Artist Signature guitar quality vs. Artists actual guitar

[eakinj]

So I have heard guitars say they dropped XYZ company for another company because the build quality of the signature guitars were not as high quality as what the actual artist was getting. Actually I think it was Alex Skolnick who made that argument for leaving Ibanez for Heritage or whoever he is with now.

So this led me to wonder how does Jackson / Charvel compare in this respect? If I remember correctly, Phil Collen stated he could walk into any guitar shop, pick up any Jackson on the floor and be able to play it live and be perfectly happy with it (Not a direct quote, going from memory)

I would imagine Jackson keeps it about as spot on as it gets.

Which leads me to two questions:

1) So those of you who own artists actual guitars, have you noticed anything different between what the artists had and the US production model? I'm not actually sure how many signature models there have been, so anything that was built for a specific artist, doesn't have to be a signature model.

2) Is there any difference in how they were set up for the artist when you got them? (Nothing to do with quality, just the artists preference)

An example (and again I am going from memory) Brian May's actual guitars have the wammy bar bent in where he can keep it palmed easier (Supposedly, I can't seem to find where I read this now) where the new production models are at a more common angle.

[toejam]

So I have heard guitars say they dropped XYZ company for another company because the build quality of the signature guitars were not as high quality as what the actual artist was getting. Actually I think it was Alex Skolnick who made that argument for leaving Ibanez for Heritage or whoever he is with now.

Alex uses Heritage now instead of Gibson Les Pauls, because he said Gibson's quality control is horrible. I don't know if he still uses any of his old Ibanez guitars or not.

[charvel750]

I have J6048, Dave Mustaine's Y2KV with a Floyd. Very similar to a USA Production Y2KV. Same playability, same pickups, neck feels slightly thicker, but isn't. Same exact guitar as a King V or Y2KV compared to what I've played. It may have had more attention to detail during construction, so the long term quality might be higher. But a Jackson USA is exactly that: the finest Jackson you can get, whether it's artist made or Production.

[neilli]

I've read the "I can just walk into a store and grab one" quote many times from many players about many manufacturers instruments. And when they leave the company, there's always some QC type reason given, but the new company is perfect. So I'm a little jaded about that sort of hype....

I have Danny Spitz's old solid quilt maple Dinky Rhoads. Obviously, because it's a one off, it's difficult to compare to a 'normal' USA Jackson, either CS or Select. But it's a great guitar - totally stable, looks great, sounds great. However, if I'd ordered the same guitar at the same time, would there be any difference? I doubt it. I expect he'd have got his much quicker, but that's probably about it..

don't know if he still uses any of his old Ibanez guitars or not.

He uses his old Red Sabre on the Live from London DVD, but that's a couple of years old now.

[toejam]

He uses his old Red Sabre on the Live from London DVD, but that's a couple of years old now.

Really? On what song? I've got that DVD but only remember him playing the LP. Guess I should go watch it again.

[Davey]

it's probably the same, as it's built by the same guys. i'd say a touch more attention to detail and shorter turnaround times, but that'd probably be it..


i always laugh at "the production model is the same as my actual one" line. I remember steve vai saying something similar as collen. about how he can pick up any jem off the wall and he'd be perfectly comfortable with it and yadda yadda... but i know for a fact that the neck on Evo is NOTHING like the neck on a jem7wh.. it's been replaced a couple of times though :P

[neilli]

Really? On what song? I've got that DVD but only remember him playing the LP.

No idea I'm afraid Joe - the DVD is back in the UK so I've not seen it in 2 years

[toejam]

LOL Oh, well. I'll have to dig it out later on and check it out.

[Khed]

Really? On what song? I've got that DVD but only remember him playing the LP. Guess I should go watch it again.

At least in In to the pit & Trial by fire. IF I remember correctly, he didn't use it at all in 2007 at a gig I was attending...I was very very drunk, though

[Larz]

I'm guessing if the artist guitar had some special, wicked expensive wood on the body or fretboard, it might not make it to the "artist model" for general release, unless its a real limited edition of say 50 guitars, for $12,000 each.

Phil ain't walking into many guitar shops near me and pulling a PC model off the wall for his gig that night, namely cause that would be sort of impossible. He could grab plenty of Dean razorbacks though.

[xlr8]

That actually is the EXACT reason I keep coming back to Jackson. Jackson's "every day", "for sale anywhere" guitars are hands down the closest to a one off custom build (in terms of quality and materials) as any major manufacturer, period. They top line guitars are most likely as good as the actual artist guitars in terms of quality.

The only main line manufacturer that can come close is Ibanez and that is ONLY with the JEMs. No other Ibanez has even close to the level of quality or give you the impression that one craftsman built your guitar by hand, with tender loving care. I have owned some JEMs and they are very good guitars, but they just don't have the same "feel" of quality and attention to detail as even a standard USA select or even a higher end MIJ Jackson.

I have yet to experience ANY other manufacturer that even comes close. Gibson's have some great guitars and some OK guitars, it seems like a crap shoot with them. Same with Dean. Same with ESPeeeee's. I don't know about Fender, as I don't play them (not my thing).

But, to be fair, I have not owned any recent Jacksons. I have seen them and played them and they seem nice, but I have not owned any. I tend to stick to the 80's to early 90's stuff, no reason, just worked out that way.

I do seem to remember Kevin Bond saying that he was very happy with the quality of his sigs on here a few years back.

[eakinj]

Alex uses Heritage now instead of Gibson Les Pauls, because he said Gibson's quality control is horrible. I don't know if he still uses any of his old Ibanez guitars or not.

Really? It was Gibson? I didn't know he ever played Gibson.

"Learn something new every day"

[fred dons]

When Vai played with an orchestra in Holland the only thing he took with him on the flight were a toothbrush and clean underwear, the guitars and the amps where all supplied by the local distributors (there was not much budget for the project)
so it is possible to play on an off the rack guitar (althoug he did request that a sustainer was installed in the guitars)

QUOTE=Davey;1194843]it's probably the same, as it's built by the same guys. i'd say a touch more attention to detail and shorter turnaround times, but that'd probably be it..


i always laugh at "the production model is the same as my actual one" line. I remember steve vai saying something similar as collen. about how he can pick up any jem off the wall and he'd be perfectly comfortable with it and yadda yadda... but i know for a fact that the neck on Evo is NOTHING like the neck on a jem7wh.. it's been replaced a couple of times though :P[/QUOTE]

[eakinj]

So now, this brings up another question.

How does the production vs artist guitars (note I don't mean just signatures but anything built specifically for an artist) work?

Actually before you answer let me explain what I mean.

Say Mike works on a guitar for the guy from LOG in the custom shop. Is he the same guy who works on say the RR1 I buy on a musicians friend place or wherever? Or is there an entirely different group of people who work those? Actually that's probably a bad example. What I'm trying to get to is, is it the same people workong on the USA select that work on an artist guitar or custom shop, etc? I think I kind of know the answer but I'm not sure.

Now, say Gibson - does gibson have a team that just works on cranking out les pauls for instance, and another that just works on whoevers customs?

The direction I'm going in this is, I'm wondering why there's so much quality failure in other brands. Not to say Jackson is perfect, there's more then a couple threads on here where people got a bunk guitar. it happens, weighing against how many good experiences we have all had it's a rather small number in the bad pile.


that's just a really long winded way of saying, I'm curious what the different factory production models look like. How does Gibson, fender, bc rich etc produce it's numbers vs how jackson does. I realize demand has a lot to do with it, but it seems like Jackson has a formula that works well and I wonder why someone as big as a Gibson or whoever doesn't. They have a great brand name and money behind them it's just odd..

[toejam]

Really? It was Gibson? I didn't know he ever played Gibson.

"Learn something new every day"

I believe he used mainly Gibsons for the majority of his jazz work after Testament and Savatage. I remember reading some interview where he talked about Gibson and their quality control.