Dream guitar (pt.2) - Ibanez Jem 77BFP

The "blue floral pattern" guitar from Steve Vai. Ooops... another signature guitar. I promise number 3 is not going to be like this. It's a unique instrument, not made for anyone in particular.



I have to say I'm very sorry I still don't have a guitar like this. Again, the Ibanez Jem 77BFP is an extremely rare guitar. These were only produced from 1991~1994 and they play, look and sound fantastic. The neck tends to get a little dirty as it's got a light colour.

The sound is "just Vai".
Easy to say, if you know how to play.
I'm learning... I'll get there !!!

If you find one in good conditions under the $2000 mark, do let me know... or better, get it for yourself as it's definately worth the money.

The specs of this guitar are...

- Body: Basswood
- Finish: Blue Floral Pattern
- Neck: Maple
- Fretboard: Hardrock maple
- Inlay: Blue vine
- Bridge: Ibanez Floyd Rose Lo-Pro Edge
- Hardware: Cosmo black
- Pickup configuration: H-S-H
- Neck pickup: DiMarzio PAF Pro (N)
- Middle pickup DiMarzio Jem-S
- Bridge pickup: DiMarzio PAF Pro (B)
- Controls: Volume, Tone, 5-way pickup switch

Here go a few closeup shots of the body & head...

Dream guitar (pt.1) - Ernie Ball Music Man EVH

This is my original dream guitar:



The black quilt top on an Ernie Ball Music Man EVH guitar became an instant favourite. I had the chance to try a red one around 1992 in London (never I had the chance to see one back home) and became addicted to its sound and playability. Needless to say, I set my heart on buying one, although I couldn't afford it then.

After my first guitar (budget choice, later upgraded) and my first high-end guitar, I started surfing the web looking for one in pristine conditions... and some 8 years later, I found one. It had to fly from Asia for me to get my hands on it. But now, it has found a home with me. A good home, I expect.

The guitar is 100% stock.
Being a guitar with no finish on the neck (other than the rubbed oil), there is some darkening, typical for a guitar this age, but there's no neck discoloration, as I never play it more than 15~30 consecutively and I'm always cleaning my hands (and I don't get sweaty on my hands either). I bought a leather strap from Ernie Ball and I keep the guitar in a dark, smoke free environment.

For you who like this guitar, here goes a picture of the most common finish (amber) in a beautiful quilted top:



More dream guitars (of mine) to come...

??? = Lisbon

We made it.
Late, but we made it.

We missed the plane to Madrid because the airline offices close (I mean CLOSE) the check on hour before departure... no exceptions. So, we entered the electronic check-in some eight minutes before the hour margin... but we needed assistance from an employee and time expired... excellent !!!

After a sprint & return to their offices, we got a place in the flight to Lisbon. The plane was smaller (I couldn't sleep one minute) but we got to Lisbon earlier than what was initially supposed.



I was able to take a few pictures while the plane was on its final descent, despite the onboard recomendations. There was no one picking us at the airport, so we had to meet them downtown... so, after a bus ride and a 15-minute walk, we were able to sit down and relax.

We're home now.

New York - ???

We still don't know what's going to happen today.
Hopefully, we will find a way of changing our flight and heading directly back to Lisbon, but there's a chance we'll be passing by Spain's capital in the process.

But first, a few more hours of NY.

Museums so far, 0.
Brodway shows, 0.
Shopping... unable to mention (or count).

We still have a few shirts to buy, maybe some shoes and definately some other gadgets. Unfortunately, no tech gadgets this time, except an ADSL router for my sister... ooops, I blew the surprise !!!

Soon, we'll be on air...

Big Apple revisited (pt.3)

In midtown...

I visited a couple of music stores and tried some guitars; just loved two of them ehich I hope will be in my collection soon.

A Warrior Custom:


A Dean Hardtail:



These two and the Peavey bass I tried before the trip will be in my thoughts in the near future.

Just adding some in this "dreams" department: Brian Moore MC/1, Tom Anderson Drop Top, Gibson Les Paul Supreme, Godin LGXT, Frudua Custom, Pensa Suhr, Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Private Collection, Peavey HP Special CT, Gretsch Malcolm Young, Yamaha APX-6N... and more.

Moving uptown...

We were looking for clothes and apparel, one of the purposes (other than tourism itself) for the trip. The female counterpart in this trip just skipped Ungaro, Donna Karan, Yves St Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Cartier, Givenchy, Jean Franc Ferré, Channel, Versace, Valentino, Chloé, Ermenegildo Zegna... for our budget's sake.

We found what we were looking for. And bought almost 10% of what we wanted !...

Back downtown...

We weren't looking for gadgets nor postcards, but they were plenty to be found. We missed the Empire State Building's birthday and a fire that happened in Brooklyn. That pretty much sums up the reason for the trip.

Big Apple revisited (pt.2)

This is a great shopping mall.
It's the main reason for this trip.

You can get most anything for any price. If you're thinking tech gadgets, if something is marked $159.99, it means you can get it for $35 or something like it (unless you're at CompUSA or BestBuy).



We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, now located at Times Square (a great improvement, I'd say). I must recomend the Mad Anthony sauce (recipe by Michael Anthony of Van Halen) and the 11oz grilled steak they have available to go with it.

Eating is a subject I won't mention.
Next week I'll be starting a diet, after all the junk food I've had this week. I'm sure my body is somewhat intoxicated.

Clothes are nonsense.
A lot of high rated brands show excellent prices here in Manhattan whereas in the old continent, you would have to pay more euros than dollars here, meaning 25% to 40% discounts, in average.

On the other hand, you have Prada, Gucci, Zegna, Channel, Hugo Boss, Gant, Lacoste or Ralph Lauren. There's no budget that can handle a trip inside these stores. And also Godiva chocolaterie, where every bite is worth over $1 !!!

And we also went to Harlem, on the north part of the island. But it's more of the same... only the buildings are not skyscrapers and the brands are Nike, Puma, New Balance, Reebok and Adidas.

Big Apple revisited (pt.1)

There's little to say about The Big Apple.
Well, there's a lot to say, but it's personal, it's subjective, it's different for anyone who is there, and it's also different every time we look at it.

So, today, here go two pictures.

This is above street level:



This is below street level: