I too love Jacksons. Got my first in’85. I have a number of custom shop guitars that I spec’d and ordered as recently as 2021.
My $0.02:
- It pains me to say this: Jackson has been in decline for years
- It is pretty well know that several of the brands in the specialty brands division share staff and workspace. Especially Charvel and Jackson
- Sadly, Charvel and EVH are much hotter brands at the moment than Jackson
I think resources are being shifted towards EVH and Charvel. It is simple business: focus where you can make the most money with the least downside.
In ‘18 I got a custom shop Dinky that I spec’d and ordered. Took around 12 months from order to delivery. Great playing guitar. Some minor blems out of the box. I was able to address all the small issues myself. Still have that guitar, it is my #1.
In ‘21 received another custom shop Dinky that I spec’d and ordered. I was quoted 12-14 months for delivery. I had ordered the guitar in early ‘19 and it took 26 months for delivery. In Dec ‘20 or so the guitar was delivered with a severely warped neck. Jackson rebuilt the guitar and delivered it in May ‘21. Given that Covid had closed Jackson USA for much of ’20 I did not think that it was unreasonable on their part… other than sending a neck that you could damn near play around a corner.
I had also put in an order for a really sweet Soloist in Aug 2019. Quote was 14-16 months. In Nov ‘21 I had my rep reach out for a status. Their response was: ”another 24-36 months”. Now that pissed me right the fuck off. Cancelled the order and got a full refund.
I spoke to Mike Shannon at 2019 NAMM he was telling me that he ends up touching almost every guitar coming off the line for Jackson, Charvel, and EVH in some way, shape, or form.
There were pics posted around the same time by someone who toured the Corona specialty brands work area. They showed EVH, Charvel, and Jacksons intermixed on the same racks. There were also pics of the same employee working on different brands.
The short of it, the specialty brands division is doing the best they can with tough circumstances and are stretched pretty damn thin.
It seems to me that Jackson simply is not a priority. As a result we are seeing quality issues and lagging production. My take is that the MIJ and this new Soloist are attempts to keep Jackson USA in a position to sell to a decidely niche market while not taking too much effort or resources from the other Specialty Brands Division brands that are seeing greater demand.
