Quality of Indonesian Jacksons vs. old school MIJ?

[Mudlark]

I said it was $1000 because I thought you were talking about the Pro series Rhoads, but I corrected myself in the same comment.
There hasn't been an Indian Jackson made since 2011-12, so any Indian RRXMG would be 5+ years old.

[Black Shadow]

The MIIs have a loooong way to go to equal the classic early '90s MIJs. In my limited experience, they aren't up to the level of the recent MIJs either. It is obvious that prices of that segment of Jacksons haven't dropped despite changing production to Indonesia, so a much higher profit margin for them without a doubt. I'd rather snag one of the recent MIJs online than buy MII new or used.

[DanzoStrife]

^ Would u say India and Indonesia are roughly the same?
Anyways, I really hope some guy here will compare in detail MIJ's vs MII(both) in detail such as this thread http://forum.ibanez.com/yaf_postst69...z-guitars.aspx
As u can see, even tho these guitars have the same model and look identical up close, there's a world of difference between the two country's build quality.

[Mudlark]

But, they're only comparing TWO examples, not the whole series.

Just because someone has a flawlessly made Indo, or MIJ, it doesn't mean the next one off the line is gonna' be identical in build quality. I can't say it any other way: guitars need to be judged individually.

There are good and bad examples of Indo models. You can't throw a blanket assessment over the whole series based on one example...regardless of the brand, country or series.

[DanzoStrife]

^ There's another example in another thread with the Ibanez S770fb, and several posts about the quality of MII Egen8, which is surely not up to par as the Egen18. Then i sifted and found other dozens of examples of the indo from Ibanez being shit. It only starts here.

There must be some reason why the USA Jacksons cost much more than the Indo guitars. The labor being much more expensive in America, i was thinking if I was being paid much less and making guitars on a strict "100 guitar quota a month assembly line rather than giving them more attention, the quality wouldn't be as good regardless where it's made.

I also saw many posts in this whole forum how crappy the JS series Jacksons are and how much modding they had to do to make them good. I mean if i have to replace pots and file down the sides of the fretboard cuz they are hanging out? That's unacceptable. I never heard of a MIJ with that issue.

It's really not possible to individually assess a purchase of a guitar unless u wish to minimize your purchase to a physical store. Having to constantly return and swap a product seems more hassle than it's worth.

What i'm looking for is an average ratio of good vs bad guitars. It seems to me that USA has best ratio, and wouldn't have hanging fret ends and tilted or twisted necks.
I opened up some posts and people shit on the X series jacksons and said the DK2M's were a better choice for the money.

I did see a few people happy with their RRXMGs from Indonesia, but I haven't seen anyone do a compare to say a MIJ RR5 on this forum.

Mudlark do u have an MIJ and MII Jackson to compare? I'd like to know your story, thanks for your opinions!

[GryphonGuitar]

I have a MIJ Pro series DK-2 and a MII Pro series SL-7 (a seven string variant of the SL-2). They are identical in terms of 'position in the range', so to speak, so the comparison should be fair.

Overall, I'd say that the quality is roughly equal. The tremolo unit on the SL-7 is better than the DK-2 one. The nut is of a higher quality. The five-way switch feels better. The volume knob however is mounted sligtly askew. Roughly the same in terms of fret finish and neck feel (meaning very good).

Let me know if you want me to compare anything more specifically.

[Mudlark]

Operating costs in the USA are the main reason for the price of USA's.

If you want more opinions you're probably going to have to join a Jackson facebook forum. Some of those forums are much more active these days than this or many other old school online forums.

At the end of the day you're still going to have to roll the dice. Even if 17 people say they're great and 7 say they're garbage that still isn't going to affect the guitars you get.

I don't own Indonesian guitars and I've only picked a couple Indos up in my life. The only issue I found was the nut wasn't seated low enough. That's something I find on many guitars.

I've got a 2011 $300 Indian JS3 bass, a 2011 $750 MIJ DKMGT and a 2008 $3000+ USA Soloist. The JS3 is still perfect 5+ years later. Both the USA and MIJ have had work, but they're both perfect. The nut was filed badly on the MIJ, so I replaced it with bone.

I have a friend on facebook that got a new 2016 RR3 Pro neck thru from Indonesia and he wants to sell it. He says it doesn't compare to his MIJ RR5. That's one mans opinion. I'll bet there are other who'll disagree.

For whatever difference it may make, it seems unfair to compare a Pro series RR5 with an X series RRXMG.

[DanzoStrife]

Awesomeeeee thats exactly what i wanted to see. You see, as u can see, I do have a bias due from experience about MIJ being superior from items and guitars I have owned. I have given other countries a chance and now I'm still trying to see how that applies today. My LTD jh-600 is the guitar I own right now, and it has all kinds of issues. Mostly fretwork is very buzzy and the damn thing doesn't stay in tune unless totally locked, but even if locked I gotta retune it very day. There's no sustain on the G string either. I really need to get a pro repair on this. This is a $999 retail guitar here, nothing cheap. I feel I should have bought a used mij DK2M or something.

|That Jackson kelly didnt need to be tuned in the 2 weeks I had it.
However, if u don't know, I'm trying to erase that bias. I'm always testing the waters

I'm not surprised that the Jackson MIJ had a non level nut. It seems u gotta fix that one way or another unless u have a USA made guitar. But the good thing is that fixing nuts usually comes with the price of setup in my area. HOWEVER, fretwork does not. I'll take the former and not the latter!

Oh yea, GRYPHON can u tell me how good the frets are comparing the MII to the MIJ?
Fret buzz? Can u get down to 1.2 mm on low E and .75 on high E?

But doing individual testing on guitars is only a pipedream. Most every guitar I can want to get for a decent deal would be ONLINE. That includes great deals at guitar center used (online), Reverb and so forth.

How would u guys compare quality of bridge material? Though, I did root for the MIJ licensed bridges functionality after 20 yrs, it did have flaking and rust. I wonder if the new OG FLOYD USA made ones are anti flake material?

[TKEblue]

Some more rambling...

Something to consider is that every factory can make a product to fit a certain standard.

Apple products are made in China.
Agile, Schecter, PRS, and ESP all have guitars coming out of the same factory in Korea. The difference being the extent of the QC process.
Ibanez Premium guitars are made in the same factory as the some of the regular and iron label guitars.

As for electronics, they're likely all using Alpha pots, MIJ, MIK, MII, MIM, etc. There aren't very many companies that make this kind of thing. Alpha and Bournes are the two cheapo brands, but both are relatively good.

[spencer4hire]

Loving my new Dominion Pro Ivory! I would not buy one when they were $1300 but for the $800 I paid it is well worth it. Very good playabilty and the fretwork is real good. I have had some MIJ duds before.

[Black Shadow]

My LTD jh-600 is the guitar I own right now, and it has all kinds of issues. Mostly fretwork is very buzzy and the damn thing doesn't stay in tune unless totally locked, but even if locked I gotta retune it very day. There's no sustain on the G string either. I really need to get a pro repair on this. This is a $999 retail guitar here, nothing cheap. I feel I should have bought a used mij DK2M or something.

Is your JH600 the Floyd or Kahler version? I have one of each, and they are fantastic. I do get a pro setup on most of my guitars, however. I've never once regretted doing this, even if they only make it 5-10% better than I could have, that is a real improvement. I actually prefer the Kahler version for feel and tone. I also recommend adding the EMG SPC mid boost knob/circuit in place of your tone knob. BIG improvement for EMG leads.

[DanzoStrife]

Is your JH600 the Floyd or Kahler version? I have one of each, and they are fantastic. I do get a pro setup on most of my guitars, however. I've never once regretted doing this, even if they only make it 5-10% than I could have, that is a real improvement. I actually prefer the Kahler version for feel and tone. I also recommend adding the EMG SPC mid boost knob/circuit in place of your tone knob. BIG improvement for EMG leads.

OH , very nice to know someone who can help
Yes, oh we're off topic now but can we really talk about it here without Mods getting mad?
I have Kahler version. I got it new from dealer at heavy discount online for $425
I had a setup, but the lutheir didn't know shit and just took my money. He put his BUSINESS CARD as a nut shim and ruined it so I couldn't play even a 4 string barre. I took that out and it's better.

I need to do a full $200 setup with fretwork to get this thing going. Luthier over here said hes worked with 100s of Kahlers and all gave him some issues, but he could get my guitar a lot better than it is n ow. (He made prototype Jems for Steve Vai, and EVH's personal tech in the past).

How u get your Kahler to stay in tune? I even have big bends string sleeves on it.

[Black Shadow]

OH , very nice to know someone who can help
Yes, oh we're off topic now but can we really talk about it here without Mods getting mad?
I have Kahler version. I got it new from dealer at heavy discount online for $425
I had a setup, but the lutheir didn't know shit and just took my money. He put his BUSINESS CARD as a nut shim and ruined it so I couldn't play even a 4 string barre. I took that out and it's better.

I need to do a full $200 setup with fretwork to get this thing going. Luthier over here said hes worked with 100s of Kahlers and all gave him some issues, but he could get my guitar a lot better than it is n ow. (He made prototype Jems for Steve Vai, and EVH's personal tech in the past).

How u get your Kahler to stay in tune? I even have big bends string sleeves on it.

A pro setup where I live is only $55-$80 for a locking trem at Guitar Center or similar shops. And setup is a bit tricky to get right for Kahlers.

Check your PM for further discussion as this is totally off topic....

[catzodellamarina]

My first Jackson was a Musicians Friend made in India Dinky reverse. I think it was around $299. The first thing I did was replace the entire electronics with an EMG KH kit - 81,S,S config. These parts and a new setup made a huge difference. I also bought a brand new Jackson hard-shell case for it. Add up how much I spent and I probably could have gotten a higher quality Jackson BUT the spending a little here n' there method went almost undetected by my wife. Later, I sold it to my drummer and it is still the best guitar has ever owned.

[DanzoStrife]

Catz: That's good man Which model was it? A JS beginner model or something else? What year was it?