Ibanez has been a celebrated fanbase for its quality, materials, craftsmanship and affordable range of musical instruments. While it is a no-brainer for Steve Wai’s fans to buy this piece of stringed instrument, it will have a huge appeal for others as well. The guitar brand and Wai’s collaboration piece has several salient features to look out for no matter what style of music you or at what level you play.
Ibanez JEM77P Features
Looks and build:
A staple of Steve Vai’s signature model guitars is the monkey (grip) handle. Apart from that, the guitar has a selective Mahogany Body for the top that delivers maximum resonance and sustain however a Meranti ( also known as Philippines mahogany) for the back, and a Wizard III Maple for the Neck offers a comfortably smooth and fast feel with an articulate response and assuring features.
The classic but clean Rosewood or Jatoba Fretboard adds to the aesthetics of the beautiful guitar while also hinting to you that the guitar was built with performance in mind. It has Jumbo Frets fit with premium nickel strings
Size and dimensions:
This Ibanez signature six string weighs around 8 pounds. The total length of the guitar is 44 inches consisting of a body length of 12 inches and a depth of 6 inches while the length of the scale of 25.5 inches
Sound and feel:
With the selection mechanism providing five different combinations of pickups, this guitar endeavours to different tonal capacities and thus rendering its ability to perform in several genres and styles. The carefully engineered craftsmanship gives a great feel and ease to the guitar. The guitar gives the feel of solid and tough endurance vibes while also being light in weight. Since the finish is smooth it is resistant to sweat, dirt, grease and stains and all things of such sorts, which in turn gives the guitar a prolonged life and lesser maintenance costs
The neck pickup allows you to play fat power chords that come out beautifully grungey. However, in the middle section, it gives out a comfortable blues rock sound. The sound delivery is great and suits all kinds of music from rock, R&B, jazz, blues and everything in between.
Technicality:
Ibanez always tries to pack a convenience aimed pickup selection system in their guitars which are followed in this one as well. The selector switch can choose between a bridge pickup, middle-side coil of the bridge pickup and middle pickup, middle pickup, middle-side of the neck pickup or the neck pickup. A Double Guitar Bridge System is incorporated alongside an ‘H’ Guitar Pickup Configuration where H stands for Humbuckers
The tremolo bar has a nice fastening system that allows you to adjust how loose the bar is regardless of its position. It has a height position that doesn’t interfere with the volume and tone knobs while still being very functional. The Steve Vai Signature packs Ibanez’s standard double-locking bridge, which helps you maintain your tuning stability even after heavy pitch bends.
All the tiny electronics including pegs, knobs, pins etcetera used are standard Ibanez, which means they go through quality controls and are reliable.
Accessories:
No case is provided.However, cables and a whammy and some tools can be found in the package
Ibanez JEMJRWH Steve Vai Signature Pros and Cons
Pros
- Suitable for both small and large hands
- Good sound quality and clarity
- Pickup selector provides a varied tonal palette
- Apt for beginners and semi professionals
- Ideal for most genres of music
- Quality electronics and craftsmanship
Cons
- Cheaper versions of the guitars are available making it a hard marketing choice
- No extra gear provided along with the package
- The neck and fret wires aren’t slick enough as some customers would like it to be
Final review:
Whether you’re just looking for a cool and playable guitar, or if you’re looking to get started with following Steve Vai, the JEMJR is certainly a great instrument for either of those options. Ibanez and Wai have undoubtedly created one of the best designs of the guitar world with this one, especially for this price range