I need some advise!

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 8:04 pm

I've got G.A.S. and was thinking about buying a Jackson. I know it's not a Dean,but have always liked how they look. Anyone on the forum played them and any recommendations as to models to look at ?

Richard

Guest

Richard,
Why not buy the Dean Custom 450.
Bill

Joined: 29 Nov 2003 Posts: 393 Location: Lake Mary, Florida

Dana (guitarforceone) is a big fan of both Dean and Jackson/Charvel. He can give you some good info.

Joined: 29 Nov 2003 Posts: 5799

Yes check the 450. I don't think you can even approach a neck thru Jackson for the price of a 450.

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 9:43 pm

What model Jackson?

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 9:47 pm

BTMN wrote:

What model Jackson?

I'm looking for suggestions although I have this love affair with pointy guitars if you couldn't tell from my arsenal ! Cool

Joined: 29 Nov 2003 Posts: 7639 Location: Florida

I think the Jackson's Kelly model is rather sweet guitar.

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 10:12 pm

That Z's nekkid! Shocked

And crooked... Razz

Joined: 30 Nov 2003 Posts: 4406 Location: Hostile Territory

I've had a couple of Jacksons and they are right nice guitars. I had a Randy Rhodes V & I just sold a Dinky Reverse that was nice & the Rhodes was an excellent guitar. Thor Intrepid was a big Jackson fan you might try him for an opinion too.

Joined: 30 Nov 2003 Posts: 697 Location: Colorado

I have a Jackson Kelly KE2 Pro Reverse, and I have to say it's every bit the guitar the 450 is.

They go on ebay for $250-$300 all the time.

Go to your local guitar shop metalhead, and play a Jackson.
You might be surprised.

Joined: 29 Nov 2003 Posts: 2742 Location: Denver

For the price, the Jackson MG series is all around sweet. The strat bodies are pretty damned groovy and the Warrior is even nicer. I had some problems with my Warrior but I think that was due to on stage abuse...since been resolved. All the above are bolt ons and to be honest, don't come close to the neck thru's. I've had several Jackson neck thru guitars and each and every one of them were amazing. If you like simple, the Y2K V is nice but discontinued so hurry if you want one. The Rhoades are still the benchmark and still my favorite. If you are looking at strat bodies, though..you really should do yourself a favor and check out the Dean 450. You won't beat the price and I've yet to hear a negative comment on them.

Joined: 30 Nov 2003 Posts: 10593 Location: Canada

I would gladly trade my USA Jackson Soloist in pearl white for a Time Capsule Z, V, or ML in a nice burst or black...

Joined: 29 Nov 2003 Posts: 2742 Location: Denver

I've seen that guitar. Looks clean as hell, has a hot rodded humbucker...absolutely gorgeous. You'd be hard pressed to find a better 'super strat' Jackson.

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2003 12:37 am

just remember Jackson=Fender.

Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 456 Location: Austin, Texas

Ranma wrote:

just remember Jackson=Fender.

That's only for the last year. Most used Jacksons/Charvels are still "pre-Fender," for whatever that's worth.

The ones I am going to recommend are older (Japanese) imports, which rivaled the USA's in nearly every way. Any of the early 90's "Professional" Series were killer guitars, and this series was discontinued because they were as good as the USA models. (The Professional Series is still around, but the newer ones are not up to par with the early 90's guitars)

The Kelly's are cool, but they have a problem with balance, and tend to be neck heavy. If you let go of the neck while standing up, it'll take a nose dive. If you can deal with that, then cool.

A Professional Series Rhoads is an excellent guitar. I've played them, and they compare favorably to my '85 San Dimas Rhoads from the Custom Shop.

Probably one of the best "bangs for the buck" would be the late 80's and early 90's import Charvels. These have to be some of the most under-valued guitars any where. All of these are strat-type bodies. The Models 1-4 are bolt ons, and the Models 5 and 6 are neck-thru. Models 4-6 all had active electronics which sound great to me. I own several of each. Models 5 and 6 are basically Jackson Soloists with a "Charvel' logo. These can be had for from $300-$500 on e-bay, pawnshops, or the Jackson/Charvel Forum. www.jcfonline.com These all had the small, white, guitar-shaped Charvel logo. In addition, the early 90's Charvels which had the script, "Toothpaste" logo were excellent guitars as well, with the Models 650XL and Model 750 being the top end models, and also being basically the same guitars as a Soloist. I own a 650XL, and all I can say is "damn!" These 2 are kinda hard to get hold of, as few people want to part with theirs.

More recently, the Jackson DK-2 was a best value guitar, and can be had for around $300-$400 new, depending upon the finish. These were available with the highly sought after flame paint jobs that were really popular on early Charvels. Each was hand-painted by a Japanese artist, and signed in Japanese script on the bottom edge. No two are exactly alike.

All these guitars feature real wood bodies...no plywood junk. Single or double locking trems, (only the '86's had Kahlers, the later ones had a Floyd Knockoff, and still later, a Schaller Floyd), and decent to quite good stock pickups. The necks on these guitars are their strongest suit, and are great for shredding.

My personal "working axes" are 1986 Charvel Model 4's, which all had the Kahler trem, my personal favorite. I've used them almost exclusively for nearly 20 years.

Hope that helps. Sorry I missed this post before.
Dana <~~~