Am I alone????

[straycat]

Thanks lefty.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

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 think it's "foolish" to assume that just beacause it's a USA Jackson (or any other brand) it's "better"....as was said in post #2 "a good guitar is a good guitar" !!

[hippietim]

I find that PRS guitars are what work best for me overall these days. I still play a Tele a lot. For Floyded stuff, I'll take my old white JEM over any other guitar I've ever had my hands on (including all J/C guitars).

[markD]

i have pretty much gotten rid of all my USA jackson guitars. in fact, i only have one jackson left - my gutted PC-1. it was my first jackson, and it has been modded/broken in to be the exact guitar i want it to be. if i ever got another CS built, i would have to send them my PC-1 neck to copy.

regarding other guitars, these days i am going for specific tones and vibes. i may find what i am looking for in a korean guitar, a chinese guitar, a japanese guitar, an american guitar....one thing that i HAVE discovered is that as my musical styles and songwriting move outside the realm of "heavy" music, the jackson guitars don't offer the true variety of tones i am seeking. a lot of the time i am not even changing pickups anymore - if the stock tone and feel of the guitar provides me with something i don't already have, then i buy the guitar.

for instance, i went from having ALL shredder guitars this time last year to having:

danelectro U2
jazzmaster
duo-sonic
telecaster
jaguar
les paul
SG
PRS

those guitars make up my collection now, along with the guitars that i hold on to for sentimental reasons but never get played - like my mike learn painted USA diablo and my DSY ibanez sabre. some are american, some chinese, some korean, some japanese. if it plays good and sounds good, that is all that matters!!!

my wife put it best. "why have a bunch of guitars that pretty look the same and sound the same? why not have guitars that are like different colors in an artists palette? why not, as a songwriter, have instruments that inspire you to create?" i thought about that, and totally got it. i did the same thing with my amps. i now have a tweed amps, blackface amps, a marshall, one rivera (instead of 3), a couple of egnaters, an orange, and a couple modellers to give those rare sounds that i might use in a blue moon (i.e., rectifier).

it makes playing WAY more fun!!!!

[leftykingv2]

I find that PRS guitars are what work best for me overall these days. I still play a Tele a lot. For Floyded stuff, I'll take my old white JEM over any other guitar I've ever had my hands on (including all J/C guitars).

I have a white Vai Jem model and a Satriani model as well and they're both great guitars for sure but my hand just feels more at home on the Jackson Speed Neck. Hippietim PRS builds incredible guitars. That's one thing I do have to add to my collection as well. I don't have a USA PRS but I need to get one in the very near future.

[hippietim]

I have a white Vai Jem model and a Satriani model as well and they're both great guitars for sure but my hand just feels more at home on the Jackson Speed Neck. Hippietim PRS builds incredible guitars. That's one thing I do have to add to my collection as well. I don't have a USA PRS but I need to get one in the very near future.

You're in luck! I've got three killer PRS guitars in the classifieds

[leftykingv2]

You're in luck! I've got three killer PRS guitars in the classifieds

No I am not Tim.................I am left handed. I did see what you had for sale and you're not kidding. Those are really really nice guitars.

[xenophobe]

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.

My Korean World Guitars BC Rich Stealth is equal to or better than Jackson USA standard production without any doubt. It comes with real EMG's, a real OFR and the nicer Grover tuners. The ebony fretboard is dark black, almost like graphite like older Jacksons. They use a very similar type of binding to the USA Jacksons, and the binding work is far superior to Jackson USA. The paint is not soft and the neck has that dead-on Jackson cold glass feel and nails it better than many USA Jacksons. For a 7-string, the action is amazing. It took a while to figure out that they shipped the guitar with strings that were slightly too heavy, so I put on a lighter set and the action is as low as any CS Jackson I've owned. It sounds amazing, it plays well. It cost me $670 shipped and in every regard is just as nice or nicer than any USA Jackson. When you consider the cost, it's far nicer.

My ESP Strathead absolutely smokes any Jackson Strathead in terms of build quality and workmanship. It's probably my most played guitar. It goes far above and beyond what Jackson would ever do, but of course, non-market ESP Customs are far more intricately spec'd than any Jackson or USA market ESP CS. My CS Charvel is almost as nice, but workmanship is definitely a step down... even though it's practically flawless.

My MIJ Fender Strat is comparable in quality to my CS Jackson strat stuff. It's not nicer, but it's damn close... but then again, it was only around $1100.

[leftykingv2]

It's awesome that you got such nice players for such a low amount of cash. I'd love to find something like that for under a grand. My experiences with most imports has been the exact opposite unfortunately. I am not talking about my Japanese Ibanez guitars because they're awesome in play ability tone and build quality. The other day I went to guitar center because my friend told me there was a Dean Mustaine Angel of Deth model out there. It was Indonesian and the sales clerk took it down off the rack for me and proceeded to try and sell me on it. The binding work was shotty at best especially where the fret board joined the body. The "Ebony" board had a huge discoloration in it making it look like it had been dyed. I didn't even play it because the price tag was $859.99 and the build quality was crap at best. It was a shame to see that Dean had wasted the hardware on it. A tone pros bridge, Duncun Live Wires and grover tuners would make any guitar worth owning except this one. You guys have to remember I see so few Left handed guitars so when I do I am very picky about things and very meticulous.

[xenophobe]

The Korean World Guitar stuff, at least from all the models I've played are exceptional instruments especially when you consider the price. You're right, I haven't played an Indonesian guitar I thought was worth the price. The Chinese stuff just isn't up to par either. I've tried many of the Desolation Charvels. I even owned one. While it was a decent guitar with very nice fretboard, it was overpriced and riddled with cosmetic defects.

I'm one of the boards CS snobs. I'm really only interested in the level of build quality a handbuilt or mostly handbuilt guitar generally has. I think you can really feel the difference. What you're really paying for is the hope that the artisan build means you're more likely to get a guitar that feels unique and the extra time spent ends up translating into a guitar that just feels or plays better. That's not always the case, but I think the chances of finding a "better" one is higher.

My Sugi-built Ibanez M8M is a perfect example. It looks almost like a sterile build that can be cnc'd by any machine. But when you pick it up and feel the body, the edges and the neck, you can feel all the hand-craftsmanship that actually went into it. When you examine it really closely, all those edges that seem consistently sterile? You can see what you've felt. All the fine hand filework, inconsistent at a magnifying glass viewing is done consistently enough that overall it looks consistent. The hand shaped neck profile looks consistent, but you can feel the changes with your fingertips. I've done quite a bit of wood working in my life, so all that subtle hand shaping is noticeable to me. The fretwork? The frets aren't cut short of the fretboard end like current Charvel Jackson CS work, they're laboriously filed to perfection. It's like a work of art.

[leftykingv2]

It seems like China is the new Korea. Back in the 80's and 90's nobody wanted a Korean guitar. Now the Korean stuff is getting better and better and the Chinese stuff is shit like Korea once was.

[Chad]

I dunno. Lots of people gush over the Squier Classic Vibes and those are made in China.

As has been said, a good guitar is a good guitar. They have to be judged one by one. Country of origin, brand, specs, price, etc. None of that really matters. There are winners and losers in every category. Buying a higher end guitar generally raises the chances of getting a winner, but nothing is guaranteed.

That's why I've never ordered a custom shop guitar from any brand. There'd be nothing worse than spending thousands of dollars and waiting a long time....only to end up with a turd.

[leftykingv2]

They have to be judged one by one. Country of origin, brand, specs, price, etc. None of that really matters. There are winners and losers in every category. Buying a higher end guitar generally raises the chances of getting a winner, but nothing is guaranteed. This is very true. Excellent post Chad. I have seen dogs from every company and every price line. From $4k to two hundred bucks. That was very well said.

[straycat]

I don't knock an import guitar at all and I have had my share.Korea, India,China,Japan a good guitar is a good guitar as has been stated.
The World Guitar PRS's are very well made and really great guitars and yes I will buy another one in the future.Never ever had a dud World Guitar.
The fretwork is flawless IMO and they play like a much more expensive guitar.
Fender USA yeah I have had a ton of them but never really bonded with one.Gibson USA is the same way I like them and they play great but get tired of them rather quickly and sell them.
I tend to like the parts guitars I build that are Charvel style because I shape the necks the way I like them and get to choose the paint scheme.

[Maiden89]

I'm actually currently selling all of my guitars except for my bengal Dk2m. That guitar, for me, is almost perfect; EMG 81/85, nice neck, cool graphic, black hardware... The only thing I'm going to change is the bridge. After reading Xeno's battle of the floyd's thread, I really want to put a Gotoh floyd on it.

Maybe I'm biased, but I do tend to play faster, more accurately and aggressive when I have a nice Jackson in my hands. It just feels right. With that said, I wouldn't throw another nice guitar under the bus if I have the opportunity. Right now though, I'm still fantasizing about getting a USA Jackson