DK2M Red Ghost Flames now $599!

[MountainDog]

Nice!, yeah it's a modern Predator!

Hey, you are right . Didn't think about that. I always did wish they would've offered a maple board Predator.

[MountainDog]

Dumb question, but after you template for the neck pickup, is it painful to make the first cut into the wood? haha.

Only having to pay $458 for the guitar made it less 'painful'

It's kinda like Surgeons where everything is covered up but the small area they cut into which helps them not to think about the person they are cutting into, once the guitar body is all taped up with blue masking tape to protect the surface from the router base, the only exposed body paint is the area to be cut. So in my mind I was really only cutting into an ugly ass piece of wood with blue tape all over it

[z1n]

Only having to pay $458 for the guitar made it less 'painful'

It's kinda like Surgeons where everything is covered up but the small area they cut into which helps them not to think about the person they are cutting into, once the guitar body is all taped up with blue masking tape to protect the surface from the router base, the only exposed body paint is the area to be cut. So in my mind I was really only cutting into an ugly ass piece of wood with blue tape all over it

Hey I have a question, when you route the pickup hole, is it possible to chip the paint or is that unlikley when it's taped up? I've always wondered about doing what you have done but am scared to take my router to a good paint job. Nice work too man!

[MountainDog]

Hey I have a question, when you route the pickup hole, is it possible to chip the paint or is that unlikley when it's taped up? I've always wondered about doing what you have done but am scared to take my router to a good paint job. Nice work too man!

No worries about chipping the paint. I just used a normal two handle router like this:

http://www.makita.com/menu.php?pg=product_det&tag=3606

with a 1/4" shank, 1/4" diameter straight cutter, like this:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Power+Tool+Accessories&pid=00928641000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Router+Bits&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Drill a 5/16" starter hole with a normal drill bit, then place the router bit in the hole then hit the router trigger. These spin so fast they make a nice clean 'shave' type cut. You don't even have to debur the paint edge. What you see is how it came out after the router. I used a black 'sharpie' to color the wood black.

The tape was really a guideline for me, it doesn't do anything for the paint. Tape will help if you use a regular drill bit for a round hole though, like for drilling the switch hole.

You can hog out the center of the pickup route fairly quickly. You should hold securely to the router so it doesn't walk away from you and cut quicker than you want. I usually do hog out to about 1/8" to 1/16" from the tape, then I take slow 'shave' cuts until I hit the tape. What is nice with doing this on a shiny painted body is you can use the light reflection as a guideline. The paint is shiny, the tape isn't, so you just do the light shaves until the 'shiny' part just disappears, and then you know you are right up on the tape.

Routing the pickup cavity took maybe 10 minutes.

[neverdunn]

Not to pile on, but after nearly buying one of these at full price, I was very interested in what folks had to say about the neck problem. For the hell of it, I double-checked my DKMGT to see if this issue is present on the one I bought in November.

It is.

The treble side is about 2mm higher than the bass. I would never have noticed it if not for this thread and it plays great, so I'm not doing anything about it, but folks might want to check any guitars they bought recently. I'm off to check my Kelly.

[VitaminG]

nice work, man. That looks awesome as a hum-single

[aerostar2005]

I just got My DJ2M RGF. I see the neck issue, but All My DK2M's Have that issue as well. But I see it as a plus. My DK2's & My DKGC36 have the same neck issue as well. My DR3 (Mahogony) does not have it.

[midibuddy]

Wonderful job!
It looks like it came that way from the factory!
I want a DK2M so badly....

My replacement DK2M RGF arrived yesterday. Guitar is in mint condition other than a couple fingerprints. The neck feels great, slightly thinner than my white DK2M. Fret ends nice and smooth.

Here's the neck angle:





Here's the treble side pic:






Here's the bass side pic:





I measured, and the neck heel is equal on each side by a few thousandths of an inch. The body pocket on the bass side is about 0.015" deeper.

The neck pocket has some paint overspray that sat higher than the wood, and the radius of the right side wall to the bottom was kinda rounded. Both would cause the neck to sit higher on the treble side (this pic is how the guitar was received, I did not dremel yet ):





I cleaned up the excess paint, and used a dremel to square up the bottom of the route. I also put a 1" long by 1/4" wide 0.032" shim on the bass side of the pocket alongside the rear screw throughhole to lift the bass side:
Treble side after:





Bass side after:






In case you didn't notice something else different in those last two pics, I submit the Red Ghost Flames H/S ! Started working on it at about 10pm, finished at 1am. Routing the control cavity for the 3-way took longer than routing the pickup cavity. The routing was done freehand only using tape lines as a guide by the way. I took the pickup location and switch locations from my Charvel MAH Strathead H/S.

[S.O.A.F]

I just got My DJ2M RGF. I see the neck issue, but All My DK2M's Have that issue as well. But I see it as a plus. My DK2's & My DKGC36 have the same neck issue as well. My DR3 (Mahogony) does not have it.

IMO.Maybe they just be designed for that(example:Killer Bolt on series...it'a japanese guitar brand which Takasaki use)...or maybe they got some problem in factory line

[goodwood]

Ok Jackson experts...is there a string through body version of this guitar?
...and what colours are available?

[Carbuff]

No, and No.:ROTF: Maybe custom shop or Jackson stars but not imports. That color was a special run for MF and the only 1 hum dk2m model made. You could build your own fairly cheap with ebay parts. But you would still end up having to fill in a neck pup and refin

[goodwood]

That color was a special run for MF and the only 1 hum dk2m model made.

I was in a music store last week that had a 1 Humbucker model with the same paint scheme (different colour) but I thought it had a classic trem...same neck. Hmmm...

[minh80]

Anyone else have any feedback to give on this guitar? I had just ordered the blemish model of this..should I be worried?

[aerostar2005]

I got one of these about 2 months ago. I love it. A totally different sound from my DK2M's. I noticed the neck pocket issue, and all my DK (DK2,DK2M & DKGC36) series guitars have the same issue. I talked to a few people I know personally at Jackson. It's not a flaw but a design that allows the LFR bridge to remain flat, while at the same time compensating for string gauges. So that slight slant is to give you a more level playing area where the center of each string is level. I found a few more high end guitars, built for shredders to be the same way.

[minh80]

I noticed that some of the guitars that I had come that way. I really didn't mind and the playability was just as good. I figured that it came that way. I hope my blemished model that I ordered would be playable and the blemishes remain very minor. I also noticed my COW dk-6 model string is off center where the low E has more room from the edge of the fretboard as the high E is closer to the edge of the fretboard. I also checked pictures of it and it seems to be all that way. Any reason for those models to be that way?