Ibanez JEM DBK 2002, Black

The 2002 JEM7DBK is Ibanez's black sheep of the Steve Vai lineup, wrapped in a rubberized, textured black finish that Vai originally asked for to match the look of a home mixing console. Instead of the usual pyramid markers, the fretboard gets a set of Phillips screw-head inlays, and a mirrored pickguard reflects the lights back at whoever's watching. Under the hood you get DiMarzio Breed pickups, a set that never showed up on nearly as many JEM variants as the Evolution or Air Norton, so the tone here sits apart from the rest of the catalog.