What do you look for?

[livebiz]

Pretty simple, I look for used shred machines - maple board, genuine floyd. Kramer, Charvel, BC Rich.

[mudkicker]

The charvel line is cheaper than the corresponding Jackson line?

Maybe, but people who want a Jackson have choices. There are lower priced imports to choose from and a ton of US Jacksons models to choose from.

For someone like me who only wants a Charvel the pickings are slim. You can't sit there and tell me that a plain jane single hum v-trem Charvel is not overpriced for what it offers.

[~K~]

What do you feel a plain jane v-trem charvel should price at, I've seen some competitive prices on new charvels and in some instance cheaper than 20 yrs ago ..

[mudkicker]

same as a American standard strat.

[TreeFitty]

"I hate walking into GC and seeing this sea of sameness" - hippietim
Being different without being overdone, as vague as that may be, is what draws me to a guitar. Then it's the construction: wood, neck-through/bolt-on/set, hardware, etc. The country of origin matters, too. USA or MIJ works for me. I've picked up too many not-quite-right guitars built in Korea and India.

[RobRR]

I look for a few things:

-First, overall looks and quality of the finish.

-Secondly, I look for an OFR. Period. Pickups can be changed, and so can the bridge... but noone wants to put an OFR in a JT580LP rout because it just doesent look right.

-Third, I look for pickups. Theyre arent of too much concern, as everyones tastes are different and they can be swapped easily.

-Lastly, inlay material. MOTO is lame and looks cheap.

Aside from the OFR, Jackson has all of these. If you guys would start using OFR's on all trem imports (aside the JS series), I think sales would go even higher, because that would just be one more HUGE bonus that Jackson would be able to offer over most all other guitar manufactures in that price range.

I never judge a guitar by its setup, because were all picky and like what we like... the guitars may be set up by an idiot, or may not be set up at all. So thats one thing I usually dont go by.

[yard dawg]

Well I to look at the used section 1st. I look for a great deal on a used shredder. Price for the best quality guitar is what I look at.

1.Price always 1st- not everyone can afford a $1500 guitar
2. The way it fits my style and hands- great frets and a comfortable neck. I like a guitar that doesnt need $100 worth of tech work out of the box.LEVEL FRETS AND LOW ACTION FROM THE FACTORY!!!! It is possible .
3.Finish- anything other than black,blue,red... I prefer quilt tops
4. real pickups and hardware - not duncan designed or other poor made junk like Licensed floyds and cheap tuners.

[charvelguy]

The guitar market is rather whacked in some respects I think. Korean EPI's retailing at over a 1200 or more.

I think a bolt on USA Charvel.. store price.. 800.00

What do you feel a plain jane v-trem charvel should price at, I've seen some competitive prices on new charvels and in some instance cheaper than 20 yrs ago ..

[~K~]

I don't want to derail this thread on John but I do want to say this. Manufacturing in this country has gotten really skewed due to our standard of living. For instance the company I work for can buy comleted parts from China for less than it costs me just to buy the metal. Our customers are constantly beating us up on price wanting it to be more competetive. This doesn't refect in the final price to their customers it reflect more on their own profits.

Bottom line is am I willing to ake a pay cut because our customer wants to make a bigger profit. The answer is no I won't because then my own standards for living drops.

In a lot of instance we want better quality guitars for lower prices and those two things do not work well hand in hand.Problem is that people compare the bigger companies to smaller ones who have lower overhead.. IE, cheaper wages, no benefits etc. and expect them to be exactly the same..

I understand not everyone can afford a $1500 guitar but I also understand that crafstmen in this country need to make a decent wage. To set an $800 price point on a guitar that 20 years ago cost hundreds of dollars more isn't realistic as inflation causes prices to rise. in a pefect worl everything would stay the same and we would never need wage increases ...

I'm not defending JCMI in what I write but sometimes it tends to blow my mind when people don't understand manufacturing and labor etc...

my wants

1) Quality above all~ Fit,Finish, good woods
2) High quality parts~ Duncan,Dimarzio,OFR or solid brass hardtails (not cheap stamped crap)
3) I prefer strats but one thing I love about the direction charvel/jackson has taken is the graphics, it sets them apart from all others
4) Responsive customer service~ how will i be treated once they get my money
5) Fast replacement of defective guitars~ If a neck is bad it shouldn't take 6 months to get a repair, if it is a major repair a replacement right away, It isn't fair to order a guitar and pay thousands of dollars to have to wait 6 months to get something back because it was defective
6)The availabilty of replacement parts IE Necks, Trems etc

If a custom shop is a dream guitar then make it that persons best experience

if it is a standard guitar then set yourselves away from the crowd and be a leader/be different from the rest.. make the highest quality guitar you can and let your employees know that everything they are doing is contingent upon customer satisfaction ... every sale is important ..

[Special-K]

1.Scale(25,5`) this means the most to me!
But these two are in no particular order
2.The PU`s
3.Quality
4.price

[danastas]

And this is why it's no guarantee that custom guitar makers will stay in business in the US. I hope they do, but if they get squeezed, there are only two options. Go the way of high end Gibsons and Fender ($2.5k-4k) or imports only.

There's no guarantee that you're going to be able to find a well built guitar made of good wood for $1500 in the near future.

[yard dawg]

I don't want to derail this thread on John but I do want to say this. Manufacturing in this country has gotten really skewed due to our standard of living. For instance the company I work for can buy comleted parts from China for less than it costs me just to buy the metal. Our customers are constantly beating us up on price wanting it to be more competetive. This doesn't refect in the final price to their customers it reflect more on their own profits.

Bottom line is am I willing to ake a pay cut because our customer wants to make a bigger profit. The answer is no I won't because then my own standards for living drops.

In a lot of instance we want better quality guitars for lower prices and those two things do not work well hand in hand.Problem is that people compare the bigger companies to smaller ones who have lower overhead.. IE, cheaper wages, no benefits etc. and expect them to be exactly the same..

I understand not everyone can afford a $1500 guitar but I also understand that crafstmen in this country need to make a decent wage. To set an $800 price point on a guitar that 20 years ago cost hundreds of dollars more isn't realistic as inflation causes prices to rise. in a pefect worl everything would stay the same and we would never need wage increases ...

I'm not defending JCMI in what I write but sometimes it tends to blow my mind when people don't understand manufacturing and labor etc...

my wants

1) Quality above all~ Fit,Finish, good woods
2) High quality parts~ Duncan,Dimarzio,OFR or solid brass hardtails (not cheap stamped crap)
3) I prefer strats but one thing I love about the direction charvel/jackson has taken is the graphics, it sets them apart from all others
4) Responsive customer service~ how will i be treated once they get my money
5) Fast replacement of defective guitars~ If a neck is bad it shouldn't take 6 months to get a repair, if it is a major repair a replacement right away, It isn't fair to order a guitar and pay thousands of dollars to have to wait 6 months to get something back because it was defective
6)The availabilty of replacement parts IE Necks, Trems etc

If a custom shop is a dream guitar then make it that persons best experience

if it is a standard guitar then set yourselves away from the crowd and be a leader/be different from the rest.. make the highest quality guitar you can and let your employees know that everything they are doing is contingent upon customer satisfaction ... every sale is important ..

Good point on the customer service issue..

As far as the price thing goes well thats a political issue not a Jackson issue.Our leaders in co operation with the corporate business people have sold us out with the trade agreements. We are forced to compete with the cheap labor overseas and all the protection import tariffs have been lifted. I dont want to get this thread going in a different direction im just making a point about the whole manufacturing cost issues.

Im glad that jackson is actually askin for info here and not just guessing what people want.

[Shwayman11]

simple- maple board, floyd rose (pref. non recessed) bridge humbucker and possibly a neck single, good upper fret access (cutaways are a big plus) and yeah, thats pretty much it


oh yeah, reverse headstocks are badass too

[spencer4hire]

String Thru. Bound neck and headstock. 2 hum or HSS. No single pickup guitars.
No solid black finishes. Flame or Quilt tops are a plus but bright colors work. I also like to try them out unplugged (acoustic style). If it sounds good on its own
chances are it will sound good plugged in.

[Death metal soloist]

Oh yeah, If I ever see an eboy fretboard with no inlays ill be over there