please help with Jackson/ESP info

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

The International Bad Taste Shop?

:think:

+1 - I also had the same results with an LTD Alexi. Sounded like a rubber ball strung with rubber bands. I have played very nice ESP strats, however - the Vintage Plus series, and the old, what, 400 series? Also a nice Horizon, but it was an 80's Soloist copy - with Jackson heastock.

Yeah, I actually like the M-II NTB but it's like none of the models really has what I like (ebony at least, ebony/binding preferably.) I'm not paying that kind of jack for a rosewood fretboard.

While I don't share your irrational and stupid distaste for figured tops on Strat-shaped guitars I have my own perfectly rational and non-stupid preferences, such as, I can't stand archtop Strat-shaped guitars, well, really, don't like any Archtop guitars. So the Horizon is out for me. And, I only like dyed figured tops anyway, not natural "brown", and I only like single-color burst finishes (more of a fade than a burst.)

The KH Ouija has that stupid happy sun on it, I don't really like graphics anyway. And plus it's Kirk's signature guitar, and, well, FUCK Kirk Hammet, and the Jeff Hanneman guitar has a Kahler on it, which is just silly outside of 1987 or so, and they both cost way too much.

So, outside of a Custom Shop order, I don't think ESP is going to get my money anytime soon. And probably not then, either, because I have way too many guitars in any case.

[Hellbat]

I'm a big Jackson fan, but ESP/LTD gives you more bang for your buck than Jackson when it comes to low-mid price guitars. High end guitars from either brand are kick ass.

This might be true at the $250-$500 price range guitars but when you move up to the DK2 level in Jackson (the $650-1100 price range and this is in Canadian dollars), the comparatively priced LTD models may match in the feature department, but not in the build quality or wood quality department.

Issues I've seen on the LTD models include terrible toolmarks on the binding and/or frets, sharp/extended fret ends, poorly fitted inlays with large glue gaps, terrible/dry pieces of rosewood used for the fretboards. I won't even get started on the overkill abalone inlays on the bodies and fingerboards. These are also manufactured in Korea or Indonesia while the DK2 series are Japanese manufactured.

The Japanese Jackson's aren't perfect and can have some issues out of the box too, but these are relatively easy fixes for a competent tech to fix. I've seen RR5's with poorly cut nuts and some sketchy fret levelling with dead spots on bends. Obvoiusly these are less of an issue on floyded models though.

[Deadlock]

I'd go for ESP/LTD over Jackson up to about the $900 range. In the $650-$700 range, I'd go for an LTD MH-401NT over it's Jackson counterpart, the DK2T. I've had quality issues with both brands. I find LTDs play better out of the box than Jackson. After you set them up, they play about the same. For $1000 you can get something like an LTD M-1000, which I'd take over the slightly more expensive SL-3. I love Jacksons, I just think they are over priced compared to other brands. That's why I always by used Jacksons instead of new guitars. In the end, I suppose it's personal preference. Not to mention, sometimes you get a dud guitar and sometimes you get a really nice one.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Now hold on a minute... I've seen some pretty awful rosewood boards on Japanese Jacksons, too. The one on my Soloist Pro was lumpy, lots of grain/dry, and looked like it had some kind of finish sprayed on it. Tons of filler around the cheesy MOTO inlays, nut off-center, big thick piece of soft clear plastic under the nut for a shim (more of a "spacer" than a shim).

I don't think either brand really makes a "great" guitar for cheap. Maybe a "great" cheap guitar, and there may be a "gem" or two here and there, but they are still cheaply made guitars with lower-quality materials and lower-quality hardware, and lower-quality fit/finish/workmanship.

"MOTO" sounds better than plastic. ESP and other manufacturers typically just fail to mention what kind of inlays they use, UNLESS it's MOP or Abalone. Junk-quality ebony is still ebony. "Rosewood" that isn't fit to make incense burners out of is still rosewood. Floyd Rose FR-2000's is still a "Floyd Rose" (not "licensed") and "solid Cedro" or "Select Wood" sounds like, well, it sounds like something better than plywood, even though it probably isn't.

Those LTD Deluxe Les Paul copies look great on paper and are tacky gaudy pieces of shit up close. Compared to the Jacksons in the same price range, they've got glittery tacky shit binding and crappy "ebony" fingerboards, so they surely win the "spec sheet" competition.

In any case, when I look at my '92 Fusion HH, I remember what a "good" Japanese guitar was supposed to look like. I don't see anything comparable out of Jackson OR ESP (except in ESP's $1500+ Japanese line) these days, but the Koreans have really squeezed the margins on the Japanese stuff, just like the Japanese stuff did to the American stuff back in the early 90's.

[guitarnut1980]

thanks for all the help, right now I own a DK2 and I really like the fact that they switched to Seymour Duncans, my old one had Duncan Designed, plus I was wondering because I have noticed that some of the new Jackson imports have been incorporating Floyds and better pickups into their setups so that why I was wondering about the comparison to Ltd, but on the USA end compared to the super overpriced ESP's I would have to say one of the most nice ones I Played so far has been the PC1, my cousin has one of the original Ouija boards and it was sweet but i'm not gonna pay 9000 dollars for it when i could get at least 1 and a half custom Jacksons for that same amount, and get exactly what I want outside of artist similar

[Rich#6]

I'd go for ESP/LTD over Jackson up to about the $900 range. In the $650-$700 range, I'd go for an LTD MH-401NT over it's Jackson counterpart, the DK2T

I have both right now and though I am selling the dk2t over the mh401nt(keeping because of the emgs) the jackson is by far the better made guitar and higher quality woods. I would also not compare the 2 since the Jackson dkmg is a better comparison since it's an archtop with emgs. On the Jackson the woods are better, the truss rod is usable, the tops are nicer, better binding, the fret edges don't push out the binding. I could go on. If the ltd was still made in Korea it would be a different story, much better build quality but still cheap woods.