Jackson SL2 Pro (Indonesian?) or Charvel Wild Card 7

[Dinkyeye]

Hello everyone,

Love the forum, so much info!
I have a dilemma and I'm wondering if I can get some of your opinions in hopes that maybe it'll give me a different view on a purchase I am about to make.

I have the option to buy either a used Jackson SL2 Pro $500 which I believe is Indonesian or a used Charvel Wildcard 7 $550
They are both in supposed mint condition.

I really want another Jackson as I have a Japanese made DK2M Pro which I absolutely adore!
Of course I will try both guitars out and inspect them but just looking to get any ideas!

Do the Indonesian crafted Jackson SL2 Pro's hold up well quality wise, or are they junk?
I want to believe that they are still very good guitars but I have never owned anything other than USA, Japanese and Korean made guitars so I'm a little shaky about the purchase I'm about to make ughhhhhhhh

Also would it be silly to choose The SL2 over the Charvel?

Oh and last thing, I'm not a purist to the point of well if it isn't Japanese or USA made it sucks.
I just never owned Indonesian,ect lol

Anyway, any opinions or suggestions or experiences would be grateful!

[Force]

I borrowed a friends for a few weeks, so i can't comment on its longevity but it was a great axe to play, no visible flaws, awesome neck, p'ups sounded good. So yeah, pretty nice all round really.

The cons for me were it was matte black & they don't have sharkfin inlays but that's just aesthetics.

[Dinkyeye]

I borrowed a friends for a few weeks, so i can't comment on its longevity but it was a great axe to play, no visible flaws, awesome neck, p'ups sounded good. So yeah, pretty nice all round really.

The cons for me were it was matte black & they don't have sharkfin inlays but that's just aesthetics.

Thanks alot for your input force!
That sounds good to me!
Being that I have a DK2M Pro with the maple and sharkfin inlays, I like the fact that this one has ebony and piranha just for some variation.
I will be checking it out this week and if all goes well I'll be posting some pics ��

[LaoWai]

I have a 2013 indo sl2 pro (serial IWJ) , and a MIJ Charvel pro mod , both guitars are amazing, though I tend to play the Jackson more, a lot more, like most everyday lol.
Personal preference I guess, the Charvel heel kinda blocks.



Over the years, I’ve only replaced the FR studs (not the inserts). Pots are getting scratch, time to replace them.

That said, the Charvel may hold its value over the sl2 due to the country of origin

get both... lol

[MountainDog]

I have the Charvel Wildcard 7 and an Indonesian Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 6 and an Indonesian Jackson mansoor HT6. All three play and feel great, but the Charvel has something that feels and sounds better to me, I rate it best of these three examples. $550 for a mint Wildcard 7 is a really good price, and you don't find too many of these popping up anymore. Since you said you get to play both, go for the one that 'speaks to you' the most in playability and feel and sound. For those prices, you can't go wrong with either.

[Mudlark]

I'd hope the SL2 passed my tests because I'm only a small fan of the Stratocaster shape, but I LOVE the Soloist/Dinky shape.

[Dinkyeye]

[QUOTE=LaoWai;1675419]I have a 2013 indo sl2 pro (serial IWJ) , and a MIJ Charvel pro mod , both guitars are amazing, though I tend to play the Jackson more, a lot more, like most everyday lol.
Personal preference I guess, the Charvel heel kinda blocks.

Hi Lao,
Good to hear that you own one and it's reassuring hearing these positive opinions on it!
I feel I would be playing the Jackson more too!
Yea, pretty sure the Charvel would hold it's value better,luckily that's not something that would bother me
haha! would love to get both ughhhhh!

[Dinkyeye]

I have the Charvel Wildcard 7 and an Indonesian Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 6 and an Indonesian Jackson mansoor HT6. All three play and feel great, but the Charvel has something that feels and sounds better to me, I rate it best of these three examples. $550 for a mint Wildcard 7 is a really good price, and you don't find too many of these popping up anymore. Since you said you get to play both, go for the one that 'speaks to you' the most in playability and feel and sound. For those prices, you can't go wrong with either.

Hi Mountain,
thanks for your info as well,yes makes a lot of sense of course ultimately it's the feel of it in your hands!
The only thing that irks me with the Charvel...now I may be wrong is that in order to adjust the truss rod you have to remove the neck I believe? That kinda bugs me to be honest
great to know it's a win/win situation going with either.
I'll know by tonite!

[Dinkyeye]

I'd hope the SL2 passed my tests because I'm only a small fan of the Stratocaster shape, but I LOVE the Soloist/Dinky shape.

Hi Mudlark,
Yes! I like both but definitely favor the soloist/dinky shape too!

[Dinkyeye]

Hey everyone, I ended up buying the Jackson SL2 PRO, it's an IWJ serial number and I absolutely loved it the moment I touched it!
It also came with the Jackson HSC and a Peavey Vypyr amp which I didn't expect! LOL
I'm extremely happy with this purchase and want to thank everyone for their input!
The guitar feels fantastic, I'm so impressed with the build quality too and it sounds awesome.
I would post some pics but after reading the posting permissions it says that I can't?

[LaoWai]

Congrats! you can post pics using a 3rd party side like imgbox.

[Number Of The Priest]

Congrats, $500 seems like a good deal for a mint condition SL2 with case and amp. IWJ would likely correspond to Indonesia, PT Wildwood, Jackson. PT Wildwood is the factory.

My personal recommendation for a photo hosting/sharing website is www.Imgur.com but basically any host will perform about the same. Except Photobucket, who were once the king of photo hosting services, but they recently shot themselves in the foot by demanding their enormous user base pay an outrageous annual subscription fee to allow hotlinking images.

[Dinkyeye]

Thanks guys!
I will look into the third party recommendations you gave me!
Ughhhhhh one thing that has irked me though is that the floyd is not level so when I removed the back plate (mind you with great difficulty) I tried to loosen the claw tremolo screws and they absolutely will not budge at all! I have done this on all of my guitars while setting them up ect but this is a first.
I never had a guitar where the screws do not budge at all and I don't want to strip them either.
Would you guys have any experience with this type of issue.
I even tried WD40 in hopes it can somehow seep in to the holes but no luck
Tomorrow I'm planning to take it to a guitar shop and keeping my fingers crossed
I wanna believe the parts are simply tight but this is a first for me and I have to say it really disappointed me
I don't think the back plate has ever been removed either as I had extremely difficult time getting it off, almost felt as if it was glued shut hahaha
Otherwise the guitar feels and sounds fantastic!

[Mudlark]

The first 2 digits of the serial are the year.
Unless some fool did glue them I'd guess the wood shrunk on the screws. That said, I've never heard of a screw not coming out of a piece of wood.

Use the proper sized screwdriver head and push in hard on the screw while turning. Pushing in will help it from slipping/stripping.

[Dinkyeye]

The first 2 digits of the serial are the year.
Unless some fool did glue them I'd guess the wood shrunk on the screws. That said, I've never heard of a screw not coming out of a piece of wood.

Use the proper sized screwdriver head and push in hard on the screw while turning. Pushing in will help it from slipping/stripping.

Hi Mudlark,
As per the serial number I have a 2014 model.
Yes the back plate was a nightmare to remove, I couldn't believe it!
As far as the tremolo claw springs, I tried two screw drivers that fit snug, I'll try again tonite when I get home before
taking it to a tech tomorrow ughhhhhhhhhh
Thanks Mudlark!