The Dream Machine ! - New Vai JEM

Discussion in 'Guitars' started by akashaman, Feb 27, 2018.

  1. akashaman

    akashaman Guest

    ya , those florals are special man ! i had my `88 for like ten yrs & then traded it for the `99 white / gold one ; had it for ten yrs as well , b4 it was stolen :
    now , the original floral`s are worth 3-4 k ! arg
    i sure love this blue one , dare i saw more than the original , look wise ! [ i LOVE maple necks ]

    Ya , Passion & Surfing i was weened on , ha
    those are def two of the best guitar lps eva !!!!!!!!!!!
    rock on
     
  2. Death Thash Doom

    Death Thash Doom Platinum Record

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    Not far off from my own experiences Pipotron3000, Cacophany (Becker and Freidman of course), Racer X plus almost all the sick shred masters that Mike Varney signed on Shrapnel, Satch and Vai...etc. Then the other part was Maiden, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, Voivod and all the usual suspects from the US Thrash scene + plus much more but yeah that was the stuff I grew up on top of my first and still all time favourite that my Uncle is responsible for since I could toddle; Black Sabbath (who else really though'?),Then Sweden and Norway errupted with Entombed and such...Rest is history. I'm a genuine TRVE lifer!

    Nice one and best your way and all \m/
     
  3. digitaldragon

    digitaldragon Audiosexual

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    Thank you! The middle knob controls the amount of boost. Front knob is volume, rear knob is tone control. It's wired like the Charvel Model 4's were.
    The black one has a sustainiac pickup in it. I really love the configuration of SSD (single, single, double). They give you so many tonal options. It's got me thinking about tapping the Burgundy one's front and middle pickups. That sustainiac system is really fun to play with. It'll hold a note until the battery dies! It's a string driver transducer which actually vibrates the string to keep the sustained note going indefinitely.
     
  4. Death Thash Doom

    Death Thash Doom Platinum Record

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    Right wouldn't say no to either. The 7-string JS32Q is that a 7-string version of the DiMarzio Crunch Lab that you've dropped into it? The Liquifire is his neck model and CrunchLab his bridge model, At least it was the last time I checked, As MusicMan have released a few additional models which are not or were not intially JP signature models strictly speaking yet He's gone on to always be packing a few all of them when I've seen Him playing along with all the numerous footage/coverage He recieves. The one they did with the nicknane "the dream machine", I never checked the specs/electronics as they we're, Still are "Ball family reserve" levels of way too overpriced! Then they've made the most recent version just look fugly, It might be amazing but at the asking price and what they've concocted out of what was a very attractive looking instrument by doing completely uncalled for crap to, Carbon fibre here
    Just had a brief, rough browse instead of the the Liquifire and CrunchLab in many of the JP models, They have a different set pair of buckers depending on the model! The Majesty (Which is the one I was reffering to as the guitar MM where touting as "the dream machine" did become a JP signature), That has a pair of DiMarzio Illuminator buckers in it, The JP 16 which shares a lot in common is packing a pair of DiMarzio Sonic Ecstasy buckers in it, Whilst the original John Petrucci Ernie Ball MusicMan model, The JP6 that we all saw back in 2001 does indeed feature a LiquiFire in the neck and a Crunch Lab at the bridge


    Hot damned you have similar tastes to Me it seems, Both of you.
    I love that Sustainiac system, That Duncan driver/pickup system is as good as the Fernandes variety, Easier to install too. I also make sure when I have a guitar or bass with active pickups and/or electronics that each is getting it's own battery, I do also have a few where I've got an active at the bridge and a regular passive at the neck, As I sometimes want a lot of variety in the guitar going from extra hot, total br00tal to a much more relaxed, chilled out vibe at the neck. I'm quite into a couple of frankenstein's I've put together with certain passive pickups fitted that I have wired to almost all possible options switching wise, Like series or parallel, Peter Green-like out of phase and inspired by the always having a one switch way to just sack everything regardless and just go straight to the neck pickup going flat out, The Brian May kind of levels of options switching/routing with splitting and so on. My closest Friend is quite similar to Me but His thing is very uptempo, melodic punk that He's a fan of and also writes, records, mixes and masters with some input from Me along with a second pair of ear's that you trust, Then he also does a form of post-something or other which is best described as "slow motion space rock", That is where the rules don't really exist. He also does the same for Me with my metal stuff be it thrash, death, doom, sludge or a combination of along with progressive, djent, really OTT breakdowns/beatdowns ala Despised Icon to Polish-style brutal, technical style sections/inspired stuff and also some grind pushing into power violence..."lovely, really lovely". Where we meet and collaborate is on what gets put into the post-Metal label yet which can incorporate pretty much anything, It's a lot of fun, I mention that as He is a complete diehard Queen fan and Brian May is a deity in his worldview, He has a replica model of that main, Home made guitar which May is famous for, I must admitt that it took Me quite a while to come around to fully appreciating the Brian, Which was short sighted and foolish of Me I have no problem admitting, So I've spent many a time playing the replica Brian May guitar, The scale-length is so short it is almost toy-like but it is so deceptive in that regard, The switching/signal routing options the guy along with IIRC His Father implemented into that original Red Special make it an absolute monster in the right hands, His are damned well very good at wringing every last drop from it, So yeah that is what got Me deeper into switching options other than the simple, regular stuff on almost all electrics along with that one I implemented due to frustrations whilst playing live.
    The only thing I can not get along with unless they are nearly flush with the body of a guitar or it is the type that doesn't have the pole pieces exposed like the the EMG SA and Fender Noiseless types I'm just fine with is the middle single-coil position pickup, It is those staggared pole piece type that really we are talking millimeters about and that sounds and is indeed really tiny but such little things like that to Me honestly make a massive difference to how comfortable I am playing one guitar oppose to another with all else being identical. Therefore in most of my "frankenstein" guitars, I honestly just remove the middle single-coil, Flip it upside down, Plant it down back inside the hole then fasten it in just for the sake of not having a big open crevice in the middle of a guitar body.
    It isn't just Charvel and Jackson guitars that I end up meddling with like that, I have quite a few HSS bodies out in the garage somewhere after buying second-hand just to get my filthy paws on the necks. That isn't do-able with Soloist's though, So they are the main victims of the horrors I just described.
    I've got a healthy number of Jacksons and Charvels, Most of them are from before Fender aqquired the brands, I do have some post-FMIC Jackson and a Charvel, They are fine however I just prefer the necks on the older ones. I will have to try to find my camera to share some pics out of courtesy, I shall include some of the rack stuff and a choice selection of the borderline unhealthy number of pedals, Basically the one's I like the most.
    The only current Jackson which I am interested in is a signature model due to the neck, It is one of the dudes that plays in Periphery, I am not really much into the band but the guy who has the Jackson Juggernaut sig model along with the rest of the members are extremely talented musicians, I don't know what it is about Periphery that I can't get into/can't put my finger on exactly what it is that doesn't work for Me as first of all, Just a fan of music, Metal in particular, The clean vocals are not my cup of tea but I can get past that.
    Anyway I've had Bare Knuckle pickups ever since they launched, So Him having his own model is another sign amongst others the bulb/Misha dude is a dedicated nerd gear wise. So the model I'm eyeing isn't the most pricey but it has everything I like/need/want out of a guitar, The neck most importantly is a flat 14" radius instead of the now standard, typical 12" to 14" compound offering...It feels/plays like a proper Jackson/He's essentially made a Jackson like a proper Jackson again.
    I really hope that they return to the proper necks again on all models or they could simply offer it as an option the same way rosewood boards or maple boards are a Fender staple or rather used to be until the whole CITES rulings and the laws it entails, I can fully understand and appreciate why the compound radius works for many people, Especially so if it is a player that is a Fender player, They end up getting to a place where they have a Tele with a pair of humbuckers and a super strat then fancy something different, A Charvel San Dimas style 2 and a Jackson Dinky or a Soloist for example are great choices for such players (among many other's also of course).
    So like I can picture you both doing is something which I'm constantly up to; An eye always on the lookout for older Charvel and Jackson guitars, I have a network that will alert Me if anything crops up, Not limted to Charvel and Jackson guitars but they are the main focus, Even my local if they get an older Charvel or Jackson in are very cool and inform Me in case it is one I'd be interested in.
    So long as the neck is good with the majority being of the bolt-on variety most of the time, I can, will and have dropped the hammer on a few which I knew would have to be "frankenstein" setups with the neck and the headstock of course being perfect, I can not stand those Jackson's personally with the 3-a-side design or 4 and 3 and also 4 and 4 a-side when it's a 7-string or an 8-string respectively.
    It started with Chris Broderick's signature model IIRC or around that time period whilst he was playing for Megadeth and jumped from Ibanez over to Jackson.

    This is a Jackson, Custom shop for that option body:
    [​IMG]
    This is an imposter, The body is correct but the headstock is a filthy infidel, a Jackson in name only:
    [​IMG]
    Anyway I have said my peace/completed my purity spiralling regarding Jackson's and I appologize if the rant was a little lengthy, I get passionate about the things I love and pretty viotriolic about the things I'm not so keen on ;)

    The only other model I'm eager to try is the Mick Thompson, His Ibanez was excellent and are just fantastic to play, I'm curious as his Jackson is packing the 12" to 16" radius but at the same time I am certain that the neck profile will be far swifter than any other in the range and that has been created for production whilst a brand under the FMIC umberalla.

    All the best to you both and to all, I'm happy to talk Ibanez among pretty much anything else, I do love Me some WIZARD \m/

    Dean
     
  5. powerplay

    powerplay Ultrasonic

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    Unless you can play like him, that dream turns into very expensive junk fast.
     
  6. Infidel

    Infidel Producer

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    Hey i resemble that remark!!
    I think it is a real Jackson because if my memory serves me, that style headstock was first introduced on the Artist model (not a shredder) that is no longer in production. I thought it was a cool 3x3 shape. Now some other models have it as well. except the dinky, kelly and warrior.
    Love the idea of a guitar thread!
    I would like to see some rare ones.
     
  7. Death Thash Doom

    Death Thash Doom Platinum Record

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    That would make sense and be it a model they incorporated already I can accept it a bit more as tradition is something I respect. I likely never came across it before as I have only ever paid attention to the stuff I like and Charvel's surfcaster for example I have taken a pass on, Scale-length wise the few that have turned up are 24.75" which is not my thing/do not suit me at all.
    Having said that I do have one guitar with that Gibson typical scale-length which I actually do like and is also a nostalgia piece so I wouldn't sell it anyway, It's a Gordon Smith flying v...damned things are nigh on impossible to play any other way than standing up. It is a real good quality guitar actually, As I live not too far away from where they are from, Still the stuff they do I find overpriced and far different spec wise than I'd get my shekels worth from, The single cut with a sole P90 at the bridge go for like north of £800!!!

    Thanks for setting things straight regarding the re-introduced Jackson headsock Infidel and all the best to you :wink:
    Absolutely and despite this movement being somewhat a minefield IRL that I know nothing about, I'm having the hashtag it uses and totally missapropriating it for a very different cause #MeToo

    Dean
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2018
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