Think of Ibanez, and there’s every chance that you’ll think of Steve Vai and his iconic JEM - the double-cut shred machine that helped revolutionised what we expect from a guitar that’s built for speed and technical playing.
We’ve seen the JEMJR - Ibanez’s more affordable version of the JEM - before, whether it be the standard White finish, or the bold special edition SP variants. However, for 2022 Ibanez has added Black to the JEMJR’s palette.
Paint job aside, it’s the JEMJR you’ve come to know and love: a thin, speedy Wizard III maple neck, Jatoba fingerboard, 24 jumbo frets, double-locking vibrato for ambitious whammy moves and a trio of Ibanez’s tried-and-true Quantum pickups (arranged in an H/S/H format).
The pickups are switched via a five-way blade, giving you each pickup individually, as well as mix of the one coil from each humbucker alongside that middle single coil in the remaining two ‘in-between’ positions.
Of course, this being a Steve Vai signature, the visuals are only getting started with the black paint/white scratchplate combo. The distinctive Tree of Life inlay runs throughout the fingerboard, and fear not, the Monkey Grip is present too.
Lefties, look away, as Ibanez is yet to add the new finish option to the JEMJRL. Prices are yet to be officially confirmed, but we’re expecting this to be pitched at the same price as the JEMJR in White, making this an attractive proposition with a sub-£500 street price.
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“There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“Notes dance rhythmically, almost creating a reverb diffusion. Those notes are held together with tape-style effects”: Keeley Electronics and Andy Timmons unveil the Halo Core – same modulated dual echo magic, simplified controls
