Jackson not progressing any? Why?

[jtr]

Most of you are to infatuated with Metal! Jackson guitars or for that matter any guitar can be used any type of music .Soloist is the most mainstream of all the Jackson and the most versitile. If they want to sell more guitars V,Rhodes, Warrier,Kellys Ect. might not be in the mix they are just not a good crossover because of their shape.

[Endrik]

I love when people say that Jacksons are out-dated pieces of shit and then destroying their trendy axes in A/B comparison.

I'd love to see Jackson drop their cheap models and focus only making pro instruments for players who care about tone and not about lame ass camo graphics.

It would be cool if the would have more non-pointy headstocks and if they make their image more colorful instead of being only metal. I could care less if Jackson is THe Metalzzz, I play them because they sound fantastic and are very versatile.

[cdwillis]

As I see it this is what they should be doing:

1. Add more endorsees with recognizable names. If they have to pay them, who cares. There has to be a way to draw young players in to Jackson guitars. Once they play them they'll be hooked. I could imagine a small roster that's easily identifiable like Ibanez, not as ridiculous as Dean or ESP.

2. Add a line of Korean imports to compete with the ESP/LTDs, Ibanez, and Schecters. The Korean guitars are becoming higher and higher quality and I think are comparable to Japanese guitars in craftsmanship. Ibanez is putting out new bridges this year and LTDs come with real Floyd Rose trems now, come on.

3. Expand beyond metal guitars. Look at Ibanez, Dean, ESP, and Schecter. They all have some metal looking guitars but also stuff thats not so outrageous that the nonmetal market would be embarassed to play on stage. The Soloist can play country music or jazz but do you think those guys want to be seen on stage with a guitar with a pointy headstock?

4. ACtually advertise in guitar magazines. I always see Schecter and Dean ads when I open up guitar world, but the only Jacksons I see are in the background shot of an independent music store ad. WTF

5. Make an affordable line of Charvel imports, hell they could be the Korean ones. Maybe they could do something with EVH. He's the biggest name they have right now (EVH products, whatever) and could really help them out.

Damn, that's all I've got off the top of my head.

[sakeido]

Jackson is taking some steps to do this.. bringing back the USA SLS will help. Putting out a USA Morton might help some more as well, maybe dropping Morton's name off it and just calling it the Sweetone Jaz-R again or whatever it was since he rarely appears with his anymore.

They have a lot of great guitars, designs, and talented luthiers on staff - they must be working to some master plan. As seriously disappointed as I was with their showing at NAMM, they must have something coming down the pipe. They also have the Bullet for Your Valentine sig on the way. If they got that, and then say a sig model for one of the boys in Protest the Hero or Chiodos or another screamo/emo/post-hardcore band that has millions of views on YouTube, they could do something. Maybe they are working for it? Who knows.

Astute observation about other companies making non-metal guitars as well willis.. Dean's USA Hardtail is apparently superior to even a PRS Artist Package guitar and looks fantastic, Schecter has some really cool models as well, ESP not so much.. and Ibanez has had a great line of hollowbodies for some time now.

[cdwillis]

Oh, one more thing, they could update the damned website every once in a while!

[Mat]

If nobody is endorsed by Jackson, then the kids will not buy Jackson. I got my first Jackson because Mustaine played them. I'm sure all of you have similar stories.

i got into jackson because they looked the best and it was my understanding that jackson was the best pure performance company out there. it was like the corvette of guitar.

[markD]

I'd love to see Jackson drop their cheap models and focus only making pro instruments for players who care about tone and not about lame ass camo graphics.

It would be cool if the would have more non-pointy headstocks and if they make their image more colorful instead of being only metal. I could care less if Jackson is THe Metalzzz, I play them because they sound fantastic and are very versatile.

we are on the same page with this line of thought. while i HAVE used my SL guitars on fusion or smooth jazz recording sessions, if i end up playing any live dates with those artists, i use my brian moore or my PRS.

i showed up to one gig with an SL2H (the same one i recorded with) and the band leader asked me to use something else. i was kinda insulted, but when i looked at the guys he lined up for the night, they were all playing "modern/vintage" style guitars or basses. i ended up doing the gig with the brian moore.

the funny part is that the brian moore and the SL2H have the same pickups, i played through the same amp i was gonna use with the jackson....shoot, the tone was VERY similar. he just didn't want a pointy headstock metal guitar on stage. silly and sad, but, hey...it was HIS gig, his image....all that junk.

[CharvelRocker]

5. Make an affordable line of Charvel imports, hell they could be the Korean ones. Maybe they could do something with EVH. He's the biggest name they have right now (EVH products, whatever) and could really help them out.

Damn, that's all I've got off the top of my head.

You may well get your wish... in the form of affordable USAs

That said, Fender will NEVER take them beyond the metal niche, as it will eat into the sales of their own guitars. Ibanez and ESP and Schecter however don't have that issue.

[jtr]

I think the headstock is fine but it should have it so the string are straighter to the tuners. As far as headstock go Brian Moore's aren't traditional either and SNOBS are going to be SNOBS no matter what.

[cdwillis]

You may well get your wish... in the form of affordable USAs

That said, Fender will NEVER take them beyond the metal niche, as it will eat into the sales of their own guitars. Ibanez and ESP and Schecter however don't have that issue.

Affordable USAs are nice, but why can't I get a $600 Charvel 1 Hum/1 Vol floyd equipped guitar?

I know what you mean by it eating into Fender's market, but doesn't Fender get the cash either way?

[markD]

true, to an extent.....fender will ALWAYS have that blues/country thing that jackson will NEVER be able to touch, at least significantly. fender has their hand in a lot of styles, but they are mostly thought of as blues/country guitars. jackson will ALWAYS be moslty a metal guitar, but it wouldn't hurt for FMIC to expand the line to grab some non-face painted, satan-loving guitar players to use them on the big stages....

besides....

i could be wrong, but wouldn't any money jackson makes have a portion go to the profits of the parent company? that seems logical to me.....therefore, if jackson makes money so does FMIC.

[markD]

I think the headstock is fine but it should have it so the string are straighter to the tuners. As far as headstock go Brian Moore's aren't traditional either and SNOBS are going to be SNOBS no matter what.

well, you are right. snobs WILL be snobs, hahahaha. these type of gigs are usually high paying, one off special events hosted by charity organizations or hospitals or corporations, and require a dress code. the gig i mentioned was a black tie affair, for the band and the guests. the band leader was a fairly well known smooth jazz artist. it was HIS call. the jackson would have been more than fine, except it just did NOT suit his image of what the stage appearance should have been for the night. he paid me VERY well to do a job, so i gave him what he wanted.

just for reference, the other two guitarist played NICE stuff. one was using a d'angelico into a vintage '57 twin, the other used sadowsky semi-hollow into a boogie mark II. i was using the BM into a rivera M100. it was a sweet night, would have been sweeter if i could have used my SL2H, but.....

hahahahaha, yeah when you are a hired side-man you play what you are told, and you LIKE it, or somebody else gets the gig.

[fuel0707]

Kramer had some killer guitars in the 80's and watered down their quality guitars and had them built overseas until the low cost guitars became a joke.

But what ultimately did Kramer in was an ill-advised huge price increase that happened basically overnight. A few of my friends were in the retail instrument game when that happened and that's what really did Kramer in. The Focus and Aerostar guitars weren't the greatest guitars but they aren't what doomed Kramer to the history books.

I hope FMIC learns from that and does what is rumored with some relatively affordable limited-run guitars built here in the USA. If FMIC can come up with some high-quality $1500 MSRP strat-head Charvels or Jacksons, I'd be interested in buying my first-ever new USA Jackson or Charvel.

[halvix]

I dont think the endorsed players is the problem, i think it is their lack of options.if you dont count the js series and the x series (which are beginner guitars), all that they have for imports are the pro series and the MG series (which has like only 4 guitars in it) and their all either bolt on or neck thru, they should really try to mess around with setnecks to get the price down, im not saying discontinue their good guitars, just add more diversity. For example, i want a jackson king V, so my options are according to their website js30kv,kvx10, the jenna jameson V (which are all bolt on, basswood, designed humbuckers) or the kv2 and kv2t (which are close to 2000$ neck thru american made) so, im stuck in 2 extremes, so guess what i start looking around and come upon the ESP v-500 (mabey its 400) which is a 700$ set neck guitar with emgs, good quality, and the only things stopping me from buying it is the lack of trem and the mahogany body.

They also need to put more development in certain types than other, from my point of view they need more variants of king V. RR, soloists and dinkys, more than they need variants of kellys and warriors.

and yes they need to start endorsing musicians more than porn stars. In some ways i think they they are stuck in the past with hair metal with the unnecessary large amount of finishes, maple fretboards (i prefer rosewood or ebony) , and pornstar endorsements.

[eakinj]

So overall, be careful what you wish for. PRS fans probably used to wish for the same thing.


Vass

I agree with a lot of what you're saying. My main thought is this - the way Jackson/Fender is handling business right now makes me nervous as a Jackson player and a lover of those guitars. The way they are handling it makes me personally feel like Jackson is on the bubble and may go away. However unlikely that may actually be, my confidence that there'll be a 2010 Jackson guitar is slowly breaking down.

I don't think they need to re-invent the wheel, but they defenitely need something to take them from "Oh yeah, those 80 butt rock guitars" to "Wow, this company has a lot of experience and makes a damn nice guitar that I can hand down to my kids" kind of thing. Either that, or push the people who are actually endorse by them. I see ESP adds all the time showing off the people who play them. I realize some of you forget that jackson is a Business, but as business - if they don't make money they won't be around. Reguardless of what you think of the free stuff whores - jackson needs a name out there people can say "Wow he plays a Jackson let me check that out"

Side note: I'm curious how has Charvels sales been since the whole EVH thing? Have they risen? Have they fallen? Has EVH constantly calling his Charvel a fender helped Fender more then Charvel?

He's pretty much the biggest guitar endorsement anyone could ask for - has this done anything to help at all? Has it hurt?