# Ibanez - Steve Vai Jemini Pedal



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Just stumbled upon this one. Not heard anything about it. Here is a fairly schlocky clip posted by Vai on it.


[video=youtube;WrBLnB3ze5Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrBLnB3ze5Y[/video]


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## seadonkey (Feb 9, 2008)

My 8 year old wants that pedal so badly but last time I checked it was $200us. I'd rather get him the Satchurator which is almost 1/2 the price and in my opinion does the same thing.

Looks pretty cool though!


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## seadonkey (Feb 9, 2008)

It's a funny clip with the 2 Vai's. I like it when he talks about the US election and the world financial markets tumbling and then says 'but none of that matters because I have a new pedal!"


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

I still dont know how people can say he plays with no feeling


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Diablo said:


> I still dont know how people can say he plays with no feeling


I heard you! 
Sorry I can't stand him! Matter of taste I guess!


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

Diablo said:


> I still dont know how people can say he plays with no feeling


Vai plays with tons of feeling. I just don't dig his music anymore, because most forms of fully instrumental music (besides orchestral classical music and jazz) bore me. I think Vai was best in the olden days when he played with Zappa.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

seadonkey said:


> My 8 year old wants that pedal so badly but last time I checked it was $200us. I'd rather get him the Satchurator which is almost 1/2 the price and in my opinion does the same thing.


No offense but the Jemini and Satchurator are nothing alike. The Jemini is more of an overdrive/distortion combo designed to goose an already cooking, overdriven amp. The Satchurator has all the saturated gain you need at any volume level through the clean channel of your amp. It does not work well as an overdrive/boost. I did a little rough demo last summer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtD9450_u0o&feature=channel_page

They are fairly easy to find used so you can save a bit of coin...sdsre


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## Peter (Mar 25, 2008)

I don't like how you can't run both sides at the same time. Seems a Fulltone GT-500 is superior to this one in terms of those options?


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

noobcake said:


> Vai plays with tons of feeling.


I agree! I think those who say that are pretty ignorant and haven't actually listened to much of his music. He's one of the most emotive players on the planet. Anyone who's seen Vai live can attest to this. I've seen grown men weep during the ending throngs of Whispering a Prayer...Watch Vai play Tender Surrender and tell me he's not playing with feeling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw74sDWPH7U


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

DeleriumTrigger said:


> I don't like how you can't run both sides at the same time. Seems a Fulltone GT-500 is superior to this one in terms of those options?


There's lots of boutique/high end pedals that are superior to the Jemini, both in functionality and tone.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

Samsquantch said:


> I agree! I think those who say that are pretty ignorant and haven't actually listened to much of his music. He's one of the most emotive players on the planet. Anyone who's seen Vai live can attest to this. I've seen grown men weep during the ending throngs of Whispering a Prayer...Watch Vai play Tender Surrender and tell me he's not playing with feeling:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw74sDWPH7U


That's a great video that truly showcases Vai's amazing talent. 

To me though, the song is essentially just a 5 min long guitar solo. It feels like his band is just there to "provide a backing track". Vai concerts are almost like watching a guy play to a recorded backing track. I love dynamic bands where all members of the band have an equal amount of time in the spotlight. Vai's music just seems to lack that.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

noobcake said:


> That's a great video that truly showcases Vai's amazing talent.
> 
> To me though, the song is essentially just a 5 min long guitar solo. It feels like his band is just there to "provide a backing track". Vai concerts are almost like watching a guy play to a recorded backing track. I love dynamic bands where all members of the band have an equal amount of time in the spotlight. Vai's music just seems to lack that.


I can appreciate that viewpoint. Vai is definitely not for everybody. Actually, on the last tour which I attended, the whole band was pretty involved. He brought a couple of very talented violin players out on tour, as well as a new bassist. There were a lot of cool arrangements....I've kinda veered away from the shred scene these days though, so I don't really listen to Vai, Satch etc any more...I asked Satriani's drummer after a show if he ever got bored of playing the same thing over and over again, and he said he loved the songs and had a lot of fun playing them. I guess some musicians don't get off on stepping outside of their comfort zone, but damn, that would get old for me so fast.


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## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

Samsquantch said:


> I guess some musicians don't get off on stepping outside of their comfort zone, but damn, that would get old for me so fast.


 This is an interesting comment. Please don't take this personally, but your comment made me wonder if enjoying something enough to play it over an over is what separates the True Professional from Joe Musician? We wouldn't have bands like the Stones, AC/DC, U2, etc, if the band members lost interest in playing the same thing over and over. Hmmm......maybe thats why there aren't many good up and coming bands these days. Maybe the members lose interest before they get anywhere?

Just a thought.


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## seadonkey (Feb 9, 2008)

Samsquantch said:


> No offense but the Jemini and Satchurator are nothing alike. The Jemini is more of an overdrive/distortion combo designed to goose an already cooking, overdriven amp. The Satchurator has all the saturated gain you need at any volume level through the clean channel of your amp. It does not work well as an overdrive/boost. I did a little rough demo last summer:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtD9450_u0o&feature=channel_page
> 
> They are fairly easy to find used so you can save a bit of coin...sdsre


Thanks for clarifying, i thought they both were just distortion boxes.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

ne1roc said:


> This is an interesting comment. Please don't take this personally, but your comment made me wonder if enjoying something enough to play it over an over is what separates the True Professional from Joe Musician?


I think the quality of one's playing is the deciding factor rather than the quantity.



ne1roc said:


> We wouldn't have bands like the Stones, AC/DC, U2, etc, if the band members lost interest in playing the same thing over and over.


I don't think that's really true. If those bands didn't play their hits, they certainly would alienate their fans who pay the big bucks to see them perform their hits. They play the same thing over and over more out of necessity rather than a love of the songs. If they didn't play their hits at every show, their paychecks from tours would be much smaller, to the point where it wouldn't be worth it to tour, and as a result, album sales would suffer as well.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

seadonkey said:


> Thanks for clarifying, i thought they both were just distortion boxes.


No worries...The other problem with the Jemini is that you can't stack the overdrive and distortion together, and the switch in the middle of the pedal is a brightness switch for the lights around the knobs. Seriously. What a waste of R & D money.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

noobcake said:


> That's a great video that truly showcases Vai's amazing talent.
> 
> To me though, the song is essentially just a 5 min long guitar solo. It feels like his band is just there to "provide a backing track". Vai concerts are almost like watching a guy play to a recorded backing track. I love dynamic bands where all members of the band have an equal amount of time in the spotlight. Vai's music just seems to lack that.


I have seen him live at least 4 times and I would disagree with that. He has always had at least one top notch guitar player with him and most times two along with a solid bass player. Mike Keneally played with him for several years and so did Tony McAlpine. Both fantastic guitar players and they got plenty of spotlight. Now Satch on the other hand shares the stage with nobody. When you go to see him nobody will play a guitar solo but him.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I have seen him live at least 4 times and I would disagree with that. He has always had at least one top notch guitar player with him and most times two along with a solid bass player. Mike Keneally played with him for several years and so did Tony McAlpine. Both fantastic guitar players and they got plenty of spotlight. Now Satch on the other hand shares the stage with nobody. When you go to see him nobody will play a guitar solo but him.


Adding another soloist doesn't necessarily up the band dynamics that much by my standards. Vai's band is tight for sure, but besides the soloists, the band doesn't really take many chances live. I've seen several stellar jazz bands performing live and they can get into such random impromptu jamming and such where the whole band is into it. I've yet to see that kind of awesomeness with Vai.

Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7szWDytCw&feature=related Just look at Billy Cobham launching into a drum solo on this vid. It's just plain magical. Vai's drummers just kind of stay in the background and act as a human metronome...


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

noobcake said:


> Adding another soloist doesn't necessarily up the band dynamics that much by my standards. Vai's band is tight for sure, but besides the soloists, the band doesn't really take many chances live. I've seen several stellar jazz bands performing live and they can get into such random impromptu jamming and such where the whole band is into it. I've yet to see that kind of awesomeness with Vai.
> 
> Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7szWDytCw&feature=related Just look at Billy Cobham launching into a drum solo on this vid. It's just plain magical. Vai's drummers just kind of stay in the background and act as a human metronome...


Just curious...Have you been to a Vai show in the last few years?


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

Samsquantch said:


> Just curious...Have you been to a Vai show in the last few years?


No actually I've never been to a Vai concert. My observations of him are based on a G3 video that I own and the hordes of youtube footage that I've seen from back when I was really into shred / virtuosos.

Edit: I think I should clarify that I still think Vai is a great guitarist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqTcP9b_LI&feature=related This is still one of my favorite videos of him. He does Hendrix a lot of justice in that vid and his band is pretty darn groovy in that particular performance. I guess my complaints are more towards Vai's songwriting than guitar playing, his songs seem very self-centered around himself (lead guitar) and the parts for the other instruments are quite dull in comparison. Ironically, all of my favorite videos of Vai are of him playing covers. The whole "playing to a backing track" thing seems mostly prevalent in his original works.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

noobcake said:


> No actually I've never been to a Vai concert. My observations of him are based on a G3 video that I own and the hordes of youtube footage that I've seen from back when I was really into shred / virtuosos.
> 
> Edit: I think I should clarify that I still think Vai is a great guitarist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqTcP9b_LI&feature=related This is still one of my favorite videos of him. He does Hendrix a lot of justice in that vid and his band is pretty darn groovy in that particular performance. I guess my complaints are more towards Vai's songwriting than guitar playing, his songs seem very self-centered around himself (lead guitar) and the parts for the other instruments are quite dull in comparison. Ironically, all of my favorite videos of Vai are of him playing covers. The whole "playing to a backing track" thing seems mostly prevalent in his original works.


When you take away the singer for instrumental rock, there's not much of a choice but to involve the guitar as the centerpiece, considering that it is the only instrument within the genre which can fully express the emotiveness and phrasing of a singer's voice. I think you would be surprised if you went to a Vai show. He definitely involves the other band members. He did an acoustic set on the Real Illusions tour that was just incredible. He was dueling with the drummer back and forth and there was a lot of interplay between band members. Dave Weiner's sitar guitar was really cool...Also, each band member did a solo piece at that show. He did a lot of duels with Billy Sheehan and they even played each others instruments...He usually brings out the opening act to jam with the band for the last song or two as well. The live experience is nothing like him just playing to a backing track. I concur though that some of his older studio work can be kinda bland... I forgot to add that he brought a horn section on the last tour and it really added depth to a couple of his songs in addition to the violin players. At least check him out once in your life, if just for curiosity's sake. :smile:


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Samsquantch said:


> When you take away the singer for instrumental rock, there's not much of a choice but to involve the guitar as the centerpiece, considering that it is the only instrument within the genre which can fully express the emotiveness and phrasing of a singer's voice. I think you would be surprised if you went to a Vai show. He definitely involves the other band members. He did an acoustic set on the Real Illusions tour that was just incredible. He was dueling with the drummer back and forth and there was a lot of interplay between band members. Dave Weiner's sitar guitar was really cool...Also, each band member did a solo piece at that show. He did a lot of duels with Billy Sheehan and they even played each others instruments...He usually brings out the opening act to jam with the band for the last song or two as well. The live experience is nothing like him just playing to a backing track. I concur though that some of his older studio work can be kinda bland... I forgot to add that he brought a horn section on the last tour and it really added depth to a couple of his songs in addition to the violin players. At least check him out once in your life, if just for curiosity's sake. :smile:


Absolutely. it's hard to critique something you have never experienced. Again, I have seen him live at least 4 times, on G3 and his solo tours. He is more than generous with other musicians, unlike others I have seen like Eric Johnson and Satch. Vai does not make himself the main attraction, even though he is. I have spoken to him personally about it and he is a pretty humble fellow. When you have traded licks with Frank Zappa on tour and survived it you tend to have a different look on things. I spoke to him about that as well. 

I concur that the drumming for the most part is backline, but his guitar players take a large role in his live act, take it from me. He has always had stellar bass players as well. Billy Sheehan is all over the stage, he is not your typical backline bass player. He never has been. next time he comes around drop $40.00 and go and see him. You will enjoy it.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

I guess I should check him out live. Videos and recordings never quite capture the atmosphere and a lot of amazing live moments never make it to video, so I definitely see where you guys are coming from.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Steve is my favourite player of that genre. I'm generally not a big fan of the shred style, but he goes beyond that. I can still hear traces of Zappa in his playing. Some of his earlier stuff has heavy Frank influences.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...check out steve's performances on the two crossroads dvds. its all showboating, of course, but astounding nonetheless.

-dh



noobcake said:


> No actually I've never been to a Vai concert. My observations of him are based on a G3 video that I own and the hordes of youtube footage that I've seen from back when I was really into shred / virtuosos.
> 
> Edit: I think I should clarify that I still think Vai is a great guitarist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqTcP9b_LI&feature=related This is still one of my favorite videos of him. He does Hendrix a lot of justice in that vid and his band is pretty darn groovy in that particular performance. I guess my complaints are more towards Vai's songwriting than guitar playing, his songs seem very self-centered around himself (lead guitar) and the parts for the other instruments are quite dull in comparison. Ironically, all of my favorite videos of Vai are of him playing covers. The whole "playing to a backing track" thing seems mostly prevalent in his original works.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

So now that the Jeminis been out for a while I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on it now? I'm thinking about something to drive the overdrive channel of my Valveking 212 over the top and have a cleanish drive for the clean channel when needed. This pedal looks like it might do just that, just wondering if anybody has any new opinions on it besides the Vai's a wanker or not discussion haha.


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## CDWaterloo (Jul 18, 2008)

Morkolo said:


> So now that the Jeminis been out for a while I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on it now? I'm thinking about something to drive the overdrive channel of my Valveking 212 over the top and have a cleanish drive for the clean channel when needed. This pedal looks like it might do just that, just wondering if anybody has any new opinions on it besides the Vai's a wanker or not discussion haha.


I used Jemini for a while. imo, not bad but I still prefer a keeley mod boss dist.


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