Ibanez refreshes Steve Vai JEM guitar line with rosewood top and wood pickguard model
JEM77WDP-CNL also features DiMarzio Dark Matter 2 pickups
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
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Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.
