Ch6vk/mqdefault.jpg)
When I was a teenager taking lesson's. My guitar teacher/mentor/advisor, taught me how to play using a Ibanez Jem. I'm not by far an Ibanez fan,but that guitar sounds, play's amazing. Keep up all the great work.
Steve Vai,played on Charvel Guitar's,Marshall modded Plexi amp head's back then.
@@stevie..d..charvelman4543 Yeah, right before he switched to Ibanez he used Charvels like most 80s players.
All I ever wanted was a guitar to have my back... as far as I can tell, they have always conspired against me! Those Vai licks brought back memories... nice work.
I bought this guitar for my son for Christmas and its a lot of bang for the buck. Same yellow and everything
coolest dad ever \m/
@@rodrigobelinchon2982 Bought him a JP150 7 string too for those Dream Theatre itches lol
@@ithrial hahaha #yeah
I bought my Jem in 2002. The wood, and instrument have really aged well, and its finally bloomed into an awesome shred machine. Nice Vai appreciation there my friend! Good Stuff! Keep em comin mate!
I bought mine in 2003.
Had to sell it and i regret it every single day.
I love my jem Jr the first thing I did was get a pearl like scratch plate, now it actually plays even better 👍
where'd you buy the scratch plate?
I’ve got one of the mid priced Premium Jem’s in Sea Foam Green - double the price of your Jr, half the price of a Japanese 7V - and it’s a great all round guitar. I’d certainly have no qualms recommending it. Good to hear the Jr’s are decent value for money.
I had one of the first releases of these (mahogany body and rosewood fretboard) from 2015 and it was awful. I couldn't lower the action without loads of fret buzz, trem was really clunky and wouldn't hold its tuning and a few other niggling things. After a couple of years I ended up selling it tand put the money towards buying a Charvel which is a far superior instrument in my opinion. If you get a good one of these then all's well that ends well but, I wouldn't bother getting a budget Ibanez again.
@@JohnLloydDavis Was that one of the “Woody” Jems? I always quite liked the look of those, so I’m sorry to hear yours wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. If I remember correctly, the Woody (and other later Premium Jems) didn’t have the original Edge term, whereas the 70VSFG did have it.
Mine is a 2012 model, so very early in the history of the Premium Jems - maybe quality control was a bit better back then as it was a new factory at the time, or maybe I just got lucky. The only issue I’ve had since I bought it was a scratchy pickup selector switch, but playability wise it’s been great.
@@guitardave No it was one of the Jem Jr guitars. As I suspect you don't represent Ibanez or any of its qualty control or production facilities, your apology isn't really necessary or required but thank you anyway.
the jr. only look like the JEM.
Epic intro riff. Man, that's still my favorite tune from the Skyscraper album. Absolutely nailed the sound.
Hammerhead Shark is my favorite. Reminds me of working in the garage with my dad as a kid.
I love my jem jr, I swapped the trem for a gotoh, it stays in tune no matter how hard I use it.
Also polished the back of the neck with steel wool, it feels smoother, it actually even made it shine.
The pickups are surprisingly good. My first ever HSH guitar, the tones you get with this pickup configuration are really good, clean and overdriven.
What model of gotoh?
@@razorray6273 GOTOH GE1996T.
In 1988 myself and a few friends played jems. Between us we had all the colors available, even the rare rootbeer one. I wish I had the insight back then to buy a few and store them untouched. Thanks for making this video on the jem jr!
I have a yellow one also. I would have preferred the green, but they don't make that one anymore. I got it for $424 as a factory blemished item. The "Blemish" was the monkey grip not being sanded smooth. I had every intention of swapping the pickups for DiMarzio Evolutions, but I ended up really liking the stock pickups. The trem, however, sucked. Wouldn't hold tune and the bar never stayed tight in the collar. I was constantly having to tighten the Allen screw so I just left the back plate off. I ended up getting a Gotoh GE-1996T and that thing is heaven compared to the stock unit. I also added green knobs and a pink cap on the pickup switch. I just need to find a matching pink paint for the claw area. I use an old Korg AX-1000G effects processor and a BOSS 7 band EQ. Pinch harmonics galore with the right EQ setting. 😃 EDIT: I paused the video and typed this comment just seconds before you held up the bag with the knobs and said you really like the pickups. lol
@Joe R Same here, green knobs and pink cab look so cool! I put a tremmory in to keep the tremolo tamed, keeps it in tune and you still can bend up, put it’s pretty stiff and looses sensitivity. Does the Gotoh fit right in or do you need to mess around with the body?
@@alexb.5703 It fits in if you use the stock posts. The Gotoh posts are slightly thicker so drilling would be required. I kept the stock posts.
@@JoeR203 There was a guy on another channel who bought stainless steel post from original floyd rose, so there wasnt a need for him to do any drilling. Says it worked out great.
@@tokk3n-hj4xg The Floyd posts are probably the same 10mm as the Ibanez posts. The Gotoh posts are 11mm.
After seeing you play The Audience is Listening, I'm tempted to go get my old Passion and Warfare tab book out😆
Ibanez upgrade comparison video -- th-cam.com/video/f6FyGecTd3c/w-d-xo.html
Man I think the driven tones on here are great! Killer amp. I bought an RG450DXB which seems similar to the Jem Jr. and put a Dimarzio PAF Master in the bridge, Thornbucker in the neck, and a Tex-mex single in the middle. The PAF Master is unreal. One of the best humbuckers that I’ve tried.
I've got the white 450dxb and loooove it! I think it plays better than the JemJr
I changed out the stock bridge for a Gotoh (took minor mods). Instantly, the guitar sounded better with a ton more sustain. I had plans to switch out the pickups, but I’ll wait until I need to switch out the pots etc. Fortunately, my frets were not that scratchy.
Rub the back of the neck with some 00 steel wool, it will lessen that cheap feeling matte finish and make it slick as ice, then a full fret polish will really make a huge difference. The trems are good new but with the lack of hardened knife edges, they wear out super fast.
Bingo
What’s a direct (once OEM worn-out) drop-in replacement? Can one upgrade these via an aftermarket , i.e., FU-TONE, etc.? Edit: someone else mentioned the Gotoh GE1996T. Just considering long-term use possibilities of upgrading! 👩🍳
0000 grade steel wool will definitely fix that fret problem!
Had my eyes on the same guitar, this is definitely the best colour.
Thanks man! I've been hunting for electric guitar #2, and have a chance to grab this used for $275. I'll be giving it a test run Sunday 😊. Thanks for the review!
I had a mid 90’s Jem Jr or Jem 555 as they were called back then. They cost about $1k and came with Dimarzio Evolution pickups… LO trs trem and a basswood body. The vine inlays were nice but only went the 12th fret. It was a great guitar and I wish I still had it!
Not a bad sounding guitar for the price. Your playing certainly makes it sound great. Can't wait to hear the story about the Vai cab!
Thanks PC! Vai cab story coming next week!
Just a shame they don't do them with maple fingerboards and disappearing pyramids
what is a disappearing pyramid
The first Jem I saw was in a music store just before the Sam Ash and Guitar Center boom it was a "Passion And Warfare" model with the trapezoid inlays being a Steve fan myself, I just had to plug one into a Fender Chorus combo. Fell in love with it right away. The one I tried had awesome clean tones anywhere you threw the pick up switch, threw some chorus in there too. Same deal on the dirt channel. If I would've had the money I would have brought it on the spot. Fast forward to about 1999, I had the money for a new guitar and ended up getting a white Jem with the Evolution pickups and a brass Floyd and brass nut. Paid $1600 for it at the time of course they're a little more expensive now for a good one but if you have the money it's worth it.
Always loved the JEM guitars but never got one. Saw Steve play a few years back. That was the loudest concert I've been to in my life. It was glorious
Well, people who are not, be well aware, Michael is playing two of the most amazing amps on the planet.
Those and Soldano SLO’s can definitely make a cheap guitar sound fab 😜🤟🏻
True
Very cool to have a old Via cab in the fold , and very time i hear you play , i'm reminded how good of player you are !!!
Great video !
I picked up one of the hot pink ones a couple years ago just for fun (and partially to annoy Scott because he has an irrational fear of the color pink). It’s not bad at all! Totally a fun guitar and gives me a smile every time I see it there in the rack and pick it up to play.
I got the 'Pink',JemJr. and it's my main 'go-to' guitar,at this point!It has some issues',but overall,I really enjoy playing it!🍺
I'm thinking about buying the pink one also, after playing for 44+ years I never thought I would. If once it was good
4 Paul Gilbert why not
Great riffs, helpful video thank you!!
Love mine to death, but! Fret polishing was a must! Tremolo Block had to be replaced with big ol’ Bell 🔔 Brass 37mm trem block, and fresh set of .008’-.038 Rotosound’s and a complete set up! My baby is the Friggin Bomb now! The next upgrade will consist of Hot rails single position, one EVO neck pick-up and one Tone Zone at the bridge. Then maybe a pleck job on the fretboard along with a slight scallop of the fretboard along the edges, to give it that played in feel. All things considered, it’s way less than Jem!
Greatly appreciate your channel. This guitar sounds excellent.
excuse me but you just had me at DLR Steve Vai ' Perfect Timing" riff.
Amen brother!
I love how you nail riffs from all of these different players!!!
...different Players ? I heard only Vai things
How did you get the Vai cab? I noticed he signed it, nice!
I’ve played a couple of Jem Jr’s & honestly thought they were terrible. I couldn’t get past the awful neck. I like a worn unfinished maple neck but these felt, as you said, cheap. Glad you’re digging it though, to each his own.
Vai cab story coming next week! ☺️
You’re spot on with the neck. It’s feels sucky, but it plays alright and sounds good.
Sand and 'tru-oil' the neck? Would that improve it?
I've been fairly disappointed with the quality of the lower priced ibanez guitars lately. The last one I tried I really liked the finish but the neck felt cheap and the fret sprout was so bad it bordered kn unplayable. I've had a few ibanez in the $1000 range and they were excellent so I don't know if that was just a particularly bad one or if the quality dips that dramatically.
Awesome review. Thank you
I have. Jem jr and I love it. Gotoh 1996 trem upgrade and jb and jazz pickups have it sounding and playing great!
I have a Jem Jr, but the white one, I think it's the first year Ibanez switched to the "DL" trem's. Which are horrible. But, I bought the Jem Jr. cause I had some extra hardware and electronics laying around and wanted to put it in something cool. So, I installed a real Floyd (which fits perfectly ) which is black, and I had black locking tuners, so I threw those on there as well as a black pearloid pickguard and I threw in a Dimarzio SD3 I had laying around as well as an EVO neck. It plays and sounds amazing...
Really great playing dude!
Thanks Danny!
Hang on to her bro. The yellows went quick, very hard to find these days. The white ones and pink ones are all over though.
That sounded ridiculously good Michael!! Awesome guitar
Great video! I have considered one of these for a long time.
I picked up a 2012 white one a few months back off Reverb. Was from a store but the previous owner had stuck in green and pink Evolution pups, which I think put most people off as it was only £350, which considering it seems pretty mint, I at least can't find any dents etc is pretty good deal.
I was reading the Ibanez wiki and it seems I got lucky, the 2012 was the last year it was manufactured before the current offering started in 2015. Mine is the 3 piece neck, also while not an expensive trem it stays in tune and I guess the fine tuners are different as they feel fine. The woods are different too so if anyone fancies one, I'd scan for a decent second hand one first and see if you can get the old ones for a good price.
I found a deal on 2020 model for 250$ in a pretty mint condition complete with the box and all the stuffs inside, plus the seller's willing to give me a softcase. Pretty difficult to get the models from 2018 and before which had mahagony body. But wdyt? Is it a good deal for 250$?
EDIT: for Ibanez, I've only had GIO GRG170DX back in 2014 or 2015 I guess. And I didn't really like how it played. How do you think does JEM Jr compare to the GIO? The latest guitars I've had were the Squier Deluxe Strat that I really liked but I still had the craving for Les Paul back then, so last year I sold it and got the LP Special SC Pro TV Yellow. I liked the P90s sound but just couldn't grow the Les Paul's neck into my liking. So I just sold it last month and planning to get a JEM Jr that's for brand new, it's actually more expensive than my previous Les Paul's current new price. This 250$ deal that I'm about to go for, is gonna leave me some cash left from selling my Les Paul.
I bought one for...well curiosity really and it was okay. I wasn't overly rapt in it though and ended up giving to a friend and bought a 70v, which is very nice to play.
I wish they would come out with a green jem jr, i always thought that was the most cool jem color
Nice review. Steve Vai is a favorite of mine for sure. Kids today have it so much better when it comes to gear and learning tools. You know what I mean. 😂🤓🤟👍
Great to hear it played through that cab ! Good value guitar too , those factory pick ups aren't bad either.
*Edit - I saw it. Sorry bout that. BUUUTTT....
A Q-Tip with2 drops of 3-In-One Oil lightly rubbed on the threads of this fine tuners will make a WORLD of difference.
1200 grit, good quality sandpaper will smooth out those janky frets as well. It's light enough to take off the surface schmooo but removers very little, if any, metal.
I would LOVE to see a Feature Presentation on that cabinet!
Ultra-detailed. Down to the screws holding the corners on, what kind/brand/gauge of wiring and how it's wired.
Congrats on getting it!
PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT TIMING
I used to own several jems many years ago. One of which was the Yellow. Life got in the way. Jesus Michael is there anything you can’t do? Gardening? Car maintenance? . Fantastic episode as Always 🤘
Great tone Micheal!!! That sounded great!!!
That may be a cheap guitar but you sounded just like Vai from the DLR days.
I was going to get one of these when they first came out, but ended up getting the Sea Foam Green used (mint) for a great price. I played a JR after that and there is no comparison for quality. The neck felt very rough…but I wonder could it be sanded a bit and cleaned up so to speak.
Yes!!! Perfect timing!!!
For the algo & me: How'd you land such a supreme score with that cab?
Story coming next week’s video
student-grade instruments can be a lot of fun.
this would be one of the best looking guitars for me if it weren't for those red pick ups x) in yellow (maybe black) they would be perfect
Unlike the EVH guitars, these pickups are super simple to replace. Grab some Dimarzio's of your favorite color, and BAM!
MN i love it when you play IBANEZ guitars!! great review greeat Vai lix! looking to p/u your vai IR cab pack🔥🤘👏
Michael, maybe you covered this somewhere, but which guitars/necks do you have that you would say "got your back"?
I hope Steve called you and said thank you for this Review 🤟🏻😜🎸. Ive been all into Glam again lately and want one of these Jackson Dk3xrs. (Which look identical to this lol) they perform PRETTY Well* … but im finding almost every affordable guitar has that “scratchy” type thing going on. This Vai looks & sounds pretty sick for $500 though! Proof there ARE Deals out there
Your yellow is brighter than my jem Jr
I'd switch the pickup Mike, im certain it's better than the stock one for only being a 500$ axe....green knobs will look cool man!
Yeah the PAF Pro he bought is killer! It is one of dimarzio;s best. The took the classic PAF tone and added clarity,output,string balance presence and harmonics. very underrated model.
The JEMJRSP has the INF1 & INF2 pickups which are the original Infinity ones from 1994, not the crappy newer INF3 & INF4.
If it sounds like Vai, it's good enough.
@@ErebosGR Ibanez has the JEM jr listed with quantum pu's not Infinity.
@@These_go_to_eleven_1959 The yellow and the pink are JEMJRSP, not regular JEMJR.
@@ErebosGR 👆🏼this
Can you please tell me which guitar is better the Ibanez Jem jr white or the Ibanez Jem jr yellow colour? Thank you
They're the same. At this level, each guitar is going to have a different level of quality control. So it's more about finding the best individual guitar. Sometimes it might be luck.
Ppl say they are great for the price, so it’s good! Ppl seem to stay away from these because of the “jr” but I’ve been looking into these
Mine sounds good, plays well, stays in tune incredibly well, but needs fret work, and I've heard of other people not having the same luck. So, try to play it before you buy it.
I really want to do a swirl custom build at some point. You can find some custom jem bodies and necks online. Not sure how that compares to a jem jr.
Great video.. what else are you using besides the Friedman BE 100 and Cab to get those great late 80s tones?
Harry Cody of Shotgun Messiah knew how to shred on this guitar🎸😎
I love mine, great video.
I just bought the JEM Jr in white and bought an Amp Smasher t-shirt as well. :-) I just had to have a Jem. I can update later if I have to with new trem system.
Love your videos brother, I've had 2 of these including the same one you're holding and I couldn't get a good sound out of the pickups that were in mine.
I did however switch out the bridge for gravity storm. I was a little disappointed as I figured out that basically the gravity storm is a slightly weaker tone zone. I put a tone zone in my next one. I picked one up for 300 bucks in a pawn shop.
Had a idea ended up emailing one of those chinese manufacturers and told them what i wanted.
Got an ebony fretboard maple.neck ash body reverse headstock no tuning keys no pickups no electronics just a body and bridge and neck purple stain on body 200 bucks.
Plays amazing
Love the color
Hey Michael, where did you order the green knobs and green pickup selector from?
Michael, what do you think of the Carvin Vai Legact V30 2x12 with the removable back?
But do you have the Digitech Harmonizer with your SPX90?!
I'm lucky to have gotten my jem7v in the early 2000s for a great price, these days I couldn't afford one either. That said.....some elbow grease on the fretwork and pop in that PAF pro and you're in business. I wanna see another video with an update on how the green knobs affect the tone 😋
I like your content. Make more and I'll watch more.
It made me happy ..yesss
my biggest concern whether the trem is up to heavy use and can the trem arm stay where left it. You mentioned that it stays in tune well which huge for a floating system like this. Thanks!
No and no.
This particular guitar made in Indonesia, not in Japan as original Ibanez Jem. Recently my student bought this model but asked for return due to manufacture fault. The 1 st string was too close to the edge and always slipped out of fingerboard.
I had a RG550 Genesis last year. I thought J-Craft quality, so just did the deal without test driving. Wrong. The downsides you describe for the JEM were much the same on the RG, e.g., stuff felt cheap and the five way selector was junk and faulty out of the box. I was really surprised. I sold it a week later and got a mexi Strat that I love the neck on, but some stuff on it is a little meh (pups, trem and tuners). Some kid had bought two of them. One for him and a matching one for his friend. He had never played it. Not once. He was selling because he was off to cop school to learn how to arrest people. An Ibanez fanboi could not buy it off me faster enough, so I did not lose a penny.
those monitors are bad ass :D
I don't know how these compare to the late 90's version of the jr, but I played one whilst I owned a Jem 7bsb, and other than the visuals they had nothing in common at all. I would like to like this guitar, as I couldn't buy a Japanese Jem now, but I am skeptical. Plus is there a guitar that wouldn't sound awesome with that set up? Saying that, I got myself a Squier Jim Root Tele to use a mod platform and I absolutely love it
Would you say it's like an RG450? Or better, or worse?
Wow, Steve Vai cab🥳🥳 I hope i can buy the ir's of this cab 👍
What is up with yellow ones? They're super f'ing rare and when you do find one used it's more than the retail price of a new one!
Wish they did the disappearing pyramid inlays on maple.
HI Micheal, I have the same exact guitar with green knobs, change the bridge pickup for a Dimarzio Breed and replace the bridge with a Ibanez Edge tremolo with FU Tone big block. Its WWOONDERFUL, The breed pickup is a hotter version of the PAF Pro
Where did you get the green knobs?? That seems cool
@@kekevision1824 E*ay
New to the modeling world here. If I buy your IR pack of off the two notes site i can use those as cabs for my head rush board right?
Hi. Only if you’re recording. You would run Headrush with no cab emulation into Daw. Then put cab on with TwoNotes. OR use a CabM and apply cab with that. Sorry it’s not as simple as dropping a cab into the headrush
@@BigHairyGuitars ohh that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation appreciate it Michael keep rocking bro🤘
If you had to recommend one guitar that was worth paying the money (within reason, no $14k PRS), what would it be?
Thanks for the review, what about the weight?
i have had my '88 FP Jem since new in '88, still solid as a rock, but has some serious mojo and bite marks, hahaha.
That's actually a decent looking case for that guitar. My RG550 didn't even come with a basic gigbag.
Vai EEAS tour cab??? Did you also grab the Lee Jackson modded head?
I want the pink one!
I have the pink Jem Jr. Plays good not the Best trem but it does the trick. Still trying to find the perfect bridge pup. I put a JB in it but I'm not feeling it.
The trem is a deal breaker....I would take the Edge III over that TRS bridge....I mean both are not great but the TRS even looks cheap with it's wonky base plate shape...at least the Edge 3 has the Edge "look" and can be upgraded with parts from FU Tone
I dont know about these newer trs but the early 90s trs bridges were as good as an edge trem. I believe they were made in Japan back then.
"Money CAN Vai you happiness"
that sounds great! but would love to see you upgrade to paf pro and demo it. heck, would love you to demo some dimarzio pups cuz most of dimarzio demo videos suck lol. you got a great sense of tone and great hand tone
Did you ever end up putting the green knobs on?
I like the new format,,
Frank Zappa
Shut up and play your Steve via guitar 🎸🤣
Ibanez Quantum pickups are by far the best stock Ibanez branded pupsI've played.
Infinity pups in the pink and yellow jems
@@James-hh1lq are you sure about that? They're quantums.
@@t3hgir yep just checked it again infinity on the pink and yellow . Much better than quantum
Told ya so
@@James-hh1lq some people are insufferable, congrats
I wonder if a proper fret job would help that neck. Or if an original Ibanez edge trem would fit
You know what they say " every days a school day " regards mic charging. Tip, oil the fine tuner threads
Lacks sustainability you must replace the trem block with a big ol brass 37 mm block! #0000 steel wool the neck and then sand lightly with 15,000 paper! Or forget all that and just add a Axe Fx unit and fine polish the frets!