Older Jackson neck?

[wraub]

Hello all, first time poster...

I recently acquired a thrift store guitar with a neck that I'm trying to ID, hoping you can help.

Pointy peghead, rosewood board. 22 frets, dot inlays. No binding. Blank maple peghead, Jackson stamp (brand?) on the heel. Penciled date of 10/2/91 on the end of the neck. One screw hole on either side of truss rod cutout, none above the truss rod cutout. This neck is on a Westone body.

Questions-
Did Jackson sell replacement necks to techs or the public? Or is it more likely this was pulled from a guitar? Is there a way to know which? Also, do all Jackson necks have a compound radius, and, if not, how do I tell if this one does? Also, also- smaller truss rod nut- I see 7mm online, is this correct?
I do know it's one the best feeling guitar necks I've ever played.

Thanks.

[wraub]

Here are some admittedly not great pics-

[wraub]

For the really curious, this is the guitar and case, which is a chainsaw Charvel case that's missing two latches. The pickups are out for testing and cleaning, plus it needs new pots-
-

[pianoguyy]

Not a Jackson neck


The two holes on the side of the truss cavity is most likely a retainer, or possibly there was a different nut/lock on it at one time.
Jackson is known for its compound radius, but in 40 years of doing business, dozens of models, millions of guitars, many of which are custom ordered; No, not all Jackson fretboards have a compound radius. You can tell if this is a compound radius by measuring the radius. If it is the same at the 1st fret as it is at the 22nd, it is not compound.



***When I said "Not a Jackson neck", I was referring to - it did not come off of a Jackson guitar. I did not mean to imply that Jackson did not sell "parts".

[wraub]

Hi,
thanks for the response.

I do have to ask though, if it's not a Jackson neck, why does it say Jackson on the heel?

Not a Jackson neck


The two holes on the side of the truss cavity is most likely a retainer, or possibly there was a different nut/lock on it at one time.
Jackson is known for its compound radius, but in 40 years of doing business, dozens of models, millions of guitars, many of which are custom ordered; No, not all Jackson fretboards have a compound radius. You can tell if this is a compound radius by measuring the radius. If it is the same at the 1st fret as it is at the 22nd, it is not compound.

[CaptNasty]

A couple of things stick out to me.

First, the "Jackson" stamp on the neck heel. In my almost 40 years of playing and owning many different Jacksons from many different eras, I do not recall ever seeing a stamp like that on the neck heel. I have seen stamps that had work order #, finish, # of frets, etc but never just a cursive "Jackson". It is possible that they did have some guitars with their logo on the neck heel but I have not seen it and a google search did not reveal any images that matched the neck heel that you have.

Also, that pic of the back of the headstock. Ugh. The install of the machine heads looks very sloppy. I would go so far as to say hideous. I don't think that neck would make it out of the the USA or Japanese factory with those tuners mounted that poorly. The high E tuners is oriented wrong. The tuners are crooked and do not form a nice straight line (As they should). It may just be the perspective of the image.

GIven these two points, my initial reaction is that I agree with pianoguyy. I do not think that is a Jackson neck. Perhaps a neck from a Jackson knock off?

[MPI]

Yes, Jackson did sell replacement necks. In the 80's you could buy Strat head necks. They did stamp Jackson in the heel. In the early 90's they sold pointy necks. They were in the $225 range back then. I purchased them direct as a dealer for Pickups and the JT bridges. The only option was the choice of fingerboards..

[wraub]

Well, the tuners are clearly aftermarket. I don't know, but don't think any Jackson guitars had Schaller tuners... I imagine they were installed by the PO of the guitar. One even has a broken screw.
.
I see a wide flat neck with a well done scarf joint, a really thick rosewood board, a compound radius, and decades of dirt and fret wear, on a guitar that also has Seymour Duncan and Bartolini pickups, Schaller tuners, and a Kahler Spyder, and I see a guitar that was loved by a PO, and made to be a player. I imagine that's the kind of person who would go with a quality name brand neck.

I am a musician and instrument tech for a couple decades, so I have some ability to assess this neck and instrument, and my assessment led me here. Really, based on hours of online searching, the only thing that looks off to me is the stamp on the heel, but I'm not a Jackson expert, so I here I am.

[wraub]

So, replacement necks were a thing that was? I know there were Charvel necks that could be bought, but was unsure about the Jackson pointys...

Yes, Jackson did sell replacement necks. In the 80's you could buy Strat head necks. They did stamp Jackson in the heel. In the early 90's they sold pointy necks. They were in the $225 range back then. I purchased them direct as a dealer for Pickups and the JT bridges. The only option was the choice of fingerboards..

[wraub]

...and, here's a neck with a Jackson heel stamp...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/90s-JACKSON...4AAOSwOKlcYhnl



and, another...

https://reverb.com/item/15285381-80-s-jackson-charvel-woodburn-strathead-neck-maple-rosewood-german-floyd-r2

[pianoguyy]

I think you are trying to talk yourself into it and are only seeing the things that support your final desire.
Because while you see all of that "quality" stuff, I look at a tremolo that doesn't fit the original route and was never re-routed to fit. I see those tuners that were just put in and made to fit instead of being properly fit and placed. The knobs look like someone just put on whatever miscellaneous part they had laying around. I see what looks like a broken pickup switch (could be the picture).
And those shims are certainly not indicative of "nothing but the best for my beloved".


And, don't take this the wrong way, because it is quite possible that I misunderstood something you said, but I am very curious -
How can you claim to have been a tech for decades, while not knowing how to determine if a fretboard has a compound radius or not.

[MPI]

So, replacement necks were a thing that was? I know there were Charvel necks that could be bought, but was unsure about the Jackson pointys...

Yep, I did get one with a reverse head, sold it to GMW, they had a client that needed one. These were made at the Ontario shop if that helps. When they were at San Dimas/ Glendora, you could get the strat heads. The boards on the pointy's had thick slabs on the ones that I sold to clients

[wraub]

Ok, great, this helps. Thanks. This one does have a thick slab board.

Also, I found a lot of info re: Jackson "woodburn" necks, apparently they were indeed a thing. Here's some info from this here forum-


https://www.google.com/search?q=jack...h=839&dpr=1.13

Yep, I did get one with a reverse head, sold it to GMW, they had a client that needed one. These were made at the Ontario shop if that helps. When they were at San Dimas/ Glendora, you could get the strat heads. The boards on the pointy's had thick slabs on the ones that I sold to clients

[wraub]

I asked about the compound radius because I didn't know if all Jackson necks had them, and I asked about measuring because I didn't think I had the proper tools onhand.
Then I remembered a Dan Erlewine book I have that had some basic plastic ones included, and I used those. This neck does have a compound radius.

Also, the tuners weren't "made to fit", they were installed imperfectly. I have seen many examples of poorly fitted aftermarket tuners, they didn't prove or disprove anything about the guitar. It only tells me the parts were installed by someone with more ambition than ability.

As I also said, as a tech Jackson guitars are new to me. Gimme a Fender or a Gibson product, I'm good. Ibanez, no problem. This is, literally, the first Jackson neck (if that's what it is) that I have worked on.

I think you are trying to talk yourself into it and are only seeing the things that support your final desire.
Because while you see all of that "quality" stuff, I look at a tremolo that doesn't fit the original route and was never re-routed to fit. I see those tuners that were just put in and made to fit instead of being properly fit and placed. The knobs look like someone just put on whatever miscellaneous part they had laying around. I see what looks like a broken pickup switch (could be the picture).
And those shims are certainly not indicative of "nothing but the best for my beloved".


And, don't take this the wrong way, because it is quite possible that I misunderstood something you said, but I am very curious -
How can you claim to have been a tech for decades, while not knowing how to determine if a fretboard has a compound radius or not.

[AIC70]

I have one identical to yours - pointy with woodburn stamp, thicker rosewood slab. Although mine has a blank face with a Jackson MIU logo on it. I have only ever seen one other - all the rest are strathead woodburns. Now I know of three pointys.