02/14/2026
When I worked at carruthers guitar in the late 80s. Ibanez contacted John about building a prototype 7 string. Since there was no such thing as a 7 pole pickup back then I had to cut two pickups and glue 4 poles from one to 3 poles of the other and rewind this wider bobbin by hand on a slow wind. The shop team built the rest of it.
In the video below, guitarist Jamie Slays tells the incredible story of the Ibanez Universe — the world’s first mass-produced 7-string electric guitar. Originally built for Steve Vai in the late ’80s, this futuristic design was decades ahead of its time. It flopped hard on release, until two g...