Paradise Zebra

[The Rossness]

What do you guys think?



STANDARD FEATURES CONSTRUCTION: Bolt-On Neck, 25.5" Scale
BODY: Genuine Alder with patent pending "Inlaid Zebra Body-Top".
NECK: Maple or Birdseye Maple neck with steel 2-way truss rod (depending on model) FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, Maple or Birdseye Maple-14”radius (depending on model) FRET: 24, 6100 jumbo INLAY: Abalone dot fret markers BRIDGE: Authentic Floyd Rose® Pro Style Tremolo floating (chrome/gold) with Floyd Rose® Tremolo stop TUNERS: 6 Mini In-line Gotoh® Chrome/Gold PICKUPS: Neck: Duncan® SH-1N ’59 P.A.F. Zebra Humbuckers; Bridge: Duncan® TB-4 JB Zebra Humbuckers FINISH: Tung oil HEADSTOCK & BACK PLATES: Paradise style 14 degree tilt-back headstock with Paradise logo and matching tremolo and electronics plates TRUSS ROD COVER: Engraved with “Randy Jackson” signature ELECTRONICS: 500K volume pot with matching Abalone dome volume knob and 3-way toggle switch WEIGHT: Approximately 8 lbs
USA Made

[Hellbat]

Wolfgang knockoff with body inlays. Specs look nice and if the build quality is there then it will probably play and sound great.

But... If you are going to knock off a body shape there are certainly more asthetically pleasing shapes to cop. And the headstock is fugly. The inlaid zebra looks cool though, I wonder what material they are using.

[mr426]

I'll use my pass card Alex...

[The Rossness]

I just bought it for $690 shipped on evilbay, with the bing.com discount. Mine has a mirrored top.

[zeegler]

Sorry, don't like it at all. Not one bit.

[DonP]

What do you guys think?

My Bengal SL2H will eat it?

[Leo Chang]

my bengal sl2h will eat it?

[sixx_ gunner]

sorry
pass~

[Axewielder]

My Bengal SL2H will eat it?

My Jackson white bengal strat will mount it!

[Grandturk]

The only Paradise guitar I've seen that I liked is the Jason Becker model. I've always dug that guitar.

[The Rossness]

So, I came home to find this gorgeous mirrored top Paradise Randy Jackson signature Zebra axe. It's awesome and the floyd rose pro bridge is the best floating trem system I've ever used. It really resonates acoustically. Once plugged in I couldn't put it down. For my first USA Custom shop guitar, this baby smokes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is the 14th Zebra guitar they've made. As compared with my Charvel USA Pros, they're pretty close. Being that its a small company, I noticed one one two small imperfections. The neck is somewhere between a charvel and a thick Ibanez wizard, though I will say that the edges of the fretboard aren't rolled as much as I normally like. Overall, the thing is great and I'm having fun reflecting light off it.

[Greg Crowe]

So is Simon Cowell coming out with his own guitar line too ? Damn, I might just be first in line for the Paula Abdul model. :P

But honestly, that guitar looks pretty nice until you get up to the headstock. They gotta do something about that, looks like a cheap Chinese headstock. I didn't even know these were USA until reading your post.

[jim777]

I always liked Zebra and Randy Jackson How does it compare to your R29?

[The Rossness]

I always liked Zebra and Randy Jackson How does it compare to your R29?

The R29 and the Zebra are very different . The gary kramer is sleek and the pups are a little on the weak side, I'm replacing them with a Super distortion and a chopper. The neck is Ibanez thin and has a red binding. It sits on my lap in more of a classical position and the neck is about 9 inches away from my head. It feels like an almost USA, but it is clearly import.

As for the Paradise, it feels really close to many of the CS Charvel's I've played. I won't say its as good as a charvel as far as QC goes. There are a few imperfections- 1) right next to the neck joint, there is a tiny gap between the body and the mirrored top. 2) the frets while they are not sharp, you can feel them at the bottom of the fingerboard and aren't nearly as rolled as the stuff J/C makes. The neck is comfy though and not too thin. The back of the axe is finished in tung oil and is left natural and there's a big rear access joint. The cutaway has easy access to all 24 frets. It has an unfinished fretboard and gets dirty easily for some reason.

As for how they compare- the zebra is the better one of the two. Its got a floyd rose pro and gawd damn! it rocks. It's better than any Ibanez trem I've ever played. The zebra feels solid and USA made while the GKG is like I'm holding a space ship. Its very comfy to play seated and I can coil tap the bridge. the yellow is pretty cool. The trem is a ping system as feels a little too tight. Also, the upper frets are hard to hit. So far I can only do pick tapping on the frets above 25. The GKG pups are natural sounding but pretty weak. The JB/59 in the zebra sound great, maybe a bit better than the charvel usa pro's. The Kramer is the showstopper and the zebra is like I'm wearing a piece of musical jewelry.

I dunno, while they seem similar, they're really different in feel and sound.

[Flatpicker]

Looks good.
Not my thing, but their rainbow finishes have potential.

Glad you like it though.