First sighting: Import Scott Ian ATL Solist!

[Devotee]

Terribly ugly guitar if you ask me but then again i never liked Anthrax or Scott Ian. I like the idea of the slightly larger body and old-school heel but the stupid inlays and finish really don't do it for me. This Made in China business is somewhat distressing news and quite confusing. If they really are replacing the Japanese-made guitars with ones made in China then they've completely lost the plot...

[RobRR]

Seems like India or China are the only options for JC now a days... and atleast China seems to be the lesser of the two evils. You think working conditions in China are bad, imagine how they are in a 3rd world country like India. I am NOT a China supporter by any means, but the Desolation series quality seems pretty decent, havent really heard any bad things about them. So yeah, made in China is pretty bad, but its not as bad as India!

[warlok]

I HATE the China thing.. But I do want that guitar. Not paying full price but if a used one came up at a great price, I'd grab one..

[Whoopu2]

$700 for a Chinese guitar....

No thanks.

[Rsmacker]

$700 for a Chinese guitar....

No thanks.

Yeah, you buy one, then half an hour later, you want to buy another.

[RacerX]

And so the prophecy is fulfilled - FMIC's buyout of Jacksons would result in replacing the Japan-made models with China-made models.

Don't go starting rumors now Matt. We don't know this.

[MetalDaze]

Yeah, you buy one, then half an hour later, you want to buy another.

[RobRR]

Don't go starting rumors now Matt. We don't know this.

Well, we do know that the Japan plant is shut down, probably for good. In sad reality, what use are they? Sure they could build much better guitars than both China or India, but to beat out the features of the new X series, you'd have to start using top of the line materials like real pearl, abalone, ebony and quartersawn woods, otherwise, people arent gonna pay more for the same guitar just made in Japan. And we all know what happenned last time Japan built guitars using all of the top of the line materials... they were as good if not better and killed the USA sales, then got dumbed down into the models of today.

The sad reality is that unless USA goes full custom shop ONLY and ships all the Select work to Japan, I dont think we'll ever see a MIJ Jackson or Charvel again.

[RacerX]

No, somebody posted an email from JCMI recently that said they were in process of looking for another factory over there to replace the Nagano factory with same featured models. They didn't say Japan, but, why not? I'm at work or I'd spend some time looking for that post.

[pro-fusion]

Love the old-school features, but those inlays are fugly. I'd be seriously tempted by that exact same guitar with dots or sharkies...and the last effin' thing I need is another Soloist.

[etepbbb]

I went GC the other day, and played one. It was OK, fit and finish seems better then the X series. I was turned off by the graphic and the inlays, but that is just an opinion.

[xenophobe]

Well, we do know that the Japan plant is shut down, probably for good. In sad reality, what use are they? Sure they could build much better guitars than both China or India, but to beat out the features of the new X series, you'd have to start using top of the line materials like real pearl, abalone, ebony and quartersawn woods, otherwise, people arent gonna pay more for the same guitar just made in Japan. And we all know what happenned last time Japan built guitars using all of the top of the line materials... they were as good if not better and killed the USA sales, then got dumbed down into the models of today.

The sad reality is that unless USA goes full custom shop ONLY and ships all the Select work to Japan, I dont think we'll ever see a MIJ Jackson or Charvel again.

People would pay more for MIJ, if you put the quality components there. Actually from the sounds of it (and a mention by a FMIC employee) that if you replace the hardware and electronics on the MII, they're just as good as USA. I'm going to throw down a decent chunk of change for a MIJ strat. I have no issues with that. Japanese workers who are happy at their job produce excellent, high quality products that rival or beat USA (or just about any other country for that matter, and they have us to thank for it).

[tylermorris]

How come I can't find these on Jackson website?

[Whoopu2]

How come I can't find these on Jackson website?

Jackson updates their site about once or twice a decade, even then half the info they provide is incorrect.

[RacerX]

Jackson updates their site about once or twice a decade, even then half the info they provide is incorrect.

Unfortunately, close to the truth.