Ibanez JEM77BR MR – 6-string electric guitar.
I have an unbelievable pleasure to take care of and play with the latest guitar signed by my master - a certain Stefek Vai. This is a Japanese JEM77BRMR guitar with unbelievable appearance. It looks like a guitar cut out of a mirror! So, this baby shines like a crystal mirror and trust me, that you can see yourself in it like in a mirror. I even shaved once, using the shiny body 😉
But to the point. A guitar like a guitar has six strings, strong, body, starters, knobs and lightweight plastic case with embossed IBANEZA logo. I think, that each assessment of any instrument is absolutely individual - and this is also my assessment. But believe me - it passed through the hands of "Gibsonians", "Fenderists" and other die-hard traditionalists. And here's the surprise! Every one of my friends said unequivocally, it is an excellent instrument in every respect. And I think, that such an assessment is the best proof of this, that we are in contact with a fantastic instrument…
Strong
Distinctive with visible JEM inscription. The headstock is also very recognizable, making it impossible to confuse this instrument with any other black one, silver inscriptions. Nickel-plated keys as well as all metal hardware, firmy GOTH. Rosewood overlay with round markers. This is not a characteristic element of JEM, because as we remember these guitars have a tree of life pattern on the neck, or rather a twig winding through the entire overlay.
Medium thickness thresholds W/6105 (experts and numerologists know what's going on) very accurately loaded, rather perfectly matched, so that the griffin guides the hand by itself. And the guitar sounds great! It makes you want to "WAKE UP" and fly with the speed of a master. From the bottom, the neck is screwed with four screws and it is glued together from three elements, between which a thin layer of some kind is pasted, I think hardwood maybe mahogany (the manufacturer did not specify what kind of wood it is). It is an element that hardens the entire structure. At the end, from the bottom, a string lock is screwed, because as you know, JEM has a movable FLOYD ROSE type bridge. The griffin is perfectly folded. It's holding up great. It's not thick, but also not thin like in my yolk, which is the old model. In the catalog it appears under the mysterious name 3pc JEM neck!
Body
There is something amazing about this guitar. It is different than the previous EAT, but not worse and I dare say, it's the best instrument, I've had in my life and not, Which is why, I am the happy owner of it,but it's just true!!!
Coming back to the body, it has the usual JEMA look with a distinctive hand cutout. If we don't have at concerts ,technical equipment and guitars , we just take the guitar like a suitcase by the handle. A very convenient thing. The body is made of American basswood (American Basswood body) which makes the guitar light. It is thinner than previous models by as much as 5mm. And it does not affect the sound quality. It is painted black on the underside. On the outside we have the already mentioned mirror. The whole is neatly connected with mother-of-pearl bending. Of course, there was also a characteristic plate ,that covers the body, to which the transducers are screwed, knobs and switch. The plate is also mirrored. At the bridge, as usual, tiger's claw (end of the tremolo cutout. Patent owned only by JEM).
To the body, rather, to the already mentioned plate, probably the most popular three drivers in the world are bolted to it – DiMarzio. Two BREED humbuckers at the bridge and neck and one single in the middle. The whole is connected by a five-position Fender switch with two potentiometers, one for the timbre - the one at the bottom, the second one for volume - the one next to the transducer.
In previous models, EVOLUTION reigned supreme, PAF PRO, and here we have intermediate between EVOLUTION, a PAFAMI. This gives us intermediate colors.
Timbre
And now it's time to evaluate the value of the extracted sound. I will not repeat a well-known theory, that the sound depends largely on the player (and here is an example of Vai). It always sounds the same, on every guitar and every amp. It's all in the fingers and coming out of the brain. Of course, this class of guitar, and it is the MERCEDES among guitars, it helps us recreate our thoughts by touching the strings. The guitar sounds beautiful. Switch combinations, which are precisely connected to the transducers as in the FENDER STRATOKASTER give us an illusion, We play on Stratos. But none of that. It's Ibanez. I don't know what it is, but IBANEZ has such electronics, which allows you to mute the distortion. The knob from VOLUME can be in position 2 get a clear sound. It's amazing. It's just a simple volume knob , and he does magic. No guitar - and I've played many, I didn't get such purity when muting as on the IBANEZ, and with a normally set distortion on the amplifier! Makes you want to go with GILMUR or KNOPFLER or KLAPTON. Besides, a good instrument always triggers musical inspirations.
The first position of the switch is a typical rock departure with big meat and medium bass – set to 10 gives warmth of the sound and great selection as well as ease of coupling and maintaining sustain. Each time the volume is lowered, the guitar sounds nobler, down to a pearly clean razor sound! This applies exactly to every snap. The second position is a combination of a humbucker at the bridge and a single in the middle. And here is the characteristic color of Janek Borysewicz. The experts know what it is. The center is a full diameter and a large wire, which is quite short, but a metallic sound. Well into the funk. The next position is the single and neck pickup. And here is also Janek Bo, only with more bass. And the last position is the humbucker at the neck. Warm Hendrix timbre. You can play the blues like Stevie Ray Vaughan. It is a beautiful timbre for playing such romantic, long-lasting solos. But as I mentioned above, it's not FENDER and it will never be because it's IBANEZ, which is a guitar designed for very specific rock, strong, in particular – solo playing.
We still have to evaluate the bridge. It is the most comfortable bridge in the world. niskoprofilowy. It is made very precisely, refined in every detail. It is an upgraded version of the famous EDGE. This one is called EDGE PRO BRIDGE. You can swing it every evolution without fear of tuning! There is no talk of getting upset! Once the springs are properly adjusted, nothing can happen. I am talking about spring adjustment, because I play D and I had to stretch the springs more, to keep their clothes on. This is a normal procedure for such an operation. After taking the guitar out of the case on the first day, the guitar was in tune and you could make serious recordings without any stress!
Summary.
To sum up, it is a sensational instrument. Everything here works in the smallest detail and even the price is adequate to the quality and weight of this gem. Well, good things cost a lot. A lot, about PLN 10,000. But believe me - it's worth it!!! And there's no need to break up anymore. There is only one rating – very good!!!
And now I'm getting ready to prepare my newest album on this guitar and I hope, that will get some nice music out of me!