#Ibanez universe for sale new hampshire pro

“The first thing he did”, Rich recalls, “was disassemble them on the spot. Lasner brought both prototypes to Steve’s home in Los Angeles.

#Ibanez universe for sale new hampshire pro

Mace Bailey performed the actual construction.”īoth prototypes used DiMarzio pickups, PAF Pro humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions, and a custom-wound single-coil pickup in the middle. Both incorporated the monkey grip, but the actual hole was considerably larger than what’s on the production models. The second one was maple/mahogany/maple, a solidbody. The first was semi-hollow, made from solid maple with a maple neck. Rich Lasner, who was with Hoshino at the time (now with Modulus Guitars) explains: “Steve sent us his plans based around ideas from all of his favorite guitars. So that solved the problem of duplicating the one guitar I really like.” I have no problem in rehearsal, for example, going from one guitar to another, whether it’s green or blue or yellow or floral or whatever I know they’re gonna sound basically the same and that the feel is the same on all of them. It took a while to perfect it, but every time they send me one it feels just like the others. And when I walk into any music store and pick up one of these guitars and play it, it feels great. I wasn’t going to make it a Steve Vai guitar, because who’d be interested in buying a Steve Vai guitar unless I actually played it? So I told them that if they made me these guitars and supplied me with them, then they could make them for other people as well. I thought that it would have potential in the marketplace, and they were interested in marketing it.

“So when Ibanez approached me I gave them the chance I gave every other company I handed them my prototype and said ‘Here’s the guitar I want – make me one exactly like it.’ And I got a guitar back in three weeks that was just great. I’m always breaking guitars too, it must be my sedate and laid-back style (laughs). 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