The same goes for anyone that plays a 7 stringguitar. If you play an Ibanez RG, you can thank Vai for that. His guitar and amplifier designs bucked every trend in the guitar world at the time, and he continues to innovate to this day. But there’s another side to Steve that I also admire. I remember listening to “Passion And Warfare” as a teen and wondering how anyone could possibly be playing guitar like Steve was. His music can be passionately serious just as well as it can be quirky, and it changed the way I looked at guitar. I don’t think its any secret that Steve Vai is, without a doubt, my favorite guitarist of all time. Maybe I can change your mind about that today! I think Steve Vai is just as important to the guitar as an instrument, yet not as appreciated by the general public. Eddie is just as well known for his guitar/amp inventions and innovations, as he is his playing. In the late 70’s it was pretty uncommon to modify your guitar, especially in the extreme ways that EVH did. He was also a big inspiration to Vai and without EVH, we probably wouldn’t have Steve Vai, or the Ibanez JEM. Eddie was a huge influence on all of us, whether you know it or not. He made outrageous claims about modifying amps, and special guitar circuitry.Īt the end of the day, the real trick was Eddie’s talent, not his gear. Although Eddie kept a tight lip on what equipment he used to get his sound, and even lied in interviews about his gear to throw off the guitarists that might copy him. The original red/white/black guitar that he was famous for playing was made from spare parts, and other guitarists were quick to copy him. You see, Eddie really liked the Stratocaster design, but he needed it to do more for his vision. Eddie’s famous “Franken-Strat” was cobbled together from all kinds of parts from other guitars. It would be impossible to talk about the Ibanez JEM without talking about Eddie, since Steve Vai took the same approach when he designed the JEM and the subsequent models that came after.Įddie Van Halen was famous for modifying his guitars and gear. Eddie didn’t know it at the time, but he started a revolution when it came to guitar design. There have been many guitarists that designed their own instruments, but one of the most popular was Eddie Van Halen. These are the type of people that bring innovation to the table, and toss tradition out the window. If anything, this is a testament to the design…it was perfect the first time, right?īut then there are people that look at something like a classic guitar and they say to themselves: “Hmm, this could definitely be better“. These Fender instruments remain relatively unchanged from the models that people played 60 years ago. Plenty of people play Fender Telecasters, and the Tele was the very first solid body guitar to be mass produced. This especially resonates in the guitar community. There are people that are just fine with using what is available and popular, and there is nothing wrong with this mindset of “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”.
There are two type of people in the world when it comes to instruments, or even the world in general.
Today we look at the beginnings of the Ibanez JEM, and it’s vital legacy. The Ibanez JEM had a huge effect on the design of guitars, and picks ups where Eddie Van Halen left off with innovation.