jackson JT-6 tremolo

[bunghole]

are these good? the ones that they used on lots of Jacksons and Charvels in the 80s (including high end model Jacksons)

 

[vultures]

No, they are not. They use crappier metal and it'll change up the tone, and doesn't hold tune too well. They were used on low and high end models as a way to cut costs

Edit: But you will get mixed opinions on them. Some people love the locking mechanism and ease of setup, some people think they are just a crappy design. I'd say anything, swap it out with an OFR, that's what all the top guitar makers use.

 

[rupe]

First off, they are garbage from a quality standpoint...made from cheap pot metal. Functionally, they work fairly well until metal parts/allen screws/etc start wearing/stripping. Tonally, I've found them to actually have more "balls" than an original Floyd. I recently changed out the JT-6 to a Floyd (they retrofit directly to the JT-6 posts) on my '87 Soloist and added a brass sustain block which helped mitigate the Floyd's "nuetering" effect. I actually enjoy playing my Soloist again now

 

[bunghole]

good to know

i wasn't really sure what to think since I've seen em on Charvettes as well as actual USA Soloists from that era

and since they are from 20 years ago, I'm gonna guess that by now the parts probably are worn

 

[McGarnagle]

I've wondered about those trems with the big string lock block thingies. They look kinda cheap to me.

 

[bunghole]

i like the way they look actually

 

[McGarnagle]

butt ugly to me. are there fine tuners on that bad boy?

 

[again with this]

They work fine. My Jackson came with one. I like the way the fine tuners aren't on the top where my palm always would turn them on an OFR.

On the other hand... I am replacing the JT-6 on my jackson with a Schaller "OFR"... granted mostly because the JT-6 is 20 years old, rusty and worn.

Also, one lame design element is the "pop-in" tremolo arm... damn thing would always come out at the wrong times. I by far prefer the screw on arm on the OFR. (I actually retrofitted an OFR arm assembly and ditched the "pop-in")

 

[Ron1969]

I always adored my Jackson with the JT-6... in my opinion it handles much better than an original floyd rose, I also prefer the fine tuners on the back, like the ease of changing the strings and never had any issues with it. I cannot comment on the quality of the metal: Mine simply works perfect so far. I also prefer the pop-in arm assembly to the screwy ones, but I see, why most people prefer the the screw-on arms.

I had some Floyd Roses where the fine tuning screws were way too easy to move and so I often would change the tune unwillingly with my palm.

Also my JT-6 still looks pretty fine, while a lot of the Floyd Roses have become very rusty over the years.

To sum it up: I would like to see a revival of the JT-6, but produced to higher standards with better materials, as this seems to be one of the main issues.

For me, the JT-6 remains my favorite tremolo bridge.

 

[Racerxrated]

I’ve had 2 87-88 Jackson Strats with them; they do color the tone in a different way and seem to work fine but when I played out I ended up swapping them for OFRs and the tone improved for the better. I still have one or two at home buried in my parts box. My 1986 Jackson strat is a factory Floyd so no need to change.

 

[Ron1969]

I’ve had 2 87-88 Jackson Strats with them; they do color the tone in a different way and seem to work fine but when I played out I ended up swapping them for OFRs and the tone improved for the better. I still have one or two at home buried in my parts box. My 1986 Jackson strat is a factory Floyd so no need to change.

If you want to sell one of them, let me know your price… I wouldn‘t mind having a replacement, if it doesn‘t cost me a fortune.

 

[Rayneman]

I am not sure of the model, exactly, but if we're referring to the bridge where the fine tuners are located at the rear of the bridge (as opposed to the top, like Floyds and Kahler) I have a USA Soloist I got new in maybe '88 or '89 with one, and to this day it works flawlessly. The location of the tuners was not a great design, but overall the unit seems 100% solid.