''Grover Jackson'' KV. Might buy this...need some info.

[TreeFiddy]

Hey guys,

I stumbled upon this offer and was wondering if it's worth it. More importantly, if it's the real deal and not some fake/counterfeit guitar.

Here's the seller's message :

''

It's the same thing as the USA KV1 except made in Japan. Built circa 1991-1992 I'm not certain the exact year. These were sold to the Japanese market only. I had to import it. It's neck thru with ebony fretboard and REAL mother of pearl inlays. The Jackson logo however is not mother of pearl like the USA models it is the famous Japanese toothpaste logo. Not to be confused with import Japanese Jacksons sold in the Canadian market. Grover Jacksons are built and sold in Japan only, they are the high end model for Japan and Build quality is every bit as good as the USA built Jacksons. The binding and the inlays have a gorgeous aged look to them. The guitar is in about 7/10 condition she's definitely seen some action but still beautiful nonetheless. When I had it imported it had just been refretted. The frets are not the massive jumbos most Jacksons have. They are Dave Mustaine spec frets as he prefers smaller frets on his signature models. I had 175 dollars worth of work done to it at Gig Street - setup(10-52 Ernie ball), checked over the wiring and touched up the frets, filed the nut to perfection. Receipt is in the case. These also came with standard Jackson tuners which I upgraded to Sperzel locking tuners. Which are what Dave uses for the last 15 years or so. Previous owner had brass nut installed. I also have Dunlop flush mount straplocks for it, I havent installed yet but I'll throw them in the case for you. Has the Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz combo as I always preferred his 90's sound over the active pickups he now uses. Has the Kahler fixed bridge with fine tuners. NOT a floyd rose or any kind of tremelo. Also, comes with the big Jackson flight case, they are big and heavy but offer supreme protection for this beautiful axe. It only has about 2 hours of playtime on it since having the refret and setup work done - it's essentially a brand new guitar in that respect. I paid about 1650+ all said and done including the import charges and the setup work. Looking for 1400'' (Canadian $) The pictures are rather bad, I asked for better ones. I'll post the new pictures as soon as I get them. http://imgur.com/a/Ei5uY http://imgur.com/a/evhzD http://imgur.com/a/78GTG http://imgur.com/a/g6f3p What do you guys think? Thanks

[Mudlark]

Yeah, it's a '90s Japanese market model. It'd be one of the higher end models from that line of Jacksons, but $1400 is USA model price range. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't pay that price if it was mint shape. Maybe $7-800 in 7/10 condition, and only that much because it's a model rarely seen on our shores.

The build quality should be very high. USA similar specs including a quarter sawn neck. I found a similar, if not identical, model in this '93 Japanese catalogue listing it as yellow poplar bodied. Not a common wood used for Jacksons...North American Jacksons, that is.

It's probably a fantastic guitar. If you're happy paying that kind of money, chances are you'll get a great guitar, but, that's too much for me to pay for an import...regardless of it's rarity.

I noticed 'Gig Street' mentioned in the ad, so I checked Halifax kijiji...and sure enough...there it is.
I live 2 hours from it.

The USA SL2HT for $1650 shown on kijiji has been for sale for at least 3-4 years and is owned by a total asshole. I drove to Halifax twice to get it when it was priced at $13-1400 and the asshole didn't show up. I'd love to meet that guy so I could knock his teeth out.
And, I'm not kidding about that.
I got a 2008 SL2HT a couple years ago, so fuck him, anyway.

Here's the '93 catalogue: http://support.jacksonguitars.com/ca...ly_catalog.pdf

[TreeFiddy]

Yeah, it's a '90s Japanese market model. It'd be one of the higher end models from that line of Jacksons, but $1400 is USA model price range. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't pay that price if it was mint shape. Maybe $7-800 in 7/10 condition, and only that much because it's a model rarely seen on our shores.

The build quality should be very high. USA similar specs including a quarter sawn neck. I found a similar, if not identical, model in this '93 Japanese catalogue listing it as yellow poplar bodied. Not a common wood used for Jacksons...North American Jacksons, that is.

It's probably a fantastic guitar. If you're happy paying that kind of money, chances are you'll get a great guitar, but, that's too much for me to pay for an import...regardless of it's rarity.

I noticed 'Gig Street' mentioned in the ad, so I checked Halifax kijiji...and sure enough...there it is.
I live 2 hours from it.

The USA SL2HT for $1650 shown on kijiji has been for sale for at least 3-4 years and is owned by a total asshole. I drove to Halifax twice to get it when it was priced at $13-1400 and the asshole didn't show up. I'd love to meet that guy so I could knock his teeth out.
And, I'm not kidding about that.
I got a 2008 SL2HT a couple years ago, so fuck him, anyway.

Here's the '93 catalogue: http://support.jacksonguitars.com/ca...ly_catalog.pdf

Alright, thanks for the reply man!

Aren't USA models in the 2500-3000$ range?

[toejam]

I found a similar, if not identical, model in this '93 Japanese catalogue listing it as yellow poplar bodied. Not a common wood used for Jacksons...North American Jacksons, that is.

Poplar was used in a lot of American and Japanese Jacksons in the '80s and '90s.

[Mudlark]

Alright, thanks for the reply man!

Aren't USA models in the 2500-3000$ range?

Yes, they start around $3000 Canadian.

Poplar was used in a lot of American and Japanese Jacksons in the '80s and '90s.

Oh, yeah, lot of Poplar models. I just never saw the YELLOW poplar listed before. Perhaps it was Yellow Poplar used on the North American market models?
For some reason I just guessed it was White Poplar used by Jackson.

[Newc]

Technically this is referred to as a "Jackson Grover Jackson", as the logo indicates. There was a later Japan-only "Grover Jackson" line that was comparable to the imports available to the North American markets which covered the same spectrum from the X series up to the bolt-on Professional series (RR3, DK2, etc), but they eventually dropped the neckthrough models from that line.

The "Jackson Grover Jackson" models are indeed identical to the neckthrough USA and Pro models of the time. Marty Friedman had (has?) a Firebird with reverse headstock in that model line, as was seen on the cover of Guitar School back when he joined Megadeth, and before printed material died.
Mustaine also appeared in ads for the line. Whether he actually played one, I can't say, but if he didn't, it's his loss.

Mustaine models are in-demand, regardless of what else can be had used for similar prices. Yes, you can get a neckthrough Jackson of some other style, maybe even USA-made, for the same price, if all you want is a playable guitar. This is not a guitar that is readily available on the open market globally on a daily basis like the slew of dime-a-dozen Soloists of all varieties. This model is not made by Jackson any more. And before anyone says it: It's not a Floyded KV-2 or a KV2T, so no, this no longer a production model.


As for the seller's claims, one man's "upgrade" is another man's "meh". Those are expenses, not investments. Changing the frets is an issue I'd definitely look more closely at, especially since it usually involves work to the fretboard which may erase the serial number. As well, just because the work was done by a guy who works at the guitar store doesn't mean it's good work. It may be in this case. It also may not be.