Jackson Custom Shop vs Jackson USA vs ESP

[rp108]

Really would like to hear everyone's opinion on this. Is there a huge difference in quality between a Jackson USA Select and a Jackson Custom Shop? How do either compare to a ESP standard?

I am strongly considering switching from ESP to Jackson. I have no idea why ESP discontinued their Standard Series in the US. It's like a slap in the face to fans. My M-II is my favorite guitar I have ever owned and when I finally decide to get another one in a different color I can't...unless I want to pay 5k for a custom and wait a year. No thanks.

Might be time to drop "brand loyalty" with ESP and get my hands on a Kelly.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Buy American!

 

[Rockinloud]

I have all three guitars and there are small differences between them but not night and day. I'm a big Jackson/Charvel fan but the ESP I have will hang with them any day. The custom shop has a bit more attention to detail than my select soloists but all are quality built IMO. Not sure why ESP changed things and jacked their prices, seems to me like a dumb move but time will tell.

 

[rp108]

I have all three guitars and there are small differences between them but not night and day. I'm a big Jackson/Charvel fan but the ESP I have will hang with them any day. The custom shop has a bit more attention to detail than my select soloists but all are quality built IMO. Not sure why ESP changed things and jacked their prices, seems to me like a dumb move but time will tell.

Thanks for the input. Do you know the main differences between the Select and Custom Shop? Looking online it's hard to find a straight answer. Seems to turn into pre/post Fender discussions which I don't really care about.

 

[Rockinloud]

The neck on my Custom Shop feels just a little beefier than my two Selects and the overall fit & finish is a little better. Not saying that the Select is bad in any way, just the Custom Shop is a little better. To me the Custom Shop only makes sense if you need something way different than the Select series offers such as specific body woods, configurations, finishes, etc. Other than that there's not much difference. The Select and the ESP Standard are pretty close as far as overall quality. A few years ago I was about to order a Jackson SL2HT (string thru body model) and the price had just jumped. My local shop is an ESP dealer and talked me into Horizon NT. Very similar specs to the Jackson except mohagany body instead of alder. I'm very happy with the ESP. The neck has a slightly beefier feel than the Standard Soloist but is very comfortable. And as far as the pre/post Fender thing I have one of each and see no difference between them.

 

[rp108]

The neck on my Custom Shop feels just a little beefier than my two Selects and the overall fit & finish is a little better. Not saying that the Select is bad in any way, just the Custom Shop is a little better. To me the Custom Shop only makes sense if you need something way different than the Select series offers such as specific body woods, configurations, finishes, etc. Other than that there's not much difference. The Select and the ESP Standard are pretty close as far as overall quality. A few years ago I was about to order a Jackson SL2HT (string thru body model) and the price had just jumped. My local shop is an ESP dealer and talked me into Horizon NT. Very similar specs to the Jackson except mohagany body instead of alder. I'm very happy with the ESP. The neck has a slightly beefier feel than the Standard Soloist but is very comfortable. And as far as the pre/post Fender thing I have one of each and see no difference between them.

Thank you, very informative. I am looking at a Custom Shop Select at the moment, basically because of same things you mentioned. Prefer an alder body with a rosewood fretboard which doesn't seem to be offered in the USA Select line for this model.

I did play a USA model years ago, at least ten, and remember drooling over it but I had such a bad experience with the cheaper Japanese models that I owned at the time, I switched to ESP guitars. Looks like I am over it since I am about 100% sure I am going to pull the trigger on a KE2 or a SL1 from a dealer with a good return policy. Just in case.

 

[Code001]

I have all three guitars and there are small differences between them but not night and day. I'm a big Jackson/Charvel fan but the ESP I have will hang with them any day. The custom shop has a bit more attention to detail than my select soloists but all are quality built IMO. Not sure why ESP changed things and jacked their prices, seems to me like a dumb move but time will tell.

The current ESPs that go for lots of $$$ are ones that are coming out of the Custom Shop. They're the ones that Japan used to get. They never got the Standard Series that the overseas market got, but now they have access to that in the form of the E-II series. It's basically the same old Standard Series that you're used to, and the prices are basically the same, too.

 

[Les Zombie]

I owned all of them and esp standard series quality and attention to detail wasnt as good as my jackson usa or custom shop stuff. If we was talking about the esp custom vs jackson custom then i will take the esp, but if we are talking about esp standard series stuff then i like the usa jackson stuff better.

 

[rp108]

Thanks everyone. Pulled the trigger on a SL1 USA. Sweetwater has a good return policy just in case. But, if the SL1 >= M-II then I may end up selling the ESP to fund the purchase, well that and because ESP wants people to pay 5k for a guitar they used to be able to get for 2k so no more support from me and that includes promoting their guitars when I gig out.