DK2M or SL2H?

[Glenn KK]

Hi.
I didn't bought the SL1 because it was too expensive.
I'm thinking about getting a new Jackson Dinky DK2M (620€=806$) or a used SL2H in Amber Sunburst (1000/1200€=1400/1600$).

Is Soloist's higher price worth?
Is the Dinky a good guitar? (and...does she mounts 4 conductor pickups?)

Which would be your choice?:think:

[Spivonious]

Well, SL2H is US-made, very high quality guitar.

DK2M is Japan-made, still high quality but aimed at a different market.

Do you prefer neck-through or bolt-on? One is not better than the other, but they do have different sounds.

They also have different neck profiles, so you should probably play them before buying.

As far as I know there is no difference in mounting between 2 and 4 conductor pickups, so no worries there. They both come with 4 conductors from the factory.

[Glenn KK]

Thanks for the reply

Yeah, i know that the SL2H is USA-Made and the DK2M in Japan-made, and I also know the different neck junction (i prefer neck through or set neck, for sustain and look reasons).
I tried a SL1 (same neck profile as SL2H, i think) and it has a very fast and thin neck (i play a Gibson Les Paul with '50s neck, so it's a completely different world, but i need a fast guitar to play Judas Priest and stuff like this).

If i remember well, the SL2H mounts '59-JB pickups and the DK2M Jazz-JB pickups....love the '59, never tried the Jazz.

I'm looking for infos because i wanna know if 500 more euros for the SL2H than a Japan Dinky are really worth...the Soloist costs like 2 Dinkys!
For example...really better finishes, more selected woods, different tone, better Floyd..

(The SL1 was tooo cold and thick sounding)

Photo of the SL2H http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/4024/p1070068.jpg

[Spivonious]

Neck joint makes no difference on sustain. Neck-throughs sound a bit warmer, while bolt-ons are a bit brighter. Plus many feel that upper fret access is easier on a neck-through.

The neck on the DK2M is much thicker than the SL2H, but not as thick as an LP.

Honestly, I think you'd be happier with the DK2M for classic metal stuff. It will have more "bite".

The Jazz is a little hotter than the '59, with more upper-mids. Many feel that the '59 blends nicely with the JB.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

The tremolo is much better on the SL2H. Overall, it's just a better guitar. However if you're just buying it as a second guitar you won't play much and you're hesitant to spend the extra money, the DK2M is a good guitar.

IMO the 250K tone pot on the Soloists is what gives it that tone... It sounds as if the tone is turned down halfway, even when it is up all the way. I wired mine with 2 volumes instead.

[Glenn KK]

It would be a different guitar, not the second guitar. I just can't play All Guns Blazing (for example) because the Les Paul doesn't have 24 frets and a floyd rose.
I must admit, i love the SL2H, but i love the maple neck/fretboard with black binding on the DK2M, too.
I was thinking about mounting 2 volume pots instead tone-volume, too

Thank again, Spivonius
I was sure about getting a DK2M, but there are only 3 finishes here: black, snow white and inferno red. I wanted a Crimson Swirl but it's impossible to find one, and it costs more than a inferno red.
Now i'm confused....snow white or inferno red?

I think I'll try a DK2M and a SL2H in a shop....the most important thing is the neck join and my feeling with the neck finish and the maple fretboard of the Dinky...

[wilkinsi]

The DK2M is still finished in Crimson Swirl and Eerie Des Swirl, as well as Trans Black, Trans Blue, and of course solid finishes. You just have to keep looking for what you want.

But I'd still vote the SL2H. You can swap the pickups later if you don't like them.

[Glenn KK]

In Italy there aren't Crimson Swirl DK2Ms. If you want, you must order an Eerie Dess Swirl or Trans finished DK2M, but you have to pay 100/200€ more than a solid one and you have to wait some months.
Everyway, i like Black, Inferno Red and Snow White, too, but the white one is too "shiny"...

Now I have to think about spending or not 500 more euros for the "big sister"

[swanman35]

I got a DK2M a little while a ago and i love it.. the only thing that i found wrong with it is that there is a little spot on the binding that the black got sctratched off and you can see the underneath plastic

[veniculum]

In my circle of guitar "friends", the neck-through-body vs. bolt on has always been up for debate. But I think it was said best...it's not a one is better than the other...it's about tone. And once again, I have to agree that bolt-ons are brighter/twangier.

Personally, I prefer bolt-ons. Even when I was buying my PRS...who don't even make high end bolt-ons anymore...at least in a production guitar...I opted for a CE22 vs a custom 22. It wasn't a price thing for me (while the Custom was a few hundred bucks more)...that didn't matter to me. I just really dig the sound and feel of a bolt-on. My friends, once again, usually try to convince me that the neck through body instruments are "better". I think they are talking in terms of price...where neck-throughs are typically more expensive...but certainly not always. And a great quality bolt-on (like a PC-1 for example) is just the tits...at least in my opinion.

I only have one true neck through...my Ibanez J-Custom is a neck through...and every time I pick it up and play it, I have to warm up to it. Whereas all my other guitars (especially my Charvels) just feel more natural to me. String bends are easier...and I don't know if I totally agree with the statement that upper fret access is better on a neck-through.

Either way....it's completely up to the player's tastes. Neither one is better than the other.

[Chief_CrazyTalk]

I also prefer bolt-ons...maybe because that's what I've always used. The only set-neck guitars I've used were Gibsons, years ago, and the sound difference may well be due more to the woods, pickups, and scale length than to construction.

I recently bought a DK2 and am loving it. It's a s-s-h but other than that I think it's the same general idea as the DK2M minus the maple fretboard...alder dinky body, 24-fret compound radius fretboard, JT580, Japanese made. Upper fret access is no problem at all...the guitar is flawless. And I'm sure the SL2H is a great guitar too.

[maltomario]

I had a DK2-pro, a DK2M, and a Jackson SL1. I sold the DK2pro and DK2M after playign the SL1. The SL1 was that much better, easily 2x the guitar. But its a personal choice, play them both and pick your favorite.

[DonP]

i need a fast guitar to play Judas Priest and stuff like this).

My ultimate Priest setup is a 1988 ESP Horizon with a Jackson lawsuit headstock, a Duncan Custom Custom, though my DSL100 1/2 Stack.

Nails the tone so PERFECTLY it's SCARY.

[toejam]

The Jazz is a little hotter than the '59, with more upper-mids. Many feel that the '59 blends nicely with the JB.

No, the '59 is hotter than the Jazz. The Jazz is a also a little brighter and cleaner sounding than the '59.

[_koppen]

I got a DK2M a little while a ago and i love it.. the only thing that i found wrong with it is that there is a little spot on the binding that the black got sctratched off and you can see the underneath plastic

Hey buddy, ever seen one of these?