What happened to Jackson?

S

ShredLord

New member
Hey all, newbie here.

Played guitar for about 4-5 yrs, thinking of getting a new electric as my little squier strat isn't holding up to my standards. Around Christmas last year I was looking at some jacksons and liked the JS 22 which had everything I wanted, but I didn't get it due to a few reasons. A few days ago I looked again at it on some websites again but the prices have surged up about 25% - 35% everywhere I looked and many sites/stores (Andertons, for example) don't even have them available anymore. Does anyone know why this is happening? And do you think the prices will increase even more or drop back down later? Thanks! :)
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

Ummm - JS 22 is their absolute bottom of the barrel low end guitar. If you are worried about the $199 that they are available for all day long, my comment is save your money. You have bigger worries than a JS 22 "price surge."

However - for a little more money, like $299, the extremely playable very high price/performer JS 32 series comes into play. Think about it.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

For just *slightly* more than $299, you can get a Japanese Dinky from the mid-90's through 00's. PS-2, PS-4, DKMG, DK-2... these are all very nice guitars that are infinitely better in every conceivable way than anything new in that price range. The DKMG or DK-2 will come stock with either a Duncan JB/59 or EMG 81/85 set if you catch the right era. I think the DKMG has an onboard gain boost, as well, plus those sweet little offset triangle inlays.

Just checked Facebook Marketplace in my area:

DK-2M $325
DKMG w/hsc $300
RR-3 $300
budget model Soloist w/hsc $250

Don't buy new, especially if you're shopping in this price range. My current stable is an American Strat, Schecter C-1 Platinum, PRS SE Custom 24, Ibanez Mikro bass, and USA Peavey Predator, and my total investment is right at a grand.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

Get a used old Jackson. The JS series aren't worth it, and I owned a JS32.

Really, just forget they even exist. They're fun, but as already stated, you can do way better than those if you dig up a bit.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

$300 will buy you an 80’s Kramer Focus which is much better than the Jackson you’re looking at.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

I saw an old Kramer ad that was advertising those Focii new and they were $350

Back then Kramer had exclusive rights to the Floyd and the only way to get one aside from buying a Kramer was over the counter which was $350

So in the ad it said something along the lines of: Buy a Floyd Rose and get a free guitar!
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

I found an MIJ DXMG in a pawn shop for $140. The only thing wrong was that it was missing the high E string. It's one of my favorite guitars. I swapped out the standard EMG HZ3's and it currently has a Dimarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

I second everything said here. Don't waste your cash on a new low-end Jackson. Too many awesome used options in the $300 range. Even if I was committed to buying a JS32 or similar, I'd grab one on the used market for less than half the new price.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

Hate to pile on, but JS stands for Junk Series LOL!

I have a bunch of Jacksons and Charvels (30-40). Just coming out now are Crackle finished SLX's for $700. They looked pretty sweet but I didn't play them or anything.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

The JS series are deceiving guitars. They're fun, they sound good from the box, they're easy to play.

I had one for a while. The tuners and pots/switches are bottom-tier, and will need replacing, the plastic nut is soft and hollow; mine exploded after a minor poke (wtf?) and the neck was warped from factory in the upper frets and I totally missed that. The tailpiece was stiff and hard to adjust, and had sharp edges just about everywhere.

Don't waste your time like I did.
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

Haters gonna hate - I have two JS guitars. I'm not saying they are not cheap - but I have played the $h!t out of a JS 32 King V and a Dinky. To be clear - I LOVE the necks on these. The Floyd - meh. Controls/Tuners - never a problem. Pickups, always something better, but haven't replaced them either.

Not going to disagree with the Haters, and yes, for the patient shopper there are way better options out there. But those JS 32 necks are awesome, and they are a bargain guitar no doubt, but a hell of a bargain.

* Full disclosure; Have a Jackson DX10 that was like $300 and kicks @$$!!!!
 
Re: What happened to Jackson?

Aceman said:
Haters gonna hate - I have two JS guitars. I'm not saying they are not cheap - but I have played the $h!t out of a JS 32 King V and a Dinky. To be clear - I LOVE the necks on these. The Floyd - meh. Controls/Tuners - never a problem. Pickups, always something better, but haven't replaced them either.

Not going to disagree with the Haters, and yes, for the patient shopper there are way better options out there. But those JS 32 necks are awesome, and they are a bargain guitar no doubt, but a hell of a bargain.

* Full disclosure; Have a Jackson DX10 that was like $300 and kicks @$$!!!!
Click to expand...

The neck was what sold me on my former Kelly JS32. The frets were tall and felt great. Sadly there was serious warpage from the 15th fret and up that I missed.
That, and the Jackson pickups kick serious ass. Clear, bright and crunchy pickups for the price of peanuts.
It was sadly a problematic guitar for me.

If you happen to catch a trouble-free used JS32 for a good price (which should be crazy cheap) then I would have one. They're really fun.
But it's a bit of a toss of a coin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ICTGoober
Whatever happened to?
Replies
6
Views
220
Mincer
Mincer
Back
Top