Am I alone????

[leftykingv2]

I have 28 guitars and only two of them are USA Jacksons. I really wish I would have saved my money and bought more USA Jacksons instead of buying so many other brands while looking for my holy grail. I am not just saying this just because we're on a Jackson forum. These guitars are light years better and ahead of the other brands I own. I mean I have an Ibanez Satriani model and a Steve Vai model. Both absolutely awesome guitars that are great players and cost considerably more than my USA Jacksons do but the Two USA Select KV2's I have bury all of my other guitars in tone, looks, quality,and playability. Am I alone here guys??? I want to add a Charvel Warren Dimartini model next after my custom shop Rhoads is paid off!!!!!

[lepard]

A good guitar is a good guitar. I have several neck-thru Japanese 87-88 Charvels that play as good as any USA Jackson. I have World Guitars Korea guitars by BC Rich, Dean and DBZ that play as good as any of my USA Jacksons. In fact, I have several World Guitars Korea DBZ's that play and sound just as good as my NAMM showpiece $3500 USA DBZ. I have a bunch of FujiGen Japanese RG's that are Jackson USA quality. Now, having said that, I have NEVER seen a guitar made by Cort Korea, any shop in Indonesia or any shop in China that was truly impressive.

[DonP]

I have 5 pure USA's, and two mutts (USA neck or USA body) in my guitar inventory.

[vector]

Lefty- I'm sure you're not alone but I have yet to acquire the holy grail Jackson- I've had a bunch: a Bengal RR1, a Ghost flame SL2H, a gray Snakeskin DK1. Great guitars but always something missing. Can't get into what I do think is pretty much the Excaliber of my collection, since we are on the JCF forum but hopefully, my upcoming custom shop Jackson Star will rank right along side, if not be the One.

[RR2772]

To me it is all about the chops or skills to play these days.

Looking back to 1995 I got a franken strat in a trade with a Fender Clapton neck and Schecter body. A mutt? Whatever and by 1996 it drove me crazy not having a US Jackson original Rhoads. The strat was the only electric guitar at the time and I was not really that good or have the desire to play it much. However I customized it and it slowly grew on me since.

I love my RR which is even a custom shop without knowing it for years. Got it new. It always feel great. It is just when it comes down to it that what guitar really is not important.

[xenophobe]

Every different and amazing guitar pushes me to do different things. I do have a repertoire of songs and patterns I go through with almost every guitar, but when I sit there and just make up stuff and play, each guitar's feel and tone push me to create different things... I'm often inspired just by a unique instrument's tone and try to follow it's sound as opposed to playing static stuff that never changes.

A great guitar is a great guitar. It could be made by anyone. I do get along in general better with CJ's, but it's not the brand that really matters. Jackson is my favorite brand, but I don't let that fool me anymore.

[diablomozart]

xenophobe nailed it...a great guitar is a great guitar no matter who made it...for years i was a usa charvel/jackson snob...in the end i came to realize it was neck shape that drew me to specific guitars...these days i have quite a few japanese ibanezes (sabers and rg's) a few japanese jacksons (crimson swirl kelly, blue flame dk2, bullseye dk2m and a dr3) and even a squier bullet for strat tones...as long as the build quality is there and you like the shape of the neck then you're all good...

i spent years chasing the guitars that would make me play better...somewhere along the way i realized the guitar wasn't the problem...i was...lol...after that i found some relatively inexpensive guitars (i don't play out anymore so personally can't justify spending thousands on one guitar anymore) and worked on my playing and technique...not saying my way is the right way for anyone else but to me it was a very liberating experience...in fact to find that after avoiding fenders for all these years i could actually make a cheapie squier strat sound good was actually an epiphany...lol

in the end it comes down to your personal preferences...choose the tools that allow your voice to be heard through your instrument...and then quit worrying abour gear and just enjoy the time you get to play cause that's why we all do it right?...d.m.

[leftykingv2]

+1 Diablomozart & Xenophobe.

[xenophobe]

I will say, once I took the Charvel Jackson blinders off... I was amazed how many "great" guitars I found. With CJs, I'd gone through 50 or 60 of them and found maybe a half-dozen that felt like mine. I will have to say my CS Charvel, my 80's Strathead Jackson and my CS ESP Strathead are definitely my best guitars.

I also love my World Guitars BC Rich Stealth... it's as nice as any USA Jackson, it sounds great and plays awesome, and the build quality is right up there, if not slightly better. And my Sugi-built Ibanez M8M is right up there too. With both of these, you have that amazing feel of solid build quality and amazing tone that you don't get from most guitars. It's funny a <$700 mass produced 7-string and a >$5000 completely hand-built guitar can both feel just as awesome and play as well.

[Jayster]

but when I sit there and just make up stuff and play, each guitar's feel and tone push me to create different things... I'm often inspired just by a unique instrument's tone and try to follow it's sound as opposed to playing static stuff that never changes.

+1

Right now, I've got 2 electrics. A KE2 and a SG. They couldn't be more different scale length/neck wise, etc. I find that the KE2 is overall more comfortable for me to play on, but that the SG is very different in that I focus MUCH more of my playing in the 5-12 fret area(for some reason that's just the area I gravitate towards on it). Also my picking style changes(a LOT) probably because of the difference in string spacing(plus TOM vs. floyd). Even though I love the Jackson brand, I still enjoy playing other guitars too!




EDIT ~ With some small upgrades and a little time setting up, most import guitars are quite playable.

[leftykingv2]

I agree with that but I think The USA Jackson's a better guitars.

[straycat]

USA bolt on Jackson and Charvel guitars from 85 -89 just feel good to me and the necks draw me to them.The fact they come in wild colors/graphics is just icing on the cake. Here is my holy grail I chased this one for years and finally got it.It plays and sounds like no other guitar I own. Everything is right on this one to me,yeah its not the original paint and it is a Kahler to floyd mod but I don't care it kicks ass. The history behind it is a story all its own.

[leftykingv2]

That thing is fucking awesome Stray!!! Love the comic paint scheme!!!

[straycat]

Its the actual comics taken out of a Sunday newspaper.Dated 1986.
Very early Tom Anderson H-2 pick up.

[leftykingv2]

I think it's foolish to say any brand of guitar that's Chinese, Korean or Indonesian is as good in quality as a USA Jackson. I have played quite a few great imports but none of them can measure up. Either way Stray that thing is awesome. One of the coolest I've ever seen.