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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Matt Owen

Steve Vai’s prototype Hamer JEM – one of many models built before the virtuoso partnered with Ibanez – goes up for auction

Steve Vai's Hamer pre-JEM prototype

A prototype Hamer JEM that was built at the behest of Steve Vai while the electric guitar virtuoso was auditioning potential brand partners has gone up for auction.

As the history goes, in the ‘80s – a decade in which Vai worked as Frank Zappa’s guitarist and kickstarted his solo career – many major guitar brands approached Vai with an eye on having him endorse and use their guitars. 

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