what is this jackson... a fake.

[jbailey6168]

http://s1068.photobucket.com/user/jbailey6168/library/Mobile%20Uploads?sort=3&page=1

Sorry im new, i made another post but i dont think it went thru. ive never owned a jackson before (schecter/ gibson guy) but always wanted a kelly anyways, i have a shell which i belive to be a soloist made from alder (some one stain it) this thing has been beat up. Fret board is scratched, glue all over it ( some botched fret work by an amature) any ways i believe it to be a custom shop 80's soloist... but it only has 22 frets, looks as if it used a nut (non locking) and im total boogle by the trem routing. What trem does it support? you cant see it, but it has a white binding around the body (broken) oh and no serial number anywhere... any ideas?

[Mudlark]

My feeling is that's not a Jackson shaped electronics cavity, but I may be corrected.

[charvel750]

12th fret dots are spaced too far apart and Jackson hasn't done a 22 fret USA Soloist since Spacey T. Is the logo pearl inlaid? Or painted? Just doesn't seem legit.

[mr426]

Headstock looks weird

[Newc]

12th fret dots look fine to me :headscratch:

Concorde head without handwritten logo?

The volume knob appears to be in the right (wrong) location for a Jackson

Surface-mounted control cavity cover, however.

Heel looks wrong. Not blocky enough for an SD, but not the EZ-access Ontario cut.

Trem posts suggest 2-point vintage or Kahler.

Then there's the bullet hole through the trem cavity.


Set it on fire. If it smells like cinnamon, it's a Jackson. Otherwise, it may be an ESPee.

[jbailey6168]

Im confused, did esp make jackson look-a-likes for a,while? The logo is def painted. Up close you can see there is smudging of black paint where the tuners were . ( on top of the head stock) i thought that was kinda strange, also is has a bit of a sticky feel like spray paint. Was this a,common practice? I mean to make esp/ltds look like jacksons?

[Newc]

Original ESPee Horizons were Soloist copies. A friend had one in '89 that was a blatant copy, and yes, even the head.

[jbailey6168]

thx for all the info. Research it and def look simlar. Heal look exactly. But the control cavitys are jackson like and no boxy like the esp. Is it possiable that this was like a home built kit? the work on the finger board looks shotty, but maybe it was a botch repair? Either way, its a neck thru, so do you think it would be worth restoring?

[jbailey6168]

Well i sanded off some of the finsh. The wood appear to be basswood or alder. And from what i can tell the neck is maple. unless they do basswood necks. never had a guitar made out of alder before so im not sure what to look for...

[rjohnstone]

I count at least 8 pieces of wood in that body.
That means it's a set neck, not a neck thru and not a Jackson.
The fact that someone was able to drill a cable route between the pickups also proves it's not a neck thru.
This can only be done on bolt-ons or set neck guitars prior to the neck being attached.
Close up look at the headstock shows that someone "tried" to put an import logo on there and bury it in tons of clear that never cured properly.
The truss rod nut is wrong too.

[jbailey6168]

I was thinking the same about the truss rod nut and logo!. It does have a massive amount of clear. So, all consisnece is its best for fire wood?

[jbailey6168]

So can,someone give me definnate on the trem system used on this guitar? (Yes i did see the above posts, but the mounting screws dont seem to line up) since the mounts are offset im at a loss

[Whitecrow]

the radius on the cutaways are off. one isnt a smooth arc and the other is angled way too far from the neck. looks like a homemade m6 body copy. the holes for the pots look wierd too, like one for a pot, one for a toggle switch and the 5 way. the geometry is just wierd. high school shop project?

[Newc]

The control cavity is shaped like a Jackson "Ontario" route, yes, but look at the holes for the covers - they're on the surface, not in a recess that surrounds the cavity. As well, the one at the top-back of the control cavity (closest to the strap pin), is waaaay out of place.

As well, there's a wire channel going down the center of the single coil routes into the humbucker cavity, then into the control cavity. Jackson drills theirs straight into the cavity from each slot.


The trem could only be so many choices:
-Wilkinson
-Kahler
-Floyd
-Fender
-Ibanez Lo-TRS/Edge

Look up each 2-point model trem and find the spec sheet showing the dimensions between the centers of the pivot points, and compare them to the holes in that guitar.

It could also be that whoever made it was originally going for a tuneomatic-style bridge, then routed it for a trem and realized they screwed it up completely.


As for quality - find a bridge and string it up and see how it plays. If it's good, it's good, no matter who made it.

[jbailey6168]

Good plan, i borrowed a floyd rose from a buddy to see if it would line up and of course it didnt. So looking at more and more pics of jackson bodys, and such it seems the use the same trem system as the stock dinkys do down. The post are offset on those to and the routing looks exact. Either way thanks for all the help, but with all the botched areas on this im not sure if im going to put money into it. Might be wall art haha