An updated JS Series!

[xenophobe]

I guess I can't really fault Fender for trying to save money. If the result and quality are nearly the same, does it really matter how they are achieved? Also, if the edges were rolled after the frets were installed and people didn't like it, I can understand why that was changed.

Like I said, I like the new neck/fret work that CJ is doing. I have a new CS Charvel that plays incredibly awesome. It feels great, it sounds great and the craftsmanship is excellent. It's every bit as good as my CS ESP strat, just different. The attention to detail isn't on as high of a level, but that's fine because the Charvel is everything I wanted and expected it to be.

I've never played an 80's Jackson, much less seen one. Back then when I first started playing, Jacksons were the "holy grails." If an artist played Jackson, you knew the guy was awesome. It was sort of like B.C. Rich. Their Custom Shop work spoke for itself and they were impeccable guitars. Nowadays, I have no respect for B.C. Rich or their Custom Shop. It wasn't but maybe three years ago I ran into what USED TO BE my dream guitar, a Custom Shop Warlock. I was so excited, I could have shit my pants. I immediately picked it up, only to notice how poor the fretwork was. The frets looked rusty, didn't shine, and the edges were very sharp. In fact, I'd seen better on $149 B.C. Rich models from their "beginner packs!"

So, lemme tell you all about my "dream guitar."

- sharp fret ends

- the frets had no shine and looked like wire hanger beaten into the neck with a hammer

- EXTREMELY screechy sound

- knobs that literally fell off in my hand

- numerous dead/pinging frets

- pot routings that were oval instead of round, making for wobbly knobs that didn't fit correctly in the body

Well, I was a big B.C. Rich fan until that day, and I've had a very strong disdain for them since. It's clear B.C. Rich is now just another name in cheap-shit guitars, along the same lines as "Rogue."

These days, Neal Moser, who used to do all the classic Custom Shop work for 'Rich has his own business and my next guitar is going to be one of his FastStars. I still have that childhood dream of one day owning a "real" B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, and he's the only one I'm going to be able to get it from.

That sounds especially horrible. I've had a few CS Bernie Sr guitars, they were all really nice but every one of them had a couple of minor issues, but that was to be expected. Some people joke and say if it's flawless it was an Ed Roman fake.

Yeah Neal has been making guitars for quite a while now. Sadly he doesn't make anything that holds my attention except for a few early GMW Charvel strats.

That is a really cool guitar. I've always liked the Stealth (Thanks, Rick Derringer and Bernie Rico!). As for being nose-heavy, it seems this is a typical problem with 'Rich guitars. I have an 80's Mockingbird and it's so bad I have to play it sitting down. It's pretty difficult to play when you not only have to play, but also hold up a neck.

...And here's the funny thing. I saw the JS Warrior and thought, "Oh yeah, I've seen one of these," yet I had no clue what the thing was even called. All I knew was I really liked that "pointy Jackson guitar."

The funny thing is, if I were to have placed a CS order with BC Rich, it would have come out exactly like that Marc Rizzo Stealth, except it would be a one-hum, would have taken 2-3 years and $5-6k and wouldn't have been nearly as nice. So I have to suffer with a dual hum setup for 1/10th the price and I got it shipped in like 5 days.

And yeah, I wasn't crapping on CJ. They're my favorite brand, but there are a few companies that do more meticulous work that Jackson. GMP, for example. They do amazing work, they just aren't my proverbial cup of tea.

[Nails In Your Coffin]

Like I said, I like the new neck/fret work that CJ is doing. I have a new CS Charvel that plays incredibly awesome. It feels great, it sounds great and the craftsmanship is excellent. It's every bit as good as my CS ESP strat, just different. The attention to detail isn't on as high of a level, but that's fine because the Charvel is everything I wanted and expected it to be.




That sounds especially horrible. I've had a few CS Bernie Sr guitars, they were all really nice but every one of them had a couple of minor issues, but that was to be expected. Some people joke and say if it's flawless it was an Ed Roman fake.

Yeah Neal has been making guitars for quite a while now. Sadly he doesn't make anything that holds my attention except for a few early GMW Charvel strats.




The funny thing is, if I were to have placed a CS order with BC Rich, it would have come out exactly like that Marc Rizzo Stealth, except it would be a one-hum, would have taken 2-3 years and $5-6k and wouldn't have been nearly as nice. So I have to suffer with a dual hum setup for 1/10th the price and I got it shipped in like 5 days.

And yeah, I wasn't crapping on CJ. They're my favorite brand, but there are a few companies that do more meticulous work that Jackson. GMP, for example. They do amazing work, they just aren't my proverbial cup of tea.

I don't want to say anything negative about Ed Roman or his guitars, but I will say I've heard quite a few "Ed Roman" stories, most of which were less than favorable.

I like the Moser designs because they're very similar to the classic B.C. Rich designs, which I really like. My next guitar would be a Custom Shop Jackson Warrior, but I'm afraid I'd miss the boat on a Moser.

[SimonEriksson]

The reason this forum isn't as popular as some of the others is because everyone is butthurt because it isn't 1991 anymore, the new guitars aren't MIJ and should therefore not even be spoken of, everything that Jackson have put out after Fender bought them has sucked, except the Japanese guitars because they are better than anything else. The new MIM sucks because they are made in Mexico! And the only way Jackson can become a ''big'' brand again is to scrap everything that isn't MIA, no, scrap everything and hire the ESP CS as an OEM and slap a Jackson sticker on it = profit.

[Nails In Your Coffin]

The reason this forum isn't as popular as some of the others is because everyone is butthurt because it isn't 1991 anymore, the new guitars aren't MIJ and should therefore not even be spoken of, everything that Jackson have put out after Fender bought them has sucked, except the Japanese guitars because they are better than anything else. The new MIM sucks because they are made in Mexico! And the only way Jackson can become a ''big'' brand again is to scrap everything that isn't MIA, no, scrap everything and hire the ESP CS as an OEM and slap a Jackson sticker on it = profit.

That's kinda the impression I'm getting...

I can't comment on "pre-Fender" Jackson as I'd never owned one, but I can remember plenty of people talking about quite a few quality issues. Whether or not that's true, I never owned one, so...

...But anyway, I'm very happy with my 2003 "Fender" KV2 and 1994 Fender Telecaster Plus, they've been excellent guitars.

[SimonEriksson]

That's kinda the impression I'm getting...

I can't comment on "pre-Fender" Jackson as I'd never owned one, but I can remember plenty of people talking about quite a few quality issues. Whether or not that's true, I never owned one, so...

...But anyway, I'm very happy with my 2003 "Fender" KV2 and 1994 Fender Telecaster Plus, they've been excellent guitars.

Exactly, my Jackson SLX that is made in India plays,looks,sounds and feels great! And it was priced great! No matter what anyone on this forum says, my guitar, despite not being Mij, and being made by Jackson/Fender is GOOD. And I can't see how putting out GOOD and affordable guitars to appeal to more people is a bad thing for Jackson, if Jackson went all USA or CS it would die. The only costumers it would have would be all the anti-fender,anti-all imports, anti-all imports exept MIJ guys that float around here.

There is a reason why this forum isn't as popular as, lets say Sevenstring.org, and it has nothing to do with that less people are buying fewer Jacksons/Charvels, it is about that this forum is filled with people that dislike every guitar that isn't CS, MIA, Early 90's professional or regular MIJ. This forum will be dead within a few years and that's because the people on this forum can't accept that Jackson and Charvel have moved on, you however have not.

Sorry for piss-poor english.

[Nails In Your Coffin]

Exactly, my Jackson SLX that is made in India plays,looks,sounds and feels great! And it was priced great! No matter what anyone on this forum says, my guitar, despite not being Mij, and being made by Jackson/Fender is GOOD. And I can't see how putting out GOOD and affordable guitars to appeal to more people is a bad thing for Jackson, if Jackson went all USA or CS it would die. The only costumers it would have would be all the anti-fender,anti-all imports, anti-all imports exept MIJ guys that float around here.

There is a reason why this forum isn't as popular as, lets say Sevenstring.org, and it has nothing to do with that less people are buying fewer Jacksons/Charvels, it is about that this forum is filled with people that dislike every guitar that isn't CS, MIA, Early 90's professional or regular MIJ. This forum will be dead within a few years and that's because the people on this forum can't accept that Jackson and Charvel have moved on, you however have not.

Sorry for piss-poor english.

I like my JS and it's been a good guitar, but there is a short in the selector switch, which really pisses me off, however, every guitar I've owned that hasn't been made in America has had one sort of electrical problem or another, so this doesn't surprise me. It's an easy enough fix, but it still pisses me off.

I've never had an issue with my JS not staying in tune (tremolo), high/dead frets, or anything. I've seen far worse on far more expensive guitars than a $399 JS.

Now, the above being said, I traded a POS Ibanez EX180 with nothing but problems in towards my JS. In fact, my JS was a more expensive guitar than what I'd really planned on getting. All I wanted was a better POS than the one I'd gotten rid of; just something playable. I played the Warrior and liked it, so I pulled the trigger on it. That being said, when I'm looking for a decent guitar, I don't even look at imports, so in that respect, I am a bit of a snob. The only non-American guitars I will even look at are ESP and higher-end Ibanez products. I think it's great how Jackson is catering to a large audience, and if I'm looking for a "beater" guitar or something to take to a buddy's house, I'll hit a cheaper model, but if it's something I want to keep in great shape and treasure, it's all American for me.

[Zedder]

I don´t know what this threads idea was but anyway:

I have a JS32FR Rhoads, RRXMG (actually two of them) and a RR1. I think JS is not very comfortable guitar to play, it has thicker neck than on RRXMG and RR1 and its fret ends were not so well finished, I had to file them smooth. That is not a terrible thing considering JS is a "cheapo" guitar.

RRXMGs are my main players because their necks are thinnest and profile feels most comfortable of these three Jacksons. It has no MOP inlays or ebony fretboard, but it´s plays like butter if that is correct way to put it. Sure, a snakeskin RR1 looks nice, but it ´s heavier, it´s neck joint is kind of bulky compared to RRXMG and neck is at least 1 mm thicker than RRXMG´s.

I had a dream to own a real "made in USA" Jackson, but the truth is that I´m not so impressed with my RR1´s quality. When I removed truss rod cover I found out that truss rod hex bolt was stuck because there was lots of clearcoat and I had to cut and remove it using a small hobby knife. I have not seen this kind of mess in cheaper guitars. It also has smallish headstock clearcoat separation problem near the MOP logo but I have found out that is kind of "normal" thing with US made Jacksons. It should not be. A new RR1 costs here about 5x what a RRXMG costs. I bought my RR1 used but I don´t think it has much to do with this clearcoat thing, It seems that guitars previous owner has taken good care of it.

I think X-series made in India Jacksons are very good instruments. If somebody thinks that they are not without even trying one, that´s his problem. There might be some QC problems with them but US made are not faultless either. If Jackson´s contract manufaturer in India, Harmony, had a permission to make semi-custom guitars there might not be too large demand for US made custom selects.

[xenophobe]

There is a reason why this forum isn't as popular as, lets say Sevenstring.org, and it has nothing to do with that less people are buying fewer Jacksons/Charvels, it is about that this forum is filled with people that dislike every guitar that isn't CS, MIA, Early 90's professional or regular MIJ. This forum will be dead within a few years and that's because the people on this forum can't accept that Jackson and Charvel have moved on, you however have not.

Sorry for piss-poor english.

I guess you've never bothered to read the "guitars by other manufactuerer's" sub-forum.

One of the main reasons why JCF is still small is because, until relatively recently, forums were closed and to view anything you had to be logged in.

And I'm glad this place isn't as busy as SS.org. Some forums have too much activity and SS is one of them. This is a nice, quiet and quaint little board and it's not much trouble keeping up on this forum.

[BenoA]

This is a nice, quiet and quaint little board and it's not much trouble keeping up on this forum.

+1!!! JCF rocks! My fav forum.

[Nails In Your Coffin]

I guess you've never bothered to read the "guitars by other manufactuerer's" sub-forum.

One of the main reasons why JCF is still small is because, until relatively recently, forums were closed and to view anything you had to be logged in.

And I'm glad this place isn't as busy as SS.org. Some forums have too much activity and SS is one of them. This is a nice, quiet and quaint little board and it's not much trouble keeping up on this forum.

I don't visit the "Guitars By Other Manufacturers" section at all, I just go to a forum catering to the manufacturer of the guitar I wanna discuss.

I'm not familiar with ss.org, but I'd agree, this seems to be an alright forum.

[slayer]

+1!!! JCF rocks! My fav forum.

Mine as well. I just wish the Classifides section was as good as it use to be. It use to have so much more stuff. To be honest though, most all of the forum sites the Classifides section has gotten kind of this and the prices mostly are really high now. I use to love to buy Jackson USA and Hamer USA guitars for really good prices. Carvin guitars use to be the same way but even they are starting to cost more money.

[RobRR]

The reason this forum isn't as popular as some of the others is because everyone is butthurt because it isn't 1991 anymore, the new guitars aren't MIJ and should therefore not even be spoken of, everything that Jackson have put out after Fender bought them has sucked, except the Japanese guitars because they are better than anything else. The new MIM sucks because they are made in Mexico! And the only way Jackson can become a ''big'' brand again is to scrap everything that isn't MIA, no, scrap everything and hire the ESP CS as an OEM and slap a Jackson sticker on it = profit.

Actually believe it or not, most on this forum laugh when we see guitars for sale advertised as "pre-fender". In terms of USA guitars, it means next to nothing... if anything, qc actually got a bit better once Fender took over. But yes, there does seem to be a general negative attitude on this forum, especially towards new people. Why? I haven't the slightest clue, but I don't agree with it. For some reason, one of the biggest sacrileges here is to ask how much your guitar is worth... heaven forbid anyone join here just to sell a guitar. IMO it just makes more cool guitars available for the rest of us. Making people pay for the classifieds pretty much killed it... its pretty much dead now which is sad, because it used to be pretty good.

[RobRR]

As far as the new imports go, its sad what happened to the Japanese plant. I own plenty of imports as well as USAs. I love my imports, in some cases, more that the USAs, however some of the new ones are a bit lacking. I did buy an SLSXMG when they came out to try them, and the guitar sounded GREAT. Fit and finish was eh ok, but the fretwork was pretty bad and the neck shape was not comfortable. I haven't tried the Pro series, but Im not keen on Indonesian guitars... the Pro series should have been a Korean guitar for the money they're asking for them. The Mexico guitars are a GREAT idea and I love that they're at least made on the same continent. Ive been trying to find one of the new DK2Ms locally to try locally but nobody carries them, and there lies the whole problem... You just cant find Jacksons on the shelf of any guitars stores anymore. GC rarely carries anything but a JS or two and maybe one new X series, same goes for Sam Ash. There is virtually no distribution of these guitars except for the internet... Im not sure how Fender expects to sell these guitars without actually getting them in peoples hands.

[xenophobe]

the Pro series should have been a Korean guitar for the money they're asking for them.

Definitely. For what they were charging for Indonesian guitars, they could have offered much higher quality Korean guitars. None of the Indonesian guitars that I've tried were any good. The Chinese guitars weren't really all that great either. The Charvel DX1 I bought was alright. It had a good neck, but the build quality aside from decent hardware was sub-par. It was too much money for a beginner grade guitar.

And yeah, Fender needs to cut down the minimum purchase order requirements for stocking dealers on Jackson and Charvel to get them back in shops. They did try in desperation to get the Desolation series guitars in stores, but still, no dealers wanted to gamble on them.

[Maiden89]

I hate to say this, but the new JS series is looking pretty good! Almost too good... I've never really had the urge to get a JS Jackson, because I could find a used MIJ for not much more and you could instantly tell a pro series Jackson was a higher caliber guitar. Now it's hard to tell the entry level stuff and the "Pro Series" stuff apart. The JS series has almost all the same stuff the pro series has: Floyd Rose licensed bridges (albeit, cheap ones), zebra pickups, sharkfin inlays, trans finishes, arched tops and bound fretboards even!

I remember hearing xenophobe saying that Jackson should make an entry level brand name like Gibson and Fender did with Epiphone and Squire and keep the Jackson name for their USA guitars. I agree, the JS series and new pro series would fit perfectly under another brand under Jackson. They would still be a huge seller and if these new guitars play as nice as they look, then kids are going to want to get a USA Jackson because the prestigious name. Jackson makes more money, they have economy guitars for beginners, thus making parents happy about the price and Jackson will be known as a prestigious name once again.

With that said, I think Jackson is doing a fairly good job trying to get new players. For the price, the new JS series have killer guitars. I really want that ferrari red warrior I wish they would have that color on the Floyd Rose model though