Adrian Smith Signature SDX anyone?!

[Michi]

Just found out about this new entry level line that Jackson put out this year the X series. Being quite a Maiden fan I'm really interested in the Adrian Smith models of course:

http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=2913052576

the price point is supposed to be quite low, a bit below 500€ in Europe and around $700 in the States.

Has anybody had a chance to try one out already, how are they like? I'm worried that they're the same not-so-good-sheit the other this level models are. I'm not expecting $2000 guitar quality but basically a good playability with small tweaks here and there. And I already have a Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas . But a decent strat type headstock guitar with FR and a pickguard is quite hard to come by these days especially in this price point.

 

[maiden_fan]

I'm interested and will definitely try one out. Shame it's basswood and will most likely require a pickup swap. If I don't like it I still have my 2 Charvels!

 

[Michi]

I'm interested and will definitely try one out. Shame it's basswood and will most likely require a pickup swap. If I don't like it I still have my 2 Charvels!

At least it is wood .

Do you have any shops that carry this near you? Yeah, I'm thinking I gotta try one out as well. Will have to swap the bridge pu to a DiMarzio SD of course haha!

 

[university81]

saw this as well, seems pretty cool, i can't help thinking a used charvel would get you more bang for your buck, can get one in a similar colour scheme as well but only dual humbuckers, the single coils seem pretty cool

but first have to try one of the SDX's out of course, i just see the pickups and eventually the trem as being weak points

 

[Michi]

saw this as well, seems pretty cool, i can't help thinking a used charvel would get you more bang for your buck, can get one in a similar colour scheme as well but only dual humbuckers, the single coils seem pretty cool

but first have to try one of the SDX's out of course, i just see the pickups and eventually the trem as being weak points

Hey Paul how are you doing? Nice to see ya!

Yeah Charvel's got the San Dimas Pro Mod that looks almost exactly the same, actually our other guitarist has that model . But I think the used market for those is very very thin, I haven't seen one for sale in a while. Could be wrong though! And more I'm interested in the rosewood fingerboard model Jackson .

I agree that the pickups most probably need to be swapped. I have no idea of the trem quality, what is a FR Special?

 

[Dave L]

The Floyd Rose Special is basically the new low-end standard for FRs. You see them all the time on stuff like the cheapest LTDs and Fenders, and it´s a big step down from the asian OFR version on the Charvels. I´ve tried it a few times, and it feels really cheap and off... lower quality finishing, lower quality fit (raspy fine tuners, arm assembly and what not). Presumably less costly materials, too.

 

[srommes]

You can find the USA Artist version for around $1100-$1200 on the used market if your patient. I have a gold one and white one and they are really nice well-made guitars with quality parts. I'd save a few extra bones and go that route if it were me.

 

[Dave L]

On a side note, it feels like Jackson/Charvel´s entire import line is headed for a big tumble now that the japanese models are gone after all these years. The korean, chinese and indonesian stuff is going to have a real hard time picking up the slack from the missing Pro line.

 

[Laura]

I have a US model but I put a new BWB pickguard on it and now it just has one HB. I am having a brain fart regarding what HB I have in it right now though.

 

[Michi]

You can find the USA Artist version for around $1100-$1200 on the used market if your patient. I have a gold one and white one and they are really nice well-made guitars with quality parts. I'd save a few extra bones and go that route if it were me.

Man, that's one of the many reasons I hate living over here. A guitar that costs for example $1100 over there equals around $1500 when shipped here with all the taxes and customs and stuff. Plus the used market for guitars such as the Jackson Adrian Smith San Dimas is close to non-existent, and the price will be close to what equals at least the $1500 if not more.

So with that in mind I was hoping this would solve my GAS problem with the Jackson H SD model .

 

[srommes]

You can find the USA Artist version for around $1100-$1200 on the used market if your patient. I have a gold one and white one and they are really nice well-made guitars with quality parts. I'd save a few extra bones and go that route if it were me.

Man, that's one of the many reasons I hate living over here. A guitar that costs for example $1100 over there equals around $1500 when shipped here with all the taxes and customs and stuff. Plus the used market for guitars such as the Jackson Adrian Smith San Dimas is close to non-existent, and the price will be close to what equals at least the $1500 if not more.

So with that in mind I was hoping this would solve my GAS problem with the Jackson H SD model .

Ahhh, didn't see you were in Finland. Yeah, that might change things a bit. Good Luck!

 

[Michi]

Ahhh, didn't see you were in Finland. Yeah, that might change things a bit. Good Luck!

no worries thx!

Of course quality will cost a few buck$ €xtra, but as always I am trying to find the easy way out

 

[university81]

saw this as well, seems pretty cool, i can't help thinking a used charvel would get you more bang for your buck, can get one in a similar colour scheme as well but only dual humbuckers, the single coils seem pretty cool

but first have to try one of the SDX's out of course, i just see the pickups and eventually the trem as being weak points

Hey Paul how are you doing? Nice to see ya!

Yeah Charvel's got the San Dimas Pro Mod that looks almost exactly the same, actually our other guitarist has that model . But I think the used market for those is very very thin, I haven't seen one for sale in a while. Could be wrong though! And more I'm interested in the rosewood fingerboard model Jackson .

I agree that the pickups most probably need to be swapped. I have no idea of the trem quality, what is a FR Special?

Hey man, off sick for a few days, but back to the grind tomorrow, you ok? did you find your VM in the end or you go for a different amp?

i've been through a bunch of amps since (diezel einstein, marshall jvm, ) now settled on a blackstar artisan 30, which rocks very touch sensitive and classic rock, will be trying an attenuator with it soon to see what else it's capable of..only 30 watts but freaking loud

i see those So Cals from time to time, not too often, but usually around 450-550 euros , i'd prefer to put a bit more money into a good used instrument at that price, but try one out of course =) the jackson san dimas with rw fingerboard does look very nice , with a price to match heh

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

What are the necks like on those jacksons? I sold my san dimas... didn't agree with the neck. How do these compare?

 

[Bill Brasky]

The Floyd Rose Special is basically the new low-end standard for FRs. You see them all the time on stuff like the cheapest LTDs and Fenders, and it´s a big step down from the asian OFR version on the Charvels. I´ve tried it a few times, and it feels really cheap and off... lower quality finishing, lower quality fit (raspy fine tuners, arm assembly and what not). Presumably less costly materials, too.

They're not bad at all. They have a steel baseplate, what everyone makes a big deal about with the OFR, but the saddles are alloy castings instead of steel. You can add a brass block if you want to for $20. It's way cheaper than a Schaller ofr. I had a German Schaller OFR, the one people rave about, and the Korean FR special blew it away in terms of quality and fit and finish.

 

[Michi]

saw this as well, seems pretty cool, i can't help thinking a used charvel would get you more bang for your buck, can get one in a similar colour scheme as well but only dual humbuckers, the single coils seem pretty cool

but first have to try one of the SDX's out of course, i just see the pickups and eventually the trem as being weak points

Hey Paul how are you doing? Nice to see ya!

Yeah Charvel's got the San Dimas Pro Mod that looks almost exactly the same, actually our other guitarist has that model . But I think the used market for those is very very thin, I haven't seen one for sale in a while. Could be wrong though! And more I'm interested in the rosewood fingerboard model Jackson .

I agree that the pickups most probably need to be swapped. I have no idea of the trem quality, what is a FR Special?

Hey man, off sick for a few days, but back to the grind tomorrow, you ok? did you find your VM in the end or you go for a different amp?

i've been through a bunch of amps since (diezel einstein, marshall jvm, ) now settled on a blackstar artisan 30, which rocks very touch sensitive and classic rock, will be trying an attenuator with it soon to see what else it's capable of..only 30 watts but freaking loud

i see those So Cals from time to time, not too often, but usually around 450-550 euros , i'd prefer to put a bit more money into a good used instrument at that price, but try one out of course =) the jackson san dimas with rw fingerboard does look very nice , with a price to match heh

Great to hear hope you weren't that ill . Ya didn't find a VM in the price range I was looking for but went with the Dutch plexi clone + Radial Bones London and couldn't have been happier

Where do you find'em So Cals for that price?! There is not a Finnish used market basically for them, and if there happens to be a Japanese model for sale they usually a) ask for a ridiculous price and b) are sold in a few hours...I wouldn't mind paying 500€ for it .

I seem to have a fixation over the Jackson San Dimas with the rw fingerboard so it looks like I'm going to have to try one of the SDX series to find out how it plays. Even if I'd have to change the bridge pu and the bridge, it'd still be a whole lot cheaper and especially easier to get the GAS out of my system . Given of course that the rest of the guitar, body-neck-tuners etc, are even remotely playable.

 

[university81]

saw this as well, seems pretty cool, i can't help thinking a used charvel would get you more bang for your buck, can get one in a similar colour scheme as well but only dual humbuckers, the single coils seem pretty cool

but first have to try one of the SDX's out of course, i just see the pickups and eventually the trem as being weak points

Hey Paul how are you doing? Nice to see ya!

Yeah Charvel's got the San Dimas Pro Mod that looks almost exactly the same, actually our other guitarist has that model . But I think the used market for those is very very thin, I haven't seen one for sale in a while. Could be wrong though! And more I'm interested in the rosewood fingerboard model Jackson .

I agree that the pickups most probably need to be swapped. I have no idea of the trem quality, what is a FR Special?

Hey man, off sick for a few days, but back to the grind tomorrow, you ok? did you find your VM in the end or you go for a different amp?

i've been through a bunch of amps since (diezel einstein, marshall jvm, ) now settled on a blackstar artisan 30, which rocks very touch sensitive and classic rock, will be trying an attenuator with it soon to see what else it's capable of..only 30 watts but freaking loud

i see those So Cals from time to time, not too often, but usually around 450-550 euros , i'd prefer to put a bit more money into a good used instrument at that price, but try one out of course =) the jackson san dimas with rw fingerboard does look very nice , with a price to match heh

Great to hear hope you weren't that ill . Ya didn't find a VM in the price range I was looking for but went with the Dutch plexi clone + Radial Bones London and couldn't have been happier

Where do you find'em So Cals for that price?! There is not a Finnish used market basically for them, and if there happens to be a Japanese model for sale they usually a) ask for a ridiculous price and b) are sold in a few hours...I wouldn't mind paying 500€ for it .

I seem to have a fixation over the Jackson San Dimas with the rw fingerboard so it looks like I'm going to have to try one of the SDX series to find out how it plays. Even if I'd have to change the bridge pu and the bridge, it'd still be a whole lot cheaper and especially easier to get the GAS out of my system . Given of course that the rest of the guitar, body-neck-tuners etc, are even remotely playable.

curious about that radial pedal now =0 i'm using a bb preamp and a wampler pinnacle into a blackstar, digging the sound but maybe the radial is killer too...decisions decisions, we'll see

as for So cals , best bet is to use the various google search engines in the different countries (e.g google.co.uk , google.de)

and then sorting it to say UK only or things like that, and sometimes ebay listings or small ad sites pop up with results

i've seen So Cals on

www.musicradar.com --> forums
www.guitariste.com --> forums

let's see if i can find a fairly new listing for you..

 

[university81]

e.g

http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthr ... 551&page=1

or this popped up

http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s ... e/u9293592


whether or not these people will ship to finland is another matter but the guitars can be found if you search a bit, the musicradar one is probably your best bet