Ibanez JEM Guitar

Master the stage with Steve Vai's iconic signature axe in Rock Band.

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The Ibanez JEM Guitar is a signature instrument modeled after the real-world guitar co-designed by Steve Vai and first produced in 1987. The JEM series was heavily influenced by the superstrat style of the early 1980s, with a more aggressive shape and specifications than the Stratocaster on which it is based. In gameplay terms, this item functions as a cosmetic guitar variant that players can equip to their avatars, highlighting the franchise's commitment to featuring real-world instruments endorsed by famous musicians.

Quick Facts

Instrument type: Electric Guitar
Artist association: Steve Vai
Franchise: Rock Band

Lore & Background

The Ibanez JEM was designed after Steve Vai sent his guitar specifications to Ibanez just before Christmas 1986. Ibanez built one of their 'Maxxas' guitars for him with a palmrest for the tremolo, and Vai liked the model enough to produce it with Ibanez. It took five months to make the new model samples in Japan, and the JEM guitar launched at the NAMM Show in June 1987. The design used a 'Chinese menu approach,' with Vai choosing from many different categories.

Essential considerations were weight, wood types, and pickups—Vai decided long before Ibanez contacted him that he would use DiMarzio pickups. The JEM had three DiMarzio pickups (a pair of PAF Pro humbuckers and a JEM single-coil) wired in a then-unique arrangement where the 2nd and 4th positions split the humbuckers into single-coils in combination with the middle pickup. This arrangement, pioneered by DiMarzio's Steve Blucher, allowed Vai to achieve Stratocaster-style in-between sounds as well as humbucker raunch.

The guitar also featured a 'bear claw' rout behind the Ibanez Edge locking vibrato bridge, inspired by the chiseled trench Vai had gouged into his Charvel 'Green Meanie' guitar, allowing a much further range of upward motion. A 24-fret neck was still relatively uncommon in 1987, and the last four frets were scalloped, with upper-fret access enhanced by a crescent-shaped scoop around the neck joint area. Within the game's universe, the JEM Guitar symbolizes technical mastery and showmanship, often associated with high-difficulty tracks that require precise timing and speed, mirroring Vai's own playing style.

Reader's Guide

The Ibanez JEM Guitar is primarily a cosmetic item available through specific editions or unlockable challenges within Rock Band. Equipping this guitar changes the appearance of your avatar's instrument to match Steve Vai's signature model, featuring its distinct white finish and shark fin fretboard markers. While it does not provide direct gameplay bonuses such as score multipliers or easier note detection, owning this item contributes to completing collection achievements in some versions of the game. It serves as a status symbol for completionists who aim to unlock every piece of gear associated with famous artists. Players can find this guitar by purchasing special edition bundles that included physical peripherals or by unlocking it through in-game currency earned via career mode progression, depending on the specific platform and release window.

Did You Know?

The JEM had three DiMarzio pickups in a then-unique wiring arrangement that split the humbuckers into single-coils in positions 2 and 4.
The number 7 in the JEM model names comes from Steve Vai himself, as he likes the number 7.