What is so 'bad' about modern USA Jacksons??

[Mario8672]

I keep hearing that modern USA Jacksons are 'nothing compared to the '80s ones' and that the quality of the guitars is just getting worse. Me, saving up for a KE2, am curious as to what exactly is so bad about them and how their quality is declining.

Thanks

[Jack Napalm]

I'll paraphrase a bit here.

80's Jackson/Charvels are the best because some mysterious mojo.
Grover left and everything went to hell.
FMIC bought Jackson and messed it up even farther and quality control sucks.
This year Grover was brought back but its just a marketing ploy and people still aren't happy.
Oh yeah, there was a price increase and people are even more pissed.

Did I leave anything out?

[Mario8672]

What went to hell exactly?
Compared to other highend USA guitars, how do jacksons compare?

[quiksilver]

Mario, the quality of my new Jacksons (couple of SL2Hs, PC1, DK1) has been at least as good as all of the older Jacksons and other brands (e.g., Suhr, Tom Anderson, PRS, Gibson, Fender) I've owned or played. Jackson quality is top notch.

[straycat]

Excuse Jack he gets like that sometimes.

[Jack Napalm]

I am very pleased with all of mine. All of these were built within the last 4 or 5 years I think. They are very good guitars.



There have been issues and other will be along shortly to tell you about how fucked up everything is.

[nsubulysses]

Maybe it's me, but it seems like ALL guitars have gone downhill quality-wise since around '92.

Play an 80s SG compared to a 90s or 2000s one -- the new ones feel like toys.
This is just a Gibson example, but it seems like this trend runs across the board guitar-wise with pretty much every brand.

I have a 2003 SG and it sucks. Are guitars even made with real wood anymore?

And I don't own any newer USA Jackson's, but I've played more than a few at guitar stores. Even with a setup I doubt they would be super hot. They just seem kind of......plasticy and cheap compared to 80s stuff. Not much attention paid to detail. I don't know if they're assembly line, but I've seen a few that have a very assembly line feel.

They are nice, nonetheless, but if I had an '88 Rhoads and a '02 (or a '95, for that matter) Rhoads in front of me, I'd take the '88 in a second.

[Jack Napalm]

Excuse Jack he gets like that sometimes.

Yes, my jaded side has a tendency to shine through.

[S-man]

I think it's consistant quality more than anything.

[straycat]

That it does Jack.Makes for enjoyable reading tho'.
I too will go for the older Jacksons.

[YetAnotherOne]

The old ones have vintage mojo capacitors which are no longer available due to environmental restrictions placed on US manufacturers. Without mojo capacitors there's nothing to hold the mojo in the new ones so it all just leaks out. Sad but true.

[zeegler]

See that's not true because you have to put mojo into a guitar yourself. New guitars don't come with mojo, and only SOME used ones have it. Maybe the mojo capacitors just capture the mojo, and obviously without them, there is nowhere for the mojo to go, so it just leaks out. It's like pouring water into a bucket with a big hole in it.

[zeegler]

In addition to that, I've noticed that mojo seems more prevalent in guitars that are a little beat up. Perhaps if you buy a new Jackson, and beat the crap out of it, it learns to hold on to the mojo.

[VitaminG]

you must be very careful handling mojo capacitors. Even with the guitar unplugged, if the capacitor isn't discharged, you may blow out your mojonator

[zeegler]

I've also heard that the newer Korean, and Chinese made mojo capacitors aren't as good as the old Japanese made ones. Of course you can always buy a mod kit to convert them to the original Japanese specs.