JEM 555 Review

The different pickups (humbucker, single coil and again humbucker) all give a different sound wich is very nice. The single coil produces a lower output than the humbucker wich is probably normal but here it is really a lot quiter.

Features:	9
Sound:	9
Action:	7.9
Reliability:	7.4
Impression:	8.4
Overall rating:	8.3
Users rating:	7.3
Comments:	44

overall: 9.4

Featured review by: bullgangstaz, on april 03, 2006

Price paid: $ 1000

Purchased from: Audiophile

Features: My JEM 555 was a 2005 model, made in Korea. It has 24 jumbo frets and has a "tree of life" inlay from the 3rd to the 12th fret. And also a "Steve Vai" inlay on the 24th fret. The neck is maple wood, and the fretboard is Rosewood. It has a solid top. The body is American Basswood. Equipped with EdgePro II double locking trem. Equipped also with 3 DiMarzio Evolution passive pickups (H/S/H). It has a Gotoh type of tuners with a locking nut. No cases were included (I don't know why). // 9

Sound: This guitar suits my guitar playing, I like Steve Vai, and his style of playing the guitar. I play rock, some blues, metal and pop rock. I play this guitar with a Marshall Valvestate amp, and it really sounds good and smooth if you adjust your treble to 0. The pickups are'nt noisy at all. The Neck pickups gives you a smooth tone great for riffs and solos, you can get the sounds of Vai, Petrucci and Malmsteen in this setting. the Middle pickup is great for acoustic sounds, and last but not the least, the Bridge pickups w/c is very suitable for solos, shreds, etc. The EdgePro II was very accurate, this guitar can stay in tune even if you are using the whammy bar often. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The Guitar was not yet set-up'd when I grabbed it on the store. So when I was going to purchase it, I called their guitartech and ask him to set-up my guitar. The intonation is already adjusted from the factory, thats why he skipped on the intonation adjustment. He ask me if what kind of setting I would prefer. I said just like Vai's specifications, then poof! it became like Vai's. The hardware(s) are all flawless. The wood is straight. I'm very satisfied. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I'm sure this guitar will withstand live playing if it is properly set-up'd. Any guitar that has proper intonation, fret level, action, stability and accuracy can withstand any live playing, but my advice is don't abuse your guitars. Steve Vai and other famous guitar players have their own guitar techs so that moment by moment their guitars are being setupped. So if you don't have your tech, I'm pretty sure that your guitar will gain more and more damages every time you abuse it. If you have your own guitar tech, then of you go. I'm pretty sure I can depend on my guitar. The finish is totally awesome, the hardware is durable. Overall, it is semi-perfect (the JEM7V is really the perfect guitar). // 9

Impression: As I had said earlier, I play rock, blues and pop music. I think this guitar will be perfectly matched with a Carvin Legacy amp. I've been playing for 2 years, I own an AriaPro 2 Magna Series electric guitar, Fernando classical guitar, Weinstein elec. gtr. and a Zoom 707 II gtar effects. I wish they include a Hardcase on buying this product. If this guitar was stolen, I'd probably get another one, or else I'd buy the JEM7V and try something else. I love the overall specs of this awesome guitar. It is worth the price I'd paid for. I like the inlay but I prefer the original abalone tree of life inlay and a scalloped 21 to 24 frets. My most favorite feature is the neck pickup (it is really great). I'm not comparing this to any other products because I believe that every guitar has its own uniqueness and it is not with the guitar but on how the player plays his/her instrument. I choose this one because I like it very well! I wish I had a 7V and bandmates that has a same passion for their instruments like me. // 10

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: godofshred, on march 22, 2005

Purchased from: Reed Franklin Heywood

Features: I'm sorry but I'm not too sure on the year. 24 frets with beautiful vine inlay that stretches from the 3rd to 12th fret and "Steve Vai" inlay on the 24th! It's a solid-top. I think it's basswood with the jem signature "mokey grip handle" in it which really does come in handy! The finish is plain black with a black moto scratchplate which just sets this beautiful guitar off! The bridge is the lo-trs model as its an older 555. But the newer models have the Edge Pro. The pickups are the amazingly high output dimarzio evoutions! These things must be heard! The guitar included a Ibanez locking hardcase. // 10

Sound: The guitar suite my stlye's perfectly shred and blues! The pickups attack the ears and deliver an unmistakeable sound! I'm using it with a Korg AX1500G and a Marshall practice amp (soon to be upgraded for valve). The guitar is anything you want it to be. Shred machine-kicking out highend speed Demon solo's, blues beast the neck pickup helps with this, its a low, punchy sound with rewarding highs. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up well when I baught it but I like mine different so I had them set it up to my specs. I'm fussy like that. The pickups I adjusted myself. The bridge neerly toughing the strings for those crazys shred licks and the neck's lip sits around 1mm over the scratchplate for those nice, thick blues riffs. as I said before, it suits my style perfectly! The guitar was in perfect condition when I bought it. No complaints there! // 10

Reliability & Durability: The guitar will withstand live playing as the man Vai proves to use every time! The hardware is incredible durable. I would never take it to a gig without a backup like all my other guitars. Thw finish is great but as it is black shows up scratches easily that is my only beef with this guitar. Funny enough though 4/5 past guitars have been black. // 8

Impression: As said before, I play blues and shred mostly and it fits them all. I've been playing roughly over 2 years and I own a Fender Tie Dye Strat, Korg AX1500G, Fender Gemini II acoustic and a Marshall practise amp but hopefull will invest in a Marshall valve so expect a review from that soon too! If it were lost/stolen I would buy it again, definatly! I love the pickups and modern style so much but my only beef as said before is black paint. Due to thescratches showing up but look after it and it will look after you! // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on november 23, 2007

Price paid: $ 1281

Purchased from: Sound Control

Features: Comes with a Jem neck, similar to the wizard II, Di Marzio evolution pickups HSH, double locking Edge III bridge (according to Ibanez.com) flight case included. Jumbo frets, basswood body, mother of pearl Tree of life vine inlay 3-12 frets. Also a "Steve Vai" clear inlay at the 24th fret. Volume, tone, 5 way selector, trem arm. I think it was at least a 2004 model, made in Korea. // 10

Sound: I play power metal/metal/rock, bit of satch, bit of Opeth, bit of Symphony X. Similar ish sounds in some cases, but overall it suits my style. I have also found my self playing a few other genres, including indie and funk, it's a little excitable as the pickups have a high output, but I love that aspect of this guitar. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: When it came from the factory it had a poor setup, but since I took it to the guitar tech at sound control it's a beauty to play. It was ok to begin with, but now it's fantastic after the action was sorted. it's a comfortable fit, if that's what you mean. The finish is nice on it, may need the occasional clean, but it shines after a quick wipe with a microfibre. I adjusted the Edge for 10's instead of 9's. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Strap buttons were fine, but I replaced them with a DiMarzio clicklock strap. Seems solid, doesn't go out of tune that easy. The only reason I wouldn't gig without a backup would be incase a string went and I had to quickly switch to one with 6 strings still on it! Other than that I'd have no problems gigging with just this guitar. // 9

Impression: Other than the initial part of it needing a setup the guitar is beautiful, it may not have the full vine inlay of the JEM7, but it's still a great looking, and great playing guitar, it turns heads! I can't really compare it to any other guitars of a similar price range, as I haven't played any, but compared to a £300 stage master or a £200 daisyrock/schecter it blows them out of the water, but then again you would expect it to. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Genius_92, on january 31, 2007

Price paid: $ 1372.5

Purchased from: i can't remember somewhere in Denmark St

Features: right this is a Korean JEM and although being the cheaper one it still has a lot of features, so I am just gonna write a list because I am lazy and it's easier to read. Here we go: maple neck, rosewood 24 fret fretboard, really thin neck, jumbo frets, tree of life vine from 3rd to 12th fret, Steve Vai written on the 24th fret, basswood body, huge cutaways, monkey grip, pearloid pickgaurd, DiMarzio Evolution Pickups, 5 way pickup selector, volume and tone knob and Edge-pro Bridge (like Floyd-Rose). It came with manual, tools, hard case, stings, strap and schaller locking strap clips. // 10

Sound: I play anything I can and this does anything you can play justice, sounds sweet. I use an all-valve 60 watt amp and Boss ME-50 and this guitar sounds brilliant through it absolutely no hum what so ever. Know to get the full idea I want you to imagine the greatest song you know playing the greatest song you know this guitar will make you sound like that if you can play it (if you canto a certain Standard). // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought it from the shop it was set up perfectly but I think, although I am not to sure whether the bridge was parallel but only minor. This guitar has absolutely no faults at all. Seriously I am holding my guitar right now looking at with a magnifying glass I have just played and it is perfect the only that could possibly be bad about it is the fret wire comes a bit high. It doesn't affect the action but it's a bit high. This can make slides a bit hard but you can hit a note without toudhing the fretboard. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar would withstand a nuclear bomb and then start a race of new super guitars. The hardware is very secure especially the bridge you could hit it through the guitar and the bridge would still be attached and the string would be in tune. The finish is beautiful and I would go gigging with it but you do still have a problem if a string brakes. // 10

Impression: I have been playing for about 5 years and I can say this guitar has everything you need from a guitar, you can't improve it. I love it completely and if you have problems with Floyd-Rose style bridges visit this site www.floyrose.com/originaltremolo.html you should only need section 1 and 2 skip number 4 in section 1. If you still have trouble you have poor eye coordination and you should give up the guitar and bury your head in the sand. If someone stole this guitar I'd ram a rifle up their arse and use all my bullets. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 26, 2005

Purchased from: Swee Lee Music, S'pore

Features: You know the specs for this from the website and other posts, basically this is a 'toned down' (read: cheaper) version of Vai's mighty JEM7V. Mine is the Korean-made white model. Appearance wise, the only differences are dark chrome hardware (machine heads, bridge etc) instead of gold and the vine inlays only go from the 3rd to 12th fret, on the 12th fret there's a cheeesy "Steve Vai" label: P Also comes with Ibanez's Lo-Trs tremolo which is just ok, not great. Came with its own hardcase which was nice and the same DiMarzio Evolution pickups as the real JEM, which I thought was the best feature of the whole guitar. More on that later. Overall, a nicely equipped quitar for the price with killer looks to boot (the signature 'Monkey Grip'). // 8

Sound: The best part of this guitar is the pickups! Two humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions and a single coil in between. Clean, powerful and versatile as hell, you can get pretty much any sound from these three babies. The selector even allows you to dial in some combinations such as one single coil and one half of the humbuckers. I play mostly rock and metal and this guitar suits me just fine. It helps that I'm able to emulate the sound/tone of the artist whose song I'm playing: P I've played it through a couple of amps, mostly practice size marshalls and crates, through various distortion pedals (DOD Metal X, Death metal and Grunge, and a Korg Distortion factory, see the pattern) and a crybaby wah. Depending on the settings you dial in you can get anything from smooth overdrive to straight out kick ass metal tones. No complaints here. Vai designed this to be an extremely versatile guitar, and it delivers even in the 'junior' version. Last note, I'm not sure if it's the wood or just the guitar design, but my JEM even sounds good and prety loud 'unplugged', that is I can strum it without plugging in and it sounds pretty decent. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar came out perfectly set up out of the box, nice tight action and in tune. But I think I messed it up when I started changing the strings and tuning it down to D#. Had to send it to a guitar tech each time I re-string cos the bloody tremolo wouldn't stay in tune! Finally decided to block off the trem completely and have been quite happy with it since. I don't do much of that whammy bar divebombing stuff anyway. My Jem is now a kick-ass fixed bridge guitar. The neck has always felt fast compared to other guitars I tried, and it's very comfortable to play on for long periods of time. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Here is the main gripe I have with this guitar. First off the machine heads gave up on me after a few months, had to have them replaced with Gold Grovers (for free thankfully). The guy at the shop told me this is a common problem with the 'cheaper' Ibanez guitars, shame on them! No complaints about the machine heads since then. The overall build quality is not as robust as higher priced models, you get what you pay for. I've also had the lead connector fail once (fixed) and of course the unreliable tremolo. I've had the white pickups changed to black evolutions mainly for cosmetic purposes. I've used this on stage and it held up ok, but I don't think this guitar can stand the rigors of constant touring without a backup. // 5

Impression: I love this guitar, simply cos it's my first guitar and I've had a lot done to it to make it one-of-a-kind (the grover tuners and black pickups). It's probably not something I'd buy again on retrospect, probably would have gone with another model which has a more stable floyd rose trem and better build quality. But for the price, you do get a very versatile guitar with excellent pickups and a fast neck. I've played for about ten years now and after everything I've learned about guitars I'd say this will make a decently priced practice guitar, which can replace having multiple guitars in terms of the kind of sounds it can recreate. If you have the cash, go for the real things (JEM7Vs). But if not this is as close as you can get to wielding Vai's mighty Ax. If I lose it I'd probably be pissed as hell more for sentimental reasons, but I'd happily replace it with better quality ESPs. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Noodelz-Rox, on april 13, 2005

Purchased from: A freind.

Features: Ok, I don't care what people say about it, to me it's a JEM. Here we go. My JEM555 was made in koreia in '95, It has an ebony fretboard, Maple neck, 24 jumbo frets ans a vine inlay from the 3rd to 12th fret and pearl dots and on 24, it has "Steve Vai" written on it. I has a solid top with the 'Monkey Grip" handle (It might look odd to begin with but you'll be happy you have it in the end). The body is made of basswood and it is painted black. Jem style body. The bridge is a Ibanez floyed rose LO-TRS1, wich isn't the best but is worth the money 'cause face it, no one can do half the stuff Vai does so unless you whammy out of it, it will stay in tune good. Passive electronics. 1 volume & 1 Tone control. 5-way switching. The Pickup config is H/S/H. The pickups are black D'marzio Evoloutions with are passive. The pickups are cool because every one gives you a different sound. The tuners are standard Ibanez. My freind gave me a case with this guitar. All-together this was an awesome deal! // 10

Sound: My music style is everything except prog rock and counrty. This guitar suits every style I can think of. I'm using a Marshall MG20 amp, a Dunlop original wah pedal and a Boss ME-50 effects board. No matter what settings you have it on, this thing isn't noisy at all. The sounds on the bridge pickup are rich, full and mellow at the same time. awesome. The neck is bright and sounds somthing between a heavy ditsortion like what vai uses to a kind of straty sound. As you probobly know already, this guitar can make any sound! // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Everything on this guitar was perfect when I got it. The only bad thing was that the bridge had a small amount of rust on it but that got taken care of. I got it set up by a tech for 9-46s after a while. When bought the guitar it was perfect. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Yes! // 10

Impression: This guitar is good for any king of music. I've been playing for a year and a half now and I own a Ibanez TCM50 Talman ACC/ELE a Boss ME-50 and a Marshall MG20 amp. Everything is flawless. If it was lost I would kill the person who stole it and I would buy another one in a second. I love every thing about it but I wish it had a Eadge Pro Trem or a Lo-Pro. But this can be changed easy. // 10

overall: 2.6

Reviewed by: stonyman65, on november 09, 2005

Price paid: $ 650

Features: // 6

Sound: This guitar is okay. It's good for some types of music, I'd would say it's best for hair metal. It's okay for me, I play more punk-ish stuff. I have a Marshall MG15CD (sucks + 1)and a Boss ME-50. This guitar sounds good but lacks sustain. As I said this is good for metal-ish stuff. It's not really good for anything ealse because the pickups produce more output than other pickups and it can be pretty rough at times. // 4

Action, Fit & Finish: I set up that action myself and I'll tell you its not worth the time. The pickups are the best part about the guitar.. everything ealse was medicore. The bridge is horrable plain and simple. The pivot studs where so loose that they could be taken out by hand so I had my luithier re-drill the holes and glue in new studs. The bridge's knife eadges where worn out so I had the file them back to get a eadge. The fretwire on the 23 fret was raised so I had to lower it. The bridge and hardware was oxidized but I took care of some of that with a toothbrush and rubbing alchohol. After putting about $200 into this guitar it still doesn't stay in tune well so I am going to block the trem. // 1

Reliability & Durability: I wouldn't depend on this thing that much, maybe for studio or home use but live, that's a bad idea. // 1

Impression: Well I have to tell you, I got screwed on this deal. If you are a metal fan then this might be okay (might be at best). anything else this thing lacks big time. Just take my advice and don't use the trem too much b/c it's gonna go out of tune. It's not worth the time to get the thing setup correctly because it will let you down. My advice would be to get a RG1570 or above or a American Stratocaster and just mod the pickups to evolutions. Been playing for 4 years now and I own two other guitars, and effects board and a crappy amp. If this was lost I'd probobly just say "see ya" and buy a RG or another Strat. the only thing I like (like, not love) about it is the pickups. I got this one for what I thought was a good price but the more I learned about guitars the more I regretted buying this. // 1

Comments

[imoeng]

fake jem!! no offense... www.jemsite.com

[geetarguy92]

not everyone can afford around about £1700 you know it isnt fake dumbass

[WaRl0cK101]

you arsehole, its not fake
does anybody know if this guitar suits metal/harcore? deep and thick tones? im thinking unearth, killswitch engage.

thanks

[imoeng]

Check the url I gave you, there are lots of JEM comments, including JEM 555, its the most complete JEM archives, you *******.. Just for your info, I have a JEM 7vwh and I've tried JEM 555, thats why I can say thats a fake JEM

[ixion]

dude that is not a fake jem.. You need to research on them before you say weather it is fake or not. Are you one of thoes people that will buy one of them cheap chinese gutiars from ebay? Porbarlly where you got your 7vwh from.

[stonyman65]

It is a fake Jem. don't get me wrong it is above any RG you can get (except maybe a RG570 modded with better pickups) but it is not any where near the quallity of the real jems made in Japan. I have a 555, since 1997, trust me I know. its not really worth buying, b/c you can't find them new and most used ones will crap out on you after a few months of continuous playing. go out and get a Jackson Dinky. maybe if you wan't get a RG and have someone carve a monkey grip in it for you and you'll gave a better guitar right there. who cares if it is a Jem anyway? its a guitar.

[Erich yeung]

My friend has a dinky, and my Jem 555 blows it out of the water. The older models are garbage cause of that horrid bridge, but the edge pro II ones are good. From Jem Point of view, it doesnt match up. But its also 600 bucks cheaper, it has the evolutions, the jem neck, and basswood(which isnt bad wood, just its heavier than alder, so you get thicker sounds which i like), the inlay upto the 12th etc. I'll admit that steve vai logo is cheesy as hell.
But from just a guitar standpoint , it blows any RG out of the water, and alot of the Prestiges. This is by no means a bad guitar. If you want something cheaper but also want a high grade quality guitar. Get this! (make sutre its a recent one though)

[Mikey p]

my mate just bought one of these for £850 and it is sweet as. the locking trem and nut make the dimebag(R.I.P) squeals pretty easy so it is a great axe. just not too sure on the handle and th body is a bit fat, i,d prefer an SA32 FM if it had a floyd rose of edge3 bridge.

[Genius_92]

wat r stonyman65 and imoeng talkin bout this is made by Ibanez and says Ibanez JEM on the head. and it play's really sweet sounds beautiful so **** u if u fink its fake

[ibanezist]

the only Ibanez worth having are the ones made in japan. The Jem555 was made for people who want to pretend that they have the real thing.the Jem 555 is a low grade ibanez with a name that shouldnt even be associated with that low grade model. i wouldnt be caught dead playing one cuz it is like putting a Harley sticker on a Honda and calling it a Harley!!! lol You who are thinking of buying one , you might as well save up and buy the real thing, because if it was me , i wouldnt want an imposter or a wanna be jem!!!!

[Leigh01]

WTF.

The jem555 I purchased a while ago was aweful,
there is one thing I like about the pickups thats it.

so I updated mine to a jem7v(prestige)
and its worth every penny extra, firstly the woods are ten times better cut and better quality, the pickups are better tone all round but not so powerful,
the five way switch is better sliding then the 555 I had and an overall better contact, and the bridge compaired to the inferior quility of the 555 is impeccible, and I can't really see the 555 lasting more then two or three years before the bass wood on the body needs replacing and the bridge needs replacing.

[Genius_92]

my god u people have got some knid of vendetta against this guitar don't you. you get what you pay for. i mean if you pay 300 more you're obviously gonna get a better guitar

ibanezist wrote:

the only Ibanez worth having are the ones made in japan. The Jem555 was made for people who want to pretend that they have the real thing.the Jem 555 is a low grade ibanez with a name that shouldnt even be associated with that low grade model. i wouldnt be caught dead playing one cuz it is like putting a Harley sticker on a Honda and calling it a Harley!!! lol You who are thinking of buying one , you might as well save up and buy the real thing, because if it was me , i wouldnt want an imposter or a wanna be jem!!!!

This guy Wanka!!!!111!!!!!

[d_lord1]

get the rg2550e its better and cheaper

[fischli222]

sorry guys but this guitar is a fake. The 555 should never have been made, in my and I suspect many other peoples opinion. And a RG Prestige blows this guitar easily away.. in my opinion: get a RG 2620, best guitar and very very cool finish and a good price... or even the rg 2550!! or you buy the real jem 7V but not this fake.... keep on rockin guys!

[fischli222]

sorry guys but this guitar is a fake. The 555 should never have been made, in my and I suspect many other peoples opinion. And a RG Prestige blows this guitar easily away.. in my opinion: get a RG 2620, best guitar and very very cool finish and a good price... or you buy the real jem 7V but not this fake.... keep on rockin guys!

[Kid Fisto]

Why do you need a case? it's got the monkey-grip.....

jk i know, but i love this guitar's style

[Jim6643633]

I guess thats a Fake Steve Vai
So whats Prestige? 5pc Necks, Thats all really when you look at it.Wood as nothing todo with it the UV777P has the same American Basswood Body but it's still classed as a prestige guitar!?.When the Lo-TRSII bridge was on it was terible,they stopped making them Jem555 due to it,yes it was a mistake,we all make mistakes,but then relaunched it with the EdgeII.
Since Steve Vai founded the Make a Noise Foundation which provides musical instruments and music education to young musicians who cannot afford them it kinda make sense that there's a Jem at this price range & since Ibanez would of talked to Steve about this guitar (i'm sure of it)& thats why it can carry the name Jem & the Tree of Life design..

If anything is fake then it's all the players who buy the Jem 7 thinking that they are Steve Vai & shout fake, reality check...Steve Vai makes the Jem 7 sound like Steve Vai, Steve Vai makes the Jem 555 sound like Steve Vai, Steve Vai makes a JS100 sound like Steve Vai.
Ibanezist,Fischli,Stonyman,Imoeng will still make the Jem 555,7 & the JS100 sound like Ibanezist,Fischli, Stonyman,Imoeng
It's not the guitar it's the guitarist..

[Jim6643633]

D'oh Link not worked I tried to be fancy :p
http://vai.com/FanForum/images/mailbag/20000111/000111_o nstage.jpg

[Jim6643633]

http://vai.com/FanForum/images/mailbag/20000111/000111_onsta ge.jpg

[Jim6643633]

Sorry about this..not my fault
pls remove the space on _onstage.jpg

[lex_fender]

Whats pictures for?

[R45TA]

I have been playing guitar for 2- 3 years and i want an upgrade i love stive vai , so i think this is the guitar for me ...? however alot of ppl have just torn this guitar apart ... im not amazing but this in my oppion is a very good guitar for my standard ? if you would differ can u suggest guitars with simmilar properts for around £600 - £650 thanks so much

[kradamek]

set up'd. umm exuse me??? grammar please! jk yo good reviews

[Wonder_Drug]

dude, you guys complain too much. if you can't make a cheap guitar sound good then you fail as a guitarist, period. the jem555 isn't even considered a low quality guitar, just low quality compared to the jem. again, if you need awesome tech and all that shit, you're not a guitarist. i can, and know over people who can make a squire sound descent. its all on your set-up, not your gear. don't be such a baby.

[Tartan_nick]

1. It aint fake.
2. Yes, other places make it aswell. Doesn't make it 'fake'. It works, it everything an awesome guitar needs. Its almost identical to the 7v.

Seriously, the critics are bogus. Look at the specs, Almost Identical.

[whitetiger4000]

http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/guitar095.html

pr oof (although LH, its still it) and its on frikken steve vai's page

i really want this guitar

[Joesuph]

Dont be a prick, its not a fake JEM, a fake JEM7V perhaps, but that doesnt make it any less of a JEM than any of the others. Besides, not everyone can afford nearly 2 grand either you snotty twat.

[rancidryan]

imoeng wrote:

fake jem!! no offense... www.jemsite.com

i love the fact you research from a fan site its a real jem

[Charlie4]

Some people are yuppies - you make me sick !

I have this guitar, the white one, and the reviews given were pretty accurate (except for the idiots who claim it's fake)

Is an Epiphone fake cause it's not a Gibson? If it's so fake point out what's diffrent than the original. Don't just bash the guitar for nothing you sissies!

The only thing that irritates me about my guitar is the locked tremelo system - if the bridge falls due to a string that snapped you need to be patient and set up the bridge all over again, however you can get a spring that holds the bridge straight the whole time, making life a bit easier .

It takes extremely long to tune. PLaying live without a backup would be risky - a string snaps the gig's over.

The only diffrence between this guitar and Steve's is the hardware. The pickups, wood / neck are the same.

Overall, I would rate every category a nine except for Reliability. When I do have enough money I'll buy the original with the Tree of Life inlay.

[quote]rancidryan wrote:its a real jem

Noted.

[jayspliff05]

i bought this guitar for 680 pounds and i love it.

it wont go out of tune easily.
i have a very low action without fret-buzz
the pick-ups sounds great,
the whole guitar in my opinion is amazing and is the best guitar i have played.

[Aibanizu]

JEM 555 are real.

I used to own one until I switched to the Ibanez JEM7V.
Jem 555's aren't that bad, they were pretty good when I had it for 3 years. I only modified the Bridge to an Edge Pro. There was nothing wrong with it at all, even with such low action, it didn't have fret-buzz.

The JEM333's are the ones that are usually fake. They may not be well known about but the JEM333's are the main ones being faked.

[Ragnorak6000]

Ibanez dont make the real JEMs for left handed people so this guitar is one of my only options for a good Ibanez that looks class as well as plays good.

[the staggerwing]

okay my turn:
1.It says Ibanez
2.It is on vai's personal site
and still say it's fake??? wrong!!! it's real deal but the rich spoilt boys only think a 7v is a real jem because it's price, but, if you want THE ONLY REAL JEM 7V FLO you have to kill steve vai and steal the guitar.

[elomarcelo]

Esta guitarra esta buena, pero la descripcion creo que esta incorrecta, Este modelo trae un puente edgeIII. El mismo reemplaza al lo-trs/II. Estos ultimos que menciono eran bastante inestables, el II mas que el lo-trs. Estuve a punto de comprar una. El sonido era excelente, pero tenia roto el mango y no me intereso. Esta guitarra no se comercializa en EEUU justamente por la mala calidad del puente de las primeras series. Pero este modelo con el nuevo edgeIII es excelente. Saludos!

[BYZ]

Lolz it's not really a big deal to me wether it's a "fake" Jem or not, it's a real guitar, so just look at how it plays. I agree that this guitar is of lower quality than the other jems. But we cant really compare them that way since it's meant to be a cheaper model. It's a great guitar for its price. But for people looking for the steve Vai sound it probably wouldnt quite do it. Then again, if you dont have the skills, the real jem wouldnt do it for you ethier

[(LOVE OF GOD)]

well jem555 is a great guitar in my opinion but it depends on the setup on the bridge the olny problem i had was the nut stripping but i had a free replacement anyway and ummm jem 555 is not fake it is more of a prototype but not fake and look at the JS-100 you think because its the lowest level of the JS series its fake? pffft kinda dumb if you ask me... but anyway final opinion if this is setup right the bridge will be fine and if you dont go retarded on it you'll make it last.

[LYSEYKO]

wow are all you bitching about the picture? faggots

[Coldmystery]

OMG Not a real JEM? It may not be a JEM you like.. but it is what it's called. And Ibanez calls it a Jem. Therefor it's a Jem numbnuts.

[jopixi]

i dont understand why so many people are bashing it, sure its not the JEM7V. but that doesnt mean its not the JEM, from my point of view a guitar is a guitar, i bet if the JEM7V was cheaper than the JEM555, all you fanboys will cry about how the JEM7 is a fake. sure the lo-TRS was a mistake, but they fixed it with the new EDGE III, its not EDGE-Pro or the FR, but its half decent and if you are a good guitarist you can make it sound better than any JEM7 played by a noob. so overall i think its a pretty good guitar, might not measure up to the JEM7V but it is by no means a shitty guitar (pardon my french)

[SheepsWatcher]

People...People.. TO all the ones saying this clownery about the JEM555 is "fake": just remember when this one was the last release,and everyone of you were saying :"that's the last ! Woohoo so it's the best !"... Please stop this 'VAI competition' it is ridiculous. I can't wait for another JEM to be released, so everyone will say that the JEM7V is now fake...

I would pay to hear Steve talking about this guitar finally,so then you'll all lick his ass...

Ciao

[jallen1264]

WOW all this talk about the Jem555. lol You have me really worried now, I just purchased a used Jem555 over the phone from a Guitar Store and Im getting it today. I did play the guitar last week and it seemed to be a really good player. I read the comments here then went looking around, and I found out that there were alot of fake Jem555's made in China and usually sold on auction sites like ebay and being listed from Hong Kong. There is a site that shows all the counterfeit Jem555's and if you know anything at all about a jem, you can tell the fake a mile away. But I take it that is not what your talking about. Im still excited about going to pick up my Jem555 today but the first thing im looking at is the bridge, if its not a Edge II then I will tell them to forget it. I will just stick with my Ibanez RGT42DXFM, and I know that isnt a Fake lol. Rock on everyone

[Charlie4]

A lot of very uneducated people here (get your facts straight)

The pickups are awesome - wide variety of sounds. Clean tones through a valve amp are awesome.

Blah blah blah !

GOOD guitar.

[Cougz2112]

Think ive been put of buying one of these now because i want the thing to stay in tune!
izzit really that bad?

[jopixi]

Cougz2112 wrote:

Think ive been put of buying one of these now because i want the thing to stay in tune!
izzit really that bad?

its not that bad because the newer ones comes with the Edge III, they are generally much better than the lo-trs that the old jem555 has(they are HORRIBLE!!) and i STRONGLY suggest you set up the guitar yourself! the factory set up is SH*T. stays in tune fairly well(might go out of tune by a couple of cents tho) but to the inexperienced ears they wont be able to tell the difference! so gigging with it shouldnt be a big problem