The 1980s were an era where rockstars ruled the musical world and guitarists were working directly with the biggest brands in music. Ibanez made it clear from the get-go that they wanted to collaborate with Steve Vai. Armed with a massive skill set and an arsenal of techniques, Vai shot to superstardom after working with Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth. He was an immense talent, but a lot of people don't know that he also modded his guitars, took them apart to examine their inner workings, and always aimed to get the most out of any instrument. In the end, it was Ibanez that pursued him most diligently and gave him the instrument he truly wanted. In 1987, the JEM was officially born. The modern Ibanez JEMs have the same features and spirit of those groundbreaking models - a maximized SuperStrat body, 24 frets, the emblematic monkey grip, a beautiful ‘Tree of Life' fingerboard inlay, and of course, the HSH (humbucker-single-humbucker) pickup configuration.