Whats with Jackson making mostly cheap shitty axes nowadays?!?!?

[LaoWai]

Lol... Soju is the Devil...believe me I know after a year in Korea!

Man! am I going to have a screaming headache tomorrow

[Rich#6]

Pointy-Jackson tried this back in the 80's by making the charvel brand the imports and jackson usa only. And even though those models series are killer guitars it killed the charvel name to all the old school charvel buyers. the "elite" charvel collectors still to this day cry about it.
In the early 90's Jackson came back with low end Jacksons to brign back fans, a lot of those stait up sucked you had to go thru a bunch to find a good one. Many were japanese made and some were korean(lot of bad scarf joints on those). So They've been there done that. Gibson and Fender have bought up other brands and made them the lower end. J/C has been poorly managed with every ower so far and never changed with the times.
they are now changing with the times and are getting crap for it. At least Jackson isn't going to the bottom with a guitar line like the fender squier bullets.
One thing I really love about the JS is that the necks have a perfect shape for me over most of the other Jacksons. Do I own one no. I may suck at guitar but I'm not a beginner and have been playing since 86. For me my collection of charvels and jacksons will alway center around the Japanese ones. Not worth the jump in price for my skill level.

[Rich#6]

JJ is so fucking nasty.

[Sephiroth]

Why arent they instead making medium to high end imports instead of tarnishing tgeir reputation!

The brand is already slipping into obscurity in Australia atleast!

That's where the money is in this industry. For every high-end USA-made expensive guitar sold, probably 100 low and mid-range guitars are sold.


And selling massive piles of cheap guitars never seemed to hurt Fender or ESP's high-end rep

[guitarguy2237]

IMO, I love that limited edition JS series RR with the floyd. I played one yesterday for a couple hours, it was a great little guitar.

[Pointy]

Pointy-Jackson tried this back in the 80's by making the charvel brand the imports and jackson usa only. And even though those models series are killer guitars it killed the charvel name to all the old school charvel buyers. the "elite" charvel collectors still to this day cry about it.
In the early 90's Jackson came back with low end Jacksons to brign back fans, a lot of those stait up sucked you had to go thru a bunch to find a good one. Many were japanese made and some were korean(lot of bad scarf joints on those). So They've been there done that. Gibson and Fender have bought up other brands and made them the lower end. J/C has been poorly managed with every ower so far and never changed with the times.
they are now changing with the times and are getting crap for it. At least Jackson isn't going to the bottom with a guitar line like the fender squier bullets.
One thing I really love about the JS is that the necks have a perfect shape for me over most of the other Jacksons. Do I own one no. I may suck at guitar but I'm not a beginner and have been playing since 86. For me my collection of charvels and jacksons will alway center around the Japanese ones. Not worth the jump in price for my skill level.

I see, I didn't know that history. For what it's worth, I think that right now having a low-end imprint line would work much better and would be the right way to do this - Charvel is sort of doing something similar with the Desolation line (while keeping the brand on the headstock): keeping the budget line distinct allows a company to go as low as they see fit and even experimet and fail without tarnishing the main brand. Look at Squire, they have some really crap guitars out and at the same time their CV line gets crazy good rep. The cheapest Epiphones suck, but mid-range ones are decent instruments, and their hollows are particularly popular as entry level quality guitars to their intended genres. LTD, they cover a really wide base in terms of quality and options.

In all these cases I find that if they produce any poor quality instruments that does not hurt the mother brand at all, yet at the same time good instruments make players lust after the 'real' versions. Not to mention that even if an imprint brand makes great instruments that rival the mother brand in quality, being an imprint limits any potential damage and cannibalizing of sales (I am refering to the old japanese Pro's).

I can't see myself sparing the time to care about the current JS series, purely because of personal experience (for all I know they might have improved) but even though I don't yet trust India, Indonesia and the like, I would happily suggest an X to a kid looking for their first Jackson. If I try one out and it plays as decent as it looks, I would have no problem recommending it.

[etepbbb]

Ask a Jackson retailer. The local one here sells tons of the JS and X series. They stock a few USA 's and Pro's, but what keeps the doors open? The lower to midrange J/C's, LTDS, ETC.
Are there better deals used, yes, we know that. However, consider a parent that knows nothing about guitars, trying to setup there kid. The parent understands the fact that, most kids probably won't be playing in a year. Don't to spend thousands, and wouldn't know a good deal if they saw it. So they end up at GC or someplace similar, buy a cheap guitar and cheaper amp. Jackson is trying get in on that game. IMO, Jackson should be in on that game. Its no different then Fender, Gibson, ESP, and everyone else.

[Nightbat]

The only problem I have is Paying MiJ Pro-prices for Sweatshop guitars
If I can get a neckthru MiK BCR for €800, I expect a MiI to go for less

[SydneyPC-1]

The specs on the DK2MQ look pretty good. It may be a good back up for my PC-1. But nothing in Australia as has been said so reviews would be good. Real Floyd, Alder body, maple neck, Duncans. Specs look good.

[xenophobe]

The old X and Pro series' have been discontinued due to the Japanese plant going out of business, (same plant that made the old Proffesionals and Model Series if I'm not mistaken).

The Japanese factory didn't go out of business. Fender took advantage of their situation and purposely tanked the Japanese factory on purpose. One day the factory was working at full capacity and then went to shutting down the factory due to not having any orders. FWIW, Fender set up Charvel in China and started production before the Japanese plant was hung out to dry. Judging by the fact the old Japanese man who owned the factory was about to retire had to declare bankruptcy instead. Those are facts.

The conjecture is that Fender took advantage of the price point of their contract and when it came time to renew, said no. For the last several years of Japanese factory's contract had them making guitars at a loss and when Fender wouldn't pay more because the economy and cost of living and production had increased substantially, the plant had no other recourse and had to close.

There's no real way to look at it any other way.

Jackson have 4 levels of guitars: Beginner, mid range, high end, and custom shop. I don't know why you're making such a fuss about them making cheap imports, it's business and smart in my opinion. However Jackson are slipping into obscurity.

Jackson is slipping into obscurity for flooding the market with beginner's guitars. Jacksons are no longer the high end product. They've watered their brand name into the bargain bin at every retail stores garbage section. This was predicted over a decade ago by myself and many others here. All the predictions of what would happen after Fender bought Jackson have mostly come true.

Compare Jackson to ESP who has not let their name become synonymous with brand new $150 guitars. ESP has also taken steps to make sure that their premium label, ESP, retains that exclusivity that Jackson and many other brand names do not have. There used to be a war between ESP and Jackson. ESP won.

The only problem I have is Paying MiJ Pro-prices for Sweatshop guitars
If I can get a neckthru MiK BCR for €800, I expect a MiI to go for less

My Korean BC Rich is nicer than any Jackson import. Quality is comparable, if not slightly better, than a MIJ/USA Jackson. World Guitars in Korea is producing some fantastic stuff right now. It rivals USA Jackson in overall quality, and in some cases is better. I can't fathom spending $1000 on a brand new Jackson when you can get a MIK BC Rich that is much higher quality than anything Jackson can produce in their import line.

The only thing that makes USA Jackson worth purchasing is that their Custom Shop is still producing great stuff.

[Maiden89]

I agree with using a different name for Jackson's low end js and x series, and keeping the Jackson name on midrange and up. When I first wanted a Jackson, I didn't even realize they had low end series. All the stores I went into had Japanese RR's, Kelly's and Dinky's, I knew when I bought my first Jackson it was gonna be killer.

Now they have js and x series that have sharkfins, floyds, active pickups. You can't tell where their beginner guitars and midrange start...

[Force]

My local music stores rarely have any Jacksons. One has a few MIJ models hanging behind everything else with stupid price tags on them but that's it.

'Why?' I ask them......"Because they don't sell" is the response. Ignorant fucks. Other than raping prices, they just wont get them in, so how can anyone try & buy if a product isn't available?

I can see where those of you who have a wall of USA models hanging up aren't interested in low end gear but, for me ( & others like me) who don't have funds or access to that kind of stuff, can still attain something of the sort.

My 92 Fusion SX was my main guitar for 12 years until I got the JS30DK, since then Ive acquired some MIJs & a Desolation Star. All beautiful guitars, yet I still enjoy the JS because it's a really great guitar, cheap or not. It produces some of the best clean tones I have ever heard.

We all want Jackson to be the God of axes they use to be but it ain't going to happen. Jackson might not be what they use to be but at least for that reason, I am able to own some & support the brand in some way. If it were like the old days, I could not do this & that would make me sad. Without the low end stuff, they would probably be gone for good now.

[Hamner1]

This is an interesting topic, as it is more to do with marketing, than overall product quality. If we want & can afford a higher quality guitar, regardless of brand we will go with that higher quality guitar.
I would disagree with Xeno in the quality of the the lower Jackson imports. I tried a few Korean import BCRs & other low end imports over the last few years & thought the Jackson JS series were on par with them. They certainly didn't make me want to get rid of my DXMG which was & is a much better player than the BCR, other imports, & the JSs. Now I am not going to say the JSs are far superior, again I thought they were on par & a little better in my opinion. Now that could be because of the BCRs having bad setups or a different neck profile, fretboard radius, electronics, or a combination of all of that, which made me like the JSs better. With that being said I don't own a JS either. With my recent SLSXMG purchase I think the BCRs are not even close, more so now that I had the frets leveled & crowned, as well as, an OFR installed. Man that thing just kills. It is comparable to my KV Pro in tone & feel now.

So I tend to focus on the marketing angle & what I think makes the most sense. I tend to agree that I think there are too many price points in the Jackson line. And I think the lower imports (JS line) should be dropped if not rebadged something else, kind of like the Charvettes years ago. I think it makes the line diluted & confusing for consumers, especially now that Sharkfins, Floyds, & other amenities are on all of the lines. Easy for me to say I know, since I am not a 10-12 year old kid begging mom & dad for a new guitar. Mom & dad are more likely to part with $100-$200 on what will likely be a short lived fad for their kid. I go through this almost every time I bring my daughter to the music shop with me. We are in a little different situation, as she can play one of my guitars, although not all of them.

Here is my solution, as I get it makes sense to have a lower import line, to build brand loyalty or get your name out to the general public. Kind of weird since you have both Jackson & Charvel, & I was never a fan of relegating the Charvel line to imports only (although those were some killer imports). So I guess you could flip flop these either way, but since I think the Charvel line should be streamline it makes sense for two price points here: Custom Shop/USA & mid/high level import ($600-$700 street). I also think they should only have 3 models Super Strats, Star, & single cut or double cut Desolation (maybe both). The Strats & Stars bolt-on models with Fender Strat headstocks

Jackson has a few more models & was originally the "wild child" if you will. So I see this potentially having an extra cheaper line as well as being more agressive with models. Again Custom Shop/USA, a mid-high level import ($600-$700), & an entry level import ($200-$300) with a different brand, Rock Star by Jackson/Charvel, or whatever brilliant name the marketing geniuses can come up with. Models would be KV, RR, DK, SL, WR, Star & whatever model they want to introduce. Only Jackson pointy headstocks, although I am sure some may disagree with me on this. But seriously the headstock is like the brand name, so why F with it.

To me the above makes the most sense in having some diversity in price point. You have your high end for those of us that can or want to shell out $2,000-$5,000 on a guitar. A mid level for those of us who are on a "budget" or prefer not to spend big $$ on a guitar. Then an entry level model that does not hose the brand name, but can still be associated with the brand, for the future when that kid or adult has the $$ to go with a better more high end line.

[xenophobe]

This is an interesting topic, as it is more to do with marketing, than overall product quality.

It's not about either. Fender has horribly mis-managed the brand name. Just look at their history and you can see they don't know what to do with it. They recently shut down Hamer for the exact same reason. They didn't know what to do with it and trying to figure out took too much of their time away from other products, which they also don't know what to do with.

I would disagree with Xeno in the quality of the the lower Jackson imports. I tried a few Korean import BCRs & other low end imports over the last few years & thought the Jackson JS series were on par with them. They certainly didn't make me want to get rid of my DXMG which was & is a much better player than the BCR, other imports, & the JSs. Now I am not going to say the JSs are far superior, again I thought they were on par & a little better in my opinion.

I'm sorry, I don't know what guitars you are talking about. My MIK Stealth doesn't just smoke the Jackson import line, it does things that even Jackson USA can't do. I'm talking about the $1400 MSRP MIK price point, not the $300 one so perhaps you're just confused...

[NoWisdom]

If it wasn't for the cheap Jackson JS1 I would have never fallen in love with the brand. Now that I make good money I bought a USA and i'm eyeing a possible Custom Order