NGD: Jackson #3!!!

[Top-L]

Bought and returned two other Jacksons. Fingers crossed that this one is OK.

It's the first one with an actual outer shipping box, so that is a good sign...

[Top-L]

Packaging looks fresh and new. Saying a prayer for myself, my family, the people who built this. I'm still hopeful that everything is good and this will bring me years of enjoyment.

[Mincer]

Hopefully this one is in better condition!

[Top-L]

So, I ordered another crackle from MF. New packaging, direct from their warehouse, this was not a return. I'm going to cut to the chase and say, I am done with Jackson AND Fender. What a ****ing piece of junk. This is not a $900 guitar. Its not even worth a third of that!

This shipped directly from Fender warehouse, does not have any QC stickers on it, and had absolutely no setup, probably not even inspected since packed up originally. Fender knows these guitars are junk and they are trying to sell them off to unsuspecting customers.

First, the only good thing about this guitar: The fretboard is darker and looks like Rosewood. If I knew Laurel fingerboards always looked like this, I would have no problem buying guitars with Laurel.

Now, the non-starter. This is a neck through guitar, and the strings are barely aligned with the fretboard. They are at least 2mm to the treble side. In fact, the treble side strings are right at the point where they are falling off the side, so playing it is difficult and off-putting. Full stop. This one is going back.

The misalignment issue is made worse by the way they roll the fingerboard and chop the frets at a sharp angle, which means the frets don't have as much playable surface to begin with.

Now, on to the neck profile. It has a similar issue to the other one I returned to PAS. Bass side has considerably more relief than the treble side. Its not as bad, but this guitar still has pretty terrible action. It might be fixed with a level as I don't see any hinks in the neck, but neither is the relief gradual. It is more of a ski slope, where most of the relief happens near the heel, so the guitar needs more relief than it normally should have.

And finally, this guitar has the same binding defect as the other one. Its a problem with their manufacturing process, not just that one guitar. There is a wandering line running the length of the neck, under the clear coat binding.

I thought this was a ProAudioStar problem, but this is a Fender problem. They are selling Chinese guitars with close to 1K price tag that are barely playable, and they don't even attempt QC inspection, just pass them off to customers.

The reason I had "confidence" to buy a Chinese Jackson was because their new Pro Soloist line is MIC and I figured that the quality must be there. Wrong. These are pretty guitars with tons of manufacturing defects. If Fender is doing this now to customers, they are not to be trusted in the future. Just an example of corporate greed and relying on name recognition.

Last two LTD guitars I bought were amazing in comparison. My M400 cost half of this guitar and is perfect in every way.

*The picture up high on the neck, the camera lens is directly in the middle of the neck.
*The picture down around the 5-7th fret, the lens is directly above the high-E string.

[dave74]

Yeah you can't have that crap, especially on a neck-thru. 0 for 3 is really sad isn't it!
Must be the bridge-post that were drilled very off-the-mark.

[Lucius Paisley]

Could something be done to the bridge to fix the offset? Lower the bass and raise the treble side, maybe?

[Top-L]

The floyd is centered in the bridge route, but not lined up with the neck. I can't even believe this is happening in 2023.

I already got the RMA, its going back tomorrow morning.

I tried to play it briefly and it feels really weird fretting the notes. They sometimes fall off the edge. Its not possible to vibrato or do micro bends.

I'm going back to LTD. Based on this experience, never buying another Jackson/Fender/Charvel. If they are pulling this **** with a $900 Jackson, I don't trust any of their models.

[Top-L]

Could something be done to the bridge to fix the offset? Lower the bass and raise the treble side, maybe?

NO, its a neck through. There is nothing that can be done. Even if it was playable, I'm not spending close to 1K to have a guitar that is obviously defective.

[Phantasmagoria]

Sucks....$900 isn't particularly cheap either. The Kramer Striker I just bought came like that too, though I only noticed it a short while ago. A bit less extreme maybe. I was able to fix the problem by re-aligning the neck a bit in the neck pocket (pushing the headstock the opposite way an mm or two) which completely fixed the problem, but with a neck-through you're stuck.

Thy shouldn't let them leave the factory that way..

[Phantasmagoria]

Any chance you could slide the trem a bit to the left. Some licensed ones (and I think Gotoh's) have one flat knife-edge that allows for minor L-R adjustment. Not sure what trem's on yours.

[Top-L]

Any chance you could slide the trem a bit to the left. Some licensed ones (and I think Gotoh's) have one flat knife-edge that allows for minor L-R adjustment. Not sure what trem's on yours.

This is a FRS, there isn't any sideways adjustment. Posts are drilled in wrong place.

Never buying a Fender / Jackson / Charvel ever again. Never!

[Lucius Paisley]

NO, its a neck through. There is nothing that can be done. Even if it was playable, I'm not spending close to 1K to have a guitar that is obviously defective.

Okay, Mr Shouty.

[Top-L]

Typo

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Dang man.... that sucks bad.
I don't blame you for being pissed.
I'd send an email to someone really high up and complain like hell on all of the socials. Maybe someone will care enough to make it right by you.
I've been cussing Fender my whole life ha ha.

[Mincer]

1. Document the issues with all 3 guitars
2. And yes, call them out on socials, and when they get back to you, provide the information with pics
3. Don't settle until they make it right
4. If they don't make it right...take your money elsewhere.
5. This guitar needs to be sent back, too.

I am sorry this happened 3x. There is no excuse for this.