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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 12/05/08 at 06:43
Value For Money :
Excellent
(Originally written by Endrix/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Guitar made in Japan by the J Craft team. My model has a scalloped rosewood fingerboard and was made this year.
The guitar has an Ibanez Pro Edge tremolo under Floyd Rose license and Di Marzio Evolution pickups (two humbuckers and one single coil).
Tone and volume controls.
Typical Ibanez neck: very flat and slim, similar to the RG models.
I also owned one of the first models with ebony fingerboard and I can't notice any difference compared to the current versions with rosewood fingerboard.
UTILIZATION
For me the neck is the most important part of the guitar and that's the reason I decided to play a Jem (among other things). I find this neck is great. It's fast and comfortable, but it's not the best neck I know (I also play a Charvel).
Access to the upper frets is easy thanks to the great neck/body junction.
The guitar is light and I love that.
The sound is even better because the guitar is extremely versatile in spite of its heavy metal look.
The neck humbucker allows you to play everything from pop to rock and ballads or even jazz licks.
The middle position provides typical Strat sounds.
And of course the bridge humbucker produces a killer sound for heavy metal.
This guitar is extremely versatile. I don't know any other modern Strat that provides such a wide sound palette.
SOUNDS
I already wrote above about the sound. I only want to repeat it's an ultra versatile instrument. I play it with all my amps and I always get very good results.
The clean sound is good with both tube and solid-state amps. The guitar always sounds good.
On the contrary, the bridge pickup gives much better results with tube amps... but that's always the case with every guitar!
To keep it short, this Jem offers every possible sound! I also own a Gibson Les Paul but I don't take it out of its case anymore because the Jem offers me a typical Gibson sound with my Mesa Mark IV amp and I like its neck a lot more. It's the same thing regarding clean sound: the middle pickup sounds very good and once again it's more comfortable to play the Jem than a Strat. Its typical Ibanez neck makes it easy to play any music style with any technique.
I only moderate my opinion because I have a new purchase, a Charvel SoCal and in spite of its great value, the Ibanez doesn't have the magic of the Charvel.
OVERALL OPINION
I've been playing a Jem for 14 years (counting my first Jem)!
I like almost everything about this guitar!!
The only thing I don't like that much is the Pro Edge tremolo. Considering the technical aspect, it's a fantastic tremolo that gives you more possibilities than an original Floyd Rose but I find the Vigier tremolo with ball bearing has a longer life. So I put this guitar on the same level as another wonderful instrument, the Vigier Excalibur Custom.
I like this guitar a lot because it's the only one that gives me the sounds I love. If you want to play Vai stuff you have to own this guitar.
The value for money is average because even though a Jem is less expensive than a Vigier, and many other lesser guitars, it's still quite expensive because it's a signature model.
I would choose it again but there are new instruments hitting the market and I sold my Washburn N4 (awful look and average sound) to buy a real Charvel US, which is an amazing guitar! The advantage of the Charvel is that you buy a guitar and nothing else (no signature, no deluxe case, no nothing just the guitar). But the Jem still has its own sound.
Guitar made in Japan by the J Craft team. My model has a scalloped rosewood fingerboard and was made this year.
The guitar has an Ibanez Pro Edge tremolo under Floyd Rose license and Di Marzio Evolution pickups (two humbuckers and one single coil).
Tone and volume controls.
Typical Ibanez neck: very flat and slim, similar to the RG models.
I also owned one of the first models with ebony fingerboard and I can't notice any difference compared to the current versions with rosewood fingerboard.
UTILIZATION
For me the neck is the most important part of the guitar and that's the reason I decided to play a Jem (among other things). I find this neck is great. It's fast and comfortable, but it's not the best neck I know (I also play a Charvel).
Access to the upper frets is easy thanks to the great neck/body junction.
The guitar is light and I love that.
The sound is even better because the guitar is extremely versatile in spite of its heavy metal look.
The neck humbucker allows you to play everything from pop to rock and ballads or even jazz licks.
The middle position provides typical Strat sounds.
And of course the bridge humbucker produces a killer sound for heavy metal.
This guitar is extremely versatile. I don't know any other modern Strat that provides such a wide sound palette.
SOUNDS
I already wrote above about the sound. I only want to repeat it's an ultra versatile instrument. I play it with all my amps and I always get very good results.
The clean sound is good with both tube and solid-state amps. The guitar always sounds good.
On the contrary, the bridge pickup gives much better results with tube amps... but that's always the case with every guitar!
To keep it short, this Jem offers every possible sound! I also own a Gibson Les Paul but I don't take it out of its case anymore because the Jem offers me a typical Gibson sound with my Mesa Mark IV amp and I like its neck a lot more. It's the same thing regarding clean sound: the middle pickup sounds very good and once again it's more comfortable to play the Jem than a Strat. Its typical Ibanez neck makes it easy to play any music style with any technique.
I only moderate my opinion because I have a new purchase, a Charvel SoCal and in spite of its great value, the Ibanez doesn't have the magic of the Charvel.
OVERALL OPINION
I've been playing a Jem for 14 years (counting my first Jem)!
I like almost everything about this guitar!!
The only thing I don't like that much is the Pro Edge tremolo. Considering the technical aspect, it's a fantastic tremolo that gives you more possibilities than an original Floyd Rose but I find the Vigier tremolo with ball bearing has a longer life. So I put this guitar on the same level as another wonderful instrument, the Vigier Excalibur Custom.
I like this guitar a lot because it's the only one that gives me the sounds I love. If you want to play Vai stuff you have to own this guitar.
The value for money is average because even though a Jem is less expensive than a Vigier, and many other lesser guitars, it's still quite expensive because it's a signature model.
I would choose it again but there are new instruments hitting the market and I sold my Washburn N4 (awful look and average sound) to buy a real Charvel US, which is an amazing guitar! The advantage of the Charvel is that you buy a guitar and nothing else (no signature, no deluxe case, no nothing just the guitar). But the Jem still has its own sound.