Measured new Jackson neck thickness (JS32, X series) SoloistX bad QC?

[DanzoStrife]

I brought my manual calipers used for body fat testing and measured various guitars.
Kinda really annoying with salesman over your neck very 2 minutes though

JS32/q/ /RR x24/SoloistX/DK2 : 20.4 mm
They all seemed to be around the same. Somewhere between 20.4 and 21mm. Either way, the neck shape and thickness combo were all fast, except the bolt on RR, only was able to access the 18fret. Getting to bottom frets required removing my thumb and having no stability to hold the neck and bend.

Dk3Q: 23mm
I really hated the finish of this neck and I tried this guitar a 2nd time, and the first time was at Sam Ash. The neck finish was too rough, the thickness was much thicker and the shape really hit on the neck that this was not the guitar for me. Felt like picking up an unfinished 2x4 at Home depot.

Other guitars tried:

Ibanez S521
21mm

PRS 21mm
Felt pretty fast, but not my style really.

JEM Wizard II / 21mm

Schecter Hybrid Hellraiser/Sls X thin U 20mm

--------

I found some Quality issues with the MII SOLOIST X. I don't think I'm impressed much with MII. This is definitely not similar quality to Japan when put against another MIJ, nor even the Schecter MIK.

1. Either the pickup or the Bridge was not aligned. It jumped out at me so I had to take a pic. I tried looking at it from other angles but it still looked out of alignment. If it's the pickup, then really whatever, but if its the bridge we may have
a problem. On the bright side, the downwardness leaned towards the BASS side of the strings the bass strings need more length. Is it supposed to be this way? The other Floyd's I checked on the other guitars when i put it side by side did not have this issue, they were STRAIGHT



2. the knobs were scraping against the wood, I could feel it. And the JS32 models had wonky coarse knobs too, don't think they were scraping but it wasn't smooth, but even then the Soloist X seemed to feel the cheapest out of all the other guitars I tried. The MIJ KellyPerformer tho also entry level was a lot nicer than JS models (previously owned)

3. The bridge was not cold on the Soloist X and JS32. I have a feeling that this is not completely all metal, it surely didn't feel like it. I know it's painted, but so are the other bridges and they felt a lot colder.
4. The Soloist X fretboard looked pretty streaky, not my thing at all.

i thought the Schecter Hybrid SLS/Hellraiser Quilted Maple was the nicest guitar there.
Knobs were excellent, great looking and feeling tuners, fantastic pickups, lightweight but sturdy body.

The other MII Ibanez guitars. I didn't really notice anything jumping out at me right away, but i know those things don't come to light until u take it home and play with it, tune it and have a nice quiet environment.

EDIT: once again, u guys need to stop asking me to try out MIJ soloists, RR5, RR1's, cuz Guitar center and Sam Ash doesn't have any! Only low end bs.
TO get a good guitar, It must be mail ordered.

POSITIVES

I did like how the Soloist was light and had decent pickups and a fast neck. The JS models had decent necks too. None of them have fret buzz which was a plus. Except for the DK3q, i haven't met any other Jacksons with neck feels out of my preference.

[mgregory]

Awwww.... whatcha doing?? lol. Now you have me looking at my new, affordable DKA-M thru a magnifying glass. ha ha. Naww... mines fine. Straight as an arrow. That bridge in the picture is definitely crooked. The strings aren't leaving the saddle centred. Good for posting on here tho. They can't fix QC issues if they don't know about them. At least Trang Ligiang did a good job inspecting mine (her name is on the QC tag that I got with mine. heh heh).

[DanzoStrife]

Well basically X series, MII, JS guitars are away out of consideration for me. I gave them their chance. Too many of those guitars were just junk level for me to consider plopping $500 bucks new when there's a flood of MIJ guitars on used market for less without such bridge alignment conditions. I'm not interested in this kinda gamble when odds are in favor of Mij.

BUT, I'm really glad yours is error-free! Be happy that your guitar is good and u can play it and sleep at night

[Scream And Fly]

The bridges in those are definitely metal, though most of the parts are zinc, rather than steel. This includes the string saddles. The baseplate is steel, however, the Floyd Rose Special has its baseplate hardened only at the knife edges, whereas the 1000-series and German-made Floyd Rose bridges have entirely hardened steel baseplates and steel parts.

What bothers me about the Special is that bridge appearing on more and more expensive guitars, since it's a 'Floyd Rose' and looks nearly indistinguishable from the better units. I suppose the manufacturers assume the buying public wouldn't care, and unfortunately, they're right in most cases. I don't think the Floyd Rose Special has any place being on a $600-$700 guitar.

I bought an Indonesian-made Warrior WRX, which is neck-thru, bound, and its construction quality is absolutely beautiful. The finish is perfect with no defects at all. This particular guitar is on par with my Japanese Jacksons for sure, and also extremely close to my USA Warrior. Of course the USA version is better, with nicely polished frets and real albalone and mother of pearl inlays, whereas the import has plastic inlays. Still, the WRX has very well finished frets, with no sharp edges, and the ability to achieve extremely low action, buzz-free. The neck is nicely-bound. I actually read a review of this guitar here a while back, which stated a very similar impression of very good quality, which is what compelled me to buy mine.

It was actually shocking to me how good this guitar is. It has an EMG set of pickups, which seem fine. And, a Floyd Rose Special bridge. Ugh. Thankfully, the German Floyd Rose and Schaller Lockmeister units are a direct swap.

As for that Soloist with the slanted pickup, that's definitely not intentional. I'm surprised it's like that, since these bodies are drilled on CNC machines. But, I've seen this before on those guitars. I've also seen some of those guitars with the front corners of the bridge in contact with inside of the body route. That's something I always check for. It could be that one of the bridge posts is slightly canted forward, or maybe lens distortion on the camera, giving the impression that the pickup or bridge are slanted. Still, looking closely at the photo here, it does appear that the pickup ring might be slanted. It could also be that those pickup rings are installed by hand and not pre-drilled on the CNC machine. I'm betting that's likely the scenario here.

[Mudlark]

Performers weren't entry level, they were in the same spot as the current X series....between JS and Pro.

I've just come to expect quality issues on most things these days. Expect the worst, hope for the best. A return for refund is essential these days. Cars, guitars, clothing...you name it.

It's most often an economic crunch that allows poorer quality to pass QC. I don't know the finances of the big guitar makers, but I expect they're hurting like many businesses.

Seems many well known brands are releasing expensive crap from a QC perspective.

One must search out the lesser known brands, or a small guy like Sully if you want a guaranteed piece of exceptional quality.
Or, roll the dice on a name like Jackson, Fender, Gibson etc.

I've been lucky with my Jacksons. India, Japan, USA and all are spectacular for my needs. Only the MIJ had a flaw...a poorly cut plastic nut.
...which I would've changed to bone immediately regardless of how well it was cut.

[wrldeatr7]

Yeah I've also noticed a drop in quality with many products. Initially Asian/Chinese stuff was junk, then for a while products were solid and defects nonexistent and worked trouble-free for decades. Now everything is iffy, it might by great or it might be defective. A shame really, that's not what development should be. But it's the expected result when corporations push for lower and lower costs (for the sake of executive bonuses) so that products are made with parts that are technically on the brink of failure.

[DanzoStrife]

I came back to view it again, and it surely the bridge is out of alignment.
The slant is surely not barrel distortion (that's common n photos I know) But, this guitar stood out to me because of it's slanted parts. I was about 8 feet away and noticed it and I had to pick it up for a picture.
I haven't heard any reports about the Floyd Rose Special being bad after some time, is it true? I don't really trust it much though, rather have the Korean ones at the least.

The bridges in those are definitely metal, though most of the parts are zinc, rather than steel. This includes the string saddles. The baseplate is steel, however, the Floyd Rose Special has its baseplate hardened only at the knife edges, whereas the 1000-series and German-made Floyd Rose bridges have entirely hardened steel baseplates and steel parts.

What bothers me about the Special is that bridge appearing on more and more expensive guitars, since it's a 'Floyd Rose' and looks nearly indistinguishable from the better units. I suppose the manufacturers assume the buying public wouldn't care, and unfortunately, they're right in most cases. I don't think the Floyd Rose Special has any place being on a $600-$700 guitar.

I bought an Indonesian-made Warrior WRX, which is neck-thru, bound, and its construction quality is absolutely beautiful. The finish is perfect with no defects at all. This particular guitar is on par with my Japanese Jacksons for sure, and also extremely close to my USA Warrior. Of course the USA version is better, with nicely polished frets and real albalone and mother of pearl inlays, whereas the import has plastic inlays. Still, the WRX has very well finished frets, with no sharp edges, and the ability to achieve extremely low action, buzz-free. The neck is nicely-bound. I actually read a review of this guitar here a while back, which stated a very similar impression of very good quality, which is what compelled me to buy mine.

It was actually shocking to me how good this guitar is. It has an EMG set of pickups, which seem fine. And, a Floyd Rose Special bridge. Ugh. Thankfully, the German Floyd Rose and Schaller Lockmeister units are a direct swap.

As for that Soloist with the slanted pickup, that's definitely not intentional. I'm surprised it's like that, since these bodies are drilled on CNC machines. But, I've seen this before on those guitars. I've also seen some of those guitars with the front corners of the bridge in contact with inside of the body route. That's something I always check for. It could be that one of the bridge posts is slightly canted forward, or maybe lens distortion on the camera, giving the impression that the pickup or bridge are slanted. Still, looking closely at the photo here, it does appear that the pickup ring might be slanted. It could also be that those pickup rings are installed by hand and not pre-drilled on the CNC machine. I'm betting that's likely the scenario here.

[slayer]

I do agree the X-Series should have the Floyd 1000 on it for the price. Leave the Special for the JS models.