Needing Advice buying an RR1

[Bielzaoo]

Not true. That's the one thing Fender has improved with Jackson. QC is far better. Reports of USA's with problems were fairly common before the buyout. For a span of a year or so, there would be a new thread about a new QC issue as much as 2-3 times a month. Its not that Jackson is making fewer mistakes, it is that those mistakes are being caught during production and more guitars are stalled mid-build or at final inspection due to needing to be "corrected" and these guitars get put back in the queue. This has has caused a new issue, and that is, its lengthened the wait times considerably.

I used to consider the wait times another issue completely, but have come to learn that the higher QC is directly responsible for for the increased delivery times.

Also adherence to build sheets has supposedly improved greatly, but that took a few more years to accomplish.

Good to know!! It´s like hell if i buy a guitar whitout even touching on it, and knowing their QC has improved makes me feel a little more confortable if i buy a new one from USA.

[coloradoman25]

I call bullshit here.. I have exported at least 5 guitars to brazil in the past 2 years.

[xenophobe]

Good to know!! It´s like hell if i buy a guitar whitout even touching on it, and knowing their QC has improved makes me feel a little more confortable if i buy a new one from USA.

Yes. QC has gone up tremendously and it's now rare that someone has a problem with a new guitar. Back in 2001, it was a coin toss. Buying a new guitar or getting a custom, you had like a fair chance something was wrong. They've fixed that. But custom orders back then only took 8-12 months. The time has doubled now.

I call bullshit here.. I have exported at least 5 guitars to brazil in the past 2 years.

I looked into it. Brazil is a fucked up country to deal with. If he lives in any number of specific regions, he can't import anything. Other regions have their own regulations, in addition to the national limitations Brazil has. So one guy in Brazil might live in a region where they can purchase stuff, another guy might live in a region where they cannot.

Anyone who wants to import anything has to have a license granted for that particular import. Licenses are usually only granted to businesses. Individuals need to apply for a license just as a business would. And there are very heavy taxes and levies. Nationally, there are two categories, one that has a value limit and one that does not, they both have their own separate levies. Typically a 60% duty is charged. Then there are broker and other fees. Then there is a VAT that must be paid. That is all national. Then each specific region has their own laws and taxes that must be paid.

Even if he flew out here, he could only bring back something that is valued at less than $500 without problems. If it is more, then he needs to deal with all the bullshit listed.

It's really fucked up. I read about half of this and skimmed the rest because I just gave up trying to find some loophole:

http://www.fedex.com/us/international/irc/profiles/irc_br_profile.html

[coloradoman25]

what if it was brought in as "parts" IE 2 shipments one guitar shell other electronics and hardware?

you could feasibly get there I would think. I didnt realize it was region specific.

[xenophobe]

I dunno. If he wants to import a guitar, he should probably seek the counsel of an import lawyer. From the sounds of it, I'm sure there is no shortage of them in Brazil.

[Bielzaoo]

I call bullshit here.. I have exported at least 5 guitars to brazil in the past 2 years.

Wow. If u did that, please teach me how to. Maybe we can work on some deals ! I´ll pm u.

I looked into it. Brazil is a fucked up country to deal with. If he lives in any number of specific regions, he can't import anything. Other regions have their own regulations, in addition to the national limitations Brazil has. So one guy in Brazil might live in a region where they can purchase stuff, another guy might live in a region where they cannot.

Thanks for ur time trying to help me xeno!

Cheers!

[Big Fish]

Can't you just come to the US, buy a used guitar and claim that you'dve already owned it and taken it with you to the US when importing?

[decadence5423]

I wonder if you could get away with doing it on a cruise. There should be plenty of cruises between Brazil and Florida and it would be way cheaper than flying. You also wouldn't have the hassle of checking a giant RR1 case. I'm just throwing stuff out there

[xenophobe]

I wonder if you could get away with doing it on a cruise. There should be plenty of cruises between Brazil and Florida and it would be way cheaper than flying. You also wouldn't have the hassle of checking a giant RR1 case. I'm just throwing stuff out there

Upon returning, he would still need to go through customs. Brazil has some pretty horrible importation laws that are there to prevent anti-competitive and price dumping practices. If the value is over $500, he would still probably need to obtain licenses and permissions and pay duties before they release it. Like I said, if he really wants to try saving money, he'll need to contact a lawyer to figure out exactly what he can and can't do.

[roodyrocker]

I own Jacksons from various eras and there is absolutely no difference in quality between the 90's, pre-Fender buyout, or current production. So, if you find a USA Jackson you like I wouldn't let the quality issue hold you back from buying it. EMG's aren't bad pickups and you can put Duncans in it if you want later anyway. I have no experience with the Gotoh Floyd but have heard they are good. So really it comes down to price. It sounds like the limitations on importing make it impossible to get a used RR1 from elsewhere for you. It becomes an easy choice then, if you want an EDS RR1 buy the one you're looking at

[cynicon]

Its a shame, a really shame your situation, Im from Mexico, and right now a Jackson USA is coming, i fell so happy, I can offer you to buy a new one, send it to my house and then I would sent it to you without unpacking it, there is nothing like Duncan pickup. Well its just my opinion...

[xenophobe]

I own Jacksons from various eras and there is absolutely no difference in quality between the 90's, pre-Fender buyout, or current production.

I definitely disagree. There are obvious peaks in quality in 83-84. In 87-89ish 93-97-ish... the bolt-ons from 87-90ish peaked in quality... between 95-97 the neckthrus seemed to peak. Between 96 and 2002, QC issues became more and more common. By 2003 most of the non-specific QC issues seemed to have been taken care of, though they were still having problems following work orders into 2006 and later.

I never met an 85 bolt-on that was any good. I did get one good 86, but the four or five others that I owned were all kinda meh, even though they were all minty or excellent quality. Absolutely my favorite period for neck-thru Customs are the 95-96-97 years... the unspecified flat D profile from the early 80's returned and the newer heel-less designs on some body styles were great. I almost forgotten about those until I picked up that RR1 for Ron in Oakland. I never got a bad CS Jackson from those 95-97 years and they seem to have the best neck shape and seem to have the lowest action. At least for me.

[Trem]

I would wave 3 thousand dollars in his face and if he still says no, then walk away. Keep looking, i know it's no fun. I feel for you man, really shit situation.

[roodyrocker]

I definitely disagree. There are obvious peaks in quality in 83-84. In 87-89ish 93-97-ish... the bolt-ons from 87-90ish peaked in quality... between 95-97 the neckthrus seemed to peak. Between 96 and 2002, QC issues became more and more common. By 2003 most of the non-specific QC issues seemed to have been taken care of, though they were still having problems following work orders into 2006 and later.

I never met an 85 bolt-on that was any good. I did get one good 86, but the four or five others that I owned were all kinda meh, even though they were all minty or excellent quality. Absolutely my favorite period for neck-thru Customs are the 95-96-97 years... the unspecified flat D profile from the early 80's returned and the newer heel-less designs on some body styles were great. I almost forgotten about those until I picked up that RR1 for Ron in Oakland. I never got a bad CS Jackson from those 95-97 years and they seem to have the best neck shape and seem to have the lowest action. At least for me.

Well, I do have some 80's Jacksons as well. Many people have their favorite neck profiles and such but things like the neck profile are preferences not quality control issues. On the Customs, yes I know sometimes they got the specs wrong but what I'm reffering to is the actual quality of the finished guitar. So for example if I ordered a standard pointy headstock but they built it as a reverse headstock, yes they got the spec wrong but the quality of the build was still the same. Anyway, after having played many and owned many Jacksons from the various eras I would not hesistate to buy one from any era based on fear of poor quality. One thing Jackson has always had compared to other brands is consistently high build quality

[xenophobe]

Well, I do have some 80's Jacksons as well. Many people have their favorite neck profiles and such but things like the neck profile are preferences not quality control issues. On the Customs, yes I know sometimes they got the specs wrong but what I'm reffering to is the actual quality of the finished guitar. So for example if I ordered a standard pointy headstock but they built it as a reverse headstock, yes they got the spec wrong but the quality of the build was still the same. Anyway, after having played many and owned many Jacksons from the various eras I would not hesistate to buy one from any era based on fear of poor quality. One thing Jackson has always had compared to other brands is consistently high build quality

All of the best bolt-ons I've played were 88-89. All of the best neck-thrus I've played were 95-97. That's just from my limited perspective of owning 40-50 USA Jacksons over the years and playing many dozens more of various years. Can I pick one up and randomly tell you what year or era it's from? To some extent. Can I play a guitar and tell if it plays well for me, sets up well and gets the action that I expect? Yes. What I'm saying is that there is a sweet spot in manufacturing eras that I prefer. Believe me or not, it doesn't really matter. I've performed setups as an amateur on at least 100 guitars. No, that's really not many at all, but I can tell when a neck is being fussy. I have the least issues and most enjoyment from guitars built during the eras I mentioned. Consistently. At least for me.

And quite frankly, ESP MIJ fretwork is far better than USA Jackson... At least the post-2000 stuff. It's not even a fair comparison.