IBANEZ JEM77 GUITARS SPEC SHEETS

	JEM77BRM	JEM77BFP	JEM77FP	JEM77GMC	JEM77PMC
List Price	$3099.99	$1699.99 - $1799.99	$1699.99 +
Pictures		1 2 Gallery	1 2 3 Gallery	1 Gallery	1 Gallery
Color	Blinding rock mirror	Blue Floral Pattern	Floral Pattern	Green Multicolor	Purple Multicolor
Body	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood
Pickguard	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
Pickup Color	Black	Blue	Pink	Green/Black	Purple
Knobs	Black	Blue	Pink	Green	Green
5-way Tip	Black	Blue	Pink	Green	Pink
Inlays	plastic hex	Blue Vine	Green Vine	Green Vine	Purple/Green -> Pink Pyramid
Fretboard	Rosewood	Maple	Rosewood	Rosewood	Maple
Fret 21-24 Scalloped	Yes
Fret Wire	w6015	6140	6100
Neck Type	5-pc prestige	one-piece maple
Neck Joint	AANJ	Original Neck Joint
Hardware	Chrome	Cosmo Black	Cosmo Black	Cosmo Black	Cosmo Black
Pickups	Breed	DiMarzio PAF Pro (Humbucker/Single/Humbucker)
Tremolo	EdgePro	Edge (thru '90) Lo-Pro Edge ('91-2002) EdgePro (2003-present)
Years	2005	91-94	88-99, 2003 (88-03 in JPN)	92, 93	92, 93
Quantity	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	366	271
Note	Mirror pickguard wrapped body with binding. M100C case included in USA.	Blue Floral picture (paper) w/ clear coat.	Black Floral fabric with clear coat.	Hand painted for Ibanez by About Time Designs. Each has a unique swirl color pattern and scheme.

 

JEM77BFP Note - Features a paper print of the blue floral pattern. It's a slightly out of focus photo, laminated & bursted over.
JEM77BRMR Note - Dubbed the "Bad Horsie" in Ibanez' 2005 literature, this guitar is a production version of the mirror-finish JEM Vai has been playing for a a few years now. The top is a vinyl mirror, like what is featured on the pickguards of the UV777BK and JEM7DBK.
Notable differences of the production model to Vai's mirror JEM include:
  » Vai's has a Fernandes sustainer, the production model does not
  » Vai's has an LED fretboard from Martin Sims, the production model does not
  » Vai's guitar body was originally routed for the Edge/LoPro hence the new EdgePro will not retrofit.
  » Vai doesn't have to pay over $2k to get one shipped to his door ;-P
JEM77FP Note - Every JEM77FP Floral Pattern made features an actual floral pattern cloth on the body front, body rear and headstock. The fabric used for the pattern is bonded to the body, painted over black on the edges and then fully clear coated. It comes in several varieties: three body, three headstock and three rear-body floral patterns exist for 27 possible combos. The actual Floral "Pattern" cloth was modeled after the actual curtains from Vai's parents home in LI, NY. His first few (pre-production prototype) Florals were said to be made with the actual curtains. 
To dispel a few myths
None of the JEM77FPs sold were made with Vai's actual curtains.
I REPEAT... every JEM77FP ever made has actual cloth. This writeup here on Vai.com is WRONG and the source of confusion. Kindly fix it guys :D
The Floral pattern. Well the fabric first came from a place in the USA that we tracked down from Steve's samples from his house. We purchased it in sheets that were a little bigger than a guitar body pre cut. There are three body patterns and three headstock patterns and each could be on any guitar. Then that company went out of business so we reproduced the same fabric patterns in Japan but we needed to purchase a life time supply, so they still have it and still make the FP's made for other counties, I wish they sold here (USA) but they aren't. So the answer is there are three patterns that could be on any guitar so some out there are identical - courtesy of Ibanez sources 2002
JEM77FP Note - the JEM77FP was re-imported into the USA market mid-year and announced at Summer NAMM 2003 as the JEM77FP "15th Anniversary of the Floral pattern". Each FP imported is expected to have at least a Steve Vai signed cover/backplate. In Summer 2003, Hoshino USA was bringing in the last 108 JEM77FPs then there would be a 100% discontinuation in all markets of the JEM77FP.
JEM77GMC/PMC Note - Custom multicolor finish for Ibanez by About Time Designs (ATD), the painters for the JEM2KDNA (Darren Johansen, DMI). Each has a unique swirl color pattern and scheme.

IBANEZ JEM777 GUITARS SPEC SHEETS

	JEM777DY	JEM777LNG	JEM777SK	JEM777VBK	JEM777VDY	JEM777VSK
List Price				$1699.99	$1699.99
Pictures	1 2 Gallery	1 Gallery	1 2 Gallery	1 2 Gallery	1 2 Gallery	Gallery
Color	Desert Sun Yellow	Loch Ness Green	Shocking Pink	Black	Desert Sun Yellow	Shocking Pink
Body	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood
Pickguard	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black
Pickup Color	Pink	Pink	Pink	Green	Pink	Pink
Knobs	Green	Yellow	Yellow	Green	Pink	Yellow
5-way Tip	Pink	Pink	Green	Green	Pink	Pink
Inlays	Green/Yellow -> Pink Pyramid	Green/Yellow -> Pink Pyramid	Green/Yellow -> Pink Pyramid	Green Vine	Yellow Vine	Pink Vine
Fretboard	Maple	Maple	Maple	Rosewood	Rosewood	Rosewood
Fret 21-24 Scalloped	Yes
Fret Wire	Dunlop 6100				6140	Dunlop
Neck Type	one-piece maple
Neck Joint	Original
Hardware	Cosmo Black
Pickups	DiMarzio PAF Pro (Humbucker/Single/Humbucker)
Tremolo	Edge (thru '90) Lo-Pro Edge ('91-2002)
Years	87-96	1987 (Summer '87)	87-89	88-92	89-91	1989
Quantity	Unknown	777	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Note	Second longest production run after the FP.	Each guitar hand numbered and signed by Vai.	Prone to fading when exposed to light.	Great GMC swirl project guitar ;-)	Has the thin Wizard neck. Ease of play makes up for it's looks.	Black lions claw and Ibanez headstock logos.

 

 

Flourescent Paint (777s) - Hoshino USA had the Deglo (brand paint) in the USA as Paul Gilbert was using it. The Deglos did not really need a white base coat because they were one-shot style paint. When we sent the (LNG, etc.) samples to Japan they told us that there was some type of Radioactive material in there that made them glow and they could not do it. How true this is I am not sure but it made for a good story (editor's note that is no doubt pure BS as Ibanez is known for sourcing Japanese supplies if possible - just as they tried to do the "MKR" UV777MCs in-house instead of from ATD in the USA). Ibanez Japan asked Gen-Gen paints to do a color match and Gen-Gen came up with the White base coat and transparent over coat to simulate the same finish as Deglo, but really none of the Fluorescence we did were as bright as the real Deglo paints. After the fad passed, Gen-Gen and Deglo stopped making the Neon paints so Hoshino USA bought (similar paint) from House of Kolors to do replacement and repairs. It was good for a match but still did not glow like the Deglo. (paraphrased from Jim Donahue's - former #1 at Hoshino USA - book)
​

JEM777 DY/LNG/SK Note - The original trio of JEMs were essentially the same guitar with different color paint and trim. Features the original "777" neck which was a bit fatter and more "D" shaped. Over time the same dimensions were used but the necks seemed to have an altered profile. In addition, the final hand finish of all JEM/UV necks is responsible for slight variation.


JEM777LNG Note - Each LNG was hand numbered and signed by Vai. LNGs designated for the USA were all signed on the back of the body. Many feature symbols and other drawings along with the signature. Some overseas LNGs were signed just on tremolo cover, presumably because the bodies/guitars were not available for Steve to sign in person at the time.


JEM777SK Note - These guitars were prone to fading of the shocking pink color. There was an obvious problem with some of the paint used as the fade occured from brilliant pink to a dingy orangy color or worse. It is said the fade was enhanced by exposure to light. If your SK has not faded by now, I would not worry too much about it.

JEM777VDY Note - It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.

JEM777VSK Notes - Never intended for release in the US because the pink "changed colors". AMS (a large mail order shop) bought the leftover run of these from Hoshino and sold some highly discounted in the early 90s. It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.

IBANEZ JEM555 GUITARS SPEC SHEETS

	JEM555BK	JEM555WH	JEM555LWH
Pictures	Gallery	Gallery	Gallery
Color	Black	White	White
Body	Basswood	Basswood	Basswood
Pickguard	Black pearloid ('94 had plain black)	White pearloid	White pearloid
Pickup Color	Black	White	White
Knobs	Black	White	White
5-way Tip	Black	White	White
Inlays	Pearloid Vine to fret 12. Pearloid dots elsewhere
Fretboard	Rosewood, frets 21-24 not scalloped
Fret 21-24 Scalloped	No
Fret Wire	Ibanez SBB215-150 "Jumbo"
Neck Type	one-piece maple
Neck Joint	All Access Neck Joint
Hardware	Cosmo Black
Pickups	DiMarzio Evolution (Humbucker/Single/Humbucker)
Tremolo	Lo-TRS II (inferior to the Edge) EdgeProII (2003-present)
Years	1994-2000 usa market	1994-2000 usa market	mid-1997- 2000 usa market
Quantity	widely available
Note	Ibanez' designated "JEM Jr".		Only Lefty model JEM available. Too bad it's a 555

 

 

JEM555 Note - Ibanez' designated "JEM Jr". Prior to January, 1997 the 555s had "JEM Jr." inscripted on the headstock. These have the All-Access Neck Joint & Evolution pickups. Author's suggestion - avoid these and buy a used JEM7 series instead!
While the 555 has been CANCELLED in the USA in 2000 mostly due to poor sales and horrible feedback, the 555 has been since reintroduced in many areas where JEM7s are higher priced in relative terms vs USA pricing.
​

JEM/UV Guitar - Common Features

​Production Years listed: are for USA Marketplace. Often overseas (Japanese domestic market) certain models have continued production.
Guitar Details

• 25.5 scale
• One-piece maple neck (bubinga skunk stripe on JEM7DBK, JEM90HAM & JEM2KDNA)
• 14 degree Scarf angle
• 24 frets
• 430mm fretboard radius 

JEM Neck Measurements
Thickness:
19mm at fret-1  (17mm for 7PBK, 777VDY/VSK featuring the "Wizard" neck)
21mm at fret-12 (20mm for 7PBK, 777VDY/VSK featuring the "Wizard" neck)
Width:
43mm nut 
57mm at fret-24 
Universe Neck Measurements
Thickness:
20mm at fret-1
21.5mm at fret12
Width:
48mm nut
65mm at fret-24
Body: Two-piece American Basswood (except the JEM7VWH, which is Alder). Photos indicate the JEM7DBK is made from 6-pieces.
Note from Ibanez - The JEM7VWH and JEM7VSBL "has a super thin 0.5mm basswood veneer on the top and back, We do this with all alder woods because otherwise the finish would settle into the grain and have lines like a strat does in it after a few weeks. We do this with only alder wood that has a solid or metallic color on it. Just to let you know."
Neck Pocket Stamp: Ibanez necks and body in the pocket are typically stamped or stickered to identify the model of the guitar body and neck.
Regarding stamps in neck pocket of swirls (JEM77 PMC / JEM77GMC / many UV77MCs). 
I had two of them, [stamps] one with just the name and one with the "about time designs" logo. When I first started doing them I kept up with each one [guitar swirled] with a photo and a stamp. As time and production got crazy I could not disassemble all of them myself and some did not get stamped but all were photographed for a matter of copyright and history in there raw form (no clear or electronics). I am pretty sure that 80-90% were stamped though as I was doing alot of the disassembly at night after every one went home . I hope this answers some of your questions. Thanks for your interest. Darren / ATD / www.abouttimedesigns.com
Electronics/Wiring
DiMarzio pickups in a Humbucker/Single/Humbucker configuration with 5-way switch.
Neck pickup is mounted in reverse - turned 180 degrees, so that the bridge side of the humbucker is closer to the neck
Volume and Tone knob - all knobs are plastic except JEM10 is metal
Recessed input jack - on the body's edge below the bridge strap lock. Prevents the cord from coming out.
Pickguards - some clear (BFP, FP, GMC, MC, PMC); some 3-ply colored 
Double locking tremolo - Floyd Rose licensed and improved. The Ibanez Edge (1987-1990) and it's predecessor the Lo-Pro Edge (1991 to present) are IMHO the finest locking tremolo ever available. Many updates of the original Floyd Rose design have been incorporated and the results are amazing. 
For 2003, the EdgePro (and EdgePro7) replaces the LoPro Edge on all JEM/UVs.
JEM/UV Case - The JEM/UV case has a combo lock on the outside along with the words Ibanez in pink lettering. It has a large compartment on the inside. The pink lining used since '86 has been changed to burgundy for '97. The original pink-lined 777 case was a bit shorter and was soon made larger to accomidate the UV (with larger headstock). 

Miscellaneous JEM NotesSerial Numbers - details about serial numbers is found here and here. Dating an axe from the heel plate is not 100% accurate, in that dates might not 100% match the real production date. For example many PMCs have 90-91 plates and UV77MCs are typically 90-91 even if they were made/sold later. So if you have a 1990 heel plate on a JEM77PMC you do not have a prototype or something special ;-)
Bubinga "skunk stripe" Reinforcement - The JEM90 and JEM7DBK have JEM necks with a bubinga "skunk stripe" truss rod reinforcement. It is said that the skunk stripe eventually might appear on all JEMs. [Ibanez] doesn't care about spending more money to improve something if we can get a better result. That is why [Ibanez] added a bubinga reinforcemnet at no cost. It costs alot more [to add the bubinga stripe] but the defective production rate is almost nothing on a wizard neck.
JEM DiMarzio pickups - Three DiMarzio "model" pickups have been used in JEMs:
Pickup Model & Number            Output  Treb  Mid  Bass  DC-Resistance 
The Breed Neck (DP165/DP165F)     325mv    5    7    8    10.14K 
The Breed Bridge (DP166/DP166F)   356mv    6    9    8    17.07K 
Evolution Neck (DP158/DP158F)     294mv    7    6    6    12.01K 
Evolution Bridge (DP159/DP159F)   404mv    6    7    7    13.84K 
PAF Pro (DP151/DP151F)            203mv    6    5    5    8.40K
JEM Single Coil Pickup - The original "JEM Single Coil Pickup" is not available separately from Ibanez or DiMarzio. The closest (exact?) match according to DiMarzio is the HS-2 run in single coil mode. The "JEM Single Coil Pickup" has been tweaked to match the accompanying PAF Pros, Evolutions or Breeds depending on various JEM models. 
Scalloped Frets 21-24 - All JEMs have this feature except the JEM10, JEM90, JEM7BSB JEM7DBK and JEM555. It is said to offer more control of the strings at the upper register and allow better feel & sustain.
Expanded Tonal Explaination of Scalloping: 
When Ibanez first made the JEM it had a standard neck joint plate. The high four frets go over the body [with no mass behind them] and when you play these notes through an amp the sustain of the [upper four] notes is alot shorter. The reason is all the area of the neck is gone it is just a fingerboard extension [see Guitar Photo Gallery Neck Details]. Billy Sheenan had done this to his basses to keep the sustain [alive for the upper frets laying] over the body, so we did it on the Jem and it made the notes ring the same as the basic neck [below fret 21]. The distance between the frets does not allow your finger in there anyway. When [Ibanez] switched to all access neck joints the scallop thing does not have any purpose anymore. The VWH [was scalloped] but this guitar was actually designed way back in 1989, the first one... had the original neck joint.
Why Some JEMs are Not Scalloped: 
Tonally speaking, the AANJ eliminates the need for the scalloped frets 21-24. In addition to these reasons listed above, the production of the JEM neck with scalloped fretboard is very costly due to typical production line yields which result in more defects from the process. Even with Ibanez' policy of strict quality control. The problem with scalloping is [the process] screw[s] up many necks; the reason is the inlays get wacked. Even the JEM7VWH is really bad, usually they turn out black, But we did a new improvement to the VWH that is now shipping [in 1999-2000]. If we scallop the fretboard and the inlay rips out we need to refret the neck. If you ever did a refret on scallops when you pull the fret out, small chips around the scallop come with it then it needs to be sanded down, and refreted then rescalloped. Usually this means throw[ing] the neck away. The plastic screw inlayed dots on the BSB/DBK prohibit the scalloping for similar reasons - It is impossible to scallop these at the 24th fret because of the fretboard radius of 430 mm. The dots are too far out [toward the edge of the fretboard] and can't be done.
Tree of Life Vine Inlay - this features a wooden (or synthetic wooden) stem with leafs made of clear plastic with colored paper applied underneath. This provides a bright color (blue, yellow or green vine for example). The JEM7VWH adds abalone inlays for the smaller leafs, using pearloid plastic for the large leafs. The JEM10 has adds abalone for it's larger and small leaves. The 555 vine stops at the 12th fret unfortunately.
Disappearing Pyramid Inlay - the day-glow color inlays are made of clear plastic with colored paper applied underneath the plastic. The clear plastic (on top of the fretboard) is sanded smooth and to match the radius of the fretboard without dulling the color. The White pearloid pyramids (UV777BK, JEM7PBK) are synthetic perloid plastic.
Lions Claw - this is the scooped out tremolo cavity and was named such for it's apperance that looks like a lion's claw carved out the cavity edge. It is the six scooped ridges on the front of the body by the fine tuners of the tremolo. This is cosmetic in nature as the standard routing allows its tremolo to be raised as well as lowered. It does not improve pull-up or tremolo usage on Ibanez guitars. Vai did this originally on his non-floating trem "green meanie" to allow for pullup... the cosmetic feature was added to all JEMs but the functional feature was added to all Ibanez double-locking trem guitars made after 1987. The Lions Claw is featured on all JEMs but is not found on Universe guitars.

Miscellaneous Universe Notes Universe pickups - All Universe guitars feature the DiMarzio Blaze-II pickups. There is no Blaze-I pickup. Often in literature, it is simply called the "Blaze" with no distinction between the neck and bridge models. This is referenced to the DiMarzio "Steve's Special" 6-string pickup as the tonal charts are quite similar to the Blaze-II
Pickup Model & Number            Output  Treb  Mid  Bass  DC-Resistance 
Blaze-II Neck (DP700)             280mv    6    4    6    15.80K
Blaze-II Bridge (DP702)           380mv    6    3    7    20.75K
Steve's Special (DP161&161F)      390mv    7    4    7    17.89K 
UV String Gauges - Universe guitars ship with string gauges .009 .011 .016 .024 .032 .042 .053, which is similar to a standard .009-.042 set with an additional .053 for the Low B-string.
Scalloped Frets - No Universe has scalloped frets 21-24.
Development Time - The Universe took two and a half years from conception to completion Parts development for the Universe took 18 months. The original black UV that Vai photographed with has "JEM" written on the headstock instead of "Universe". This UV was used in promo photos for a guitar magzine contest & Vai was shown with it often. All shipping UVs have "Universe" on the headstock.
Universe Tremolos - There are some Universes out there with the old style Ibanez "Edge" tremolo systems. They're the 7-string versions of the Edge tremolo you'd find on a JEM built thru 1990. All other UVs feature the LoPro Edge7. 
No Monkey Grip on the UV- The Universe Guitar was never intended to be produced with the Monkey Grip that was featured on the JEM line. The confusion was created by speculation about the UV77MC from the Passion and Warfare Album (with no monkey grip) and many photos from Guitar Magazines with the same guitar showing a monkey grip. The Passion and Warfare photo was retouched to "airbrush out" the "Monkey Grip" since the production models (and that actual guitar) were slated to be WITHOUT the Monkey Grip. The following info is from Darren at ATD (who did the swirl) who posted on the Jemsite Forum to clarify the issue.
By DARREN JOHANSEN (Atddmi) on Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 12:31 pm: Well you are all kinda right. The handle was not supposed to be there. The guitar was sent to me [to swirl] but not before going through someone else's hands [ed note - this was Joe D from LI, NY who could not keep his annoying "PAW's off the axe] and they felt it should have a monkey grip. This ended up delaying the project for several months. The [P&W Cover UV] one that had the monkey grip cut into it was the first universe ever to be swirled.
By DARREN JOHANSEN (Atddmi) on Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 01:17 pm:
[to confirm] The monkey grip was never supposed to be on the Universe, since it was a new model with a new look. The guitar on the cover [of Passion & Warfare] was sytexed -if that's how you spell it - which is a computer color flow technique. The guitar was photographed so much before though [showing the actual Monkey Grip on the actual guitar even when the P&W cover showed the touch up without monkey grip].