A Visual representation of Jackson V vs. Other V-Guitars

[DanzoStrife]

Ok guys scroll up and see 2017 MIM modern Randy Rhoads V including the 24 fret and RR3 Rhoads era 2006. I lined up the guitars by BOTTOM of nut ,since some have locking nuts so that created an error in height. Then I also scaled them correctly and had them lined up by 12th fret. The Dean Mustaine V is actually the same length as his former King V.

All the 2006 and up Rhoads V all look shorter compared to your guys Double V example.

Added in a Laiho. It seems that thing is too big.

Thanks for your constructive criticism. If there's any other error let me know, it is all for us fans anyways.

[Number Of The Priest]

That looks WAY more accurate now. Good job.

Even though you lined up the nut-to-12th on all guitars, some of the bridge saddles still don't line up. They shouldn't necessarily line up perfectly, but they should be closer than the gross misalignment seen between the second and third guitars in your graphic, considering they are both 22-fret import RRs. And then the fifth guitar (ESP V), the bridge is so far back that it almost looks like a baritone compared to the four preceding Jacksons.

I don't think this is your fault. I would attribute it to barrel distortion, and dissimilar shooting conditions by each of the photographers who shot each guitar "face-on", resulting in the bodies still appearing a little warped. An example of this is below. Same subject, and his face fills up approximately the same amount of the frame, but different distances and different zoom levels distort his face to varying degrees.

[toejam]

--I of course like the Jackson King V, but then the Dean V i think in some ways is better looking.

I'd have to agree. I've owned the Mustaine Dean VMNT1 since it came out, and I really dig the beveled edge cutaways. The body size and neck shape are pretty much the same as the Jackson KV2.
And the headstock is wider, but not that much longer than the Jackson. It's just the Dean headstock is straight compared to the angled Jackson.

[DanzoStrife]

NumberOfthePriest : Oh yeah the ESP old Mustaine V though I did my best to scale it with the Jackson overlapping and lined up, the pickups look really big!. This has to be what you're demonstrating as Barrel Distortion.
ToeJam: I do recall the Kelly mentioned as being a lot bigger before. So u think If I go back to the early 80s Catalogs I'll find a longer Rhoads?
how do you like the Dean Mustaine V, is that a Korean one? I wanted it but I was worried about 2 things
1. Medium frets, if I 'll like these for bends or not and how long they can last before needed to refret them completely vs X jumbo

2. 10-52 strings. Easily changeable. Just curious how they felt to u ? Seems too heavy for Std but just right for D standard that Dave uses nowadays.
Seems would work for DROP C (one step flat on strings 1-5)

[toejam]

It's Korean. Dave uses his signature GHS Progressives 10-52, but the guitar came from the factory with 10-46 D'Addario. I think I've got a set of 11-48 Ernie Ball Power Slinky on them now and tuned down to D. I actually need to change them soon since they've been on for quite awhile, and I don't play the guitar all that much. I do prefer a Rhoads over a symmetrical V shape, but it's fantastic guitar and plays great.

As for the medium frets, they're cool. Most of my guitars these days seem to have them, and I get along just fine with them. They should last a decent amount of time before needing any work.

And as far as the longer Double Rhoads, I don't think you'll find any in catalogs, as I don't believe that was a production guitar.

[DanzoStrife]

^ Toejam: On YT samples, those Dave Mustaine Actives are literally the best pickups I've ever heard even when compared to many dozens in shootouts. That alone makes the guitar pretty awesome.

So what you're saying is that Rhoads only used to be longer than King V during the old era of "Double Rhoads" and not today?
Because even tho I used a 2006 catalog version that has a different photographer, I still could't get the actual guitar to appear any longer than the King V.

NumberofthePriest: Lol and this reminds me! That's why the Front cams on phones really suck! Iphone 6 facetime and my past Samsung galaxy distorted my face a lot!

Since u guys are giving feedback, maybe I'll do an EXPLORER compare
1. Kelly
2. Gibson Explorer
3. ESP Snakebyte
4. Mustaine's Zero Explorer
5. ESP Explorer
6. Aria pro II ZZ explorer

[toejam]

^ Toejam: On YT samples, those Dave Mustaine Actives are literally the best pickups I've ever heard even when compared to many dozens in shootouts. That alone makes the guitar pretty awesome.

So what you're saying is that Rhoads only used to be longer than King V during the old era of "Double Rhoads" and not today?

The Mustaine Live Wires are the active versions of the JB and Jazz. I think the standard passive JB is overrated and is hit or miss in certain guitars. The active version sounds really great, tigther bass/low end, and slightly higher output.

Yes, I believe the first version of the King V was Double Rhoads size, meaning two long wings of a Rhoads. The longer Rhoads wing is bigger than the typical King V we know of today.

However, now that I think about it, there were two other versions of the Double Rhoads made. One in the early 2000s for JCF members called JCF-02 (which was a replica of Robbin Crosby's Big Red), and then the 25th anniversary model.

Someone here also posted a pic of Big Red next to a regular King V to show the size difference, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

[Newc]

Charvel750 posted the JCF02 Big Red with the production KV, IIRC. The difference was noticeable.

The only rescaling of the RR to my knowledge was the XTRR - they've maintained the same dimensions as Randy's black and gold Jackson since the introduction at '83 NAMM, only changing the neck profile. At least that's my understanding. Bolt-on bodies might be slightly smaller than neckthroughs, though.

I vaguely recall measuring the PCS RR and JCF-01 when I had them at the same time, from the tip to the dip near the neck, and from the tip to the body joint, pickup spacing, and bridge posts to the bridge pickup mounting screws, but I don't recall numbers. Another informative post lost in the Great Migration, I suppose.

[DanzoStrife]

Well , regardless I'd like to see another member take a 2000+ era MIJ rhoads and newer MIM/MII Rhoads and compare them to the Jackson King V. I did my best to scale them exactly and I didn't find any difference (maybe slight?)
of lengths on the graphic. I even used a diff catalog source for MIJ Rhoads RR3. Be interesting to see what else comes out

TOEJAM: how was the fretwork, neck and overall playability, construction of the VMNT1?
Sometimes price goes down on them. Some of the specs esp the actives make it a more attractive buy than some King Vs.

[pianoguyy]

I have an Alexi. It is definitely bigger than a Rhoads.
But, I gotta tell ya, I can tell the (playing) difference between it and Jackson. But it is so much closer to Jackson than any of the other ESP/Ltd models.

[DanzoStrife]

Really? Is it closer than Jeff's ESP $5000 model or the LTD JH-600 that was based directly off the Soloist ?

I haven't played one myself, curious. Not into the one pickup thing or aesthetics, but still wanna play. Might like it somehow ;P

I have an Alexi. It is definitely bigger than a Rhoads.
But, I gotta tell ya, I can tell the (playing) difference between it and Jackson. But it is so much closer to Jackson than any of the other ESP/Ltd models.

[xenophobe]

It would be nice if you added a BCR JrV.

Kelly/Explorer comparisons would be cool too.

[Sanctuary]

And a Kiesel/Carvin Ultra V. But I guess no one's listening. All good, cause I got my first one coming soon and then I can compare to a KV1/RR1.

[DanzoStrife]

And a Kiesel/Carvin Ultra V. But I guess no one's listening. All good, cause I got my first one coming soon and then I can compare to a KV1/RR1.

Xenophobe: I don't have a problem adding more Vs, I still haven't added in Kerry King's. But the only thing is do I keep making the image wider and wider? It's huge now. And also shrinking it will reduce quality too much.

[toejam]

TOEJAM: how was the fretwork, neck and overall playability, construction of the VMNT1?

Fretwork is great. Neck feels awesome, playability and construction are excellent. It's got the lowest action of just about any guitar I've owned without any string buzz.

When I first got it, the volume pot went bad pretty quickly, so I just went to a local shop and had it replaced. It was a bit of a pain in the ass, as EMGs and most active pickups use 25k pots, but these Mustaine Livewires use 100k. After the repair was done, I emailed Dean and told them what happened, they asked for a copy of the work invoice since it was done at an authorized Dean dealer (different from where I purchased it from) and they sent me a check for like $85 (or however much the shop charged me) and a free T-shirt and some stickers. That was some pretty awesome customer service!