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I made the plunge into the 8-string world with the purchase of a Jackson JS32-8. I bought it new which is a very rare event for me.
I looked at a number of inexpensive 8 string guitars - Ibanez RG Series RG8 , Schecter C-8 Deluxe Eight-String, and the Jackson JS32-8. I played the Ibanez RG8 at Guitar Center Atlanta and did not like the feel of the neck or the setup. The strings were way high and the nut was loose, causing tuning issues. So that left the Schecter and the Jackson as contenders. I could not find any locally to play so my decision fell to one design feature: the type of pickup switch. The Jackson has a knife switch and the Schecter has a toggle switch.
The type of switch may seem trivial but it is not.
I did a bit of research and found that the Jackson JS32-8 came in three colors:
Satin black:
Transparent Black quilt:
And Transparent Red Quilt:
I decided on Transparent Red and naturally it's been discontinued. Ugh! I had to search a bit but luckily there are some dealers who still have them in red so I was able to buy one that was new for $400 shipped off of Reverb.
Before I bought it I contacted Jackson and asked if a 0.080 or 0.090 size string would fit for the 8th string. The JS32-8Q comes with a 0.064" 8th string and for me that is too small since I will tune the 8th string to E instead of F#. I was concerned that the body string ferrule and/or the hole in the string tuner post would be too small. Jackson promptly responded that the JS32-8 would handle the larger .080 or 0.090 sized strings. Based on that I placed the order for the guitar.
Jackson provides the guitar with very light strings: .009, .011, .016, .026, .036, .046, .052, .064. I use .010 to .046 for my 6 string guitars and add a .059 for my 7 string guitars. With a .059 as a 7th, an 8th string of .064 is just not big enough. So my 8-string gauges are .010, .013, .017, .026W, .036W, .046W, .059, and .090W. String pull in pounds for these gauges with a 26.5" scale neck are:
1. E .010 17.52
2. B .013 16.62
3. G .017 17.90
4. D .026w 23.50
5. A .036w 20.56
6. E .046w 18.27
7. B .059w 17.14
8. E .090w 16.76
Total neck pull is 148.27 pounds.
I ordered 3 sets of D'Addario EXL 110-7 strings and a number of .080 & .090 strings from JustStrings.com and waited.
Well, the guitar arrived Thursday and I started changing the strings. Bam! The .090 string DOES NOT fit through the string post nor does the .080. They do fit through the rear string ferrule & bridge but there is no way that you can wind them on. Ugh!
I pulled out my digital micrometer and a set of machinist's drill bits and proceeded to investigate.
The largest sized drill bit that would pass through the tuning post hole was a #52 0.0635". The #51 0.0670" would not pass. This explains why Jackson provides the JS32-8 with a .064 8th string. Nothing larger will fit! Since I was using SAE sized drill bits I have to guess at the metric size. My guess is that it is 1.65mm (.0650") size hole.
After speaking with Jackson they apologized for the bad information that they had sent me. We discussed my drilling out the tuner post and they were fine with it. If the post broke with a .090 string they would replace the tuner. The JS32-8Q comes with a 2 year warranty from date of SALE.
As a backup, I bought a black 10mm tuner directly from Sperzel that is drilled 0.0950 that I can use should the Jackson tuner fail.
I pulled the 8th string tuner off, setup the tuner in my drill press and proceeded to drill it out with a #41 0.0960 drill bit. Took all of 3 minutes to do. The .090 now fits easily & I finished the string change. The tuners were very loose and I had to tighten them up with a 10mm nut driver.
I changed out the strap buttons with Schaller Strap Locks. The 8th string plays a lot better but it is a huge string on a guitar. So here is my first 8-string guitar:
Body:
Headstock:
Back:
Rear cavity:
The inspection sticker has a date of 20 Nov 2013 - the guitar is NOS.
The .090 is a big string. Here it is:
After re-stringing I set the intonation. Again the 8th string was a problem. The string saddle can not go back far enough to intonate properly. The outside edge of the saddle hits the side of the bridge and stops before the saddle gets all the way to the back of the bridge.
I marked the saddle with a Sharpie and ground off the corner of the saddel. Now it retracts all the way and the intonation is correct:
Jackson needs to change the design of the 8th string saddle to allow it to properly intonate large strings. Large strings are what 8 string guitars are all about!
Getting used to the 8th string is something I'm working on and I am not making much progress. The neck is so dang wide! I definitely need a lot of practice with it.
Overall I like the guitar. The serial number is put on with a paper sticker; I wish it was more permanent. The Dinky body size is very comfortable.
Jackson does not have a hard case for it (they have one "in the works"). Gator might have one - if they do I will update this thread.
With so little time playing through my amp with it I'll reserve judgement on the pickups.
If you are going to buy an 8-string guitar make sure it can handle the size strings you plan to use!
I have some more mods planned for this guitar.
I looked at a number of inexpensive 8 string guitars - Ibanez RG Series RG8 , Schecter C-8 Deluxe Eight-String, and the Jackson JS32-8. I played the Ibanez RG8 at Guitar Center Atlanta and did not like the feel of the neck or the setup. The strings were way high and the nut was loose, causing tuning issues. So that left the Schecter and the Jackson as contenders. I could not find any locally to play so my decision fell to one design feature: the type of pickup switch. The Jackson has a knife switch and the Schecter has a toggle switch.
The type of switch may seem trivial but it is not.
I did a bit of research and found that the Jackson JS32-8 came in three colors:
Satin black:
Transparent Black quilt:
And Transparent Red Quilt:
I decided on Transparent Red and naturally it's been discontinued. Ugh! I had to search a bit but luckily there are some dealers who still have them in red so I was able to buy one that was new for $400 shipped off of Reverb.
Before I bought it I contacted Jackson and asked if a 0.080 or 0.090 size string would fit for the 8th string. The JS32-8Q comes with a 0.064" 8th string and for me that is too small since I will tune the 8th string to E instead of F#. I was concerned that the body string ferrule and/or the hole in the string tuner post would be too small. Jackson promptly responded that the JS32-8 would handle the larger .080 or 0.090 sized strings. Based on that I placed the order for the guitar.
Jackson provides the guitar with very light strings: .009, .011, .016, .026, .036, .046, .052, .064. I use .010 to .046 for my 6 string guitars and add a .059 for my 7 string guitars. With a .059 as a 7th, an 8th string of .064 is just not big enough. So my 8-string gauges are .010, .013, .017, .026W, .036W, .046W, .059, and .090W. String pull in pounds for these gauges with a 26.5" scale neck are:
1. E .010 17.52
2. B .013 16.62
3. G .017 17.90
4. D .026w 23.50
5. A .036w 20.56
6. E .046w 18.27
7. B .059w 17.14
8. E .090w 16.76
Total neck pull is 148.27 pounds.
I ordered 3 sets of D'Addario EXL 110-7 strings and a number of .080 & .090 strings from JustStrings.com and waited.
Well, the guitar arrived Thursday and I started changing the strings. Bam! The .090 string DOES NOT fit through the string post nor does the .080. They do fit through the rear string ferrule & bridge but there is no way that you can wind them on. Ugh!
I pulled out my digital micrometer and a set of machinist's drill bits and proceeded to investigate.
The largest sized drill bit that would pass through the tuning post hole was a #52 0.0635". The #51 0.0670" would not pass. This explains why Jackson provides the JS32-8 with a .064 8th string. Nothing larger will fit! Since I was using SAE sized drill bits I have to guess at the metric size. My guess is that it is 1.65mm (.0650") size hole.
After speaking with Jackson they apologized for the bad information that they had sent me. We discussed my drilling out the tuner post and they were fine with it. If the post broke with a .090 string they would replace the tuner. The JS32-8Q comes with a 2 year warranty from date of SALE.
As a backup, I bought a black 10mm tuner directly from Sperzel that is drilled 0.0950 that I can use should the Jackson tuner fail.
I pulled the 8th string tuner off, setup the tuner in my drill press and proceeded to drill it out with a #41 0.0960 drill bit. Took all of 3 minutes to do. The .090 now fits easily & I finished the string change. The tuners were very loose and I had to tighten them up with a 10mm nut driver.
I changed out the strap buttons with Schaller Strap Locks. The 8th string plays a lot better but it is a huge string on a guitar. So here is my first 8-string guitar:
Body:
Headstock:
Back:
Rear cavity:
The inspection sticker has a date of 20 Nov 2013 - the guitar is NOS.
The .090 is a big string. Here it is:
After re-stringing I set the intonation. Again the 8th string was a problem. The string saddle can not go back far enough to intonate properly. The outside edge of the saddle hits the side of the bridge and stops before the saddle gets all the way to the back of the bridge.
I marked the saddle with a Sharpie and ground off the corner of the saddel. Now it retracts all the way and the intonation is correct:
Jackson needs to change the design of the 8th string saddle to allow it to properly intonate large strings. Large strings are what 8 string guitars are all about!
Getting used to the 8th string is something I'm working on and I am not making much progress. The neck is so dang wide! I definitely need a lot of practice with it.
Overall I like the guitar. The serial number is put on with a paper sticker; I wish it was more permanent. The Dinky body size is very comfortable.
Jackson does not have a hard case for it (they have one "in the works"). Gator might have one - if they do I will update this thread.
With so little time playing through my amp with it I'll reserve judgement on the pickups.
If you are going to buy an 8-string guitar make sure it can handle the size strings you plan to use!
I have some more mods planned for this guitar.
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