Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

[LRGman]

After reading how it is being discontinued I was not suprised. I loved the guitar but its a string thru which in my opinion kept sales low. I know some guys got to have string thru's.
Even if I don't use the floyd. I have always played floyds and am use to the hand position for muting and such. I would not pay for a new guitar without a floyd for comfort.Those types(forget what the string thru bridge is) of bridges dig into the side of my hand where the saddle is. To only produce the guitar as it string through doomed it to low sales from the start. Sure les pauls are string through but its a les paul-How many hard tail strats does fender sell a year.

Also I think the archtop is a little extreme and prefer the soft arch. I think they should produce the soft arch with either a string thru or floyd option. But what do I know about selling guitars-nothing. But I do know about buying [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[thetroy]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

Like I posted in another thread, I don't really understand what Jackson is doing with the new models and discontinued stuff. They're adding a bunch of non-Floyd imports, yet they've discontinued some of the non-Floyd USA's.

As for the SLATQH specifically...I played one in a store and it was really nice, but I am just like you in that I prefer the feel of a Floyd whether I'm using the bar or not. The only USA Jacksons I would buy new are SL1 or SL2H. Even those are questionable though, because my import SL3 seems to play as well as anything else I've tried.

[quiksilver]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

I agree about the Floyd. If it were offered with a Floyd, I'd have one. I don't know about the soft arch. I'd have to see it in person.

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

I don't know.
One of the reasons why it didn't sell well is because Jackson didn't promote these models enough and also they didn't produce many of these.
Like 50 a year?

I think it needed something.
Maybe Solid colors over solid Mahogany body to keep the cost down, maybe 24frets, or shorter scale, Floyd and so on.

For a guy like me who loves Jackson surprised to see how poor these are selling and also the colors just got discontinued.
It's always sad to face the truth..
So many people here didn't understand but the truth is Jackson wasn't selling these guitars/colors as we thought.

[LRGman]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

Good points on the 24frets and the short scale.I just thought to take what was originally what was a limited run and make it a production model was kind of near sighted. Limited runs are usually limited because they appeal to a limited number of people.

I am curious about the colors, how exactly does it work. Does every dealer specify they want this color or that color. Or If a dealer wants one of a color does Jackson they knock out 10 and hope the other 9 get picked up. Kind of what I am saying is who decides the colors because most buy off the rack because ordering what you want takes too long.

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

About the colors, I think it depends.
I believe dealers choose what they feel easier to sell.
For Jackson,Colors like Black,White,Trans Blue, Ghost Flame,Lightning,some Metalic colors are the popular ones I see very often.
So I guess dealers choose these colors as they expect to sell fast.
Then there are people who choose the colors they want and wait.

Also I think Jackson has TOO MANY trans colors and Metalic colors for select series and most of us never get to see the actual colors on guitars other than from the Catalog color samples! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

So talking about colors, yea! I have to say I am not buying any new Jackson other than my custom orders and I choose very simple color like White or Black.. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I am sure there are many people like me who are just happy to choose Black, White, Natural or these colors with Bevels/pin stripes for their custom orders too.
Then we never need these 50 or 60 of color options as we see..

[shreddermon]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

Very nice guitars, but that model's days were numbered as soon as they started building SL1Ts and SL2Ts.

[Newc]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

Jackson just can't seem to break the image of "them pointyheaded hair metal geetars", so I'm not surprised the "pretty" ones that would compete with PRS and Gibson's better-topped models got killed.
I mean, the Jazz'R was a great concept, but maybe it was "too little too late"?
I'm surprised the Phil Collen is still around. They must sell tons of those, even though it appears to be no more "Metal" than the SLATQs were.

Maybe it's the Floyd?

Then again, Jackson's flametops (not Quilt) have always been rather weak IMO. Look at the cover for the 1990/91 catalog and look at a recent flametop import - exact same flame - weak and thin like an older Les Paul Standard (Jimmy Page's '58 has very minimal flame).
In this day of PRS 10 tops and Class 5 Les Pauls and ESP/Ibenhad fotoquilts, you can't throw out a 1950's-style razor-thin flametop and expect it to move.

Warmoth's flametops looked better than many standard Jackson tops. They get great quilts, but they don't spread them around enough.

[noodlesatf]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

It makes sense to me to put more TOMs in the import line, and keep more of the Floyd's in the US line. Floyd copies tend to have sub par perfromance, and the real thing is too expensive to stick on the imports. A Floyd copy tends to be a poor selling point to many people who just don't want to deal with all the hassle for a bridge that still goes out of tune. So, they give us imports that perform well and have good bang for the buck, and put the real thing on the guitars that the more discriminating buyers want.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

I'm with Newc - for most folks old enough to be seriously considering a nicely topped Gibson or PRS the Jackson name will forever be associated with guys in makeup with teased hair wearing pink spandex. Thus even an amazingly nice quilt top at a great price had a huge hill to climb. Floyds might've sold a few more to the crowd here but IMHO a non-strung through tune-o-matic (ala Gibson) or a vintage trem (ala PRS / Fender) would've done a lot more good for the average consumer in the demographic at which these were aimed.

I thought the Swee-Tones were a step in the right direction: very elegant, downplaying the name's negative connotations by taking it off the front of the headstock, etc. But they might've suffered from being a bit schitzophrenic. E.g., I bought my Jazz'R from a retired bluegrass player who travels around and does festivals. He absolutely loved the guitar but he expected it to be like a Les Paul with a big beefy neck but instead the neck is fairly thin, so much so that he couldn't play it comfortably because of his arthritis. He originally purchased it from a similarly situated acquentance who had the same complaint and before passing it on to me had sold it to another similary situated acquaintence who also had the same complaint and returned it to him. I didn't ask what the other two gentlemen did but the guy I got it from replaced it with a PRS Private Stock guitar. Jackson absolutely nailed their demographic on the Jazz'R: old guys with lots of money who want flashy quilt tops and spend huge wads of dough on massively overpriced guitars. Problem is they violated the cardinal rule of knocking off / imitating another company's product (IMHO the Jazz'R was probably aimed squarely at the Les Paul crowd): customers will accept your substitute only if it's what they expected the original to be.

Personally I was a bit bummed because I didn't order a SLATQ90 when they were still available and I'd hoped with the rumored demise of the Swee-Tones that maybe Jackson would keep a P-90 equipped guitar in the stable in the SLATQ series. Oh well, any excuse to buy a GMP is a probably good one. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[thetroy]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

[ QUOTE ]
It makes sense to me to put more TOMs in the import line, and keep more of the Floyd's in the US line. Floyd copies tend to have sub par perfromance, and the real thing is too expensive to stick on the imports. A Floyd copy tends to be a poor selling point to many people who just don't want to deal with all the hassle for a bridge that still goes out of tune. So, they give us imports that perform well and have good bang for the buck, and put the real thing on the guitars that the more discriminating buyers want.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would accept that reasoning if I didn't own 2 jt580lp guitars that function perfectly! It does make some sense though, as many people don't want the licensed floyd even if it does work perfectly.

[Lordofgain]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

I personally do not care whether Jacksonn will always be associated with teased hair and spandex or not. I have Jacksons, Gibsons, Fenders and have had in the past Deans, Kramers and several other brands. I have always gotten off on the way Jacksons feel period! I will play blues, Jazz, Metal, Black Metal or anything else for that matter on these guitars and don't care what anybody thinks.

[noodlesatf]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

[ QUOTE ]
I would accept that reasoning if I didn't own 2 jt580lp guitars that function perfectly! It does make some sense though, as many people don't want the licensed floyd even if it does work perfectly.

[/ QUOTE ]

They usually do work right at first, but since not many of them are heat treated and case hardened, they soon wear and cause all sorts of problems. Plus, you've got lord knows how many people who had a friend or themselves with a cheap Floyd copy that ruined it for them, and will now accept nothing but the real thing.

[spencer4hire]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

Well I think you need also consider the pricing. They were if my memory serves me right about $800 more than a soloist.
That is enough of difference that some people would just buy the Soloist.

[quiksilver]

Re: Thoughts on discontinued SlatQH

"Floyd copies tend to have sub par perfromance, and the real thing is too expensive to stick on the imports. A Floyd copy tends to be a poor selling point to many people who just don't want to deal with all the hassle for a bridge that still goes out of tune."

"They usually do work right at first, but since not many of them are heat treated and case hardened, they soon wear and cause all sorts of problems."

I disagree with your statements about:

1. sub-par performance
2. going out of tune, and
3. working right only "at first."

I've had several JT580LPs and OFRs over the years. All my licensed Floyds have worked perfectly and consistently over years of use, and they've maintained tuning just as well as my OFRs do.

I don't doubt that the misconceptions listed above could hurt sales, but based on my experience, that's what they are: misconceptions.