GreatDane
"up yours, baby."
that is gorgeous!
Dig it! SuperStrat Appreciation Thread!
- Thread starter Gorgon90
- Start date
that is gorgeous!
vintage clubber
You gunky!
Hot Rodded Peavey Predator:
wok
Unholy Meat Obelisk
This reminds me that I need to take better pictures of my guitars. The pics I have are from 5-6 years ago using my wife's broken Sony point and shoot digital camera. Zero attention to background, etc. I took these pics, along with serial numbers, for my insurance company rider. I should get out my DSLR and take some nice photos, as these pics really don't do the instruments any justice.
That guitar was bought through my college roommate's dad. He was an artist relations guy with Ibanez back in the 1980's. The guitar was one of a few prototype Jem models designed by Steve Vai and produced by the Ibanez custom shop/artist relations factory in Japan. The guitar was supposedly sketched on a piece of notebook paper by Vai and the custom shop built it. It certainly looks like the cutout style of the earlier Despangi designed Jem guitars before Ibanez's take on the Jem became a thing. I heard this was done around the time the first Ibanez Jems were being released, and they were planning a followup series of colors. Anyway, it was late 1987, and I got the chance to get the Jem from my roommate's dad cheap. It was supposedly a prototype build of samples sent to Vai as a preproduction thing. They made several pre-production models, so this might be a finish color test or something like that. My roommate's dad thought it might have been a tour guitar that was made but never used, or an artist's demo model to set specs for approval prior to production. It could also have been something more mundane like a catalog photograph model, a dealer sample, or something similarly mundane. He favored the tour guitar idea, but regardless, it never made it to the tour or past the artist approval phase, and they let my roommate's dad have it/buy it. He told me some reasons why he thought it was a tour guitar, but that is impossible to verify, really. The model became a regular Jem series guitar in 1989. Mine has a few changes from the production model, including the early Jem hand rest that was patent infringement removed by Kahler on the original model. Anyway, that is what I heard from my roommate's dad. I can't attest for the truth of the story from his angle, but I bought this guitar about 18 months before Ibanez ever revealed a root beer gem in early 1989, and for way less than retail. So, I may own a guitar Vai thought was inferior for touring. lol.
Last edited:
Scott_Abene
Resident Noodge
The Rootbeers were commercially produced from 1988 through 1989 to the best of my knowledge. Then again a similar model in the 1996 range. I remember the original 1988 model 7Rb's available on 48th street for Christmas of 1987 because I was in total awe of them and totally dirt poor broke. I had to wait another year plus before I got my hands on my 1987 Desert Yellow Jem.
So I am not disputing your story. I am just disputing the production time.
From Steve Vai dot com:
"A limited edition of 777 green Ibanez Jem guitars, known as the Loch Ness Green Jems, were signed & numbered by Steve, and some of these also include little mystical works of art done by Steve, making each totally unique. These guitars have since become very collectible.
Other 1987 production Jems included the yellow Jem777DY with pink pickups, the pink Jem777SK with disappearing pyramid inlays, and the Jem 7RB with a transparent “root beer” finish with pink pickups and dot inlays. The floral Jem, the Jem 77FP, debuted in 1988 and became Steve’s favorite of the flock. The floral pattern was achieved by covering the top of the guitar body with material and finishing it. The material perfectly matched the curtains in Steve’s home.
By 1990, the Jem 7 with the root beer finish had been discontinued, though the Jem 7 with the black finish and pyramid inlays remained."
So I am not disputing your story. I am just disputing the production time.
From Steve Vai dot com:
"A limited edition of 777 green Ibanez Jem guitars, known as the Loch Ness Green Jems, were signed & numbered by Steve, and some of these also include little mystical works of art done by Steve, making each totally unique. These guitars have since become very collectible.
Other 1987 production Jems included the yellow Jem777DY with pink pickups, the pink Jem777SK with disappearing pyramid inlays, and the Jem 7RB with a transparent “root beer” finish with pink pickups and dot inlays. The floral Jem, the Jem 77FP, debuted in 1988 and became Steve’s favorite of the flock. The floral pattern was achieved by covering the top of the guitar body with material and finishing it. The material perfectly matched the curtains in Steve’s home.
By 1990, the Jem 7 with the root beer finish had been discontinued, though the Jem 7 with the black finish and pyramid inlays remained."
I guess I have my timeline a little wacky. I'd never seen a root beer Jem at that time, so my roommate's dad 'prototype' story made sense. Maybe it was a prototype they were done with because they already released the damn model. Maybe my roommate's dad was full of it. Anyway, that Jem is a fantastic guitar.
Last edited:
Scott_Abene
Resident Noodge
So in the late 80's / early 90's I became the owner of an early lockness green Jem. I got it from the guys at the ESP shop (48th street custom guitars) on 48th street in NYC. The neck was broken at the headstock. Underneath the pickguard which was missing is a giant gash of wood taken out. The Neckplate is a standard Ibanez neckplate with no serial. I was also told that they believed it to be a very early one due to lack of serial and what not.
So you never know... Maybe we both have a piece of history. I have since rebuilt the guitar but it rarely is taken outside the house as it is one of the few electrics that I have not beat the living crap out of over the years.
mystixboi1
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Very cool stuff. Here's my superstrat. I had mr vai sign it himself!!!
Scott_Abene
Resident Noodge
Very cool stuff. Here's my superstrat. I had mr vai sign it himself!!!
Beauty! I love those desert yellows.
