Jackson 'Standard' to 'Pro' upgrade issue

[Corporal]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and immediately come forward with a problem/question...

2 years ago I purchased a (second hand) Jackson King V standard, as featured on page 6 of the Jackson 1994-1995 catalog. Not (merely) for the sound, but rather for the cool looks & finishes (I know, I know...), because V-shaped guitars are my favorites (I have been playing a Gibson V for 15 years now and I'm so used to the shape and plan to stick with them).

Problem is that the Jackson sounded quite dull/muffled to me, especially with the upper strings (not much crunch nor shred when playing power chords for example). Not surprisingly, I am used to play EMG pickups, and the Jackson was equipped with standard Jackson (passive) pickups. So I installed a Zakk Wylde EMG set. The sound improved somewhat, but far below my expectations, compared to the Gibson (I even had my DIY-work checked by a pro and already replaced the pickup with the one of my other guitar, unfortunately with no result).

Looking at the specs in the catalog sheet, the wood used for the body of a 'standard' is the same as in a 'pro' (poplar). Only neck and fretboard are different material. Here I have to mention that I also installed a new neck, with the typical Jackson sharkfins and binding (the standards come with no binding and just dots), coming from a Dinky, although this didn't affect the sound neither way (it fitted like a glove, but needed some scale/stop adjustments because of the 24-22 frets).

Could anyone pinpoint the cause of this dull/muffled sound coming out of my Jackson ? Could it be the (licensed) FR-system of which it has been claimed by some to take away "string sound/body resonance" ? Shall I replace it with a fixed-bridge (Gibson style) system (drastic technical adjustment, I know, but I have seen it done before).

Thanx

[straycat]

First off welcome.
Swapping 22 -24 fret necks will cause you not to be able to proprly intonate the guitar.Yes the necks will fit but the scale length will be off and there is not enough travel in the string saddles to make it work.
Several folks here have either modified the neck heel or modified the neck pockets of the body to make it work but there is refinishing and paint work too.
A dull muffled sound tells me a bad ground or cold solder joint in the wiring.
rarely will a pickup just go bad.
The Jackson trems are either Schaller made or Takeuchi which are high quality trems so I dont think the problem is your trem but make sure the string breaks over the string saddle in the center, if its off center it can mute the string.
Check the nut too if its loose it can mute the strings too albeit rare but I have seen that problem too.
The EMG's will get muffled sounding when the battery gets weak so change the battery first.
You did know with EMG's you need a stereo input jack.
Fixing/building guitars is my hobby so I've seen it all.Hope that helped.

[Corporal]

Thanx for the quick response !

You're right about the intonation issue that comes with the 22 to 24 frets change, but that is planned to be taken care of (also in an aesthetical way) by a professional guitar builder. I will also ask him to take a look at the nut, good point there, thanks.

A technician checked the soldering work, the battery was new... LOL, I had hoped it was just due to one of these 'defects'...

[Rich#6]

going from a tom to a FR, the FR guitar will have a lot less acoustical sound.

[straycat]

A floyd equipped guitar is totally different tone wise from a tune-o-matic bridged guitar or just a stop tail bridged guitar too remember that.
Sounds like you need a new guitar tech if he can't figure out the problem.

[blitz]

Have you guitar tech set up the floyd rose for the lengthened neck and also try a set of 81/60 combination EMG's im sure you will get a better sound out of the 60 than the 85 i know i love the sound better.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Are the pickups to far away from the strings? If they are too far away they will sound week and muffled. Also did ya swap out the stock pots when ya switched to the EMG's?
could be a bad switch too. Check the connections on the switch and make sure they are all good. Then maybe go so far as to replace the switch.
Gil

[Corporal]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I installed the pots and jack that came with the EMG-set, but the original switch remained... Still, it does what it's supposed to do, could it be a low-quality part ? I 'll definately ask him to check on that.

But the FR goes out anyway, still considering whether to have it replaced by a fixed bridge with a stop (like Gibson does) or a string-through system (as Jackson does). Any recommandations on that perhaps ?

[Confessor Townsend]

Just to throw something else into the mix. Instead of going down the full woodworking route have you considered going down the sustain block route?

http://www.floydupgrades.com/

and/or fitting a tremol-no

http://www.tremol-no.com/default.asp

[straycat]

IMO it would be eaiser and cheaper to find a proper body for the neck.