Identify this please!

[lardninja]

Greetings all. Wonder if you can help me identify my Jackson?
I was bought in the UK circa 1996 and I've been told it might be a DR3. The only thing is it has a middle single coil pickup and all the DR3s I've seen only have 2 buckers. Is it just a variant, or a totally different model? I don't even know what country it was built in. Any help is much appreciated!

Here's the pics,

[rjohnstone]

Looks like a DX1 body, but it would have had the "Professional" logo on the headstock and no sharkies.

[Sunbane]

That is a DR-X. This was a Europe/AU/NZ exclusive, and was not marketed in the USA. I had an RR-X from the same series.

It's very hard to find accurate info on these guitars, because there is no official documentation on them that has survived to this day (as far as we know). Maybe you could help us figure out more? I would be really interested what you would find on the neck heel and in the neck pocket.

Based on the serial, I would guess it's a 96 or a 97.

Here's what I've managed to figure out about your guitar model:

Jackson DR-X
---------------------------
Country of manufacture: Japan.
Production years: 1998 is confirmed.

Construction: Bolt-on neck.

Body Style: Dinky.
Body Wood: Unknown. Note: I would guess poplar

Neck Wood: Maple.
Neck Profile: N/A
Scale length: 25.5" (650mm).
Fretboard: Rosewood.
Frets: 24 jumbo frets.
Inlays: Reverse Sharkfins (synthetic).
Headstock: Reverse Jackson pointy.

Bridge: JT580LP Licensed Low Profile Floyd, fully recessed.
Hardware Color: Black.
Machine Heads: Gotoh Custom, encapsuled, Jackson label. Ratio: 15:1.
Nut: Licensed Floyd Rose Locking Nut.

Pickup configuration: H-S-H.
Pickup models: Unknown.
Controls: 1 volume, 1 tone, 5-way blade switch.
Knobs: Unknown. Seen several with Ibanez style knobs on them

Confirmed finishes: Transparent Blue, Transparent Purple, Transparent Red.
Unconfirmed finishes: Metallic Black, Metallic Blue, Trans Green.

Weight: Unknown.
Retail price: Unknown.

[RobRR]

Beings thats has all the signs of being a Performer series guitar (aside from the sharkies), Id venture to say the body is Alder. Also Ill point out that those knobs are the same ones found on Performer series guitars (I can definetly speak for Performer Rhoads). The pickups seem to be "no-name" Jacksons that are also found on Performer series guitars. Ill also note that DR3's from the same era came with 3d neck plates.

I think its safe to say that this guitar is essentially a Performer series guitar with sharkfin inlays as opposed to a Pro series... or at the best right smack dab in the middle.

[wibble]

Thats actually very similair to a Jackson i own, couldn`t ID it any closer than to just `some import dk` Mine has, 24 frets, rosewood board, moto sharkies, bound neck, Jackson only on headsock (no professional), bolt on, H-S-H Duncan Designed pups, 1 vol, 1 tone, Jackson licensed trem, Jackson logo`d tuners, 5 way slide switch, flat back plate with Jackson stamped into it, serial #9662716. ALl hardware is like a brushed aluminium effect, Pups are direct mounted to the body, no rings. Colour is black.

Crappy pic, will get more if needed,

[Sunbane]

Beings thats has all the signs of being a Performer series guitar (aside from the sharkies), Id venture to say the body is Alder.

My RR-X was made of poplar, and I've gotten written confirmation from another owner that his AT-X was poplar as well. That is why I thought poplar would be a good guess. However, the Performer series were also made of both poplar and alder, so anything is possible I suppose.

Also Ill point out that those knobs are the same ones found on Performer series guitars (I can definetly speak for Performer Rhoads).

I don't know which knobs were original to this model. They may even have changed the knob style on them over time. I've seen photos of DR-Xes with metal dome knobs, and others with the plastic "Ibby-knobs". If the plastic knobs were original, then the DR-X was the only model out of four (the others being AT-X, RR-X and KE-X) that came with them stock at some point in time.

I think its safe to say that this guitar is essentially a Performer series guitar with sharkfin inlays as opposed to a Pro series... or at the best right smack dab in the middle.

That may very well be the case, as there are interesting similarities between both series - but in that case, only the bodies (and possibly the pickups) were shared between them. The Euro-X series all had the JT580LP trem instead of the JT500.

Do you know which year did the production of the Performers moved to Japan? All known examples of "Euro-X" guitars had japanese serials, while the early Performers were built in Korea.

[toejam]

DK-3.

http://www.audiozone.dk/CatalogScans/Jack2000/pages/Jack2000Page10.htm

[RobRR]

Nah, I dont know when the switched to Japan.

As for the knobs picutred, theyre metal as with on the Performer series... actually reall nice knobs, Ive got a bunch of em!

[NextInLine]

Check my Dr-X!

[lardninja]

Thanks a lot for all the input guys. It would seem to be a DR-X then, it looks a lot like the one in NextInLine's photo with no binding on the neck. Thanks to Sunbane for the information. I think I paid about 500 pounds for the axe back in the day, but bear in mind that we Brits get ripped off with prices here all the time! The knobs are indeed metal but painted black. I can provide more photos/info if needed, but I don't really fancy taking the neck off as I'm not really up to that level of maintenance.

I've just started playing again after a bit of a lull, I might look into changing those pups and getting the guitar fully serviced soon. Would a Seymour Duncan Invader be a decent choice for the bridge?

[Sunbane]

Would a Seymour Duncan Invader be a decent choice for the bridge?

Depends on what sort of tone you're going for. I would personally recommend the Duncan Distortion. It has good response all over the spectrum, with peaks in mid-range and treble. Any Duncan or DiMarzio would be a drastic improvement over the pickups the guitar currently has.

The original pickups in my RR-X were a disaster. They were relatively high output, and had decent enough tone, but were extremely muddy in the lower register. Palm muted riffs sounded like sludge - no clarity or definition at all.

[GryphonGuitar]

+1 for the Duncan Distortion.

But the Invader is a great neck pickup, if You're like me and play leads in the neck position.

[lardninja]

Ok, I might just give that distortion pickup a go, it's cheaper than the invader too. Sounds good on Duncan's web site too. Cheers guys.