Re: Quality of new Jacksons?
Thames said:
Those with Duncan Designed are Korean/Chinese cheap stuff. ....
Totally off, sorry. Jackson CLOSED its Korean plant / killed their deal with Samick (heard it both ways) even before the Fender takeover, IIRC it was shut down in ´99. The JS Series is "Crafted in India" (only some of the first JS-30 strats are japanese), wheras all other imports are now coming from the Chiun Su Gakki factory (Japan) which has been building Jacksons since ´86 at a high level of quality. See also the Charvel Model Series and the Jackson Professional series. Both rivaled the USA axes of the period, the Professionals were in fact 100% identical in all ways except the headstock logo (the price was identical as well, btw). That is why both lines were sacked 3-4 years after their introduction
BTW, I tried a JS-30 Rhoads and Kelly a few days ago, and was very surprised at how well they were built, very solid, decent pickups and hardware, no funky fretwork or anything. Unbelievable value for <300 bucks if you´re looking for a more "aggressive" look and tone
A Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian.... plant has never existed, otherwise I would be the very last person supporting Jackson and not a palace guard
The quality of the Pro series (
http://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/gear.php?node_id=3 ) is great for the cash. While you may think thhat the Micky Mouse Floyd and DD Pickups seem sub par for that price, please take into consideration that Jackson purposels uses cheaper versions there because they KNOW from experience that most players switch them for an Original Floyd and different pickups anyway. The up-side of this is that they can spend more on better woods and craftsmanship, and it shows. Every so often one comes out of there that makes a USA Production axe look cheap as far as workmanship goes, and that´s far from easy.
For Jacksonites on a budget definitely the best choice if it has to be new. I personally prefer used USA axes in that price range, but then again I´m a luthier and couldn´t care less about what kind of problems an axe has (for a fair price of course)
And please don´t take this wrong, it´s not an attack, but Korea = China = India = :bsflag:
1.
Anyone with the proper training, tools and materials can make an axe that will blow you away, regardless of where he/she is
2. The main gripe most have with the chinese is their blatant disregard of human rights and international trademarks
3. The Koreans are the next Japan, and are quite a far ways ahead of the chinese or Indians.
Jackson had problems with the "original "JS Series in India, but see3ms to have more than resolved these issues through proper training of their employees there (Jackson actually OWNS their own Indian plant, unlike most axes coming from there which are ghostbuilt similar to the way Samick ghostbuilds for almost everyone)
:laugh2: 
