Lucius Paisley
Well-known member
These are my choices, help me whittle it down further.
Jackson Guitars.
- Thread starter Lucius Paisley
- Start date
Inflames626
New member
Soloist will be most comfortable to play in high registers.
RR V will look coolest and may be easier to install pups due to the front plate. But there's neck drop.
Dinky will be most affordable with the most limited floating bridge unless you go up in features.
From a wiring perspective depends on what you want to put into them.
I'd take anything Jackson Japan made in the 90s and 00s over what's out now. Buy old and buy used. Just toss those TRS/Takeuchi bridges and retrofit them with Schaller OFRs for better tuning stability and flutter effect.
RR V will look coolest and may be easier to install pups due to the front plate. But there's neck drop.
Dinky will be most affordable with the most limited floating bridge unless you go up in features.
From a wiring perspective depends on what you want to put into them.
I'd take anything Jackson Japan made in the 90s and 00s over what's out now. Buy old and buy used. Just toss those TRS/Takeuchi bridges and retrofit them with Schaller OFRs for better tuning stability and flutter effect.
For whittling, the classic choice is something with small, maneuverable blades in a couple of different profiles for different tasks:
Although when I was a kid, I got by with a single blade no problem, and the last time I whittled it was with a classic Opinel:
Either of these would work on a Jackson (watch out for chipping the Opinel's thin edge) but would probably take quite a while to make any progress. For roughout you're probably best off starting with something larger and tougher. Kitchen knives are too fragile, a machete probably too unweildy. A survival-type knife would be best:
But honestly whittling isn't the best choice for something like a Jackson. If you really want to do the job right, you need something like this:
Or even the old standby:
Really entirely up to you how you want to handle it. After you're done with the Jackson, if you find yourself wanting to play a guitar, Schecter, LTD, and Ibanez make some solid instruments.
Although when I was a kid, I got by with a single blade no problem, and the last time I whittled it was with a classic Opinel:
Either of these would work on a Jackson (watch out for chipping the Opinel's thin edge) but would probably take quite a while to make any progress. For roughout you're probably best off starting with something larger and tougher. Kitchen knives are too fragile, a machete probably too unweildy. A survival-type knife would be best:
But honestly whittling isn't the best choice for something like a Jackson. If you really want to do the job right, you need something like this:
Or even the old standby:
Really entirely up to you how you want to handle it. After you're done with the Jackson, if you find yourself wanting to play a guitar, Schecter, LTD, and Ibanez make some solid instruments.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
I have a Dinky and was playing quite a while last night and often use it for gigs.
The SLX SHOULD be a step up, but the ones I have played have been hit/miss on price-performance. Some are greta other have been not so much. I'd go there, but be prepared to return.
The SLX SHOULD be a step up, but the ones I have played have been hit/miss on price-performance. Some are greta other have been not so much. I'd go there, but be prepared to return.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
None. Buy a banjo.
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
Next time I'm camping in a Jackson factory warehouse, I know who to call!
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
I've played some decent JS's...some need a bit of work to get them playing right though. I'd get the RR only cuz I want one (a pointy V) & don't have one :bigthumb:
Lucius Paisley
Well-known member
I'm leaning towards it. Because it's rare to get a "funny" shape guitar that's left-handed.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Where are the JS's made? I would have thought somewhere where they make Squiers as well? And Squiers seem to be solid. At least the Classic Vibes. Anything below, yeah, they're kinda garbage.
80's_Thrash_Metal
Slightly_Glazed_Believer
RR trumps everything round!
Those JS series are hit and miss with frets being sharp. . If you have a small file, and an hour of time, then it's not really an issue.
Those JS series are hit and miss with frets being sharp. . If you have a small file, and an hour of time, then it's not really an issue.
Unless this has changed in the last few years, the JSs are made in India in a factory that is not one that makes Squiers.
Inflames626
New member
IME MIJ JSes and their Performer predecessors are not bad instruments to use for bodies. One just has to make sure the body is routed for a floating bridge if one is desired.
I have an old Indian made Dinky from the 00s that uses an unusual Floyd licensed design that holds the strings in the bridge by the ball end inside hollow tubes where the saddle bolts would be. The hardware is garbage but the body is a solid bolt on. Indian made stuff is not bad. I would put it with stuff made in Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia. It just depends on what models and features the Indian factories are being allowed to build.
I avoid the JSes with Strat style bridges like the plague.
Most of my guitars were from the later Professional line--95-2005 MIJ and a good balance of cost to value. Still, the hardware and pickups usually had to be replaced. They would probably be comparable to the X series today.
AFAIK the early Professional line (90-95 or so) rivaled US made products and so were deliberately downgraded. They might be compared to the Jackson Stars/Grover Jackson line made for the Japanese market or the MJ line for the American market, but at a better price.
Older guitars (pre-2010 or so) made for the Japanese market will beat anything made in the US right now, IMO.
Jackson is my favorite brand and if I could be I would be an endorsed artist of theirs.
So, I used to go to JCFOnline (the equivalent of Ibanez's Jemsite) a lot to get information on how to upgrade Jacksons, as I literally would not buy any other brand for many years. I would try the forums there for help as well.
IMO Jackson is undergoing what a lot of brands are right now--increased cost, fewer features, less value. Those American series guitars are around $2k and are ridiculous in terms of what they offer for the price. Some are even bolt on necks, although with a thinner neck joint than a Dinky.
Better values right now are to be had by Kramer and LTD. I don't recommend Ibanez because not all their inexpensive bridges can be replaced by a Schaller/OFR/Gotoh without routing. Jemsite would need to be consulted for that. I stay away from Ibbys usually due to the proprietary designs of their floating bridges and an Original Edge is not worth $300 new.
I have an old Indian made Dinky from the 00s that uses an unusual Floyd licensed design that holds the strings in the bridge by the ball end inside hollow tubes where the saddle bolts would be. The hardware is garbage but the body is a solid bolt on. Indian made stuff is not bad. I would put it with stuff made in Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia. It just depends on what models and features the Indian factories are being allowed to build.
I avoid the JSes with Strat style bridges like the plague.
Most of my guitars were from the later Professional line--95-2005 MIJ and a good balance of cost to value. Still, the hardware and pickups usually had to be replaced. They would probably be comparable to the X series today.
AFAIK the early Professional line (90-95 or so) rivaled US made products and so were deliberately downgraded. They might be compared to the Jackson Stars/Grover Jackson line made for the Japanese market or the MJ line for the American market, but at a better price.
Older guitars (pre-2010 or so) made for the Japanese market will beat anything made in the US right now, IMO.
Jackson is my favorite brand and if I could be I would be an endorsed artist of theirs.
So, I used to go to JCFOnline (the equivalent of Ibanez's Jemsite) a lot to get information on how to upgrade Jacksons, as I literally would not buy any other brand for many years. I would try the forums there for help as well.
IMO Jackson is undergoing what a lot of brands are right now--increased cost, fewer features, less value. Those American series guitars are around $2k and are ridiculous in terms of what they offer for the price. Some are even bolt on necks, although with a thinner neck joint than a Dinky.
Better values right now are to be had by Kramer and LTD. I don't recommend Ibanez because not all their inexpensive bridges can be replaced by a Schaller/OFR/Gotoh without routing. Jemsite would need to be consulted for that. I stay away from Ibbys usually due to the proprietary designs of their floating bridges and an Original Edge is not worth $300 new.
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I would agree with this.
To OP...
I recently went through a buy/return cycle with three Jacksons. A JS and two SLX models.
The JS trem posts were installed wrong (one at an angle) so it had bad return to zero. But it had a great neck. Both of the SLX had neck problems. Serious neck problems.
And also they are made of Poplar which is... really lacking bass response, imo and felt insubstantial. Very light weight guitars, like 5lbs.
I am sure older jacksons are great, but I'm unimpressed with what they are building these days.
Honestly if you are set on one of the Jacksons, I would just get a JS and save some money. The Jackson trem is just a branded FRS. If you get a JS with a good neck and properly installed trem, it will be a great guitar.. if you can live with a 5 pound guitar that feels a bit like a toy.
Inflames626
New member
For metal, I've never found a light weight/bright tone to be an issue. The cheaper a guitar feels, the more I tend to like it (I don't like gigging with a guitar that is/feels expensive) and rely on the pickups for the tone. Especially if it's just a solid color (usually gloss black in my case), poplar/basswood are fine.
John Petrucci's Ibanez in his Rock Discipline video was made of basswood. He says so at the end of the video.
