Drunken Credit Card China shopping.....

[Model1VH2]

Are you Dino on MLP?

Yep

[coloradoman25]

dont feel bad i think i have the same guys building me a jp90th replica just to see what i get. for 330 i was interested and yes drunk purchase lol the other company cancelled my les paul

[Dog Boy]

That Jackson headstock is hilarious...

[87jackson]

Why even waste your $$ ?? You could have bought my 88' Jackson Strat for $600 1 quality guitar vs. 2 firewood guitars

[VoiceX3]

The headstock, like the rest of the guitar is oversized and I was not looking for ready to go USA quality but was looking for cool PROJECT guitars. The fact that they got here in 6 weeks to my specs and that they're real solid wood and not ply was a bonus. I should have had another name put on the headstock, but I really don't care as it's 100% mine. Spec out the same options on a real USA Kelly, the price and the minimum 2 year wait if approved. The pickups suck, but like I said BOTH cost less than $500. I've gotten rid of all my bolt on guitars and the only "Strat shape" I own is the 87 soloist which is going for a complete restoration. I've owned plenty of cheaper Jackson imports and these 2 cheapo Chinese guitars quality so far has not been an issue.

Like I said before these do not compare to USA Jacksons and were never meant to. But I got 2 fun players ordered/built/delivered in about 6 weeks. In that same timeframe I've been searching for a high end Rhoads with no Floyd and a flame or quilt top and have come up with nothing so that search continues....until then, whether anyone is a fan or not these knock offs will be some fun.

[Newc]

I'm not seeing how the "built and delivered in 6 weeks" is something to crow about repeatedly. Yeah, it's fast, but there's a concern for quality-over-time. While I don't expect them to age well over the next 10 years, my immediate concern would be whether they'll start falling apart in 6 months or less. Fretboard expansion, frets lifting, finish flaking off in chunks, green wood deciding it wants to change its shape, truss rod deciding it doesn't want to work anymore, and of course being able to bend a D-Major up a full step just by flexing your wrist back.

[Model1VH2]

The headstock, like the rest of the guitar is oversized and I was not looking for ready to go USA quality but was looking for cool PROJECT guitars. The fact that they got here in 6 weeks to my specs and that they're real solid wood and not ply was a bonus. I should have had another name put on the headstock, but I really don't care as it's 100% mine. Spec out the same options on a real USA Kelly, the price and the minimum 2 year wait if approved. The pickups suck, but like I said BOTH cost less than $500. I've gotten rid of all my bolt on guitars and the only "Strat shape" I own is the 87 soloist which is going for a complete restoration. I've owned plenty of cheaper Jackson imports and these 2 cheapo Chinese guitars quality so far has not been an issue.

Like I said before these do not compare to USA Jacksons and were never meant to. But I got 2 fun players ordered/built/delivered in about 6 weeks. In that same timeframe I've been searching for a high end Rhoads with no Floyd and a flame or quilt top and have come up with nothing so that search continues....until then, whether anyone is a fan or not these knock offs will be some fun.

I agree, these are PROJECT guitars.
I don't think you or I expected USA craftsmanship when we purchased these Chinese guitars.
They are solid wood, often neck-thru or set-neck design, with adjustable truss rods.
Unless the neck is twisted, these guitars offer a good foundation for some cool projects.
If you're expecting a guitar you can just plug and play, DO NOT purchase one. These aren't the guitars for you.
But if you have a little knowledge about fretwork, setups, etc... they can be made to be pretty good players.
Just think of all the possibilities with these one offs!

I bought mine because ....
1) I couldn't afford a Jackson LTD
2) I couldn't find a builder willing to build me one
3) I just thought it would be a cool, rewarding project.

[VoiceX3]

I agree, these are PROJECT guitars.
I don't think you or I expected USA craftsmanship when we purchased these Chinese guitars.
They are solid wood, often neck-thru or set-neck design, with adjustable truss rods.
Unless the neck is twisted, these guitars offer a good foundation for some cool projects.
If you're expecting a guitar you can just plug and play, DO NOT purchase one. These aren't the guitars for you.
But if you have a little knowledge about fretwork, setups, etc... they can be made to be pretty good players.
Just think of all the possibilities with these one offs!

I bought mine because ....
1) I couldn't afford a Jackson LTD
2) I couldn't find a builder willing to build me one
3) I just thought it would be a cool, rewarding project.

Exactly. I knew what I would be getting and they showed up nicer than expected. I bought them as fun project guitars while my good stuff is off for however long getting professionally repaired/refurbished and until I find that elusive Rhoads I'm searching for.

In 10 years they may be smashers, but for now I call them fun.

[84sups]

I've been wanting an LTD and one of the Robbin Firebirds they make. Basically want them for wall art because they wont hold a candle to my Pro-mods and my USA's

[Nightbat]

I'm not seeing how the "built and delivered in 6 weeks" is something to crow about repeatedly. Yeah, it's fast, but there's a concern for quality-over-time.

I understand where you're coming from Newc
But how long does it take to build a guitar made of quality parts and labour?

Glue and paint (and custom body shapes) are the only things that take the longest, and last time I checked, it certainly doesn't take 17 months for either to dry

Now if I order a quality guitar, and they take care in the building of it, I would expect a slow turnaround, but what is slow and what is ridiculous?

[veemagic]

How are the inlays on these? Can you tell what kind of material they used, and how well were they installed?

[84sups]

Carvins lead time is 6-8 weeks last time I looked. Who knows what these Chinese builders are using for materials.

[Model1VH2]

How are the inlays on these? Can you tell what kind of material they used, and how well were they installed?

Carvins lead time is 6-8 weeks last time I looked. Who knows what these Chinese builders are using for materials.

Inlays on my guitar look excellent.
Fretwork is questionable but nothing that can't be fixed.
I don't endorse Chinese guitars and I don't receive "kick backs" for sales, so I'm not here to try to convince folks to buy these guitars. I feel very fortunate with my purchase but who's to say that the next guitar will be built with the same materials and/or by the same employee(s)? Who knows. I can only speak for myself and my own personal experience with this ONE guitar.

[Gartron]

The way I see it..you took a risk and it paid off...kudos my man!!

[ulijdavid]

I can see all of the concerns with buying the Chinese guitars. But, there isn't much "magic" in building a guitar. Their website states what wood is used and VocieX3 has verified that it's not plywood. At bulk pricing, "normal" guitar woods are cheap. I have seen pics of the Jackson/Charvel builds and have seen regular old Titebond wood glue for body and neck glue ups. Nothing incredible there. I have seen some UV cureable glues that take 60 second to cure. I have also seen videos of Carvin using UV cureable clear coats which cure in about 10 minutes.

Here is the time it takes me to build a regular strat type body:
If someone (like Charvel) has a body blank glued up and has a template of the body, it should take maybe 5 hours on a pin router (which is considered hand made). That would include the body, pickup routes, trem routes, electronics cavity, neck pocket, front forearm contour and back "belly contour. Running a roundover bit around most of the body and adding final sanding would be included. I would believe a company that does this as its sole product could better this time. Just for the record, templates and a pin router or table router, can be as quick if not quicker than a CNC.

Necks:
I can see where there is much more work in the neck - skimp on fretwork saves a lot of time. This may be some of the cost and time saving. I have read that both Dean (USA) and Suhr pre-shape their necks and let them sit for at least a month. Meaning, the neck is rough shaped and the wood is allowed time to settle. Suhr stated that he does this because he has a lifetime guarantee on his necks and wants to be 100% sure it does not twist, warp, etc. Using this added time, it should take about 1 month and 3 days.

Paint is one of the most time consuming because of prep work. High solids primers can cover up a lot of poor craftsmanship. But even so, primer can be sanded a day after application. Polyurethane base coat clear coats are also relatively quick. Multiple solid coats of color can be applied within an hour and cleared within hours after that. This is where companies have to make decisions on the added cost of clear coats compared to skilled labor. Adding thick clear coats reduces the chances of sanding and buffing through and requires less skilled workers. Thinner clear coats requires skilled labor to produce a "thin skinned" final product.

Anyways....6 weeks sound like a good number if someone is properly "tooled" for the job and is able to have a work force jump on it immediately. In the case of Jackson/Charvel, I would hope it is just a backlog that produces those crazy wait times. I would not feel that I am getting a better quality instrument if the builder is "properly" inserting 1 fret a week. I cannot understand how a complete house can be built from scratch in 8 months, but it takes over 2 years to build a guitar. It has to be a large backlog - Right????