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

[SlasZ]

All i can say is that there was only 1 issue with my 2006 KV-2, the volume knobs don't work as they should, there is some sound leakage. So it seems the QC is not how it should be.

[demmel80]

I was wondering about the differences too, since in Ebay every seller is hyping how this and that is Pre-Fender. That seems to be complete CRAP! Just hyping to get extra bucks on some "basic" instruments. There are people working and some volumepots might be left out of accident in QC, or then it's just the humidity and shipping to Europe, or too dry weather that makes the volume pot not to work right. Just try some contact spray on it

Jackson Guitars is still the same company as it used to be before fusion with FMIC. Now they just have "easier" distribution, bigger force behind and so on. Tim Wilson and Mike Shannon STILL work at Jackson Guitars, same as Pablo Santana & rest. Same company, same workers, different ownership and distribution.

[sully]

i believe tim retired.

[shreddermon]

Really? That's too bad. Tim Wilson is an icon of the custom shop. Happy retirement, dude!

[Ben_D]

I agree with Mikernaut, the ebony they put on necks is lighter than the old ones, even on CS guitars... and this thing is not so good.

I disagree....I just got 2007 KV-2 and the fretboard is very dark.

[jwoods986]

What is so "bad"? - the prices!

[YetAnotherOne]

Jackson Guitars is still the same company as it used to be before fusion with FMIC.

Perhaps that's mostly true but I have a feeling it is (or at least was recently) the same company but with dramatically higher production numbers. QC issues are often just growing pains and one way to combat them while keeping the business profitable is to inflate prices until the production numbers are low enough to restore the business' ability to maintain high quality standards. Sound familiar?

[shreddermon]

Perhaps that's mostly true but I have a feeling it is (or at least was recently) the same company but with dramatically higher production numbers. QC issues are often just growing pains and one way to combat them while keeping the business profitable is to inflate prices until the production numbers are low enough to restore the business' ability to maintain high quality standards. Sound familiar?

+1

[PowerTube]

You guys can agree or disagree with this, but I'll tell you another reason why everything is going to crap in guitars these days. It's because the chain stores have taken over. I won't bore you with my usual rant about Guitar Center, but I can remember a time when you had Mom-n-Pop music stores who actually had a clue about what they were selling. Back in the 80's in Austin, TX, I could walk into Guitar Resurrection, Strait Music, Danny's Guitars, South Austin Music, Ray Hennig's, MusicMakers, or any number of privately-owned music stores and they knew what they were doing. I'll guarantee you that whatever they had in the store, someone had plugged it in and checked it all out to learn about it. Therefore, they could demo the product and had a clue what they were talking about.

So how does this affect manufacturing quality? It's simple. Since practically the only game around is Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or something like that, they don't carry the high-end equipment. They just don't even bother stocking it because, hey, the bean counters say that Squier, Epiphone, and low-end Jacksons are the hot sellers. When the public at large shows a company that they'll buy shit, then shit they shall receive.

So pretend that you're a manufacturer for a second. Why put extreme quality into something if your major resellers refuse to even stock anything above the entry-level gear? It's just like when I practically stole that SL1 a couple of months ago; it had been hanging there brand new for two solid years with no bites and the guy was happy to unload it cheap just to get rid of it.

Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty happy overall with Jackson USA quality these days, but when all of your competition is also putting out mostly crap, it's not economically feasible to go with extreme quality if you can save a buck instead.

[Ralph E.]

There are good old ones, and bad old ones.

There are good new ones, and bad new ones.

Anyone who says otherwise is just pumping the value of their "collectible" and not a real guitarist.

[shreddermon]

There are good old ones, and bad old ones.

There are good new ones, and bad new ones.

+1 again.

[YetAnotherOne]

There are good old ones, and bad old ones.

There are good new ones, and bad new ones.

Anyone who says otherwise is just pumping the value of their "collectible" and not a real guitarist.

Yep. I bought a red San Dimas Soloist from Tracii Gunns a few years ago and it was without a doubt the worst guitar I've owned since my Peavey Patriot. And I've been happy with all of the recent Jacksons I've owned but given the current price of admission I don't think I'll be taking many more chances.

[roodyrocker]

I agree with Ralph, there are good and bad from any era. Fortunately for us Jackson overall has had great quality through out the years in general. I own a couple San Dimas Rhoads' but other than collectibility they really don't play or sound any better than my later Rhoads'.
Also, as far as Ebony color goes, just because its a bit more brown instead of dark black doesn't mean its any worse quality wise. People may prefer dark ebony as a matter of taste but the actual color of it is not a quality issue.

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

[Mario8672]

I agree with Ralph, there are good and bad from any era. Fortunately for us Jackson overall has had great quality through out the years in general. I own a couple San Dimas Rhoads' but other than collectibility they really don't play or sound any better than my later Rhoads'.
Also, as far as Ebony color goes, just because its a bit more brown instead of dark black doesn't mean its any worse quality wise. People may prefer dark ebony as a matter of taste but the actual color of it is not a quality issue.

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

Offtopic but...
Roodyrocker, aren't you the guy who was at the last NAMM, and a Dean girl interviewed you about what guitar you play, and you said Jacksons? Then she got a bit shocked or something.
+1 on the Jacksons!

[S-man]

To make a long story short.

I think someone touched on this....The old mom and pop stores used to do some QC for us. If there was an obvious flaw they would refuse a guitar. Now you get guitars without that extra layer of QC.