What I needed was a supply of these guitars at any time, because live, when you start using a lot of different guitars, when you switch the guitars inevitably sound different or feel different or don’t react to the amp in the same way. But I had an idea for a guitar that I kinda put together I had a prototype I was using on tour, three of them actually, that were put together by myself, my guitar tech Elwood, and a friend of mine named Joe Despagni – he owns a company called Jem Guitars that makes custom guitars. “Basically, every company approached me for endorsements, and a lot of them make very fine products. Getting a big endorsement deal was not his objective getting the best guitar was. Numerous guitar manufacturers were already clamoring for Vai’s endorsement, and Steve sent spec sheets to many of these companies to see who could best suit his needs. Suddenly thrust into arenas and the spotlight, his equipment needs changed, and it was time to design a new guitar, of which he could have several made to take on tour. It is a guitar designed by Steve Vai, to be the ultimate guitar for his personal tastes and idiosyncrasies, and it seems that guitar players all over the world agree that it is the ultimate rock guitar, blending the best features of historical favorites with visionary advancements.In 1985 Steve Vai had just stepped into the most coveted and perhaps the most highly scrutinized position in the guitar world at that time guitarist for David Lee Roth, who had just departed from Van Halen.

Now, most of those guitars (and indeed many of the companies) are history, yet the Ibanez Jem guitars have remained as popular and as exciting as ever, a lasting testament to their imagination, practicality, craftsmanship and design. It seemed like in the 1980’s, a thousand different guitar companies introduced a million different guitars for rock guitarists. The Ibanez Connection – The Jem, The Universe, and Me

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