Yet another bitch about Jackson thread

[AK47]

I can't say anything on Jacksons practice but I know Ibanez and Gibson have ghost builders do their celeb guitars and they are held to a much higher standard. All the Slash guitars were made by a ghost builder for gibson.

Ed Roman Lies...

Also an FYI not a single sponsor is taking CS orders right now not naming names but check out for your self.

[GuitarWizard]

Maybe it's time to get some new employee's at J/C , I don't buy the we don't have enough time/resources to complete the job properly BS. It takes just as much time to do it wrong as it does to do it right, as an employee take pride in your work and do it right and if that is too much to ask for or you don't feel your getting paid enough to do that then you should fuck off and get a new job don't pass on your shitty workmanship to someone else. Expecting something to be perfect is not being unreasonable by any means.

[eakinj]

Ed Roman Lies...

Also an FYI not a single sponsor is taking CS orders right now not naming names but check out for your self.

I had to go look that up, I didn't remember it being something ER said. And in fact what he has there is different from what I was told, it was someone named Stephen something who ghost built them.. Oh well.

I know ER has a bad rep though I'm not entirely sure why. Could you PM me and fill me in? I was going to visit his store while I was in Vegas but if the guy is a liar I'd rather not show any support (even just by visiting)

[eakinj]

It's really hard to keep up with this thread, but I'm going to throw in my 2 cents (probably my only cents left) These are mostly concerns I have based on what I have bought from Jackson.

I have a 1992 LTD (Tribute Rhoads) and there was mistakes, the upper horn is dented in (not damaged, the paint is perfect just the tip is not even) and the fret board looks like someone took a small grinding wheel to part of it. In the control cavity there's a screw sticking out. Also (and I don't know if age did this or if it's been that way all along and I just never noticed) the wings are slightly offset from the neck thru, if you run your hand over it you can feel the ridge of both wings where they are glued.

At the time I bought it I was so excited to just be able to buy one that I didn't look at the guitar as much as I should have. My bad. But this is also a QC issue I would assume, unless all 200 were like this which I highly doubt.

On the other hand all of my import jacksons are as perfect as can be.

I'm not disgruntled although the more I look at this dream guitar of mine the more I feel sort of screwed.

How to fix this? Money seems to be at the core of everything. If no one buys any more US made jacksons and maybe one of those online petitions are started to get better QC, better time lines, etc. I don't know if not buying US jacksons will help or if the rumor mongers would "lucky" for once and are right and Fender just closes the jackson shop.

I don't know, I mean how committed are people to trying to get a message to Jackson in a civilized way? I don't know if it would end up being all that affective, but one of those online petitions might get their attention. There's enough people on here who have paid Jackson probably millions of dollars at this point on here. How many users are on JCF? I know it shows up somewhere.

Someone would have to write up the complaint in a way that's not in a fuck you tone, and give examples of those of us who own big ticket jackson and charvel products, and of course everyone we could get would need to sign it.

I don't know, I'm trying to put a productive spin on this. Nothing will ever get fixed if all we do is complain about it or only a small percentage of people who have problems actually return the instrument.

I really want a real Jackson Custom Shop some day and I have already seen enough with just the few small batch guitars here to question if I even want another us made jackson and that in my opinion is sad because I truely love the Jackson product line

[MEX3]

I'm sure that there are still guys from FMIC that read this board. They know what's being said here and they know more of what's going on with QC problems than we do. I doubt that Matts Music has the only guitars being returned for problem repair. My guess is that they won't do anything about it until They see it as a crisis.

[Inazone]

I don't know if not buying US jacksons will help or if the rumor mongers would "lucky" for once and are right and Fender just closes the jackson shop.

If the rumor mongers either 1) got good guitars from the start and had no intention of buying more or 2) already are unhappy enough to never buy another new Jackson, then what does it matter to them? Once a person no longer has an interest in a company's products or success, do they care if it closes its doors?

I don't know, I mean how committed are people to trying to get a message to Jackson in a civilized way?

Those who want to see the company maintain (or reclaim) its reputation for quality could find a way to do this. But in a supply vs. demand business, those who no longer have a demand couldn't care less about the remaining/ongoing supply.

Someone would have to write up the complaint in a way that's not in a fuck you tone

The people who enjoy using the "fuck you tone" should be along shortly to point and laugh.

Now then, I'm with you. I would love to see Jackson continue building top-notch guitars for many years to come. There are clearly parts of the operation that are running as they should, especially in the Japanese shop. In thinking back to my current USAs, I recall that one was missing a mounting screw for the locking nut. It was a new (NOS) `96 Dinky that to this day is one of my favorite guitars. Dumb that it would be missing a screw, but not a major issue. However, if I chose to focus on that and mention it constantly, it would create the impression that my guitar was flawed and I'm unhappy with it.

There was a time when people would really fall all over themselves declaring how fantastic it was that the Jackson USA shop still did so much work by hand, and that there was less reliance on automated equipment or an assembly line approach. How wonderful it was that FMIC let the USA builders keep their jobs, people would say. Guitars weren't inconsistent - no, they had "personality" or were "unique" because they were done by hand. That was viewed as a good thing, so long as the inconsistency - sorry, personality! - wasn't bad.

Every guitar should be inspected down to the smallest detail before it leaves Jackson, played by someone who knows what kind of issues to look and listen for, and packed to survive a war. That clearly isn't happening. Is it the fault of those long-time Jackson employees, some who have seen the company change hands three times? Is it the fault of the evil FMIC empire? My impression is this: there have always been quality issues, regardless of who is running the show, but ever since the Internet became a knowledge base/public forum/soap box for musicians, every aspect on every topic good or bad can be discussed by anyone with a keyboard.

I hope Jackson can correct the QC problems and put a lid on these price increases, because I still don't own my dream guitar. For one reason or another, there isn't another manufacturer I would go to for my custom design.

[fett]

Yikes. If I were in anyway connected to the CS, I think I got the message. I am sure they are reading this. The bottom line is:"I am going to spend X thousands of dollars on a guitar that I specified according to the order sheet and my details. The price I am paying dictates to you that my guitar meets every detail that I specified and is built to the standards that your names have , historically, been able to produce. If there is something "corporate" that prevents you from making a guitar you are proud of, then it's time to get back to your roots. And tell the corporate guys that they just don't get it."

[GWARGHOUL]

man, f*k it.


I'm off to BC Rich.

[mattsmusiccenter]

I doubt that Matts Music has the only guitars being returned for problem repair.

The only reason you're seeing so many of OUR guitars having problems, is because I do more business than the average dealer, so the problems are magnified. I'm sure the percentage of guitars with QC problems is the same all across the country.

[ken]

The only reason you're seeing so many of OUR guitars having problems, is because I do more business than the average dealer, so the problems are magnified. I'm sure the percentage of guitars with QC problems is the same all across the country.

Hi Matt,

I didn't read any sarcasm in MEX3's comment; I don't think there was any. I don't think anyone would disagree with what you've said: "the percentage of guitars with QC problems is the same all across the country".

If I was planning to order a CS Jackson, based on the comments in this forum and the Jackson Palace, I know where I'd go... MA...

Cheers,

Ken

[S-man]

I've purchased and played quite a few guitars from at least 3 differant vendors and they all had problems. More, if you count the ones that I could look at the pics and see they weren't right.

[paulbag]

Just today I brought home my second Custom Shop Jackson, both purchased from Matts Music. Fortunately both guitars are killer, and were both built within 6 serial #'s of each other in 2004. After the conversation I had with Matt today, I may never get my Death Warrior built, not for what it would cost me to build now after the price rape. I have been fortunate in the Jacksons I've bought but I'm really concerned about the future. I hope this shit gets turned around so I can remain proud of my brand of choice...

[Chrisb]

I'm with Paul, I am very fortunate I got my Archtop Death Angel when I did. Cause with prices as they are now, it would have cost 2 or 3 times what I paid. To say all these QC problems bother me is an understatement. I just pray my guitar arrives in good condition. I'm annoyed that I saw a picture of the guitar more or less completed (no truss rod cover) with a hang tag and everything back in December and it still hasn't been shipped to Matt.

[S-man]

I'm not a business wizard, but it seems foolish to have completed product sitting around waiting to be shipped for months. How is it that more profitable then shipping the product immediately upon completion? Seems like an Inventory Overhead expense, or something, to me. Not to mention the possible cost of having the "inventory" damaged from on premise storage, etc.

Seems like poor management to me. Typically that has a trickle effect, affecting every aspect of a buisness and product.

I don't know...It just seems silly.

[hippietim]

S-man - Matt made a good post a good a few pages back in this thread on why some guitars sit at Jackson - it has to do with dealer credit and such.