My beef with Jacksons

[rp108]

I got my Jackson Custom Shop in just over 6 months. Awesome guitar. Plan on ordering another soon.

 

[Dave L]

Six months sounds almost too good to be true on a full custom, either you were very lucky or the Custom Select line has cleared up the waiting list on the full customs better than expected

 

[neilli]

Yeah, that would be a Custom Select - nothing there to make it a 'full' custom. I'm still kind of surprised they don't give different serial prefixes to them, but it is what it is..

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

I had to wait a year for a Dominion Pro from Indonesia

 

[Chris O]

I've had a LOT of USA and Custom Jacksons and I've experienced the fret 'lift' issue on a couple of mine, but it's never been a problem for me. There are traits of other guitars that drive me more crazy. That said, while I am a total Jackson fanboy, I'm not blind to the issues they've had over the years, and QC has been one of them for sure. I've tried (and own) ple'nty of other brands (Anderson, Suhr, GMP, GMW, Kramer, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez etc) but despite some frustrations, Jackson are still 'my' brand..

The headstock delamination issue seems to have been resolved at least as far as I'm aware. That was a problem of a while ago, and to the best of my knowledge, it was solely on guitars with oiled necks i.e. where there is an 'edge' where the clear stopped and could lift. It happened to a couple of mine and both were fixed under warranty, both after 12 months.

Negative, on oiled necks. Tonesforyourbones is selling Custom Shop in classified right now, it has the first signs of delam. It's not oiled neck.
I had Bengal tiger SL2H where that thing was bad, and the neck was painted.

Saw a sunburst USA Soloist with the same de-lam problem
This weekend. Fully finished neck.

 

[Dave L]

Yeah, that would be a Custom Select - nothing there to make it a 'full' custom. I'm still kind of surprised they don't give different serial prefixes to them, but it is what it is..

Are you sure? I thought so first too, because that one is probably well within the range of what you could get without going custom all the way, but do the Custom Selects really get the custom shop logo?

 

[cecilbag]

The rant***
So I used to be loyalist to Jacksons, had about 6 of them (USA/CS only) at all times, however I started branching out and started finding out that I have NEVER had Jackson (USA) that would not have a flaw...again never. I went through 20+ Jacksons and the only one that was perfect was 1991 Japanese RR.
Every USA stuff had something to disappoint.
I am writing this fret as I started noticing one more flaw that is apparent to me to be consistent with USA custom shop. The fret lift at the high E. I think it is because I started playing leads more now days I noticed 4(four) USA Jacksons (one CS and 3 USA) that have that issue. I had SL2H Blue Ghost flame and I remember my high E go off the board and gets caught between the board and the 5th fret, and stayed there. It took me a good 5 seconds to get it out, during the gig it would be a disaster. That I got another Soloist black SL1 that did the same thing on 4th and 5th fret. I have a Custom Shop SL2H and it does the same thing on 3rd, 4th, 5th fret. Also Big Aug is selling here the gun metal SL2H that has the same issue, he told me he took it for regret. It seems to be Soloists of all years get that (my SL2H is Jxxxxx custom shop). I never had this happened on any other guitar, be it Schecter, ESP, (Gibson frets are binded), or any guitar...even cheap ones.
I know that fanboys will always find an excuse, something like 'Well, don't pull the string off brush", well....If kirk didn't pull it off we wouldn't have the Master solo the way it is
That is in addition to the constant de-lamination issue on all Jacksons when the clear coat is lifting up at the headstock, that one seems like 2 out of 3 USA or CS Jacksons will have that shit.
The jacks are loose on many of them...
The switch to neck pick good dead on at least 5 that I had, you have to switch them kinda slow...
So jackson will find a way to disappoint every time, I never had USA Jackson that was perfect.
Even Gibson and Fender in my opinion do not have such horrible track record with their USA product (even though they are in the business longer.
I know jackson has a huge fanboy base, I have a couple buddies that are loyalists...all I tell them is that if they ever try anything else (Suhr, TA, even damn ESP) there is no going back to Jacksons.
The pics are of my current Custom Shop SL2H.

I bought the sl2h ghost flames. The fret issue was never mentioned but it definitely made the guitar unplayable at shows. The string could catch at any of the first 5 frets but always catches the 2nd no matter what. I had it refretted at Chicago fret works. It runs about $300 for a quality fret job.

 

[tonesfoyobones]

The rant***
So I used to be loyalist to Jacksons, had about 6 of them (USA/CS only) at all times, however I started branching out and started finding out that I have NEVER had Jackson (USA) that would not have a flaw...again never. I went through 20+ Jacksons and the only one that was perfect was 1991 Japanese RR.
Every USA stuff had something to disappoint.
I am writing this fret as I started noticing one more flaw that is apparent to me to be consistent with USA custom shop. The fret lift at the high E. I think it is because I started playing leads more now days I noticed 4(four) USA Jacksons (one CS and 3 USA) that have that issue. I had SL2H Blue Ghost flame and I remember my high E go off the board and gets caught between the board and the 5th fret, and stayed there. It took me a good 5 seconds to get it out, during the gig it would be a disaster. That I got another Soloist black SL1 that did the same thing on 4th and 5th fret. I have a Custom Shop SL2H and it does the same thing on 3rd, 4th, 5th fret. Also Big Aug is selling here the gun metal SL2H that has the same issue, he told me he took it for regret. It seems to be Soloists of all years get that (my SL2H is Jxxxxx custom shop). I never had this happened on any other guitar, be it Schecter, ESP, (Gibson frets are binded), or any guitar...even cheap ones.
I know that fanboys will always find an excuse, something like 'Well, don't pull the string off brush", well....If kirk didn't pull it off we wouldn't have the Master solo the way it is
That is in addition to the constant de-lamination issue on all Jacksons when the clear coat is lifting up at the headstock, that one seems like 2 out of 3 USA or CS Jacksons will have that shit.
The jacks are loose on many of them...
The switch to neck pick good dead on at least 5 that I had, you have to switch them kinda slow...
So jackson will find a way to disappoint every time, I never had USA Jackson that was perfect.
Even Gibson and Fender in my opinion do not have such horrible track record with their USA product (even though they are in the business longer.
I know jackson has a huge fanboy base, I have a couple buddies that are loyalists...all I tell them is that if they ever try anything else (Suhr, TA, even damn ESP) there is no going back to Jacksons.
The pics are of my current Custom Shop SL2H.

I bought the sl2h ghost flames. The fret issue was never mentioned but it definitely made the guitar unplayable at shows. The string could catch at any of the first 5 frets but always catches the 2nd no matter what. I had it refretted at Chicago fret works. It runs about $300 for a quality fret job.

Damn! Would have been nice to have that mentioned before buying. Nothing like buying a guitar and then having to drop it off at a luthier for an additional $300.

I've owned alot of Jackson's. San Dimas to the current Fender owned era. I have never had any with the fret issues mentioned above. My current Custom Shop V listed does have some lift under the logo edge but no fret issues. (well they are covered with binding )

For me the San Dimas era up to about the very early 90's where all very good. The attention to detail was more hands on and it shows. I have owned alot of newer ones as well and mainly the biggest issue for me with them is the inconsistent alignment with the Floyd's. For some damn reason alot are off center and the high E string is too close to the fret board edge. Sad. For this reason I have avoided almost all Floyd loaded Jackson's unless getting some great pics first and some great feedback from the owner.

I have owned alot of other great high end guitars and have found them to be just as flawed. One example is ESP's. For some reason the G string never seems to be in tune! I keep checking, intonating and still remains. I've even had new nuts installed but to no resolution. There are great examples of each maker out there but still some do make it out with flaws. You just have to really look over the pics, ask the questions and feel good about the seller.

 

[Knockout]

I remember two more issue I had with two Jackies. One Bones just mentioned, the strings on Floyd are too close to the edge, combine that with fret issue and guitar is unplayable.
Second, the locking mechanism for Floyd. I had two USAs that would completely pinch off second and first strings when you tight the nut screw. Just like pliers, I had to change the nut...which is not a big deal but still, I never had that on any other brand.

 

[neilli]

Are you sure? I thought so first too, because that one is probably well within the range of what you could get without going custom all the way, but do the Custom Selects really get the custom shop logo?

Yup, they put it on everything unless you ask them not to. Which I do as a general rule..

 

[Knockout]

Speaking of Jackson's QC, wasn't there someone on here awhile back that had ordered a guitar from their custom shop, and when it arrived the guitar only had 23 frets when it should have been 24?




Edit - Here's the thread I was thinking of:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=144890&p=1670082

That's probably the biggest epic fail of all times...

 

[neilli]

Yeah, that was awesome. I just can't figure out how that can have happened as I think they pre-cut the fingerboards before they install..

 

[mchn13]

Anyone ever play a Jackson Dominion? What's the quality like on the pro models? Nice looking guitar.

This one is MIJ
Best sounding Dominion of my pros

This one is Made In Indonesia.
Flawless and I'm a nitpicker.
Fretwork is top notch, no issues. no dead frets, no buzzing. Sorry for the huge photos and the hijack. Friend has a Jackson USA soloist. It's not a $3500 guitar, but it's nice. I would say it's a 2k guitar at the most. I would not purchase a USA model. I'm happy with the cheapos.


jeez that sunburst. Instant gas. Where can you find them?

 

[rp108]

Yeah, that would be a Custom Select - nothing there to make it a 'full' custom. I'm still kind of surprised they don't give different serial prefixes to them, but it is what it is..

Are you sure? I thought so first too, because that one is probably well within the range of what you could get without going custom all the way, but do the Custom Selects really get the custom shop logo?

A custom select is a non masterbuilt guitar from the Jackson custom shop.

 

[Dave L]

Yeah, that´s probably how they positioned them, to me they were always more like Selects with options. But on the other hand, as far as I can remember the regular Selects are made alongside the custom stuff by the same guys anyway - just without options and in tiny batches.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Anyone ever play a Jackson Dominion? What's the quality like on the pro models? Nice looking guitar.

This one is MIJ
Best sounding Dominion of my pros

This one is Made In Indonesia.
Flawless and I'm a nitpicker.
Fretwork is top notch, no issues. no dead frets, no buzzing. Sorry for the huge photos and the hijack. Friend has a Jackson USA soloist. It's not a $3500 guitar, but it's nice. I would say it's a 2k guitar at the most. I would not purchase a USA model. I'm happy with the cheapos.


jeez that sunburst. Instant gas. Where can you find them?

Can't find them, except for used. These were MIJ, before Fender bought Jackson and cheaped out and had manufacturing moved to Indonesia.

 

[rp108]

Yeah, that´s probably how they positioned them, to me they were always more like Selects with options. But on the other hand, as far as I can remember the regular Selects are made alongside the custom stuff by the same guys anyway - just without options and in tiny batches.

I see where the confusion is. When Jackson streamlined the custom shop, i.e., provide options that do no require a masterbuilder, they had released small batches of custom guitars for dealers with these options and called them custom selects. Although, some of these guitars have custom paint shops that are not available as a custom select option. Confused yet?

But, if you order a custom guitar today, it's coming from the custom shop, it's a custom guitar, what makes it a "select" is if the options on the guitar do not require a masterbuilder to be involved. That's it.

 

[prsplayer86]

Every top tier Jap Jackson I've had outplayed its USA counterpart IMO. I sold 2 of my USA RR's the week I got my first run Jap RR24. No regrets

 

[glip22]

Yeah, that´s probably how they positioned them, to me they were always more like Selects with options. But on the other hand, as far as I can remember the regular Selects are made alongside the custom stuff by the same guys anyway - just without options and in tiny batches.

I see where the confusion is. When Jackson streamlined the custom shop, i.e., provide options that do no require a masterbuilder, they had released small batches of custom guitars for dealers with these options and called them custom selects. Although, some of these guitars have custom paint shops that are not available as a custom select option. Confused yet?

But, if you order a custom guitar today, it's coming from the custom shop, it's a custom guitar, what makes it a "select" is if the options on the guitar do not require a masterbuilder to be involved. That's it.

This. I am not sure of all of the details or when it occurred. I was told a clothing line purchased part or all of Jackson and maybe Charvel from Fender.. I really don't know the details. I was told this was when things were streamlined. Pablo Santanna was let go and some others. The Custom Shop guitars might go through a Masterbuilder's hands but the rest of the finishing, etc. is done by the USA shop guys. Same with Charvel. They are both in the same building.

 

[neilli]

Jackson/Charvel are still owned by FMIC - Pablo was let go because of some issues (23 fret guitars being one), rather than as a restructuring, though there was some sort of reorg around that time.