Ibanez Custom Jem 570 "紫心姫(Shishinhime)"

"紫心姫(Shishinhime)" started out as an Ibanez RG570SA which I've gotten for myself during my trip to Oklahoma USA. I bought this from Ebay and had it shipped over to my hostel in Oklahoma. I wanted an all original RG with super Wizard neck and Original Edge tremolo at that point of time.

I took the liberty of ordering a set of Dimarzio Evolutions while I was there, and had them fitted in once I was back in Singapore. There are no better place to buy Dimarzios. The guitar electronic parts were in bad shape and had to be given a total overhaul. All electronic parts are being changed into Gotoh while Orange drop and treble bleed mod is being added, as per all my other guitars. The guitar later went on being the same way for the next 2 years, without major change or whatsoever.

Recently, there is this seller on Ebay who was clearing his store of all the OEM Jem bodies that he has ever made. One of them is this one featured in the photo. It's made of Alder, Flame Maple and Purple heart. Now, how rare is that? Without second thoughts, I bought it and gave it 4 coats of Tru-Oil finish, bring out the luster of the wood. Unfortunately, the Purple heart, which was purple when it arrived has oxidized and faded to a dark brown shape with a hint of purple. Nonetheless, the body still looks awesome.







The good thing about the OEM Jem body is that it doesn't require me to dowel and redrill the neck. It actually fits like a glove. However, the things that I had to do was to sand down the router marks and fill up the wood chips with the wood dust i acquire from drilling the tremolo claw and stud holes. Especially those caused by routing.

This unique combination of wood gave the guitar a tone that is high on the treble side yet, thanks to the alder wings, it gives off tight and deep lows. This balance out the reflective harshness of the 2 hardwood, maple and purpleheart. Evolutions also sings beautifully with this body as it retains the warmth of the neck and the hotness of the bridge while at the same time being balanced out by the tone wood of the body, making it sound less muffed up compared to basswood.

The neck measures 17mm on the first fret and 19mm on the 12th fret with a flat radius of 430mm and sports a Bulbinga stripe which acts as a separate hardwood to counteracts the neck tension, therefore making it more resistance to neck warping. The thin profile of this guitar coupled with the flat radius of the fretboard makes this guitar a shredder's dream. The action is set to 1mm on the 12 fret giving players the lightest touch possible next to a scalloped neck. Due to the flat radius, players are also able to do high note bending effortlessly without choking the notes halfway.

This guitar got it's name from the purple heart body it sports. "紫心姫(Shishinhime)"means "Purple Heart Princess" in Japanese. As purple heart is a rare timber being used for guitar building, it seem that this would be the only fitting name for the guitar.

Ibanez Custom Jem 570 "紫心姫(Shishinhime)" Specs neck type: 3pc Made in Japan Super Wizard neck with Bulbinga Stipe fingerboard: Rosewood with dot inlay body: Alder, Maple and Purple heart with Hand Rubbed Oil Finish fret: Jumbo frets bridge: Ibanez Original Edge Bridge neck pu: Dimazio Evolution Neck bridge pu: Dimazio Evolution Bridge Neck Specs Scale: 648mm/25.5" a : Width at Nut 43mm b : Width at Last Fret 54mm c: Thickness at 1st 17mm d : Thickness at 12th 19mm Radius: 430mmR