Jacksons pre-fender vs now, a bunch of BS?

[lynchfan6]

I prefer the neck profile on my pre-Fender SL1 versus my post-Fender SL2H. The Ebony on the pre-Fender looks a bit nicer as it is darker and more uniform. My pre-Fender is a bit lighter than the post-Fender. Other than that they are identical in workmanship and playability. Or were as I got rid of the heavier post-Fender.

Please explain this neck difference!!!!!!!! Maybe what I'd be happiest with is an older soloist.

[Accept2]

I have them from all eras, and every era has its pros and cons. Post Fender are built well, but can have little things wrong involving the hardware and wiring installation, and thats not a big deal. Just be thankful you get a real OFR and not a JT6.........

[church2224]

Well I don't care about selling a pre-Fender Jackson, I only buy them, but I have played and OWN several Pre-Fender and post Fender Jackson's and I can tell you it isn't BS! I'll give a specifics. On my new 2010 KV2 grounding problem sent it back. Got a 2009 KV2 the eblony fret board has a ding in it from the factory and made a horibble buzz when the volume pot was turned down. Sent it back to get the pot fixed n sent the other back for replacement. Two RR1's from 1990 and 1995 are by far and away better in quility than 3 or 4 new KV2's, Kelly's or Soloist I've played. Played a new KV2 a while back b4 I got into Jacksons and almost got turned off. Then I played a RR1 from 95 and fell in love. The quility in the ebony, construction, and so on seem to me to be better. More QC on the end of things I guess. I could be wrong and yes there are thousands of more guitars than I have played, but my limited numbers have cemented this into my mind! I've never seen a pre-fender I didn't like, but I've played and seen alot of post fenders that gave me headaches to fix?

Sure maybe the Ebony may look better, but then again it is wood, you cannot really control the color of it.

Not only that, but you have no idea if those "pre Fender" guitars have had problems leaving the factory or not. It has been over ten years and A lot of the kinks have probably been worked out if there were any. Another forum member, Inazone, posted this-

"I love my AMIC-era USAs, but they sure let some duds slip through. I had two USAs (a few years apart) with wrong-sized locking nuts, another whose trem post inserts were pulling right out of the body, and bad pickup toggle switches on two or three. All the issues were able to be corrected, but all should have been caught by QC.

Pre-Fender is just one more era in J/C's history. In the grand scheme of things, the changes will not prove to be all that significant"

As you can see, things were fixed, and it shows that even before the Fender buyout, Jackson releases a couple of duds.

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/121495-So-who-really-does-build-Jackson-and-Charvel-Guitars

[Sukkoi19]

Please explain this neck difference!!!!!!!! Maybe what I'd be happiest with is an older soloist.

My older Soloist has a slightly narrower neck than my 2010 Soloist had. I especially notice this as the nut was flush with the 2010 binding or even slightly narrower than the binding while on my 1997 the nut is ever so slightly wider than the binding. The neck thicknesses were identical but the older guitar had a slightly narrower neck which made a big difference to me. Not that I could play the 2010 well. I just didn't play it as much and sold it to finance other guitars.

[KLNowak]

The only thing I remember being better before the buyout was that they didn't raise their prices 30% every two to three years.

[pro-fusion]

Recall also that Dave's occupation in the early 80s was "drug dealer" , he did get alternate income sources in the early days of Metallica.

You mean Dave actually had some drugs left over to sell? I'm shocked!

[Hellraiser6502]

I ALWAYS enjoy these threads....

It's like deja-vu all over again, and again...and again.. :dead:

[beardy]

I'll say the following - pre-buyout guitars are good as long as they are well maintained. Shoddy care will upset the best of San Dimas and Ontario and others. Post-Fenders seem to suffer from inadequate shielding - I've experienced that with my '08 SL2H, which is an otherwise absolutely lovely guitar. At the same time, one of my favourite SD-era guitars, the Reverse-Head Granite Strat had some wiring that came loose (guess 25 years will do that to ya!). It's all about making sure your instruments are in good upkeep.
I certainly agree that the JT-6 is pants (yet second to the V-Trem in badness), and that it should either be a Kahler or an OFR/Schaller. And for max tuning stability with both FR and Kahler, use the FR nut, not a stringlock - works magic!

[Inazone]

Now that Church quoted my previous post, I don't need to say it again, but there were definitely issues before the buyout as well as after. I realize that plenty of JCFers have guitars that were purchased new in the `80s and `90s, but as far as used guitars where the original condition is no longer known, anything is possible. People that bought the `90s Jacksons I sold in the past few years certainly got them in better condition than when I initially bought them.

However, that's not to say that they were all duds, but you do have to compare apples to apples.

[Corpsegrinder88]

Actually. one thing nobody has mentioned yet when talkin about necks is Who built em.. they have so many guys that just follow a supervisors instructions and a template that you would be hard pressed to find 2 Jacksons identical, I think it all has to do with experience.

Thats why if you pick up 10 PRS customs guitars right off the line all the necks will feel the same. CNC is a magic employee. Although most ppl crap on em but its constant and specd right every time.. Dont hate on Technology.

But i can say from experience that of my 25 USA Jacksons. Ontarios, SD and pre/post fender. they all play fantastic!!

I have to agree. Setups are the key to a good playing guitar and a GREAT playing guitar...