Are the japanese Jackson guitars discontinued in Europe?

[Nightbat]

Yeah, you're right, guess it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the radiation leaks and massive power outages in Japan.

You're guessing that life in Japan ground to a halt and everyone is glowing in the dark over there
Apart from the radiated area in Fukushima and the lack of power in the north of japan, life is going it's busines as usual over there
it already did days after the earthquake/tsunami, don't think it hasn't improved 9 months later

[CowboyFromHell]

Reports I read stated that over half of the country was without power and sorry but radiation doesn't just linger over one area, it spreads. Yes I understand that people are trying to get on with their lives there but it is by no means "business as usual".

[Nightbat]

Reports I read stated that over half of the country was without power and sorry but radiation doesn't just linger over one area, it spreads. Yes I understand that people are trying to get on with their lives there but it is by no means "business as usual".

I believe indeed the northern part of japan still is without power and the radiation didn't even reach threatening values in tokyo

http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/incident/road_to_recovery.html

Looking at another disaster on a smaller scale, wallstreet NYSE reopened just 1 week after 9/11 while the financial district was in ruins "Business as usual"

[CowboyFromHell]

Yes but there wasn't leak from a nuclear facility in NY. Guess what news you get varies from site to site and honestly only Jackson and it's contractors truly know the reason so far.

[QuantumRider]

Reports I read stated that over half of the country was without power and sorry but radiation doesn't just linger over one area, it spreads. Yes I understand that people are trying to get on with their lives there but it is by no means "business as usual".

Dude, I live in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and business IS pretty much back to usual here. The economies of Fukushima, Iwate, and Tochigi are suffering due to nobody wanting to buy produce (vegetables, chicken, etc.) from those prefectures, but as was stated earlier in the thread, I think that it's the downturn in the global economy after Lehman Brothers went down and the yen being so (over)valued against other currencies that caused Chushin Gakki to go bankrupt.

Besides, there was a thread here soon after the earthquake about how the Japanese factory would be affected by the power outages/radiation. I called Chushin Gakki a few weeks after the earthquake, they said that there was no halt in production at that point in time, and I posted their answer in the thread.

As far as the country being out of power, here's a graph that shows amount of electricity used vs. electricity produced, updated periodically:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/forecast/index-j.html

It's showing consumption at 88% production as I type this.

[Axegrinder87]

So, move the Chushin Gakki employees to Fender Japan? Just like they did with the USA line.

[Predator1]

Well at this point I guess it is buy them while you can still get them. The future will be limited to the following three options.
1) Buy new from the Custom Shop.
2) Buy used
3) Buy new manufactured in third world countries.

The future of Charvel guitars is looking grim or expensive depending on your budget.

[CowboyFromHell]

Dude, I live in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and business IS pretty much back to usual here. The economies of Fukushima, Iwate, and Tochigi are suffering due to nobody wanting to buy produce (vegetables, chicken, etc.) from those prefectures, but as was stated earlier in the thread, I think that it's the downturn in the global economy after Lehman Brothers went down and the yen being so (over)valued against other currencies that caused Chushin Gakki to go bankrupt.

Besides, there was a thread here soon after the earthquake about how the Japanese factory would be affected by the power outages/radiation. I called Chushin Gakki a few weeks after the earthquake, they said that there was no halt in production at that point in time, and I posted their answer in the thread.

As far as the country being out of power, here's a graph that shows amount of electricity used vs. electricity produced, updated periodically:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/forecast/index-j.html

It's showing consumption at 88% production as I type this.

Thank you and I stand corrected.

[RacerX]

buy them while you can still get them. The future will be limited to the following three options.
1) Buy new from the Custom Shop.
2) Buy used
3) Buy new manufactured in third world countries.

The future of Charvel guitars is looking grim or expensive depending on your budget.

We don't know this. We need to stop with the conjecture & rumor and just wait a bit to see how all this shakes out.

I would love to hear about this subject from an official JCMI source, like Bionic, Cannella, etc.

[Predator1]

I could live with the USA Pro Mods making a return!

[bombtek]

We don't know this. We need to stop with the conjecture & rumor and just wait a bit to see how all this shakes out.

I would love to hear about this subject from an official JCMI source, like Bionic, Cannella, etc.

Nah Ron,
Conjecture feeds drama, and there's nothing like a good drama on an internet board like this!


PS: that was sarcasm. I'm with you. I'm just gonna sit back and see how all this pans out, or wait until an official source lets on as to what's happening.

[SimonEriksson]

I got an answer from Charvel about the promods and the Japanese Jacksons.

"The factory we were building these guitars in can no longer keep up with our demand and we are currently looking into other options. Stay tuned!"

[Axegrinder87]

Hmmmm.......

I call bullshit. I can't see sales of Professionals being at an all time high at the moment. And they wouldn't cease production before securing another builder. So yeah, bullshit.

[bombtek]

I got an answer from Charvel about the promods and the Japanese Jacksons.

"The factory we were building these guitars in can no longer keep up with our demand and we are currently looking into other options. Stay tuned!"

Bring it all back home I say (but keep the current pricing the same!).

I mean hell, there are many US companies that manage to stay in business, turn a profit, and stay competitive in whichever market they are in. Is it REALLY that difficult to do so?

I am not opposed to buying Chinese made products. I have many Biyang, Mars, and Altec effects pedals. I just bought a new Charvel DS-2, and I also bought a new AXL 1216 Jr guitar, I bought them because their pricing was much MUCH better than anything comparable that was offered here, so sue me lol. BUT, if given the choice of buying US as opposed to non US, if the pricing was even CLOSE to being comparable, I'd go US all the way.

Given the situation that JCMI sees itself in right now, it is the prime time to search the option of going US and keep their products domestic. I don't see them LOSING money doing this, what with import taxes and federal fees that they pay to do such business outside the borders. The cost of employing US workers cannot be all that much more (if any , it MIGHT be less) than paying all of those fees for producing a non domestic product and then shipping it back here under their US owned name.

I'm not gonna even pretend to be saavy in the ways of domsetic vs non domestic business practices, but it sure would be nice to see them do it this way and make a profit.

[Inazone]

I don't see them LOSING money doing this, what with import taxes and federal fees that they pay to do such business outside the borders. The cost of employing US workers cannot be all that much more (if any , it MIGHT be less) than paying all of those fees for producing a non domestic product and then shipping it back here under their US owned name.

I'm not gonna even pretend to be saavy in the ways of domsetic vs non domestic business practices, but it sure would be nice to see them do it this way and make a profit.

Unfortunately, labor costs would probably be significantly higher than you might think. Maybe not compared with Japan or even Korea, but certainly compared to places like China, India and Indonesia. You have to factor in things like labor unions, OSHA compliance and environmental compliance that make the cost of American manufacturing higher, even if the jobs paid minimum wage. In addition to paying workers a lot less, China is more affordable for manufacturing because they haven't been subjected to nearly the environmental restrictions as the US, they bring in workers from rural villages to work for next to nothing (because "next to nothing" is better than "nothing") and in some cases have these huge factory-cities that can produce every component in a central location rather than shipping things in from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

I think the day could come when that is realistic in the US, but it'd take some