Help appraising a Jackson DK1 2003 - Electric Blue

[jdk1eb]

Hello all,


I've seen a 2003 Jackson DK1 in electric blue for sale on eBay, and I'm due to take a look at it on Saturday 15th. Not sure how active the forum is, but any advice that kind members can offer would be appreciated.

The guitar is for sale at a licensed Fender/Jackson dealer in the UK. It's in fairly tip-top condition and, according to the seller, has spent the majority of its life in a case.

I'm very much interested in a DK1, but I'm a bit unsure about the fretboard finish on the binding and fretwork.

There are superficial cracks on the left and right side of the neck pocket, and the binding looks a bit rough on the higher frets.

Hopefully I can link the eBay listing directly. The serial number is 005410, which checks out on the Jackson site.

A particularly rough bit on the binding can be seen on the 18th fret.

Is this sort of thing surprising on a USA Jackson?

The seller has been very open and transparent and has answered all my questions.


Thanks in advance to all readers and commenters.

[pianoguyy]

There are superficial cracks on the left and right side of the neck pocket, and the binding looks a bit rough on the higher frets.
A particularly rough bit on the binding can be seen on the 18th fret.
Is this sort of thing surprising on a USA Jackson?

The guitar is 20 years old.
There's no way of knowing if it is factory, user, or age.

[jdk1eb]

The guitar is 20 years old.
There's no way of knowing if it is factory, user, or age.

Thanks for the reply.

I should elaborate on what the seller has told me. The guitar has been in storage in their store since receiving it from Jackson in 2003. When they moved to another store location, this guitar was unearthed.

It has not been sold or owned by anyone, and the warranty remains unregistered.

If this is the case, then the binding issue is a fairly noticeable defect.

I'm perfectly happy to accept a guitar of this age has signs of aging, but I don't want to buy a guitar that has remained unsold for this long due to its quality and condition.

[ed]

If you are going to see it yourself then you can make your own conclusions. But i am going to say that USA jacksons arent the holy grails some people make them out to be especially from this era. After seeing dozens of delaminated headstocks and shit you can expect anything. But guitars do move over time and the necks dry up and all that. You should also check the fretboard if its been in storage for 20 years theres a high chance its been cracked at some places maybe not but there is a chance.

[pianoguyy]

but I don't want to buy a guitar that has remained unsold for this long due to its quality and condition.

No dealer is going to keep a guitar hanging on a wall for 20 years. I may not know any dealers that have lost a $2000 guitar in a closet for twenty years, but I can believe that story before I can believe it was on display. It would have been marked down to $800 if it was a 20 year old damaged piece that no one wanted.