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Ibanez Steve Vai Signature JEM 7V White Guitar - Used  From Other

From the monkey handle to floating tremolo, Floyd Rose to 'Tree of Life' inlay - this guitar screams Steve Vai!

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This specific item was photographed by us here in Durham, North Carolina. We are a very small team dedicated to providing you the most accurate photos possible, through our obsessive focus - individually photographing nearly everything that comes through the door. Questions about what you see? Want more information, photos, or just a friendly conversation with someone that cares and who has actually had their hands on this exact item? Contact us now!
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Sound Pure's dedication to pre-owned products is unprecedented in the industry. We are a small team of dedicated experts that buys, trades, and consigns. We are trusted by customers all over the world. Our curated collection, is thoroughly tested and inspected by some of the best in the business. Our inventory is constantly changing, ever-evolving, with some items sold before reaching the website. Looking for something specific? Have questions about this product's condition or history? Want more photos, or to simply chat with an expert who's had his hands on this actual piece? Contact us now.
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What We Think

The Ibanez Jem Series is the brainchild of Ibanez and legendary guitarist Steve Vai coming together to create a line of his dream guitars. This particular Ibanez JEM 7V is a perfect example of where master craftsmanship has met modern improvement, all based around the vintage tone Steve Vai has become so famous for. The JEM 7V's foundation is an alder body to try and mimic the sweet vintage sounds of yesteryear's past with defined clarity. The rosewood fingerboard really breathes life into the guitar, sounding open and warm with a great articulation not generally associated with rosewood.
 
The guitar is loosely based on the super-strats of the 1980's, being an all-encompassing tone machine with the versatility to go from sparkling cleans to bright spank all the way to ferocious high gain settings in just a moment. If it seems to good to be true, take a moment to go through Steve Vai's personal catalogue. The DiMarzio pickups on board (HSH) and 5-way configuration give you a myriad of tonal options, with every position on the toggle being vastly different than the next. Coupled in with Steve Vai's signature monkey handle and an exquisite 'Tree of Life' inlay on the fingerboard, you get great aesthetic's to match the great playability on this Jem. 
 
Condition: Very Good, has had all frets dressed and been setup by our in-house luthier, Rob Sharer.

Manufacturer's Description from Other

Biography

Steve Vai is a virtuoso guitarist, visionary composer, and consummate producer who sculpts musical sound with infinite creativity and technical mastery. At age 12, he started taking guitar lessons from Joe Satriani. At 18, he began his professional musical career transcribing for, and then playing with, the legendary Frank Zappa. More than three decades, 15-million in album sales, and three GRAMMY Awards later, Vai has proven himself, in his own right, one of music's true originals.

Vai's work has been recognized with a long list of awards, including an even dozen from Guitar Player. Most recently, the TEC Foundation honored him with the prestigious Les Paul Award, created in 1991 to salute those who have set the highest standard of excellence in the creative application of technology. Past winners include Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan, and Bob Clearmountain. In bestowing it on Vai, TEC noted, "Steve Vai's sheer breathtaking facility on the guitar is acclaimed in the rock world and beyond… Vai has dedicated his talents to creatively advance the language of music. While many artists fit easily into a single category, Steve Vai remains unclassifiable. He is a musical alchemist of the highest order."

The latest product of Vai's alchemy is 2012's The Story of Light, his 16th solo album. It follows up the 2009 live tour de force Where the Wild Things Are, and was released on Favored Nations Entertainment, founded by Vai in 1999 to present works by musicians who have "attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments." The label's roster features artists including Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Lukather, Eric Johnson, Billy Sheehan, and Larry Carlton, and more than 70 releases. 

Vai's full discography encompasses more than 60 albums, including many with Zappa, others from his stints with David Lee Roth (just after he left Van Halen) and Whitesnake-at the peak of its popularity-live releases, collaborations, compilations, and orchestral works. Highlights include 1990's groundbreaking Passion and Warfare, and 2007's Sound Theories Vol. 1 & 2, performed with the Netherlands' Metropole Orkest. Vai's other orchestral compositions include "The Middle of Everywhere," which had its world premiere in 2011 with the Noord Nederlands Orkest, whose director Marcel Mandos said, "Steve Vai's music can easily compete with that of famous contemporary composers."

The Story of Light follows the cosmic journey of a man driven mad by grief, intertwining tragedy, revelation, enlightenment, and redemption. It continues a narrative arc begun on Vai's 2005 album Real Illusions: Reflections (his last solo studio release). Largely instrumental, The Story of Light spotlights guest vocalists including singer-songwriter Aimee Mann-dueting with Vai on "No More Amsterdam," which she also co-wrote-and Beverly McClellan, a season one finalist on The Voice, appearing on "John the Revelator." The track was inspired by a vintage recording of blues singer Blind Willie Johnson, whose acid-soaked vocals are sampled in the mix as well. 

Throughout, Vai's lead guitar lines bend sounds and listeners' minds in equal measure. Looking ahead, he envisions a third set of songs that will unravel the mysteries and reveal truths woven through The Story of Light and its predecessor. The completed trilogy, envisioned as cinematic-even operatic-in scope, will include lyrics, narration, and visuals.

Vai's signature instruments include the Ibanez JEM guitar, which he designed in 1985 with first-of-its-kind features including the floating tremolo and the monkey grip. The JEM is now one of the longest running, most successful signature series guitars in history, and for over a decade its sister model-the RG-is second in worldwide sales only to the Fender Stratocaster. Also for Ibanez, Vai designed "The Universe," the first commercial 7-string electric guitar. This instrument inspired a revolutionary metal subculture that started in the mid '90s. Among his many other innovative collaborations with equipment manufacturers, he designed the Steve Vai Legacy V3 series of all-tube amplifiers with Carvin Corporation.

In the film realm, Vai has credits including Executive Producer for the acclaimed 2008 Hank Garland biopic Crazy, in which he also appears as Hank Williams. In the 1986 feature Crossroads, inspired by the legend of blues icon Robert Johnson, he appears as Jack Butler, "the devil's guitarist"-and collaborated with Ry Cooder on the music scenes.

In 1998, Vai established (with Ruta Sepetys) the Make a Noise Foundation to provide instruments and music education to young musicians without means. "Music educates the whole person as an integrated individual. It educates the mind, the senses, and the emotions," says Vai. "Those interested in music should not have to sacrifice their ability to develop important skills and express emotions due to limited financial resources." A Steve Vai Guitar Scholarship will be awarded in 2012 as part of a collaboration between Make A Noise and the Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music.

Other (Miscellanous Used/Vintage/Consign)

About Manufacturer

Here at Sound Pure we hand-select used and vintage pieces of gear for our inventory. Our used selection always reflects the high standards of quality and craftsmanship that we expect from all of our manufacturers.   We are a small team of dedicated experts, located in Durham, NC.  We buy, trade, and consign instruments that we truly believe in.  Because of this, we have developed a reputation of quality and trust with our customers, located all over the world.   Our best customers are the ones that truly understand our personal touch and commitment to everything we sell, and range from hobbyists and enthusiasts to some of the biggest names in the business.  Our passion bridges the products we love with the real relationships we develop with our customer - whether they are a lifelong musician, or they are just getting started on their musical journey but care about value, quality, and being treated right.  

We vigorously test everything we take in to ensure authenticity, functionality, and reliability.  We are supported by one of the most well-respected luthiers in the Southeast, guaranteeing products that come in are thoroughly vetted, and that products that go out our in premium, performance- ready shape.   We are so confident in our ability to provide the highest quality music equipment in the industry, we even invented our “Try Before You Buy” program where we can ship out a product before collecting actual payment. 

Sound Pure's inventory is constantly changing, ever-evolving, with some items sold before reaching the website.    Looking for something specific? Have questions about this product's condition or history?  Want more photos, or to simply chat with an expert who's had his hands on this actual piece of gear?  It is truly our pleasure to talk with our customers, please do contact us now.  

Specifications

Neck type: JEM 5pc Maple/Walnut neck

Body:Alder body

Fretboard:Rosewood fretboard w/Tree of Life inlay

Fret:W/6105 frets w/Prestige fret edge treatment

Bridge:Edge tremolo bridge

Neck pickup:DiMarzio® Evolution® (H) neck pickup (Passive/Ceramic)

Middle pickup:DiMarzio® Evolution® (S) mid pickup (Passive/Alnico)

Bridge pickup:DiMarzio® Evolution® (H) bridge pickup (Passive/Ceramic)

Hardware color:Gold

Case:Hardshell case

NECK DIMENSIONS

Scale648mm/25.5"

a : Width at Nut43mm

b : Width at Last Fret58mm

c : Thickness at 1st18mm

d : Thickness at 12th20mm

 

Radius:430mmR