Looking for advice on buying first jackson - 98 king v vs. a newer one

[xmacvicar]

I have lots of beauty classic guitars, but there is a bit of a metal head inside of me who always wanted something a bit more metal. Locally there is a guy selling what appears to be a 1998 King V that is Made in Japan. it has duncan designed pickups. He wants 300 bucks for it.


I got looking into Jacksons and came across this one: The King V KVXT (https://www.lamusic.com/collections/...cts/2916402568)


This one looks nicer - has emg HZ's, binding around the neck and headstock, etc. its made in Indonesia I think?


Any jackson fans/pros that would chime in on this one? Looking for any advice - obviously one is a used guitar the other would be new from the shop. I am wondering how much 'better' the new KVXT would be compared to the older 1998 one made in japan.

[Number Of The Priest]

"98 King V Made in Japan with Duncan Designed pickups" automatically makes me think it's a 2000s KV3 or KVX10. Does it look like either of the following Reverb listings?

KV3:

https://reverb.com/item/3345238-jackson-king-v-kv3-final-price-drop

KVX10:

https://reverb.com/ca/item/1231426-jackson-kvx10-king-v-flying-v-guitar-japan-custom-riveted-camo-paint-and-finishing

Otherwise, post some photos of the guitar in question so we can accurately identify it.

"98" is likely part of the serial number, followed by 5 digits. The "98" doesn't correspond to the year as it's a common misconception with Japanese Jacksons that have serial numbers beginning with 9xxxxxx. Unfortunately that's where my expertise on serial numbers ends. If you post the full serial number, Mudlark will be able to narrow down the date of manufacture.

$300, assuming American Dollars, is a good price. I hope it's in great condition, but even if it has a few scars, consider that Jackson no longer makes guitars in Japan so part of me tends to romanticize the bygone era. I do try to be fair and objective when evaluating each guitar on its own merits, and I have nothing against the current Indonesian X Series (of which the KVXT is a part), but given a choice, I tend to lean more favorably towards Japanese guitars. The Japanese Jacksons were made by Chushin Gakki. The Indonesian Jacksons are made by Cort.

[xmacvicar]

Thanks for this. Looks like neither - does not have a floyd rose/trem. Here are some pics:

https://imgur.com/a/RGbSn

300 canadian dollars.

[Number Of The Priest]

Good pics, thanks. Ah, that's a KVX10, but I've known them to have JT580LP tremolos (like the one I linked) and also have JT390 tunomatic bridges with strings anchored thru the body. For example, the KVX10 with tunomatic/string-thru appears in the 2003 Jackson catalog, page 16 of 27 on the following PDF link, and its specs can be found on page 25 of 27:

https://downloads.contentful.com/4jcppgetbqrc/Em0BkitNWSsSMWwc68Gyg/6821b20b495fe11e077ec655390d7832/Jackson-2003-catalog.pdf

CAD$300 is even better than USD$300. If you visit the E-fraid of E-bay forum (https://www.jcfonline.com/forums/16-E-fraid-of-E-bay), you'll notice CAD$300 tends to be my threshold for the "Deal Alert" posts I share for well-priced 2000s-decade Japanese Jackson guitars here in Canada.

It's a very fair price for a guitar in what looks like great condition. If you like it, buy it.

[xmacvicar]

Good pics, thanks. Ah, that's a KVX10, but I've known them to have JT580LP tremolos (like the one I linked) and also have JT390 tunomatic bridges with strings anchored thru the body. For example, the KVX10 with tunomatic/string-thru appears in the 2003 Jackson catalog, page 16 of 27 on the following PDF link, and its specs can be found on page 25 of 27:

https://downloads.contentful.com/4jcppgetbqrc/Em0BkitNWSsSMWwc68Gyg/6821b20b495fe11e077ec655390d7832/Jackson-2003-catalog.pdf

CAD$300 is even better than USD$300. If you visit the E-fraid of E-bay forum (https://www.jcfonline.com/forums/16-E-fraid-of-E-bay), you'll notice CAD$300 tends to be my threshold for the "Deal Alert" posts I share for well-priced 2000s-decade Japanese Jackson guitars here in Canada.

It's a very fair price for a guitar in what looks like great condition. If you like it, buy it.

awesome thanks! For whatever reason I’m leaning towards the newer KVXT model. Found a new one on eBay for 690 cad. Any thoughts on the quality of the KVX10 vs the newer KVXT?

wiki says “This model's first year was 2001 and was built in India for that year only. Subsequent models are all built in Japan.” There’s no way for me to know if it’s japanese or Indian it seems.

[Number Of The Priest]

There were way more X-Series Jacksons built in Japan than India in the 2000s, so I nearly take for granted that most of last decade's X-Series guitars I see are Japanese. If Mudlark visits this thread, he may be able to identify whether that KVX10 is Japanese or Indian. My hunch is Japanese; that's a Japanese format serial number.

I haven't played either the KVX10 nor the KVXT specifically, but have played a few of their "product siblings" in other shapes. In my honest opinion, CAD$690 is too expensive for a current Indonesian X-Series unless you really, REALLY want that KVXT... and you'd be buying sight-unseen which is a risk you may or may not tolerate. CAD$690 gives you a wide allowance for some "better bang-for-the-buck" guitars:

1) Two used Japanese X-Series guitars from the 2000s;

2) Two used Japanese Pro Series guitars from the 2000s;

3) Two used Japanese Charvel Model 1-4s, and most used Japanese Charvel Model 5-6s;

4) 1.5* to two used Japanese Charvel "Toothpaste logo" bolt-ons, and possibly the neckthru Toothpaste guitars;

5) One to two used Japanese Jackson Professional guitars from the 1990s (particularly the Std. and possibly the XL variants);

6) You're approaching USA Jackson and Japanese Jackson Professional Pro pricing. Need to be patient as they're very uncommon under CAD$1000 but not unheard of.

*1.5 obviously isn't a "whole number" guitar but it means you can get one guitar with a bunch of cash left over to spend however you want.

It always seems as though I am biased towards Japanese and American guitars, so to present a more balanced view, here is the 2016 Indonesian Jackson X-Series SL3X that I owned last year, with my detailed thoughts and pricing: https://www.jcfonline.com/threads/15...-SL3X-Soloist? (if the pics in the thread don't work, try: https://imgur.com/a/Hcruw)

[xmacvicar]

It always seems as though I am biased towards Japanese and American guitars, so to present a more balanced view, here is the 2016 Indonesian Jackson X-Series SL3X that I owned last year, with my detailed thoughts and pricing: https://www.jcfonline.com/threads/15...-SL3X-Soloist? (if the pics in the thread don't work, try: https://imgur.com/a/Hcruw)

Seems like you were happy with the Indonesian in the end?

[Number Of The Priest]

I couldn't argue with the price (CAD$275 plus gig bag, used) so I was reasonably happy with that SL3X overall.

However, as detailed in that thread, I nitpicked the string/bridge alignment. There was too little fretboard room for the high E string compared to the low E string. This would not be acceptable on a USA neckthru, but I made a judgment call based on its price-to-value ratio, and deemed the low price to trump the construction flaw. (ie - I'm willing to accept flaws and imperfections if the price is commensurate.)

I also nitpicked the new-for-2016 placement of the volume knob interfering with easy access to the blade switch. I understand why the volume knob was moved further away from the picking hand (because many people complain about bumping into volume knobs that are too close to their picking hand) but Jackson should have also moved the blade switch over a little bit too. Oh well. (I'm someone who doesn't mind close volume knobs; I don't bump into them when I play.)

In the end, I didn't keep that SL3X very long, a little less than two months. I enjoyed playing it, but I saw an opportunity to resell it for a nice profit and the buyer seemed happy too.

[Mudlark]

That's a Japanese serial, but it could be either 2005ish or 2010-11.
Generally, 9800000 started circa 2007, but there are a number of mid 2000's guitars that oddly got a 98xxxxx serial instead of 97xxxxx.

Of the few I've seen in which the owner removed the neck and checked the date/model stamps, they were stamped 2005.
Since the KVX10 was available in 2005 and 2010-11, it could be either.

Yeah, that's a good deal if it functions properly. MIJ guitars have huge potential. My 2011 DKMGT (serial 9853xxx, stamped June 2011) is every bit the guitar my USA Soloist is in all the important areas.

The Indo's are simply hit and miss compared to the solid reputation of the Japanese models. Japanese production stopped in late 2011.

The post-Japan X Series and Pro Series guitars also have huge potential, but judging from the 5 years of posts on the many Jackson groups, a LOT more duds are getting through than did in Japan.
I literally can't recall anyone saying they had a Japanese Jackson that was a dud.

[xmacvicar]

Thanks Mudlark! I am also from east coast canada. Thanks for the tips

[xenophobe]

I literally can't recall anyone saying they had a Japanese Jackson that was a dud.

A number of people complained about their painted 750xl's, I'm one of them. lol There were some early.... possibly CX series that seemed to be hit or miss. But yeah, overall anything MIJ is just fine.

[Mudlark]

I'm pretty confident some duds got through, I just can't remember hearing of them.
Though, there was that issue with a number of limited run Dinkys with off centered neck pockets around 10 years ago, or something to that effect

[toejam]

The painted 750XLs were basswood and not mahogany like J/C stated.

[xmacvicar]

I got 'er! Cleaned it up really well and gave it a good going over. Intonation is mint!

https://imgur.com/a/xRIlE