Ultimate Superstrat Questions

[warlok]

Nope, it was for a Les Paul... That's why it's bright. At least that's the way I heard it. He wanted his Les Paul to sound more like his tele. Enter the JB.

@ Jazz: I agree. Most Jackson players aren't looking for the sound that the JB gives. Oh and please, stop putting '59s in the neck on these things. Everyone knows the Jazz is better for Jackson's market.

And Duncan needs to make a Jazz Jr. for all the HSS guitars too!!

[Chief_CrazyTalk]

Call me crazy but I'm loving the JB in my alder-body dinky. Very warm and resonant, and bright yes. I had one in a Model 4 years ago and remember not liking it much. FS sounded great there.

Not to derail the thread, but is there any similarity between the JB and the RTM?

[AK47]

Not sure I quite understand the point, but I would like another strathead.

That hottest guitars right now in our demographic are Suhrs. If Jackson released a model to compete with that brand and have similar appointments it would take a huge chunk out of Suhrs sales.

Charvel is more for the 35+ demographic with the old school type specs like the non-recessed trems, graphics etc, people in the market for a Suhr are not into getting a Charvel because its more of a dated design and thing would have to be custom ordered to Suhr specs so its just not an economical option.

Jackson has to do something to compete, they are getting spanked by sub par makers like Dean and BC Rich, they need to do something new to be top dog again. Pablo extreme shapes is just not cutting it.

Releasing a flamed maple top super strat as part of the USA select line would be genius.

[j2379]

ide say its the body wood, ash is a lighter more open grained wood and very different sounding than alder. IMO body wood has a much greater effect than fretboards.

[Grim]

That hottest guitars right now in our demographic are Suhrs. If Jackson released a model to compete with that brand and have similar appointments it would take a huge chunk out of Suhrs sales.

Charvel is more for the 35+ demographic with the old school type specs like the non-recessed trems, graphics etc, people in the market for a Suhr are not into getting a Charvel because its more of a dated design and thing would have to be custom ordered to Suhr specs so its just not an economical option.

Jackson has to do something to compete, they are getting spanked by sub par makers like Dean and BC Rich, they need to do something new to be top dog again. Pablo extreme shapes is just not cutting it.

Releasing a flamed maple top super strat as part of the USA select line would be genius.

Indeed it would... BRING BACK THE SLATQH PLEASE.

They already have the SL2H-MAH.

[Grim]

ide say its the body wood, ash is a lighter more open grained wood and very different sounding than alder. IMO body wood has a much greater effect than fretboards.

I don't consider Ash to be warm... It's quite similar to Alder tonally. It has less highs but I don't think it is warmer. But what do I know, I only have three ash guitars.

[potatohead]

Call me crazy but I'm loving the JB in my alder-body dinky. Very warm and resonant, and bright yes. I had one in a Model 4 years ago and remember not liking it much. FS sounded great there.

Not to derail the thread, but is there any similarity between the JB and the RTM?

I like the JB a lot too

[AK47]

Indeed it would... BRING BACK THE SLATQH PLEASE.

They already have the SL2H-MAH.

No, I meant a bolt on strat head to compete with Suhr and Anderson. The SL2H-MAH and SLATQH are dated designs and only appeal to a niche market.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

What about the PC1?

[AK47]

PC1 is actually one of Jacksons best selling models, I was talking about a strat head with the large Jackson logo, no sustainer and more fancy top options like Suhr and Anderson guitars. That is the market to cut into now, Charvel did very well cutting into that market with their USA line but Jackson should really break that open with USA select pricing on such super strats.

[candideijon]

Hello again,

Ok as the owner of the questions I did swapped the pickups in San Dimas meanwhile. So instead of JB I installed SD Custom Custom (I wanted to give it a try since it is AlnicoII) and instead of 59 on neck I installed Alnico II Pro. It's more balanced now but still I am not satisfied. Still the sound is so raw to my ears.
Also I made a good bargain and bought a Model 4 very cheap. I found the sound of Model 4 more usable than damn San Dimas.
Still I can not compare anything to San Dimas' neck. It really comfortable, easy to play fast and do tappings, hammer ons etc. You don't need to apply that much force.
But I started to think about strengthening my arms/fingers and going with some kind of warmer guitar (I have already Model 4)... I mean it is really hard to balance the sound out of San Dimas. It should be alder + maple thing. Now I am sure of that.
I saw some posts, ash is not warmer or alder is etc etc. I am talking about combos if you noticed. I mean I don't know how ash sounds really. I do know how ash body + maple neck + rosewood fingerboard sounds. Or Alder body + maple neck sounds. People it is so different. Otherwise we would not have all these body, neck woods. It could be easy for manufacturer as well...
It looks like USA Production San Dimas is not my guitar. Now I am considering of selling it but on the other hand I am asking myself if I should wait and try it in different periods. On the other hand they are not produced in US anymore (now shifted to Japan) and I wonder if the value is going to drop/raise or will stay same. If I look at the past Charvels in general lose their values. I bought Model 4 for 200 euro which was a 900$ guitar in 1987... Does not sound good if you need to sell.

[vector]

Call me crazy but I'm loving the JB in my alder-body dinky. Very warm and resonant, and bright yes. I had one in a Model 4 years ago and remember not liking it much. FS sounded great there.

Not to derail the thread, but is there any similarity between the JB and the RTM?

Further derailment- +1 on the JB! I was just swapping guitars during rehearsal and the JB's in my RR1 and Kelly Std Pro just sliced thru the mix as compared to the SD Blackouts in my SL2H and DK1. And yet, it had pretty warm tones for rhythm parts. Go figure.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Hello again,

Ok as the owner of the questions I did swapped the pickups in San Dimas meanwhile. So instead of JB I installed SD Custom Custom (I wanted to give it a try since it is AlnicoII) and instead of 59 on neck I installed Alnico II Pro.

I don't know where you got the idea to try the Custom Custom. No one recommended that. :think:

It's a maple fingerboard. It's going to be bright. Try a Tone Zone, and if that doesn't work for you, then sell the guitar. :dunno:

[candideijon]

Grim recommended Custom 5 and then I have read :
Custom Custom is same pickup with Alnico II magnet instead
I found recommendations for Custom Custom for bright guitars in other forums
Finally seymour duncan tone wizard gave me the same result. SH11 for locking tremolos.
Why do you favor ToneZone over Custom Custom in this case ? I am ok to try the guitar with ToneZone but pessimistic about if it could make a dramatic change ?! :S

[Grim]

Grim recommended Custom 5 and then I have read :
Custom Custom is same pickup with Alnico II magnet instead
I found recommendations for Custom Custom for bright guitars in other forums
Finally seymour duncan tone wizard gave me the same result. SH11 for locking tremolos.
Why do you favor ToneZone over Custom Custom in this case ? I am ok to try the guitar with ToneZone but pessimistic about if it could make a dramatic change ?! :S

If you're not going to take our advice, why ask?

I already recommended the Tone Zone or Norton as well as the Custom 5. Instead, you go for a Custom Custom.

Next time you ask a question consider taking your informant's answer into consideration.