The JEM505 is a solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez for 2010. It is a signature model of American guitarist Steve Vai and part of his JEM series. The JEM505 was produced in Japan by FujiGen and was the least expensive Japanese-made JEM offered.
The JEM505 features a basswood body with the signature JEM monkey grip and lion's claw tremolo rout. The body is bolted using a sculpted all-access neck joint to a maple and walnut neck with a 24-fret maple fretboard with black dot position markers. Components include a newly reintroduced Edge double locking tremolo bridge, Ibanez pickups mounted in a pearloid pickguard with V7 and V8 humbuckers flanking a Quantum single-coil and Gotoh tuning machines.
The JEM555 is another budget JEM model which takes a different approach to cost savings. The JEM55 is made in Korea with a less expensive tremolo, but with the ornate Tree of Life inlays halfway up the fretboard and with the same pickups as in the high-end JEMs like the JEM7V. On the other hand this JEM505 is made in Japan like the top of the line JEMs and has a Japanese-made tremolo, but with less expensive stock pickups and without the Tree of Life fretboard.
The RG1550M from the previous year is a fairly similar model without the JEM accouterments.