Another Noob, with his DK2M

[ShadoW]

This may already been asked and answered. I have searched and found nothing relating to my problems.

I have the jackson DK2M Crimson Swirl, with 2 concerns.

1. The locking nut keeps slipping/notching towards the floor, when using tremolo or bending. Only slightly buy 1mm to 3mm but this dramatically effects the thin E string.

What can i do to sort this out?


2. It sounds pants, it has the jazz and tb4 or something for pickups, but i dont think its the pickups causing the problem, maybe the wood, but for a guitar of this price range i would expect alittle more. It has no character what so ever.

What do you guys think to this? TBH im little dissapointed.

If any of you guys could shed some light on this, it would be very much appreciated.

[Confuse-a-Cat]

Welcome to the board! Lincolnshire rocks.
Whereabouts in the county are you from? I'm from Louth, but I'm away at uni at the moment.

That locking nut behaviour sounds bad. It should stay put totally. I assume it is the blocks that hold the strings down which are moving and not the whole nut. Perhaps there is a problem with the allen bolts or the screw holes?

I don't know what to say about the sound. I really like the way mine sounds, and yes, the pickups are the JB TB-4 and Jazz SH2N. You might have just got a dud, because I have no complaints at all.

[Cygnus X1]

Welcome aboard!


Try adjusting the height of the pickups.
And good quality pots and a capacitor upgrade will help.
RS Guitar works has some excellent components and upgrade kits.

[ShadoW]

From around Spalding area.

Its not the blocks thats moving, its the whole locking system at the top.

Dud what? guitar or pickups

[stevieb91]

I had the same issue with mine. The screws that hold the lock nut to the neck were loose(when using the trem you would hear a "pop" as the lock nut shifted). I tried tightening the screw once, and when it came loose again I filled the hole with a mixture of epoxy and wood shavings, reset the lock nut, and have not had the same problem since.

[ShadoW]

You described it perfectly, how long ago was this?

Have tried adjusting height. Jacksons Suck

[MartinBarre]

You described it perfectly, how long ago was this?

Have tried adjusting height. Jacksons Suck

Did you buy it brand new? If not, maybe there's a problem with the wiring. The JB/Jazz pickups are fantastic and, even if you don't like them much, they shouldn't sound as bad as you seem to be describing.
I wouldn't waste money on pots or anything like that - they should sound good with the stock wiring, and if they really don't there's something else not right.

I'd open the thing up and check the wiring is okay.

[ShadoW]

I have done some modifcations to my strat, put emgs 81/85, so i know what the wiring looks like, it looks tidy and neat, Guitar was brand new when i brought it. What you guys think to me installing my EMG's in there?

[MartinBarre]

I have done some modifcations to my strat, put emgs 81/85, so i know what the wiring looks like, it looks tidy and neat, Guitar was brand new when i brought it. What you guys think to me installing my EMG's in there?

I think you should take it back and swap it for something else. If it sounds that bad when it's brand new it must be faulty.

Maybe it's just a bad piece of wood - I'm sure my RR3 is the same. I put Blackouts in it and it rocks now, so I expect putting EMGs in yours will do the same thing.

But it's new, and you say it sounds like crap, so I'd return it and tell them to swap it for another guitar.

Again, if the nut is faulty as well, take the thing back. I don't know why you're even asking about it. The thing's clearly faulty.

[ShadoW]

I've had this thing for over 2 months now, taking it back isnt an option for me.

I realised the problems when i got it, but going from my modded squire to this, i was blinded, it plays absolutley great.

What was up with your RR3?

[MartinBarre]

I've had this thing for over 2 months now, taking it back isnt an option for me.

I realised the problems when i got it, but going from my modded squire to this, i was blinded, it plays absolutley great.

What was up with your RR3?

Much the same as your DK2. I never liked the stock Duncan Designed pickups, swapped them for DiMarzio FRED/PAF Joe. Never liked them either. Swapped them for Duncan Invaders. They were okay but still not great. Swapped them for Duncan Custom/Jazz. Again, never liked it. The guitar sounded kinda lifeless with all those different pickups.
The Invaders were probably the best, maybe because they're so high gain.

Anyway, I was going to just get rid of it, but decided to try actives, so put Blackouts in it and it really brought it to life. I reckon Blackouts would make a fucking wardrobe sound like a beast!

[wilkinsi]

It sounds pants? Are you playing it with your arse?

[ShadoW]

Cheers man, i think i'll set up shop tomorrow and swap the pickups around, maybe seymours would sound better in a strat. I'll report back here when i have come to my conclusion.

Thanks for that comment wilkinsi lol, i'll take that onboard and see how it goes.

Does anybody know the weight of the DK2M, maybe they left a huge chunk of wood out of it.

[steel8909]

What amp are you playing it through?

[ShadoW]

Not playing through any amp, vst plugins, guitar rig 3, and revalver.