How is a JEM build?

[ocuj]

Hi yall,

I got a quistion. Does anybody know how a JEM is build by Ibanez? Does it come from the assembly line or is it handmade? Last year I got a Mayones, which is handmade, and to me it played so smooth. My JEM is nothing compared to it. I'm not bashing the JEM, it's a great instrument, but I was suprised how much better the Mayones was to me. Now I'm in the game of getting another guitar, and I would like to get another JEM. But, I really would like it to be handmade.

[j.arledge]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbna8_JaTe8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-3dmgf2 ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ocuj]

Thanks! That answers my question perfectly.

[Patill]

could you tell me the name/content of the first video?

Actually Germany is blocking the site again due to Sony content, so I´ll have to sneak me around that and find one that wasn´t blocked yet.


JEMs are actually not that good manufactured guitars as many people think. I´ve played only one JEM that´s really worth it, which was my very first one. Luckily I bought it the same day . That day I thought they should all be great guitars, but I´ve played so many right now, all of these felt either "wrong" as a guitar (even compared to a $500 Ibanez) or had a bad buzz while playing, even at relatively high actions.

I know a guy who is an absolute pro and semi-famous who curses his JEM not having a good price/effort relation. When I played myself through some JEMs I knew what he was talking about.

That´s my experience with those guitars. They can be so great, but finding a good one seems to be a pain in the ass.

[andre_f]

JEMs are actually not that good manufactured guitars as many people think. I´ve played only one JEM that´s really worth it, which was my very first one. Luckily I bought it the same day . That day I thought they should all be great guitars, but I´ve played so many right now, all of these felt either "wrong" as a guitar (even compared to a $500 Ibanez) or had a bad buzz while playing, even at relatively high actions.

I know a guy who is an absolute pro and semi-famous who curses his JEM not having a good price/effort relation. When I played myself through some JEMs I knew what he was talking about.

So basically what you're saying is that, even though the Jem has been a very succesful line since the late 80's and even though it's one of the highest selling products of Ibanez with a large community of followers and even though Steve Vai himself uses these guitars (not to mention all other Ibanez endorsers that use guitars with the same quality level), because the great Patill feels they're "wrong", they aren't that good manufactured?

Tell me something, do you find you need an U-haul on a regular basis to carry that ego of yours around?

Dre

[bennyvx78]

I think he got his head up where the sunn don't shine. I got a couple of jems.
And there great. Best guitar(s) I ever had. Satisfaction guaranteed for years to come.
I had more problems with the rear tire of my bike, Then these guitars.

[Patill]

So basically what you're saying is that, even though the Jem has been a very succesful line since the late 80's and even though it's one of the highest selling products of Ibanez with a large community of followers and even though Steve Vai himself uses these guitars (not to mention all other Ibanez endorsers that use guitars with the same quality level), because the great Patill feels they're "wrong", they aren't that good manufactured?

Tell me something, do you find you need an U-haul on a regular basis to carry that ego of yours around?

Dre

The great Patill didn´t say there were no good JEMs around. It´s as hard as finding a good Les Paul, which is very hard. Also, the most people who buy a JEM may be from the same area as the ESP KH buyers. I´m not saying they don´t have a lot of experience, but the name is often more important than the guitar itself. All I can say is that all JEMs I played had buzzy frets as hell and not the feel of a guitar in that price range.


Also, I don´t know what this has to do with my ego.

[Stephen Brown]

"How is a JEM build?"



With precision tolerances.

[bennyvx78]

These pictures hide the inevitable truth. Jems are actually made with magic.
In association with 'little green men' ...

[Patill]

I love these videos where wood gets cut like butter....tasty!

[DomitianX]

Every guitar needs to be setup when you get it. In my 20+ years of playing I have never had a guitar that was perfect out of the box. There are a ton of things that affect playability like temperature, humidity, etc and you cannot adjust for those things in Japan before they are sent around the world.

I have yet to play a properly setup Jem that felt "wrong".

Les Paul (and Gibson in general) quality has been known to go down the crapper many times over the years so its no surprise to find a less than perfect Les Paul.

[Patill]

the ones I played were all set up . Of course it wasn´t my setup, but most of them were owned by people, only two were in a music shop, but also set up.

[j.arledge]

I have played a few 7vwh s over the years and most have played like crap. They aren't for everyone(some people that play guitar dont like Vai or dont know about him), are expensive and so it takes some time to sell them(limits your market), plus eveyone wants to play one even if they can't afford it(vai fans that can't drop a couple of K on a guitar). So i can see why most of the ones i have played play like crap. They aren't bad guitars and are of no better or no worse quality then any other high end Ibanez. Most just need a good setup and some TLC to be great guitars.

I did play one that hadn't been on the showroom floor for long, and it played ok, still needed a bit of a setup. I personally dont like the way the jems feel. The neck finish is sticky to me and the contour is too thin. that doesn't make it a bad guitar , it just isn't my taste.

[Jeries]

ok here's some thoughts about what is said above...

in defense of Patill- Ibanez has cut corners in quality/costs of the jem and keeps shooting up the whole sale cost and msrp of them.

also about Ibanez/Les Pauls... even though they're hand made they are still MASS PRODUCED... i saw 10000000000 les pauls get made at the gibson factory, when you're having that kind of output... you have to sacrifice quality to some point, people like to think each Les Paul is hand made by one guy, one gutiar at a time for weeks, but its not- its like a car plant...

So basically what you're saying is that, even though the Jem has been a very succesful line since the late 80's and even though it's one of the highest selling products of Ibanez with a large community of followers and even though Steve Vai himself uses these guitars (not to mention all other Ibanez endorsers that use guitars with the same quality level), because the great Patill feels they're "wrong", they aren't that good manufactured?

Tell me something, do you find you need an U-haul on a regular basis to carry that ego of yours around?

Dre

There is only one guy to my knowledge that uses Ibanez guitars anywhere in the ballpark of what is sold in the stores. And that is Steve Vai. Of course, he has one off guitars and prototypes and god knows what else made for him by Ibanez in LA and Japan all the time.... HOWEVER... it is my opinion that all the other endorsers of ibanez use guitars absolutely nothing like any guitar you can buy in a store.

They are hand made guitars made in the USA that they stamp ibanez on the headstock and call it an ibanez... nothing like what they really sell.

[Patill]

I have played a few 7vwh s over the years and most have played like crap.

thank you

Jokes aside, I do neither say they are bad guitars, they are all good, BUT: the most of them do not deserve the price they carry. On the other side, I´d have spent $1000 more for the one I have, because it´s nearly perfectly built and it´s got mojo.

I think in a price range of a JEM there should be only few bad guitars, just look at PRS what they do. I mean ok, they are even more expensive, but in relation it´s the same scheme. Ibanez sells many guitars -> cheaper - PRS sells not that much as Ibanez -> more expensive.

I don´t think it would hurt Ibanez to set the guitars up and see how they play so they can pull the wrong ones out (which would be some due to the experiences here). Ibanez guitars are not very famous for being sold with a good set up. When I got my JEM the locknut screws were completely loose. I mean that´s a pretty clear sign of how they handle quality ensurance .