Hi, Here are my Jackson/Charvels so far ... and some friends. And an unidentified

[Supahstrat]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, although I've been reading it for research for a while. GREAT stuff. You guys rock. I am a AVID guitar collector/investor... mostly MIJ "lawsuit" era Les Pauls as well as MIJ Strats, and of course... GRETSCH... but I have a wide variety.

I recently started picking up Jackson/Charvel. I am sticking to MIJ/MIM now... the one MIIndonesia one I bought does not impress me..

I am open to MI USA if I can find one at good value...

I'm amazed at the value in some of the MIJ's from the 80's and 90's. They play GREAT, and are totally reasonable... As a collector of MIJ Lawsuit Era Les Pauls... I firmly believe in Japanese factory (and handmade) quality.

Here's what I have so far ... in the Super Strat realm... I have an Ibanez RG570 on the way, as well as a Charvel 475 Deluxe with upgraded pickups in transit to me now! Crackle finish!!

From left to right... the guitar and my brief impression... One I have NO idea what the model # is... but it's fantastic player

Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas MIM - plays great, looks fantastic (not according to my wife!!) , the neck is one of the better I've played. My understanding is this is the same factory that makes Fender MIM Bolt-ons

Jackson Soloist SL2QM... I am NOT impressed with this MII guitar. It has an ebony fb, which I normally LOVE... but I don't like it as much as any of the others... I got it for a great price, mint... but just doesn't do much for me.

Jackson ??? (anybody can help me out)??????- Serial is 6069XX, has "Professional" on the headstock so is obviously MIJ... thin veneer quilt. HSH. This guitar sounds FANTASTIC. Pickups aren't particularly hot for a superstrat. Sounds fantastic clean... Can give you standard sparkly and even quacky strat sounds and also roar with some OD.

Anybody can tell me anything about what model/year it is I'm all ears. Got it for a pittance and it's a favorite of mine now.

Aria Pro II CT... I'm a big Aria Pro II fan... I have a few of their MIJ Matsumoku Les Pauls etc. I believe this is a Korean make ... post Matsumoku. I got it for next to nothing and fixed the neck crack and got it refretted. Very hot pickups.

Schecter Damien Elite C-1. Another recent acquisition I picked up for a pittance of a CL seller. Definitely needs a pickup swap. The duncan Designeds are "meh"... although a few positions sound good. Other than that, a well made Korean guitar. Reminds me of a PRS SE in quality and design

Jackson Fusion HH- I am REALLY stoked on this. These are Gibson scale as I understand it. The HH pickups sound fantastic and it plays great and is near MINT! Came with a case, not sure if OHSC but really nice. Serial 2100XX ... if anybody can give me (approx?) year I'm all ears.

I'm really anticipating the 475. I love crackle finish guitars and the replacement pickups in it are top notch.

It should be a monster!

[toejam]

Welcome to the forum. That H/S/H Professional Jackson would be a DX-2.

http://support.jacksonguitars.com/catalogs/us/Jackson1996_catalog.pdf

http://support.jacksonguitars.com/catalogs/us/Jackson1997_catalog.pdf

[Mudlark]

Luckily, both of those serials are date coded:

6xxxxx- 1996
2xxxxx- 1992

Too bad about your bad experience with the SL2. It's not uncommon to see guys rank theirs up with their USA guitars, but bad experiences are out there, too.

[VitaminG]

Jackson Fusion HH- I am REALLY stoked on this. These are Gibson scale as I understand it.

They are indeed. Lovin' the offset dots with neck binding.

[lefty]

Nice harem ya got there. Welcome aboard!

[Supahstrat]

Thanks for the welcome and the harem complimenta

My wife is so sick of me buying guitars that sometimes I think she'd rather I have a real harem !

[DAMPDX]

Great collection!

[xenophobe]

Schecter Elite feels similar to a PRS SE because they're built in the same factory, WMI Korea... probably the best import guitar out there. FWIW I don't consider Japan an Import even though it really is... Japanese quality is USA level or better. And welcome to the forum!

BTW, there's a thread in the NON CJ Guitars sub forum dealing specifically with WMI Korea. I have a BCR Stealth made there and a number of other members here love those WMI builds.

[Supahstrat]

Schecter Elite feels similar to a PRS SE because they're built in the same factory, WMI Korea... probably the best import guitar out there. FWIW I don't consider Japan an Import even though it really is... Japanese quality is USA level or better. And welcome to the forum!

BTW, there's a thread in the NON CJ Guitars sub forum dealing specifically with WMI Korea. I have a BCR Stealth made there and a number of other members here love those WMI builds.

I agree with you about WMI. Paul went to Korea personally, when commissioning WMI and met with reps there, explained exactly what he wanted etc. which helps

I have a few Reverends, made at Mirr Factory in Korea those are also excellent.

I have to DISAGREE with not considering Japan made as "imports". But I get where you are coming from, since many WRONGLY associate "import" with "lesser quality".

I do not.

I have several dozen MIJ Les Pauls and Strats from the 70's through current day and I will put the Tokais, Fujigens, Burnys, Bacchus, Edwards, Ibanez etc. made in Japan at various factories (Fujigen, Terada, etc.) up against US factory made guitars and the former are easily as good or better ... and for much less money... this is especially true with the favourable exchange rates we have now.

you get as good or better craftsmanship, and in most cases - superior wood. For example, I have many one piece body honduran mahogany (one piece neck as well) guitars with Ebony or Brazilian Rosewood fretboards, etc. that I bought for prices less than a standard Gibson Les Paul or American made Fender and the Japanese ones just destroy the American ones.

People also frequently compare USA high tier custom shop handmade to factory made MIJ's, which is ridiculous

Compare apples to apples - factory produced to factory produced or handmade to handmade and it's another story.

I have handmade MIJ guitars that are as good as anything made by Gibson custom shop or Fender custom shop - and again they cost less

especially Post CITEs, the wood issue is key too

Gibson uses Richlite crap instead of Ebony, unless you pay BIG BUCKS whereas I have numerous MIJ guitars with ebony fretboards, like my Edwards LP Customs- that cost about what a mediocre Gibson USA Studio costs.

blech

The Terada made proline Gretsches are some of the best Gretsch has ever made (I have about a dozen) and Setzer and the guys at Gretschpages agree.

Sure, a Stephen Stern handmade in USA one is better, but it cost 3-5 times as much. Not a fair comparison

So, yeah - I proudly refer to them as imports. Because that's what they are. But I don't have any correlation in my mind between "import" and "quality". Depends on a host of factors.

But so many in US reflexively associate "made in USA' with "better" and that's just silly

The CONSISTENT quality I receive from Tokai, Bacchus etc. is simply OUTSTANDING.

And of course, Gibson is a shadow of its former self, and according to Glassdoor.com has one of the lowest employee satisfaction of any company its size/..., unhappy employees don't create high quality, consistent quality control items.

Simply doesn't happen.

Gibson wouldn't have (unsuccessfuly) sued if they werent threatened by the guitars coming out of Japan (they did sue PRS and won (ludicuous) but it was overturned on appeal), and both Gibson and Fender did the "if you cant beat them, join them" - with Fender Japan, and Orville/Orville by Gibson.

This is just my opinion, but it's an opinion that I rely on to make $$$ and solid investments, so it matters to my bottomline. It has real world consequences.

I'll buy quality and value and seek out guitars that are selling for a discount to what they should sell for. I just rarely see that with US made guitars. Granted, you get lucky occasionally, like when I found a guy selling a gorgeous N4 with COA etc. for $800!!! with OHSC!

I'll proudly compare my Tokais, Grecos, Burnys, Bacchus, Ibanez etc. to their US made counterparts.

I still believe the 1980 Ibanez AS200 I bought in 1985 is better than any ES335 I've ever played... and I've played MANY!!! At least Jon Scofield agrees!

Anyway, just my opinion, but I agree with you wholeheartedly... quality is quality no matter where it comes from and it very often comes from Japan.
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