# Steve Vai's Experience Hendrix Strat/Jem



## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 22, 2011)

Looks like a hybrid between a Jem and a Strat. Sustainer on the neck pickup, scalloped rosewood board, Original Edge, slightly rounder, Fender-like contours, psychedelic paintjob...

A rather odd guitar, but I'd imagine it'd be perfect for Vai doing Hendrix tunes. I like it actually.


----------



## Andromalia (Mar 22, 2011)

Not my thing, looks like a kid did the drawings.


----------



## Bones43x (Mar 22, 2011)

I don't see this thing doing Hendrix since the pickups aren't even single coils...

It looks almost like an old RT, but the body isn't quite right. It has and Ibby neck/headstock, and it almost looks like an AANJ.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 22, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> I don't see this thing doing Hendrix since the pickups aren't even single coils...
> 
> It looks almost like an old RT, but the body isn't quite right. It has and Ibby neck/headstock, and it almost looks like an AANJ.


 
Satch did the Experience Hendrix tour with a custom JS with 3 Pro Tracks. And he nailed the All Along The Watchtower tone.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 22, 2011)

Dude in the pic with him doesn't seem very impressed, haha.


----------



## GRUNTKOR (Mar 23, 2011)

Andromalia said:


> Not my thing, looks like a kid did the drawings.



It's inspired by the Monterrey Strat






The original of which was painted by Jimi


----------



## Kr1zalid (Mar 23, 2011)

Looks cool...


----------



## Andromalia (Mar 23, 2011)

GRUNTKOR said:


> The original of which was painted by Jimi



Kinda explains why he picked up music over painting.


----------



## littlephil (Mar 23, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> I don't see this thing doing Hendrix since the pickups aren't even single coils...
> 
> It looks almost like an old RT, but the body isn't quite right. It has and Ibby neck/headstock, and it almost looks like an AANJ.



The body is sort of close, but the RT just had a standard RG body, with a Strat style trem.
It does appear to have an AANJ too.

If you look closely at the third pic, it looks like the 12th fret upwards are scalloped, with a progressive scallop (not across the whole board, the scallop gets wider as you move up towards the 24th fret.
Looks pretty cool IMO.


----------



## Prydogga (Mar 23, 2011)

Original Edge makes any guitar twice as cool, seems Steve did the same thing Satch did last year, while Satch's baby blue JS looks cooler, this is certainly a very awesome piece of work.


----------



## littlephil (Mar 23, 2011)

^Its a LoPro, not the Original Edge


----------



## Prydogga (Mar 23, 2011)

Whoops, I completely overlooked that  I always just assume Steve puts OEs on guitars. Derp.


----------



## littlephil (Mar 23, 2011)

Prydogga said:


> Whoops, I completely overlooked that  I always just assume Steve puts OEs on guitars. Derp.


His guitars vary, because I think he's said the trems get changed once a year or something
Most of the times I've seen him use Evo, its had an Edge, but most of his other guitars have had LoPro's.

Satch almost exclusively uses the Edge though, apart from his custom 7 string and another Strat style custom he had (black with a white pickguard) which both had LoPro's.


----------



## Prydogga (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, I know he changes them very frequently, my favourite guitar of his is still Evo because (at least last time I checked) it had black chrome hardware and an Edge, that's fuckin' smart. I love that combo on Jem's.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 23, 2011)

IIRC Vai changes his trems every 6 months.


----------



## -42- (Mar 23, 2011)

This reminds me, I'm probably going to see this guitar live.

And I would love having an SSS with a double locking tremolo, that's one of my dirty guitar fantasies.


----------



## Bigfan (Mar 23, 2011)

-42- said:


> This reminds me, I'm probably going to see this guitar live.
> 
> And I would love having an SSS with a double locking tremolo, that's one of my dirty guitar fantasies.



Hey dude,


----------



## BrainArt (Mar 23, 2011)

I like it.  And am I really the only one that thanked the thread?


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Mar 23, 2011)

Bar the finish, it reminds me a lot of the "original" pre-87' RG and RS guitars.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 23, 2011)

-42- said:


> And I would love having an SSS with a double locking tremolo, that's one of my dirty guitar fantasies.


 

Carvin?


----------



## Hemi-Powered Drone (Mar 23, 2011)

That looks amazing. Would make an awesome sig, but it won't.


----------



## Bigfan (Mar 23, 2011)

It has to mini-switches below the trem, doesn't it? It can probably get decent singlecoil tone. 

To be honest though, I never really liked Hendrix's lead tone, but his twangy, yet rockin' rhythm stuff is gold IMO.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 23, 2011)

Bigfan said:


> It has to mini-switches below the trem, doesn't it?


 
Those are the sustainer controls.


----------



## Bigfan (Mar 23, 2011)

Oh, durr.


----------



## -42- (Mar 24, 2011)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Carvin?



That's what I'm shooting for, there's some saving to be done yet though, I'm a high school student and tutoring doesn't have the worlds greatest income.


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 24, 2011)

-42- said:


> That's what I'm shooting for, there's some saving to be done yet though, I'm a high school student and tutoring doesn't have the worlds greatest income.



What carvin can you get S-S-S with a double locker? They dont do SSS on the bolt+ or Contour. The only S-S-S they have is their poor tele knockoff attempt and the bolt. That and the ST300 neck through can get it I think, but a whole 3 options, only the ST300 can have a floyd.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 24, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> What carvin can you get S-S-S with a double locker? They dont do SSS on the bolt+ or Contour. The only S-S-S they have is their poor tele knockoff attempt and the bolt. That and the ST300 neck through can get it I think, but a whole 3 options, only the ST300 can have a floyd.


 
The DC135, I think. There are pics of a few with SSS and a Floyd in the DC135 Gallery, but it isn't an option in the online builder, so who knows. Maybe you have to request it specially, or maybe it just isn't an option at all anymore. Only one way to find out.

Edited to remove faulty pic link and to add that there _is _an option for 3 AP11 SCs w/5-way switch on the online builder after all, I'm just selectively blind, apparently.


----------



## Rook (Mar 24, 2011)

Bigfan said:


> Hey dude,
> 
> *pic of Charvel Spectrum*



That wouldn't be a Charvel Spectrum would it?

I love the colours they came in, lol.

I hate the OP Strat, I remember when Vai was posting pics of it on his Facebook :-S

Looks stupid and has the wrong pickups, haha, it's it's not going to be an actual strat why not just use a Jem?

/rant.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 24, 2011)

Pic for great justice:


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 24, 2011)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> The DC135, I think. There are pics of a few with SSS and a Floyd in the DC135 Gallery, but it isn't an option in the online builder, so who knows. Maybe you have to request it specially, or maybe it just isn't an option at all anymore. Only one way to find out.
> 
> Edited to remove faulty pic link and to add that there _is _an option for 3 AP11 SCs w/5-way switch on the online builder after all, I'm just selectively blind, apparently.



Makes sense as the 135 and the ST are pretty much the same guitar. Had a 135 once... SOLD!


----------



## Yaris (Mar 24, 2011)

-42- said:


> And I would love having an SSS with a double locking tremolo, that's one of my dirty guitar fantasies.





Bigfan said:


> Hey dude,


----------



## Bigfan (Mar 25, 2011)

Yes, but is it a Schaller? Schallers are good, mmkay? 

@Fun111: Yes, yes it is.


----------



## Yaris (Mar 25, 2011)

Bigfan said:


> Yes, but is it a Schaller? Schallers are good, mmkay?



Yeah, the System I bridges were made for Fender by Schaller.


----------



## Bones43x (Mar 25, 2011)

What about a Warmoth partscaster for an SSS Floyd guitar? 

...Or you could always get an RG550 and change the pickguard.


----------



## -42- (Mar 25, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> What carvin can you get S-S-S with a double locker? They dont do SSS on the bolt+ or Contour. The only S-S-S they have is their poor tele knockoff attempt and the bolt. That and the ST300 neck through can get it I think, but a whole 3 options, only the ST300 can have a floyd.



Carvin.com - Custom Shop :: DC135

ST-300


----------



## Drew (Mar 27, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> I don't see this thing doing Hendrix since the pickups aren't even single coils...



Honestly, the pickups will probably be less of a factor than the bridge. I (briefly) had a set of Dimarzio Cruisers in the neck and middle slots of my Strat, and as a long-time singlecoil lover I was completely blown away by how single-coil-y they sounded. I ended up switching them on Dimarzio's exchange policy, not because they didn't sound good (they were great) but because they didn't have enough output to balance against the AT1 I put in the bridge and I wanted the perceived volume/saturation to be about the same when I switched to the neck. 

I don't know exactly what those are, but blade mini buckers can get damned stratty.


----------

