Ibanez refreshes Steve Vai JEM guitar line with rosewood top and wood pickguard model

We've seen countless incarnations of Steve Vai's legendary JEM model, but Ibanez's latest might just be the most eye-catching yet.

The JEM77WDP-CNL - these model names are really getting out of hand - is part of the not-quite-Prestige Premium line, and features a rosewood top with wood pickguard and matching headstock, plus wooden control knobs.

DiMarzio's Dark Matter 2 humbuckers are onboard and decorated with a steampunk-esque cog design, while a Dark Matter 2 single coil - sadly bereft of cogs - occupies the guitar's middle position.

Elsewhere, the guitar boasts a mahogany body and Edge Zero-II locking vibrato, as well as Vai's trademark Tree of Life inlay along the rosewood fretboard.

The JEM77WDP-CNL certainly a departure from the usual Vai fare, but retains the same outlandish flair of the other models that bear his name.

It's available now for $2,266.65 - specs below…

  • 5pc Wizard Maple/Walnut neck w/ KTS titanium rods
  • Rosewood top/ Mahogany body
  • Rosewood Fretboard
  • Tree of Life Inlay
  • Jumbo frets
  • Edge-Zero II tremolo bridge
  • Pickups: DiMarzio Dark Matter 2 (H) neck pu; DiMarzio Dark Matter 2 (S) mid pu; DiMarzio Dark Matter 2 (H) bridge pu
  • Wood pickguard w/ matching headstock
  • Cosmo black Hardware
  • Hardshell case included
Michael Astley-Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.