NGD & pics: 2000s? Japanese Jackson Pro Series KE3 Kelly (almost like my old one)

[Number Of The Priest]

Stumbled on this black bolt-on Kelly at a local music store. It was marked used and for CAD$249 (USD$190) plus tax with OHSC SKB case.

It looked a lot like my mid-1990s KE3 Professional which had the Duncan Designed HB-102 set (their version of the Duncan JB/Jazz) which I later changed to EMG-85/EMG-89 with push-pull volume pot, unbound headstock/fretboard, gloss-finished neck, reverse sharkfins, "Professional" script on the headstock, small oblong electronics cavity route, and a huge rectangular SKB case. I think I paid CAD$600 plus tax for it back in 2002.

The one I just bought has real Duncan JB/Jazz, bound headstock/fretboard, satin-finished neck, standard sharkfins, no "Professional" script on the headstock, San Dimas electronics cavity route, a more shapely SKB case, and the strap pin is in a different location. I'm getting a lot of nostalgia with this guitar.

The guitar and case are in excellent condition, better than my old one. No cosmetic flaws in the clearcoat or paint. Zero fretwear, though there's some gunk that I can easily remove with steel wool. Fingerprint smudges everywhere and a bit of dust but easy to clean up. JT580LP stays in perfect tune. A bit of what looks like tarnish on the neckplate screws and the trem saddle locking screws.

If I'm wrong and it's a lower model Kelly, I'm returning it. But I'm pretty confident it's a Japanese KE3. It's just that it's not part of the current Pro Series on the Jackson website so I can't confirm.

My "JCF subforum collection" is complete. I now have a USA Jackson, Japanese import Jackson, USA Charvel, and two Japanese import Charvels.

Mudlark, any help would be greatly appreciated regarding the serial number to pinpoint the approximate year! Thanks!

Full sized images on my new Imgur account: http://notp1.imgur.com/

[Guitarkid8]

I'm going to say mid to later 2000's KE3 Kelly MIJ Pro series, pickups should be JB bridge and Jazz in the neck. For $200 that is an absolute steal.

[Mudlark]

Great deal indeed on an alder bodied pro series MIJ. Black hardware and real SD's indicate 2006-'11. The serial suggests 2010, give or take a year.
I expect you know about the date/model pocket stamps, so I won't bother...

$249 is crazy good. $350-400 would be a great price with the case in excellent condition IMO. I'd guess those sold in the $850-900 rangewith the case circa 2010. MSRP was in the $1300 ballpark.

The pointy Jacksons have a more neck heavy feel than the Dinkys/Soloists I play: How do the 2 compare in balance? Do the different pin locations affect them?

edit: Forgot to mention...neck/headstock binding isn't common on a 2000's KE3. In fact, out of a large number of guitars I've seen on these Jackson forums over a few years I could probably count them on 1 hand. There are RR3's with binding, also... and they were all from the 2010 range.

[Number Of The Priest]

Admittedly I don't know much about neck pocket stamps but I'll be sure to take photos when I disassemble the guitar for cleaning, steel wool treatment, and proper setup. Will also look under the pickups to confirm JB/Jazz for certain.

When I was very active on the JCF in the early 2000s, the Pro Series came standard with Duncan Designed pickups (or EMG-HZ pickups in the MG Series) and unbound headstocks/fretboards. I was definitely familiar with those features and I remember JCFers wanting those things upgraded to compete with ESP/LTD guitars.

I probably stopped frequently visiting guitar forums and websites around the time real Duncans and binding were introduced to the Japanese imports. When I started frequently posting again in 2016, it was a surprise to find out Chushin Gakki was no more (as of 2011/2012 by my guess; my Japanese So-Cal was from about 2011 and that was before the Pro-Mods started recessing the OFRs), but at least the "high end" features remained. (I still haven't played enough Indonesian and Mexican J/Cs to be able to form an opinion on them.)

Interestingly, I noticed the case is carved for a Warrior and Kelly body! Having never played a Warrior, I can only assume a Warrior and a Kelly are very similar in body dimensions.

These days, I sit down to play, but I remember my previous KE3 (with its strap button as one of the neckplate screws) used to be neck-heavy as well as flop forward (face of the guitar wanted to rotate towards the floor). I'll see if this new KE3, with its strap button higher, exhibits either behaviour. I too primarily play traditional shapes (LPs and Strats/Superstrats) and I'd prefer an excellent-condition DK2 at this price, but hey, this KE3 had some nostalgic significance and I can't complain at CAD$249 plus tax. Been watching Kijiji for a while and I haven't seen any Japanese Pro Series Jacksons for this price. My Model 1C was also CAD$250 (no tax) but it didn't have a case and it has its share of minor battle scars.

Good to know that if I find an inexpensive black OFR in good condition, it is a direct swap for the JT580LP. Thanks to Henrik's site (http://audiozone.dk/index-filer/Trem...ct.htm#jt580lp). Might also try and ebonize the rosewood board. I was unsuccessful using the steel wool and vinegar recipe on the old KE3.

[Mudlark]

In '2006 many models got upgrades including trems, pickups and chrome to black hardware. December 2011 is the date given for the Japanese production end. I'd be extremely interested in knowing what the pocket says. Most all MIJ models have date/model stamps on the neck heel/pocket. I watch Canada wide kijiji for Jacksons frequently and rarely find a Pro model under $300.

[Number Of The Priest]

My mid-1990s KE3 had black hardware, but it also had "Professional" on the headstock. I forgot that the "Pro Series" that came after that, which existed during my 2000s activity on JCF, had chrome. Now I remember JCFers bemoaning that chrome looked cheap. Flood of memories here. Good times.

What trems got upgraded? Both my KE3s had/have JT580LPs. I wish I still had photos of that old one.

You and I are Canada's JCF's watchdogs for Kijiji deals.

Might dismantle the guitar tomorrow afternoon and shoot pics of the heel and pocket.

I see Squiers listed for more than this...

[Mudlark]

By '98 the pros had switched to chrome hardware. DK2's, RR3's, KE3's etc. That was about the same time the Professional logos disappeared.
'06 saw the beginnings of the FRT02000 tremolos. The SL3 was the first to change to a FRT02000 from a JT580LP in '06.

[toejam]

A bound neck on a KE3? That seems like a newer replacement neck to me, but I could be wrong.

[Mudlark]

A bound neck on a KE3? That seems like a newer replacement neck to me, but I could be wrong.

I wouldn't rule it out.
The only reason I'm thinking it may be legit is that I've seen 3-4 other KE3/RR3's with the binding and all serials suggested 2010ish.

Best part is we're awaiting the date/model stamps. NOTP may be able to solve this case with certainty.

[toejam]

Yeah, could be legit if it's 2010 or later. I haven't followed most of the later imports. I know they did binding on some of the later RR5 and KE5 models.

[Number Of The Priest]

Partially dismantled and documented the neck pocket, heel, and cavities.

Looks like a neck from a DK2S. Guess this means I have an effective parts mutt made from Pro Series parts, so at least it's somewhat "correct". While the neck isn't original to the body, I guess I could consider it an upgrade since it has binding and I've had difficulty on Google Image Search finding KE3s with binding.

No idea if the previous owner pieced this together or whether it left the factory this way. Given that the entire guitar is in excellent-plus condition, and there is still fine wood dust inside the pocket, methinks the previous owner had no idea, never touched it, and seldom played the guitar. Just speculation, of course.

Am I crazy, or does the neck look flatsawn? I KNOW J/C didn't start flatsawing until the 2016 Mexican Pro-Mods. All three of my bolt-on Charvels' necks have much tighter parallel grain, indicative of quartersawn, and they are all prior to 2016.







"Licensed under Floyd Rose pats. 34" = 34mm sustain block. A little longer than the usual 32mm, 37mm, and 42mm standards which I am accustomed to seeing. Interestingly I noticed my USA So-Cal's big brass sustain block also had a slightly longer block than the normal lengths.

[Mudlark]

I was afraid that 2 different models may be stamped, but it's true a number of guitars left the factory that way. Plenty of examples have shown up from original owners. September '09 it says...I'll add that serial/stamp to my list.

The neck does look flat sawn, which should be correct, no? It wouldn't be quarter sawn, would it?

[Number Of The Priest]

Thank you for the ongoing help everyone and Mudlark especially.

To follow up: When wearing a strap, this KE3 exhibits some neck dive, but I'm glad to discover less "belly dive" compared to my old KE3.

For some reason I assumed all J/C necks were quartersawn until the 2016 Charvel Pro-Mods. But now that I've Googled around, I can't find any evidence that the DK2S necks were quartersawn. The catalogs just say "rock maple neck".

One final pic for now, the confirmation of the pickups. SH2n (Jazz) and TB4 (JB), Seymour's personal favorite set. Dates on them look to be 2009 and 2008 respectively, which I presume is reasonable given the guitar's neck and body are stamped 2009.

On the subject of the neck and body stamps, funny how the 2009 part of the neck is missing the 0 which is present on the body. It just starts with 9.

[Mudlark]

Stamps can be inconsistent in their use of numbers. I've seen various combinations. Necks especially. Some have the full 4 digit year, some have a 2 digit year. Not sure if I've seen a single digit year...perhaps the 0 missed touching the wood?

Could be a coincidence, but the neck and body dates being so close may be indicative of them coming from the factory that way.
I need to keep better records. I keep thinking the owner of an RR3 with binding said he purchased it new, but I can't recall. Binding really adds to a guitar's look in my opinion.

Happy to help. The 9846xxx number filled a big gap in my serial list between Jan. '09 and mid-2010.

[Number Of The Priest]

They should engrave or woodburn the identification numbers instead of stamping, and that way it's more "permanent" and legible. But, that may be more laborious.

This is like forensics work, putting together clues to determine a plausible story. Given that the neck and body dates are in late September and early October 2009 (my favorite time of the year), we might guess that a Chushin Gakki employee mistakenly grabbed a DK2S neck and bolted it to the KE3 body in fall 2009, leading to an accidental (but nice) factory mutt that slipped through the cracks. I agree binding is an advantage, so much so that over a decade ago I publicly posted the results of adding fake binding to my KE3 and RG560 using automotive pinstripe tape.

Why would they add binding to some necks and not others, especially within the Pro Series? ie - Why did the DK2S deserve binding but the KE3 didn't? Not sure if it makes production easier if all Pro Series necks uniformly received binding for consistency, or whether the cost of adding binding to all Pro Series necks was too prohibitive.

I think you underestimate yourself. You're actually keeping records that are helping people. Every time I see a newbie seeking serial number help, you're always reliably there to give details. Glad that my stamps helped fill a void. Out of curiosity, how big is your database? Is it public anywhere? If it's in wiki format, people can input data themselves and help your resource grow.