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  • Ibanez Steve Vai JEM505 vs Jem 555: Why the big price difference ?

I have a Jem 555 but tried out a Jem 505 at a store to compare the two (more or less) and I can honestly say it's not
worth the extra moola imo, maybe I just don't know something specific that significantly changes the price? ???

Here are the specs and prices of both guitars:
Help me get some clarity on this.

Ibanez Steve Vai JEM505 Electric Guitar Features: - £1473.00


Neck: 5-piece maple/walnut bolt-on
Neck profile: JEM Prestige
Body: basswood body
Frets: 6105 frets
Fingerboard: maple
Inlay: black dot inlays
Bridge: Edge with Lion's Claw tremolo cavity
Neck pickup: Ibanez Vintage 7 (humbucker)
Middle pickup: Ibanez Single 1 (single-coil)
Bridge pickup: Ibanez Vintage 8 (humbucker)

Specification -JEM555-WH - £799.00


Neck Type: 3pc Wizard II Maple neck
Body: Basswood body
Fret: Jumbo frets
Bridge Edge: III bridge
Neck pu: DiMarzio Evolution (H) neck pu
Middle pu: DiMarzio Evolution (S) mid pu
Bridge pu DiMarzio Evolution (H) bridge pu
Hardware colour: Cosmo Black
Neck Dimension
Scale 648mm/25.5"
Width at Nut 43mm
Width at Last Fret 56mm (at 21 F)
Thickness at 1st 19mm
Thickness at 12th 21mm
Radius 400mmR
    The 505 has a "Prestige" neck and is made in Japan, and as such has the price tag to match it unfortunately. Is it better than the 555 at that price? That I can't really say.
      The prestige neck makes all the difference, I actually think the made in Japan part is pretty important when considering that signature Ibanez models aren't made in the Prestige factory (which still pretty much makes the dopest guitars ever) they're made in a smaller factory (which is responsible for the J-Custom line as well). Also the bridge on the 555 is an Edge III, I can't stress enough how painful those are, the 505 has the Edge original which is still regarded as one of the ultimate double locking bridges. The 505 has 6105 Dunlop frets instead of generic jumbo frets, also the neck is a mm thinner and the radius is flatter on the 505. Also the Prestige would be higher grade wood, I've noticed the jump from normal Ibanez to prestige in terms of wood quality is quite tremendous (downright shocking sometimes). The thing that is making me lol here though is that the 505 model actually has V series pickups instead of Dimarzio so the 555 wins there ?, how strange is that?
        The neck on the one I played in the store looked like it had the same maple used on my Squire strat - NOT high grade wood at all, the neck finish was smooth but still -
        the Jem 555 I use does have a better neck and better pickups (compared to the specific one I tried out).

        The bridge you mentioned on the 505 MUST be better because I HATE the Edge III on the 555 - takes me like 3 hours to put on new strings properly, keep intonation etc.

        Regardless I'm still lost in the dark here, the 505 is almost twice the price of the 555 but has worse pickups? ???
        I'm a huge fan of Japanese craftsmanship but in this case it's definitely not worth my while to fork out for the "Made in Japan" print.
          Ibanez seem to have a philosophy on some of their Prestiges to give you a great guitar but cut cost on the pickups, which sorta makes sense since a lot of people switch pups anyway. They're the most replaceable thing on a guitar.

          I didn't even know such a thing as a JEM505 existed before now. But in general if I had to choose between a non-Prestige with DiMarzios and a Prestige with crappy pups costing twice the price, there's no contest. I'd take the Prestige every time (assuming one has the budget of course.)
            a year later
            Good day

            It has been a year since there has been any activity on this thread, but I hope to find some assistance anyway.
            I am looking at buying my friend's JEM 505. I have a few questions about this guitar;
            Is this model, because it is a signature model, better than the Prestige series, (except for the pups, which I will swop out for DiMarzio's anyway) or does it also fall under the Prestige series.
            My friend wants R7000.00 for this guitar. Would anyone say that this is a good buy, or should I rather look around for another MIJ Prestige.

            Thanks a lot.

            Nick
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