Ibanez JEM 7VWH - Reviews

Ibanez JEM 7VWH - Reviews

Ibanez JEM 7VWH Japanese Made Guitar Review

I've had this guitar since probably 2000 or 2001 if my memory serves me correctly. It's very much like a Steve Vai guitar (modeled after his design so it is said) but after looking at the Vai guitar actually in my hands there is in fact not much of a resemblance at all - yes it's white, yes it has the same tremolo and locking system and MAYBE it has the same Dimarzio pickups as Steve's (but his may well be different than the stock ones on this guitar under review). I know for a fact that Steve's has a sustainiac fitted - and not the one you and I can buy so don't waste your time - that's out of the window - but there is much to be enthusiastic about with this Japanese 7VWH from Ibanez. I emphasise Japanese because they also make a 7VWH which does not originate from Japan and in my view, while that is a good guitar, there are some differences and the pickups are one of those differences. And that's your sound!. But let's not get too picky on the non Japanese one - it's HALF the price of this one so I guess for a lot less than the difference you could fit the same pickups as fitted on this one and have a cool guitar. Anyway back to this one.

As I said this is the Jap version and the back of the peg head confirms this gloriously printed so you can confirm that the one you want/have is Jap. If you play rock and instrumental rock then one of these you will like - trust me on this. The 7VWH has one of the best necks for playing fast I have ever used - and that includes all the other Ibanez guitars I've played over the years and of those there are many. I would describe the neck as wide and VERY thin so it actually (at least for me with small hands) fits like a glove. Other attributes of the neck include the top few frets scalloped out ala Malmsteen. Some claim this makes for faster playing and a better feel at the top of the neck, but personally I think that's a fantastic marketing point of which is little use or effect on the playing... maybe if I was Steve... hi Steve how s it going... ok back to the review... The Guitar jack is carved in to the end of the 7VWH and that's a really great feature which I have not seen on anything except the JEM series and the non Jap model has it too... nice.

I also like the locking trem system - it's the same as many these days, but I can tell you, that this never goes out of tune - ever... unless that is, you break a string and then, well lets just say get out the backup guitar. I did a gig once with this one and you guessed it - I broke a string (mainly because I had not changed them for some time) and ping - off went the string and out of tune I went. That is THE biggest problem of all these type of whammy bar's - broken string... stop playing unless you are superman. I changed guitars halfway through the track and continued on my merry way.

All of the metal on this model is gold plated, and I can tell you that in all those years the gold on mine remains very largely intact, unlike some guitar manufacturers that I could name and shame (ok you will have to read some of the other reviews). The machine heads are gold plated too and they don't wear off too - or at least mine have not - and remember I have had this thing for about 10 years. Actually while I think about it - in 10 years I have not had a single fault with this guitar and it has been used in anger many times - it is one of my favorite guitars - always ready to rock. The weight is light - I have not bothered to measure it, but compared to a Gibson Les Paul (most of them but there are exceptions) this guitar has been made to not give you a bad back... it's light and as solid as a rock - checkout Steve as he throws his around on stage with all of his acrobatics. You can see how that is easy to do with such a lightweight guitar - the monkey handle of course contributes to less weight as does the 'basswood' body which is also a light tone wood. Great if you are as old as I am now...

The sound on this one is exactly as you can imagine it - in my view it captures the Steve Vai sound (you know the one) exactly albeit without the never ending sustain of Steve's sustainiac which he had fitted at the factory. If you wanted to fit one of those things, like I said you can't get one of his, but they are around that is the good news... the bad news is that you have to extensively modify the guitar to fit it all in - and I mean extensive routing... I examined the Steve Vai no1 guitar and it had been also extensively carved round the back to fit it all in there so I just did not bother... it's after all another thing to go wrong.
The 7VWH is known by Ibanez as a Signature guitar and the plastic case this guitar comes with has a plate on there saying so - nice case - but it should be for the money.

Would I buy another - yes I would if I needed one or this was irreparable or stolen - it really is a great guitar with an awesome rock sound so I would not hesitate to buy another. Personally I would not buy a non Japanese model, I would just feel left thinking I did not have the best they make - and that's the Japanese one without question. I have seen problems on the non Japanese guitar - a friend of mine had one which cracked right where the tremolo fitted the body - basically it was written off under warranty - but if you buy one and it gets beyond the 1 year well be warned they do not extend warranties because they like you. Bin it.

Here's the things in a sum up of what I like about this - if you play rock you will like it too - if you don't - then don't buy it:

• Immediate Vai sound (with the right amp and other bits)
• Great rock neck
• Lightweight and very easy to handle
• Nice case - ABS Signature series
• Locking system is the best of its type

If I did have a scoring system for guitars out of 10 then this would make a 9 - the price stops it making 10.

Heres a link to Vai's site: www.vai.com

Featured on the cover of Eniac

The man himself - hows it goin Tony

Just so you know I did have the real guitar for a while