New member assembling a DKMG

[Koreth]

Greeting everyone. As I'm sure my post count reveals, I'm new here. I have recently started assembling a new (to me) project guitar, a DKMG. Initially I was looking to purchase a fully assembled, ready to go axe. But searching eBay, I noticed that there seemed to be as many, if not more bodies and necks than complete guitars. Since I'd be likely to swap out pickups and hardware if I were to pick up an import Jackson anyway, I figured piecing one together would let me get exactly what I want from the get go and give me a good platform to experiment with in my search for tone. But I've never pieced together a Jackson before, so I figured I'd ask the guys who know Jacksons best.

I won this neck and this body on eBay, which leads me to my first question. I'm not sure what the body wood is. Jackson's website says the DKMG is alder, and the listing itself says the body is alder at one point, but at another point says it is basswood. So which is it? As you can see in the photos in the listing, the wood visible in the neck pocket is very light, almost blond, and doesn't have any visible grain pattern, at least not one I can see I think that is basswood, but I'm not sure.

2nd, I see in the listing that it is routed for a JT580LP tremolo. My experience with the Edge III trem on my Ibanez has left me leery of cheaper licensed Floyd-style trems, but I am willing to at least consider the JT580LP. What's the quality on one of those? The Edge III on my Ibanez right now is splitting saddles and having its finish rubbed off after only 6 months of regular rehearsals and shows and I want something that's going to hold up better than that. Since I'm going to have to buy a bridge, would my money be better spent on an Original Floyd Rose, or one of the high-end licensed models, like a Schaller, Gotoh or original Edge?

I know I'll have more questions as I progress through this project, but that's all that is coming to mind right now.

[THOMO]

If your going actives use this EMG solderless wiring kit, neat and quick.

[DonP]

I've had good luck with the JT580LP.

You aren't going to wear off chrome, and the black seemed pretty sturdy.

[warlok]

DKMG = Alder.. And I've never had an issue with a JT580LP. My favorite LFR. Which body is it? The earlier DKMG's had EMG-HZ's and 3 knobs, one was a "Turbocharger" (EMG Afterburner). The latter and current is 81/85 and has 2 knobs, vol and tone.

[jdr94]

well, i dont really know why you didnt just buy one complete considering you almost paid that in neck an body. still gonna need a nut($15-20), tuners ($15-30), a bridge($50-125), and pickups ($80-$120). probably coulda snagged one complete for $350 ( http://cgi.ebay.com/Jackson-DKMG-Ele...item20b564720e )and had some pickups and a trem to barter with, but guess thats neither here nor there. the jt580lp is a great trem. comes on alot of pro series. the edge III is a POS in my opinion so i can understand your concern. the body you got i think is a 2004 dkmg. gotoh and schaller have different styled baseplates i think so would look kinda funny. ofr would be nice but i think the bolts stick out too far. you're kinda goin the more expensive route to gettin a dkmg, but i guess the build experience is worth it. welcome to jcf you'll find alot of good advice on here


hey warlock you really like the jt580lp better than a jt-590?

[86barettaguy]

I think the schaller and Edge might be hard to fit. The JT580LP is approximately the same as the TRS (which came on the RG470, not to be confused with the TRS-II) and I think there were some discussions on replacing these with Edge trems over at jemsite.com. I think the conclusion was that the baseplate of the Edge wouldn't fit in the TRS rout... Anyway, I would think the OFR and the Gotoh would be a direct replacement

[Koreth]

I ended up grabbing the earlier body with the Turbocharger. I realize that I will be spending more money assembling the axe than I would just buying a DKMG outright, but saving money is not the goal. Build experience is something I want, and I know down the road I'm going to be trying this that or the other experiment with the pickups, wiring and electronics in my search for tone. I picked up that particular body for that reason. Even if I end up having no use for the boost circuit, there's still a hole for me to put an extra volume or tone knob, or some kind of switch that I don't have to drill. I would have liked to have found a complete axe with the turbo boost, but there didn't seem to be any to be had. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but what's done is done. I took the body and neck to tech yesterday and had him take a look at em. He said the neck is seating properly in the pocket nice and tight, and that there's plenty of meat left on the frets, such that a dress crown and polish will have the neck playing like new again.

Looking around, It seems that the locking nuts for the OFR and it's direct copies are intended for a 10" radius. Per the eBay listings and the Jackson wehsite, the fretbord radius is 12-16" compound. I'm not worried so much about bridge raidus at this point as saddles can be shimmed. Not so much with a locking nut, AFAIK. So, I'm assuming that I'm going to want a Jackson locking nut so as to get the correct nut radius. Which nuts fit the DKMG neck? I've seen a couple BH43 nuts floating around on eBay. Is that the correct one, or is there another one? I've also noticed that there isn't a provision for a string tree/guide on the neck I bought or in any of the JT580LP kits I see for sale, but other Floyd's have one. Is this something I need to be worried about?

Re: Tuners. Top shelf locking tuners seem a moot point and waste of money when one considers that the nut locks too and that once the nut is locked, the tuners are out of the equation as far as tuning stability goes.. Stock tuners obviously should fit, but is there another brand or style of tuner I should be looking at and considering?

[Deathrider29]

From what I've heard, the OFR will fit, but if you plan to drop tune then it might not work because the screw potentially hits the back out the rout.

[84sups]

An OFR does fit in the JT580lp route. It's been done before.

[86barettaguy]

I ended up grabbing the earlier body with the Turbocharger. I realize that I will be spending more money assembling the axe than I would just buying a DKMG outright, but saving money is not the goal. Build experience is something I want, and I know down the road I'm going to be trying this that or the other experiment with the pickups, wiring and electronics in my search for tone. I picked up that particular body for that reason. Even if I end up having no use for the boost circuit, there's still a hole for me to put an extra volume or tone knob, or some kind of switch that I don't have to drill. I would have liked to have found a complete axe with the turbo boost, but there didn't seem to be any to be had. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but what's done is done. I took the body and neck to tech yesterday and had him take a look at em. He said the neck is seating properly in the pocket nice and tight, and that there's plenty of meat left on the frets, such that a dress crown and polish will have the neck playing like new again.

Looking around, It seems that the locking nuts for the OFR and it's direct copies are intended for a 10" radius. Per the eBay listings and the Jackson wehsite, the fretbord radius is 12-16" compound. I'm not worried so much about bridge raidus at this point as saddles can be shimmed. Not so much with a locking nut, AFAIK. So, I'm assuming that I'm going to want a Jackson locking nut so as to get the correct nut radius. Which nuts fit the DKMG neck? I've seen a couple BH43 nuts floating around on eBay. Is that the correct one, or is there another one? I've also noticed that there isn't a provision for a string tree/guide on the neck I bought or in any of the JT580LP kits I see for sale, but other Floyd's have one. Is this something I need to be worried about?

Re: Tuners. Top shelf locking tuners seem a moot point and waste of money when one considers that the nut locks too and that once the nut is locked, the tuners are out of the equation as far as tuning stability goes.. Stock tuners obviously should fit, but is there another brand or style of tuner I should be looking at and considering?

My 1986 kramer seems to have something along the lines of a 16" radius fretboard (not entirely certain though) and another of my guitars have a 12" radius fretboard. Both with OFR locking nuts. Really, this difference between the nut and the fretboard does not seem to matter much. If it did, I'm surprised Floyd Rose hasn't moved to a larger radius for the nut to have it work better with the superstrats.

String retainers are used to get the correct string angle over the nut to avoid having the tuning change as the nut is locked. I don't think you'll need one.

As for tuners I would consider just about anything that looked alright. Schaller, Gotoh, cheap copies... Just look at pictures of stock tuners to see what you should be looking for (I'm guessing they're made by Gotoh) regarding the mountig ear position.

[warlok]

"hey warlock you really like the jt580lp better than a jt-590?"
No, and I guess I really should start thinking of 590's as licensed. As they're made by Schaller, I always just lump them on with FR.. But 580's still not too far off IMO.

"An OFR does fit in the JT580lp route. It's been done before. "
Yep, but IMO it looks like crap cause the 580 route is much bigger than the OFR plate. Look at the quilted guitar pic with the swap 1/2 way down the page on Henrick's bridge page. http://audiozone.dk/index-filer/TremoloInfoProject.htm

[jdr94]

stock tuners are gonna work fine no need on spending more for anything special since you got a locking nut unless of course you dont like winding your strings then you could get locking tuners. i'm in no way tryin to be an ass but really the experience gained is only gonna be wiring and routing if you go with a trem that needs it. screwing on a nut, a neck, and puttin tuners on is somethin that could have been acquired by simply taking the guitar apart then puttin it back together again. i'm not completely sure about the nut, but i'll pull the nut off my dkmg neck tomorrow and check for ya. string tree is not needed or it would have been on the headstock originally, besides it'd look kinda silly IMO. IIRC jackson nuts are a lil lower than most others. when i started buyin parts years ago i remember buyin a few that had the string sittin too high at the first fret which caused intonation problems ever so slightly. the additional height of the nut made it so that when fully pressed down the note would be just a tad sharper than it shoulda been. not to mention the extra strenghth needed to do a barre chord on the first fret. tell you what i got a partial set of tuners from a fellow member. its 5 reverse black jackson tuners. find someone to get you one more and i'll send these to you if you cover shipping. as far as pots and stuff you wanna go with CTS 500k and if you're goin active you'll need 25k pots. switchcraft are the best jacks IMO. Also are you gonna need a neck plate or did the neck come with one? I'd personally go with an OEM one, but the aftermarket/custom ones will do. hole spacing is the main thing to make sure you have correct.

[Koreth]

So a set of tuners and a locking nut arrived in the mail this week and I got them on the neck Wednesday. The first problem has reared it's head. The nut is off center towards the treble side by just shy of a 1/16". I ordered a BH43 nut but did I get the wrong kind for my neck? Or are the scew holes for the nut simply misdrilled. Is it possible that the neck binding is off and only giving the illusion that the nut is off-center when it in fact just fine? Should I attempt to fill the holes and re-drill or just live with it?

The second problem is the screws that hold the tuners to the headstock. Half of 'em are bent, and some of the heads look stripped. Is this a normal screw that I should be able to find at any local hardware store or is it special item only available through FMIC or somesuch?