Where to find Jacksons in NYC

[Stijnson]

I went to Sam ash on 48th about a week ago. I picked up one of those limited sam ash archtop soloists. Besids that they had about 4 or 5 USA's. an SL1, i think 3 NICE RR1's, and a custom kelly.

[lefty]

If you can make it to Syracuse, there's

http://www.onlinestagegear.com/

Syracuse is a good four hours drive from NYC,
one-way...

[javert]

If I ever find myself in the US of A, Jacksons and NHL games will be my top priorities too.

Ah, a fellow Scandinavian... (depending on one's definition of Scandinavia, of course)

[javert]

Syracuse is a good four hours drive from NYC,
one-way...

That's probably a bit too far... There should also be some time for hanging out in bars, listening to live music and so forth. And work too

[javert]

Sounds like the Music Zoo and the Guitar Asylum are the places to go. Thanks alot for the great advice, guys.

[Vass]

I'll second Guitar Center down on 14th Street. Very easy to get to. That's where I got my Jackson USA SL1 for $1200 back in March. Lots of neat stuff---but yes, it is Guitar Center.

Sam Ash I'll second as well. And Manny's, I agree with what everyone else said- Might as well stop by because there's other stuff in the area, but I was underwhelmed.

Vass

[tanpsi]

If you are comfortable judging a used guitar, check out craigslist while you are there, you might get a great deal, just don't buy any "Rolexes" from sidewalk vendors!!!

[Robotechnology]

Music Zoo is the best place to actually walk out with a Jackson. Do go to the Guitar Center on 14th street in NYC as well. Guitar Asylum and a couple of my friends don't get along (both from a customer and employee standpoint), so I avoid them now.

[deflep]

Guitar Asylum might as well be in California...dude...save yourself the trip...its FAR out on LI...really far.

Alex

[javert]

I am now finally back home after my trip to NYC. I thought I would give you guys an update. The first couple of days I was there, I checked out most of the guitar stores on Manhattan, but I didn't find much of interest, except perhaps for some high end stuff at Rudy's. They had a couple of USA Jacksons at Sam Ash, but not what I was looking for and overpriced too. So after the first week, I decided to head out on Long Island and at the Music Zoo, I finally found what I was looking for and got a decent deal too. Meet my new KV2 and the rest of the family (save my SL1):



It plays great and I really like the poistioning of my right hand on the body--really comfortable. And I like the narrow jumbo frets too. Upon returning back home, I wanted to exchange the bridge pickup with a SD Custom. When I took the thing apart, it appeared that other pickups had been installed (when I got it, it had the standard pickups installed), so I'm wondering if the guitar was actually used. I couldn't tell from its looks and the final inspection was 3-19-07, though, so I guess it doesn't matter. Just annoys me when people are not completely straightforward about such stuff. Anyways, I've now got a nice King V

I also had some time to attend some concerts and hockey games. I got to see Don Dokken and Queensryche at the Nokia Theatre on Times Square. There were also some other concerts, I wanted to go to, like Robert Cray at B.B. King's, but I became I'll and spent much of my trip in bed.

In conclusion, thanks to everbody who contributed to this thread!

[SlasZ]

I can only recommend The Music Zoo, bought 2 guitars there and top service! Mark is great to deal with, and they have a good stock of Jackson (Custom shop & USA). Check out their website: www.themusiczoo.com

[javert]

I can only recommend The Music Zoo, bought 2 guitars there and top service! Mark is great to deal with, and they have a good stock of Jackson (Custom shop & USA). Check out their website: www.themusiczoo.com

Yeah, considering the size of the store, they had a lot of top Jacksons and Charvels. They actually had an old Grover Jackson Dave Mustaine V with a Schaller bridge stowed away in the basement. I checked it out, but they wanted $3000 for it!

[Bengal65]

I'm glad your trip worked out very well. Question though, what lead you to believe the Pup's were changed out? Where different model Duncan's installed than the original spec. for a KV? Could have happened at the factory? Did the solder joins look good or had been messed with. I'm curious on this.

[javert]

I'm glad your trip worked out very well. Question though, what lead you to believe the Pup's were changed out? Where different model Duncan's installed than the original spec. for a KV? Could have happened at the factory? Did the solder joins look good or had been messed with. I'm curious on this.

Three things have led me to believe that something was fishy about this guitar, but I didn't notice until I got home (and I do still think it's a great guitar). 1) there were small pieces of wire that had been cut instead of unsoldered, 2) the pickup screws were not identical, and 3) the floyd screws at the nut were two different kinds. Really sloppy work if this had happened at the factory. Seems more like something one would do at home or at some small shop.

[Bengal65]

Three things have led me to believe that something was fishy about this guitar, but I didn't notice until I got home (and I do still think it's a great guitar). 1) there were small pieces of wire that had been cut instead of unsoldered, 2) the pickup screws were not identical, and 3) the floyd screws at the nut were two different kinds. Really sloppy work if this had happened at the factory. Seems more like something one would do at home or at some small shop.

Yeah, that does sound correct. It doesn't seem like a factory job. Did the MZ sell this as "new"? Something is just not right. It sounds like someone had previously bought the guitar, took it home, experimented with pickups, then came back and traded it in for something else. Man, I would mention this to Tommy. That just is not good business practice and the guitar was represented as a new guitar. Definitely something you can't see right away, unless you insist on the guitar to be taken apart before you purchase it.
Hopefully, all is well, but I would mention it to the MZ. Now, you have me thinking and I'll have to take the covers off my MZ purchases