where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Mike - I'm actually in Santa Clara as well. If I ever get around to picking up the 89 & SA to finish my Soloist conversion I'll drop you a line and you can come by and try it out. If you just want to try out a couple of USA Jacksons I might be able to help you out there as well.

[jacksonguy]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

If Jackson's USA factory had to supply 130+ GC locations and all of the Sam Ash, there would be NO OTHER dealers of Jackson guitars. Is that good or bad?? It's both.

Also, I made this point in another post: Many dealers will not stock Jackson USA guitars because of a few dealers who give them away. If there is no profit in it, the dealer is not going to give the guitars valuable floor/wall space in their store. Thus, a select few get a ridiculous deal on their guitars and the rest of you poor schmucks get to sit and wonder what a Jackson feels like or sounds like.

A few bad apples ruin the barrel.

If you want to see Jackson USA's in more stores, then go out and buy from dealers who will properly support the line. In the end, we all win.

[shredmonster]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

[ QUOTE ]
Jacksons are out of style at the moment if you havent noticed (and have been for years). Therefore, few dealers are willing to buck up the extra cash for what amounts to being a high priced wall hanger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. These are aggressive guitars designed for the player.

The music industry these days does not promote people who really know how to play their instruments. All they care about is how many bands they can churn through and how many singles they can get out there in the shortest amount of time to make money.

Therefore, there are no rewards for technically developed musicians who demand better equipment.

[AK47]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Lot of Bay Area guys. We really need to set up a jam session. I am in Mountain View.

[GuyManDood]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

[ QUOTE ]

The music industry these days does not promote people who really know how to play their instruments. All they care about is how many bands they can churn through and how many singles they can get out there in the shortest amount of time to make money.

Therefore, there are no rewards for technically developed musicians who demand better equipment.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
I'm not sure I follow. If you look at some of these kid new metal / wanna be punk bands they are playing PRS, Gibson, etc.. Those are fine guitars.

I'm thinking there's a problem in the distribution channel (others have addressed this issue eloquently enough in this thread). I don't own a USA Jackson or USA Charvel because despite living within 50 miles of 4 GC's, several mom & pops, and some nice boutique guitar stores, I can't find a US J/C anywhere.

The fact is that MF and GC now dictate what brands people play and that's sad. Mom and Pop music stores are now surviving on marching band rentals. The distribution chain is screwed and local merchants are suffering. It sucks to walk into a local store and see nothing but Cort, DaisyRock, sub $199 Ibanez and Squier because everyone is buying the hand fed 'me too' stuff offered at GC and MF. The same mom and pop shops used to be full of quality gear back in the day.

Support your local music store when you can. It's the only way to fix this mess.
[img]/images/graemlins/rant.gif[/img]

[AK47]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

The only time there is a cool guitar at the local mom and pop music store is when I take one of my guitars over to be set up there.
Seriously, I felt bad about all the buying I did over the internet and tried to support a few local mom and pop stores and when I asked about USA Jacksons they didnt want to help me or check if they can get me a particular model, then looked at me like I was crazy when I inquiered about there used selection and asked if they had any Japanese made Fender strats from the 90's and didnt even answer me. They had a ton of used strats too. I guess people dont care anymore, this was a good store in the early 90s but not anymore. Screw local stores except when I take my guitars to be set up there. I also buy strings in bulk from MF and take them into the store to be put on my guitars that I dont want to restring.

[Tekky]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Actually the problem (per se) lies in the fact that USA Jacksons don't fly off the shelves/racks/hooks of the bigger stores as do a cheaper Import model or even a cheaper import model of another brand.

So instead of having 5-10 USA Jacksons valued at over 1K each collecting dust to the point where you have to knock down the price (and subsequently the margin of profit) to move them, you opt for maybe 2 pro models for the price you'd pay for one USA. These are moderately priced and sell a little better. As a store owner, you're going to want to turn your stock over as quickly as possible so you can make room for a couple extra of what is selling best at the time.

This has spawned a breed of niche sellers like our very own Matt's Music Center or V-Wall Guitars where they can afford to cater to the USA Jackson market.

Thank goodness they found us, so please support them.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

I agree with Tekky but there might be a little more to it than that as well. In order to pick up a new brand one is typically required to place an opening order along the lines of XX pieces or a minimum of $XX,XXX or some combination thereof. I'd imagine that there are also probably minimum sales targets and if shops perpetually underperform they might well run the risk of losing their franchise (you know, the one they got by placing the XX piece or $XX,XXX order).

Case in point: a very nice guy and one of the best techs I've ever run across in a shop tried to get a Jackson franchise something like 10-12 years ago. At that time he was told that he'd have to place a minimum $25k opening order. He figured that he could move maybe 3-4 USA pieces out of his shop each year and that it would probably take him 6-8 years to sell off the opening order. He also tried for Gibson & PRS and ran into similar problems. Guess how many of those brands he picked up.

Years and years ago when guitars were built primarily by companies run by people who played and loved the instrument it was probably easier to obtain and keep a low-volume dealership but now that selling guitars is a huge business run by the bean counters it's going to be that much more difficult for mom-and-pop shops to get and keep low-volume franchises on high quality gear. The upside is that all of the money spent on guitars, amps & related gear drives the market such that we get to choose from an astoninging array of toys, one of the downsides is that most of those are primarily going to be available through volume dealers.

I always ask myself what a local shop adds to the value of the deal. E.g., if I'm looking at a new guitar that I can purchase via the 'net for $1500 + $40 shipping it's probably going to cost me closer to $2000 + $150 tax here. If the local shop isn't adding $610 worth of extra value to the deal I know where my dollars will be spent. But with me the secondary question is always, "Could I pick up a nice clean used example of this $1500 instrument for $700-800 used?" Normally that's possible so both the mega-retailer and the mom-and-pop lose out on my business more often than not.

Contrarian that I am I'd say that it might well be better for the brand if the massively overpriced dealers who don't move much stock due to their prices were forced out of the market so that regional franchises could be freed up for those more willing to compete or those filling the niche like the good folks here. After all, if a shop that moves 5 pieces/year due to their massively inflated prices could be replaced with one that moves 20 at cut-rate prices, the brand is better off as the margin out of the factory is probably the same on each piece. Out with inflated prices & in with cut rate niche sellers!

[img]/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[GuyManDood]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

I'm with you there... if you don't get support from the local shop... then what's the point. I just feel sorry the little guys... It's like what Home Depot is doing to indy hardware stores... the service is infinitely better at the little guy... but the wallet rules the game.

[jacksonguy]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

The customer rules the game. If your local dealer gives you great sevice, then you should be willing to buy a guitar from them and pay them the extra $$. Praising the great service of the small mom and pops does not pay their bills nor make them want to carry Jackson. If you do all your business via the 'net or with the big box stores, you're screwing the mom and pops and forcing them out of business. It's YOUR wallet....and where you spend your dollars will determine if the mom and pops survive. Stop feeling sorry for the little guys and start spending your money with them. They deserve a few extra $$ for the advise and service they provide. Nothing in life is free.

[ApeDosMil]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Theres this place in Kenosha, WI that has some pretty sweet Jacksons. I rememeber a RR1, a Import Warrior, a KV2 i think, and a Green Strat neck thru with a tunomatic.

[scaz]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

You're right, the customer does rule the game. With the on-line stores, ebay, quotes at the click of button, they are looking for best DEALS and for the most part know where to get them (with a little research). A lot easier than before when you had to go shop to shop or city to city to find the best price. I agree with supporting the local shops but in the end it is your money and every little bit helps. Sad (some might say) but true...

[scaz]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Oh yeah...and selection is an issue. Now if you could go into a local shop, try out a model, then order that model in the finish that you wanted and get it in less that 6 months...now that would be something!!! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[DK127]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

About 3 weeks ago, the GC here in San Marcos, CA had a couple of used USA Jacksons. A white SL1 with a EMG81 on the bridge and a stock black metallic SL2H. The price tag on EACH was $1,350.00. [img]/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Both in very good conditions, not a scratch on either of them. At this price, they are probably still there.

[jacksonguy]

Re: where art thou U.S.A. Jacksons?

Most guitars have a used value of about 1/2 their original retail price. A new SL2H is $2449.99 with a case. Why is it a surprise to find a used one at $1350.00?

Everyone on the board seems to love Jackson quality, but no one wants to pay for it. Can anyone explain this to me???