Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

[fusion_axe]

Hi,
My name is Dave. I'm new to the JCF, and I just bought my first Jackson. Some have you have met me on the General J/C thread. I have been playing guitar for 30 years, and I'm also a webmaster at RebBeach.com - just so you have some reference on me. I think I've got a vintage goodie, here. You guys seem to really know your stuff, so I was hoping you could help me with a few questions, identifying the origin of my Jackson.
What I have here is very late '86 to very early '87 Jackson custom shop bolt-on Strat. The serial number plate is #1599, San Dimas. The warranty card with it is clearly aged, with an address of Grover Jackson Inc, PO Box 245 San Dimas. The warranty card also has the serial number 1599, on both halves, and is initialed by Mike Eldred on both halves. The model # is just listed as Strat. I have not yet taken the neck off to see what is in the neck pocket.
The guitar is supposedly an all maple body, the neck is Maple / Ebony, is a thin D shape, and is well aged. It has a Kahler Pro trem, pickups are H,S,S, and controls are vol, tone, mid boost, and 5 way toggle.
I got this guitar from a friend over in England (I'm in Maryland), who has been the sole owner since April of 1989. He bought it from a guitar shop run by a friend of his, in Newcastle, England. Before that, it was apparently a trade show guitar that toured around the UK on a Jackson stand, before being sold. Apparently Jacksons were nearly impossible to find in England, at the time.
Also, on the warranty card, the initials B.S. appear in green pen, with the number 9514 next to it. This 9514 number also appeard next to Mike Eldred's initials, but all the serial number spots on the warranty card, and neck plate are #1599.
So, my questions are, any idea who B.S. is, and what the number 9514 represents? Also, is there a defined date of transition from San Dimas to Ontario? I have heard talk of San dimas not actually being a wood shop, but just a PO box address Grover used, any truth to that?
Thanks for any knowledge you can impart with me, I really appreciate it. Here are some photos - the paint job is obviously just a few years old, everything else about it is original - the original paint was straight white.

[LesPaulCustom]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

<font color="yellow"> The serial number plate is #1599

It is not technically a San Dimas Jackson...the last recognized SD Jackson Strat prior to the move was #1505, although certainly yours is a very early Ontario, most likely started prior to the move to Ontario.

As a side note, there is NO difference in quality between SD Jackson's/early Ontario Jackson's and San Dimas Charvel's...same bodies, necks, parts, and people building them. Good score!!

9514 is most likely the Work-order number.

Yes, the PO Box was the address used for correspondence purposes, but the actual "factory" shop was in Glendora I believe.

Cool guitar, and great graphic idea....I'm sure others will chime in.</font>

[RacerX]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

All USAs back then were considered "custom".

[Newc]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

Technically, yes, but just as Gibson has Les Paul "Custom" and "Standard" models (though the Custom is not a "Custom Shop Only"), Jackson had "Custom" and "Student".
However, in this particular case, it would have simply been referred to as a "Strat" - neither Custom nor Standard model designation.

Anyhoo, as was stated, 1505 was the last recognized guitar built in the San Dimas (Glendora for you nitpickers) facility. Obviously they still had leftover plates that had the SD address, so you can find almost as many Ontario-made with the SD plate as those that were made before the move.

B.S. could be a person (no idea who) or a code they used (such as OBD which is usually found on neck heels, which means "Oiled neck, Black Decal on front of headstock").

And you'll know if it's a solid maple body by the weight. If it weighs about as much as a small child or a "donut" spare tire, it's maple [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[fusion_axe]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

Yeah, this is what my hunch was, but I'd just like to get a few qualified opinions. Thank you. The body is really heavy - surprisingly so, when you pick it up, must be solid maple, as reported to me. I should break down and see what's written in the neck pocket, and neck heel. Probably Eldred's sig, and a work order #. You never know what else might be there though. I'll get to it.

[Bert]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

Not all maple is disgustingly heavy. I have a solid flame maple Jackson that is lighter than a Basswood model 4 I used to own.

[Newc]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

Not all basswood is as light as most people around here seem to think. I've had basswood guitars that weighed more than alder-bodied guitars of comparable shape and size. I've also had ones that were light as Ash.

[Bert]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

Yeah I admit the model 4 was pretty heavy for a basswood guitar, but still the maple on that Jackson isn't heavier than many other woods. Now my San Dimas Charvel weighs a freakin' ton, and it looks like maple too (but I'm not really sure.) Lots of variance it seems.

[fusion_axe]

Re: Identifying an early Jackson bolt-on strat

OK, so I finally broke down and got into the neck pocket on my new baby, pictured above. Written in the pocket in ink are the work order number, the completion date of 1/26/87, and the initials of the mysterious B.S. person. So that settled the exact timeline/born on date of things. I'd still like to nitpick and find out who B.S. is, just for the sake of knowing. Anybody else have a clue about this B.S. working in the Jackson shop at the time?