Taking a closer look at the new DK2M's

[DonP]

WHAT A MISTAKE!

These models are a dead end path.

Can't interchange necks with older models (three bolt?)

Trem cavities are shaped different. What a PITA.

Found a a rosewood(???) DK2M on ebay. The "M" in DK2M stands for MAPLE FRETBOARD dumbshits!

[DK2M92]

I love my 07' one, not a real big fan of the newer design that they came out with. Im getting really tired of seeing that Silver burst finish everywhere now also, and I don't like the new 13's that have the vintage trem either.

[jbird5150]

I love my 07' one, not a real big fan of the newer design that they came out with. Im getting really tired of seeing that Silver burst finish everywhere now also, and I don't like the new 13's that have the vintage trem either.

I'm with you. Love my white DK2M. Looks much sharper than the current offerings (although I'm a sucker for that chlorine burst). Only thing is, the previous owner swapped the passives for EMGs and I'd love to switch back. Just don't have the cash to do it now.

[Newc]

Sell EMGs, buy JB/59 with money.

And that is sad news about the new models. One thing I was really hoping for was that Jackson had found a standardization in construction.

However, if they're doing them in the Fender Mexico facility, then they probably were not set up the same as the Japanese/Pacific Rim production, which is also truly sad since Fender has had Japanese production for decades, and should have developed a universal standard for their own tooling.

However, is the 3-bolt system similar to Fender's vintage 3-bolt? If so, the new necks should go on older bodies, depending on where the front 2 holes are, as the rear hole would be between the existing neck pocket holes. Easy enough to drill new holes.

However, putting an older neck on the newer body migh prove challenging if that 3rd hole in the pocket is near the dowel that holds the truss rod.

And what's this about the trem cavity? The top of the body or the spring cavity?

[Newc]

Just looked at the new DK2Ms on Ebay - ignored them previously for the lack of fins - and yeah, that 3-bolt pattern looks fucked up. Looks like threaded inserts and machine screws, too.

Pussy-cut heel? They selling these to fucking midgets?


And @ the DK2M with the rosewood board. Too funny

[Force]

I wasn't interested in these at all when they first showed up because of these issues (no sharkies, weird bolt on system, zebra p'ups, rosewood on a DK2M WTF?) but am now
keen on the purple DK2MHT. I could use this for different tunings being a hard tail, it'd be nice to have a decent non-floyd guitar.

[Newc]

In my experience, people are generally willing to spend a few dollars more for used zebra pickups, simply because "everyone" has double-black.

The big issue for me with these is the lack of sharkfins. I'm wondering if the dots are far away from the edge enough that those decals would cover them? Probably not, and you'd have fins with little "bumps" over the tops. Couldn't do reverse fins on them, either.

The bolt-on system could probably be overcome, depending on whether or not they're using wood screws or threaded inserts. Putting a real DK2M neck on these would require permanent surgery if it's not wood screws. Unless you could find ready-made ESPee 3-bolt neck plates. Even then, the body holes might be too big for wood screws.

It's just a bad scene all around.

[DonP]

I knew this would get your goat Matt. Being able to be creative with swapping shit is something we love about these guitars. Taking that away is a big mistake. Sort of like JC Pennys taking away coupons. Whoever is making these decisions doesn't understand the customer.

I have a DK2M white bengal and an SL2H bengal, and I think I grab the DK2M more often. Love the old MIJ ones.

[Newc]

I was curious about them at first, as I said. The tops look nice. I'm trying to figure out why White and Black were the only colors the older ones came in. Or is that just the only ones anyone sells?

Wasn't interested in the Bengal finish, though they did look nice. Just not that big of a Lynch fan.


IMO the new ones would be a perfect match for the older necks, but they gimped them with dots AND locked out the modders. I know a lot of people here cried foul over the black plastic fins when the DK2Ms first hit. You're always going to have people crying about that, ignoring the fact that plastic and wood inlays have the same non-effect on tone.
But this is just wrong. As a Jackson devotee, I feel insulted from the top down.

Has anyone bought one? Is this the same neck profile they used on the old Dinky Reverse? They used the same dots, so I'm assuming they went with the same profile?

[BenoA]

Played the newer model quickly, the red and blue. Tops were not as good looking as the one on the web site, they were way more darker. Too bad the red one can't come with a maple fretboard it would have looked very good. I'm a sucker for maple fretboard.

I liked the new neck joint for higher fret access but I understand how the "modders" can feel!

Both model I tried had a bad fret job, very very sharp ends all along the neck. May be the fretboard wood had dried too much. But other Jackson guitars in the shop had not that issue.

Can not compare the neck profile to the older models sorry. But the one I played felt not too thin and not like a baseball bat either. But I've not played them much as the sharp fret ends were ruining it for me.

Can someone else comment?

[wilkinsi]

I never liked the 3 bolt design nor the offset dots or dodgy looking bridge. Give me an original DK2M anyday over one of those.

[Confuse-a-Cat]

Of course the other issue over swapping the necks apart from the pocket is that the headstocks have a matching finish, so you'd either have an odd mismatched colour scheme or you'd have to do a refinish. And that was if you could actually swap the neck in the first place...

Anyway, I'm not that much of a modder and I dig the dots, so I like these. I've got two of the Japanese DK2Ms already, and I could quite easily see myself buying one of these too. It satisfies my love of maple while being suitably different from my current pair! Got to have at least a little variation after all. The main thing that's pissing me off is the white one. White and maple were made to go together, so which idiot decided to put rosewood on it? >.<

I might buy one at some point in the future. I've got my eye mainly on the chlorine/maple/floyd one and the red/maple/hardtail model. Again, it would be an interesting difference from my Japanese ones since they're both solid white and black. Might be a while before I think of getting one though. My current urge is to buy a lot of rather expensive computer parts to upgrade my desktop gaming rig!

I was curious about them at first, as I said. The tops look nice. I'm trying to figure out why White and Black were the only colors the older ones came in. Or is that just the only ones anyone sells?

I've noticed that as well. I'm sure they came in more finishes originally. I can remember at least seeing trans red, trans blue, crimson swirl and eerie dess swirl. As well as the limited edition versions like bengal and red ghost flames. I'd guess that they probably sold far more white and black than anything else, probably more white than black since they seem to be more common on the 'bay.

If I spotted one of the trans finishes up for sale I'd probably snap it up if is was in decent condition. But then I'm just a DM2M wh0re.

[DonP]

Of course the other issue over swapping the necks apart from the pocket is that the headstocks have a matching finish, so you'd either have an odd mismatched colour scheme or you'd have to do a refinish.

Talking about that, there is a dork on the US ebay selling a BOF DK2 neck. These were some of the few DK2's with matching headstock. Unless I have a BOF body, why the hell would I want a BOF headstock? These dumbshits should "think" before they part out guitars. Is anyone going to want the parts or do they only work together?

[Force]

I was curious about them at first, as I said. The tops look nice. I'm trying to figure out why White and Black were the only colors the older ones came in. Or is that just the only ones anyone sells?

They did come out in Inferno Red, Eerie Dess Swirl & Crimson Swirl. I have seen a couple of Trans Blue ones too but I think they were mutts.

[Confuse-a-Cat]

They did come out in Inferno Red, Eerie Dess Swirl & Crimson Swirl. I have seen a couple of Trans Blue ones too but I think they were mutts.

Oh yeah, I forgot inferno red. I thought that you could get trans red and trans blue as well, but I might be misremembering.