Ibanez Jem- Does it get any better??

I dont know of a guitar with any better feel, and sound in it's class, but if there is one would love to hear about it!! :cool:

Originally Posted by: axemaster911I dont know of a guitar with any better feel, and sound in it's class, but if there is one would love to hear about it!! :cool:

A Custom Shop Strat... A PRS Custom 22... A Gibson '57 Gold Top... Jackson Soloist... ESP M-II... Jackson RR... Ibanez JS... PRS Single Cut...

There are tons of killer axes out there. The JEM is a nice axe either way...... But don't get tunnel vision based on the shiny mirror finish or the clever handle... There are often other guitars out there that sound just as good, if not better, than a high priced signature model. Often the signature models are more expensive because they carry the name of a fmaous artist... An Ibanez RG could give you the same feel and sound if it had the same pickups... I personally would never buy a JEM... If someone gave me one I would immediately trade it in for a Custom Shop Stratocaster... since that's what I'm into.



And this is not a review... This belongs in gear discussion. This is only for actual gear reviews.

Originally Posted by: axemaster911I dont know of a guitar with any better feel, and sound in it's class, but if there is one would love to hear about it!! :cool:

Schecter C-1 Classic!

Originally Posted by: aschlemanA Custom Shop Strat... A PRS Custom 22... A Gibson '57 Gold Top... Jackson Soloist... ESP M-II... Jackson RR... Ibanez JS... PRS Single Cut...

There are tons of killer axes out there. The JEM is a nice axe either way...... But don't get tunnel vision based on the shiny mirror finish or the clever handle... There are often other guitars out there that sound just as good, if not better, than a high priced signature model. Often the signature models are more expensive because they carry the name of a fmaous artist... An Ibanez RG could give you the same feel and sound if it had the same pickups... I personally would never buy a JEM... If someone gave me one I would immediately trade it in for a Custom Shop Stratocaster... since that's what I'm into.

And this is not a review... This belongs in gear discussion. This is only for actual gear reviews.

I disagree, I dont think Steve Via would have let his name ride on it if that were the case, and personally I could live without the handle. I thought a guitar counted as gear, if not what do you call it???
No need the be snappie, this is just my personal opinion after many years of trials, and tribulations. And lastly I have owned a strat. I like the Jem. :D

Originally Posted by: halo71Schecter C-1 Classic!

Thanks for the tip, I'll give one a test drive soon. :cool:

Originally Posted by: halo71Schecter C-1 Classic!

Hahaha, yea man. If it was American made, it would probably be over a $1000.

Everyone has their preferences. Mine is a Gibson LP Classic.

Originally Posted by: JFRICKEveryone has their preferences. Mine is a Gibson LP Classic.

Yea, those are hard to beat. I'm wanting to try out something I havent tried before, but that getting to be few and far between.
I am just dieing to get my hands on an ESP though. :D

I dont think the JEM is soposed to be tonally superior to the average guitar for its price. Because like aschleman said, if you put a pair of Evo's on an RG, or any super-strat(ish) guitar, its gonna sound like a JEM. If anything, all the metal from the bridge, the 24 fret scale, and the big monkey hole on the guitar are downgrades as far as tone.

But like I said, i dont think Steve designed this guitar to have the best tone of all guitars. More like best looks, stage presence, and playability. When your playing infront of thousands of people live, those reasons above may out weigh the tone factor.

You have a point, and I am not really a die hard Jem lover, (although I've never felt a better action). Thats why I wrote this thread to hear the pro's, and cons. The things that I like most about it are (as with most higher end Ibanez) its wonderful tight action, and it is very light weight, and of course the high quality tremolo, and pickups.
That may be the only downfall is the tone, but that depends on what style of music its used for.
Thats what im interested in, finding out which axe is the shredders choice for top Dog. :D

Originally Posted by: axemaster911... Thats what im interested in, finding out which axe is the shredders choice for top Dog. :D

Well, you just tossed tone out of consideration right there! Shredders use so much gain to acheive touch sensitivity and sustain that the guitar itself makes very little contribution to the tone. Might as well be made of plywood and particle board, as long as the action is low and it has a locking trem. :p

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsWell, you just tossed tone out of consideration right there! Shredders use so much gain to acheive touch sensitivity and sustain that the guitar itself makes very little contribution to the tone. Might as well be made of plywood and particle board, as long as the action is low and it has a locking trem. :p

yep, hence the popularity of active pickups.

Designe a 4 lb guitar with a super thin neck with a super cool paint job and 1000 frets and put EMGz. BAM, you got yourself the ultimate shred guitar :rolleyes:

Im always more impressed when I see a Les Paul shredder than an Ibanez/Jackson one. Its just...well, cooler... (excpet for Zakk Wylde)

I like JEMs... actually, I'll change that.... I like Ibanez. Anything with the H-S-H pickup configuration gives so many options you'll be fine whether you shred or play the blues. The look is a problem for me now though - too old to play live with a pointy pink guitar, so the JEMs are for recording only - I use RGs and JSs (or a Radius) when people can see me. I play fusion I guess - it's not full on crazy shred metal - and I hate EMGs!

The high end of the range are up there with any other manufacturer's offering. I'd suggest looking at a JS as well though - the necks are the most comfortable I've ever played.

Carvin are worth a look - beautiful guitars, very well made, with nice necks...

Like Ren, I'm a Jem man too and I'm not a fan of active pickups. I agree that you don't get a huge amount of unique tone from the body of a Jem - then again I've played a lot of guitars and the whole tone from the body thing is way over rated IMO. It realy depends on the type of music you play. I just sold my Gibson Les Paul Goldtop becuase the action was too high at the lowest setting, the neck was a thick as a can of beens, the tone nice but the pickups were totally unsuitable for heavy high gain stuff. anyway, it was an investment that paid off in the end;-)
Fiddle with the tone knob, pickup height and amp settings and you can get any tone you want once you have good pickups - especially with all of the gear that's available today. I play a lot of fast lead and the reason I like the Ibanez Jem is the slim playable neck, 24 frets, weight and feel of the guitar for sitting and standing, Edge Pro trem with the tiger claw cavity (never goes out of tune and can take severe abuse) and the H-S-H pup configuration. I've had too many guitars that require touchy feely care and constant upkeep to be bothered going down that road again. The way I look at it is, the Jem is a workhorse that performs excellently. If I had to go for a guitar from a different manufacturer for lead I would go for a Jackson solist. I don't play live anymore so my Jem was a treat from me to me for recording purposes. The only guitar I would consider buying again is another Jem, probably one with Evo's as my 'Bad Horsie' Jem has Breeds ;-)

I own a couple Strats and a Ibanez JS1200CA.

I can tell you that Floyd bridges suck tone out of the guitar.
But I can also say that I love playing the Ibanez way more than the Strats.

It's so precise compared to my Strats. It lets you do things that my other guitars don't.

The Strats have a cool tone that I can't get on the Ibanez, but it works the other way around also.

Just have more than one type of guitar and you can have the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by: axemaster911I disagree, I dont think Steve Via would have let his name ride on it if that were the case, and personally I could live without the handle. I thought a guitar counted as gear, if not what do you call it???
No need the be snappie, this is just my personal opinion after many years of trials, and tribulations. And lastly I have owned a strat. I like the Jem. :D

I didn't mean to sound "snappie" I was just stating that the JEM isn't, by my opinion, the one and only guitar on the top of the heap. They're neat gutiars by all means. Tonally... they're not even close to the top of the heap though. Guitars are gear... but you posted in the "Gear Review" forum... read the rules before posting. It's an honest mistake, I understand.

I'm just trying to veer you in a way where you don't have blinders on about gear. A lot of people get infatuated with a piece of gear and miss the fact that there are toooooooooooooooooons of guitars, amps, and pedals out there to give you the sound that you want. I whole heartedly accept your opinion and am in no way trying to tell you that it's wrong. JEMs are nice gutiars.

I guess in the end I would never own a "shred" guitar because I couldn't plug it into my Blues Deluxe and jam with my friends... they'd make fun of me... and I'd also rip my hair out becuase of the tone. Give me a vintage strat anyday. The Schecter C-1 is a gorgeous guitar that's half as much as the JEM... They're set up with low action... they have JB/59 pikcups for excellent tone... they're just really nice guitars. I would rather spend half the money on a C-1 than twice as much on a JEM

"Twice as much ain't twice as good if it can't sustain like one half could"
-John Mayer "Gravity"

I find it interesting that in spite of all those here that dislike Floyd Rose equipped guitars, and report a loss of tone and/or sustain...

...I've also got a Strat, a tele and an SG.... to name a few, and regardless of which I play, I still sound the same. Yeah, I use effects, but not driven into saturation...

Just for balance. Although I'll grant you that they're not for everyone in a live situation. If you're gonna play a pink pointy guitar, you gotta be able to play! Otherwise, you just look like an ass... :D

Totally agree though - don't get tunnel vision. I did it with Mesa Boogie amps, and was gutted when I bought one....

Originally Posted by: ren... Totally agree though - don't get tunnel vision. I did it with Mesa Boogie amps, and was gutted when I bought one....

Oh, yeah. I've got a stack of receipts accumulated during the slow learning of that lesson! I finaly found a home with Magnavox V-series Ampeg amps, because there's nothing else that does it all for me, and still gets loud enough to make your eyes bleed.

The thing looks like heaven to play. I was over on the Vai forums the other day giggle stickin around, and I saw some video of an 11 year old kid playing one. This kid was good, but that neck is FAST. I'm not too crazy about the tone though.