Hello everyone,

First and foremost, I wish you a happy end of the year holidays!

I wanted to ask if you know (if it would be possible) where I could buy a 1 to 1 copy of a Jem fretboard:
431.8mm - 17'' (like most of the previous Jems) or 400mm - 15.74'' fretboard radius
Ebony or rosewood
With some decent tree of life inlay copy
Titanium truss rod
Would not be sad if the last four frets are scalloped

Also a 1 to 1 copy of the body (alder or mahogany)...you will forgive me if I say I am not interestd in the great quality hardware you get with those beautiful chinese kits namely Byo Kit, Guitar Kit World or the Leo Jaymz, not to mention the ones from
https://www.made-in-china.com/produ...der=0&isOpenCorrection=1&org=top&searchType=0

Or the ones from Aliexpress...

I did quite a lot of research and the chinese companies fuck it up because the fretboard is usually a 12'' radius and they fit stainless steel truss rods because they are marginally cheaper. All this together makes me feel unsure if the shape of the fretb is going to be close to the target as well
Also I haven't found ANY review that could assure me that the body + fretb are really a great cnc'd copy
Tried on Ebay as well but could not be sure about what they sell either is what I am looking for

Thank you in advance!

 

Last edited: Dec 25, 2021

If I could not do that, I will get an Ibanez Jem Junior and the only thing that it needs to become a decent guitar is to upgrade the trem with a gotoh 1996t or a Schaller Lockmeister

 

I have this combo (plus other mods). Pretty good stuff, but i had an older jem jr before that (pre 2012) and the Gotoh didn't fit in the cavity, and the nut mounting system was also different to the one i bought. Nothing too expensive to solve, but something to be aware of.

Don't know how that translates to the big Jems of different years in case you decide to go for the CNC copy, but definetively take a look at what hardware you plan to install before buying the actual body and neck and check if they will fit.

That said, i have no idea where to buy decent CNC'd copies :c

 

the guitars shown on the made in china site all look like absolute shit and most probably unplayable garbage, look at the finishing, fretwork, body and neck build wouldn't I want them for free. Aliexpress has some crap but also there are some really well built instruments listed there which if coming directly from the companies that make them will also do custom work like colors, mods and specs to your requirements for a customized guitar for a small upcharge.

 

Last edited: Dec 25, 2021

Hi mk,

Thank you for your response...I am happy to learn from you that the jem junior with a gotoh is a good combo. About the plate of the trem, I read that you only have to 'shave' a hair the metal to fit in and I also you can use the original studs from the guitar as well. I think you have to get a 36 or 37mm block to fit in the trem cavity

If I would find a proper cnc'd copy I would not mind routing the space to accommodate the pickups

The thing is, with a jem junior you get 7 advantages:
It's painted
The wood selection is alright
The quantum pickups are fine
The wizard 3 neck is very nice indeed...I would only upgrade the frets with stainless steel
You don't have to waste time by researching in the jungle, I am sick of it!
You will not risk to get a piece of s**t from whoknowswhere. Nobody can validate what is on display (inet) right now (I think)
You will save a lot of money because if you'd get a nice 1 to 1 copy, every metallic component you'd bring would cost quite a lot

It's such a pity that the companies that make guitar kits don't make sure that the fretboard is an excellent copy. The radius is different, the truss rod is the cheapest option they can put in and therefore I cannot trust that the shape of the fretb will be close to an Ibanez. I wonder why they don't concentrate on the wood and stop selling shitty hardware

 

Hi Strat,

I agree with you but time is limited and headaches are avoidable. With no trustable validation/ s there is no chance for a gliding trip through the high mountains

 

I shaved off the wood instead since i prefer to keep the trem intact, but yes, it is a really tiny bit, i didn't even got through the paint entirely. In older jems though it's even worse, you really need to get into the wood. The block on mine is 36mm and it barely touches the plastic cover, not enough to loose any range. If you play with very low action height i'd say get something shorter than that just to be sure (i'm unsing 1.3mm on the high E)

I'm not sure but i think the big Jems cavity are ment for the type of bridge you would find in the older JR's (with the edge series trems), any sensible copier would drill in a larger cavity to fit more "standard sized" trems like the gotoh or schaller, but you never know.

The default bridge is pretty decent too, it's not a "needs immediate replacement" kind of thing, that's more of an old Jem Jr thing because the trem on those ones were baaaaaaad. Here, in case you need it. Left is the old JR trem, right is the new one (more floyd-shaped). If you see the old one, run like hell:

 

did you try on stew/mac catalogue?

 

Well, the jem juniors are sold like candies so I am not afraid I would get an old model
The trem has a big flaw...the metal is made of crap and from time to time you have to file it. Certainly as I am getting older I use the whammy bar less and therefore I could postpone upgrade. The Gotoh 1996t is about 150 euro so no big deal, some say it's better than the Lockmeister

 

Hi dusk,

I wish I could...I live in f****g Europe. We are shortening the time to reach the dark ages over here. You 'd be shocked to learn that every imported stuff coming from Asia and the U.S can easily become double price over here, this is the EU for (me)
Right now the chinese are making more patents than Europe and the EEUU together and we don't have any industry either. We buy the crap from China as they manufacture the huge majority of goods that reach our market/s
Also we have much less access to goods in terms of quantity than in the U.S, so we are doomed. Add some floods of undocumented and unqualified migrants from very poor countries, covid, inflation, uncertainty about how the real economy is doing, media manipulation and the winter to the equation and voila

 

I live in Europe too (Italy) , Aan d not a thing you wrot
e makes sense, at least regarding your problem with finding a guitar neck

 

If you interrelate all the dots it makes sense, clearly I extended the argument too much though.

Dusk, do you buy stuff from Stew Mac?

 

i haven t recently, but if you r looking for something you can t find anywhere else ,they have it.But it s not your case, an ibanez style neck is pretty common to find even in europe, with no need to wait ages and pay shameful shipping fares from another continent, if you just check on ebay and ask a trusted seller you ll make a safe purchase

 

ah ok, thank you very much! have to work, I'll be back soon to ask you something elese if you don't mind

 

Hi Dusk, thanks for the tip, I found this:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/224510129388?hash=item3445d8b4ec:g:MGsAAOSwKdVg1aGb

And also found some jem bodies. I will contact the seller for more info

Thanks again!

 

Last edited: Dec 26, 2021

check the feedback of the sellers and ask them questions

 

which one of the two?they r very different.Jem necks usually have the last seven frets scalloped and i can t see if they have the scalloping by the pics

 

I live under a rock, not familiar with ebay, now i understand how it works, thank you!

the one from the right has a reduced tree of life and it seems to fit in a jem 555. i will contact the seller if i could find a matching body as well would be smashing!