Jackson MIJ Kelly's

[Milchy]

Hi guys, new here ! So for about a few weeks I've been reading about Kelly's since I want one very, very baddly. And I was surprised by the amount of variantions that were released over the past year. The ones Im aiming at are either a: 1) KE3 - by what I read there were mainly 2periods: the white hardware and the blackone, how greatly do they differ? Also some have inverted sharkies? 2) Professional Std - whats the difference from the K3? Apart from the dot inlays? Pickups? 3) Professional Xl(R) - havent seen much info about these. There are also these performers/js's, but if one would turn up (dont know why) id probably pass off the opportunitie.

[Trem]

Here you go, a lot of answers can be found on Henriks site.
http://audiozone.dk/guitargallery/?c...son_Charvel%2F

[warlok]

Performers are hit or miss and some like some hate. I personally think you can get much better hardware etc.. for about the same price. Biggest problem is the JT500 trem. Some are fine but most strip and wear out with light use pretty quickly. They can be had pretty cheap normally.

The KE3's have quite a few variations. The earlier ones had chrome or some had a matte aluminum hardware and Duncan Designed pickups. Black hardware was later as was real Duncan pickups. There's all sorts of variations over the years on finish (solid, trans maple, gravure (photo top), swirl, etc) and inlays reversed, etc..

The Professional series (Std, XL, PRO) are great guitars that differ in features as far as Std's are bolt on (some years without neckplates), rosewood boards, have dots, MOTO (fake pearl) logos/inlays, licensed bridges, etc. The XL and XLR (reverse headstock) are bolt on (again, some without neckplates), rosewood boards, have real pearl sharkies and logo, licensed bridges, etc. The PROs are neckthrough, ebony boards, JT590 Schaller bridges, real pearl sharkies and logo, etc..

Like Trem said, you can go through the catalogs and see what's what for different years, series, etc.. Good luck!

[jdr94]

I thought all std,xl,and xlr had no neckplate. I miss my xlr's. Got my first one from Trem. If any of you ever get one. Dont let it go. I was lucky enough to have owned 3. I missed out on an xl on ebay that sold for $225 I was so pissed. Ke-3 or professional series is the way to go. Performers are nice if you swap the hardware. I personally dislike any of the other import kellys(india/indonesia)

[thez0r]

I had a '99 KE3... store manager at a GC practically begged me to take and sold it to me along with the original kelly case for $150. I thought crazy deal right? So I bought a tb4/jazz to throw in it for another $150 and it sounded almost kind of ok.

Eventually I found myself begging someone to buy it for $300 and managed to sell it local. Close one. Lesson learned. If I'm going to get stuck with one, at least make it a pro... the KE3s are dogs by comparison and very hard to unload.

the MIJ pro series version that had reverse sharkies was the XLR, that model also had a reverse headstock.

[jdr94]

^^The only real difference in the professional series and the (professional but not labeled) ke's was the neck & neckplate. The ke-3r also had reverse headstock and sharkies if im not mistaken. Both had the jt580lp trem. This part is just my opinion, but it wasnt the ke3 that made it sound ok, it was the tb4/jb. I had a ke3 w emgs, an xlr w blackouts, a ps6t with emgs and the sound difference was minimal. The feel of the necks was the only difference I could really tell(well the jt500 in the ps6t was replaced with a jt590)

Ke3's are also mij as were some of the ps6t's

Warlock is right the true "pro" is neckthru, ebony, and schaller equipped and in a league of its own.

Milchy- Id suggest going for a std or xl or xlr if you can find one. A ke3 isnt a bad guitar though. There were a few kelly std's on ebay the past couple weeks.

[thez0r]

^^The only real difference in the professional series and the (professional but not labeled) ke's was the neck & neckplate. The ke-3r also had reverse headstock and sharkies if im not mistaken. Both had the jt580lp trem. This part is just my opinion, but it wasnt the ke3 that made it sound ok, it was the tb4/jb. I had a ke3 w emgs, an xlr w blackouts, a ps6t with emgs and the sound difference was minimal. The feel of the necks was the only difference I could really tell(well the jt500 in the ps6t was replaced with a jt590)

Which one had the thinnest neck? Was it the XLR ?

[warlok]

I still have my '94 XL. My favorite neck of all my guitars. Very thin front to back and feels wide but really isn't. And it has the JT580LP with the squared base plate (which my opinion is a very slim second to OFR and JT590).

I think they did all have no neckplate but wasn't positive, hence "some". But you're probably right jdr94.

I don't think this forum has yet mastered all the different variations of the KE3. There's also ones with normal HS, reverse sharkies and no binding. I agree with jdr94 - If you can find a Professional (labeled) XL/XLR or a Std, that'd be the way to go. They are great guitars.

[Milchy]

AS of today 04.04. ebay has 1 std for 500$(+ shipps for 125$ , dear lord...) and one old ke3 with white hardware for 500$( this doesnt ship ).. not really the prices im expecting... I guess I'll just have to wait for better deals. :think:

Its to sad im from europe, quick search on guitarcenter(used guitar section) got me tons of results for kellys around 200-400 mark. To bad they dont ship

EDIT: Would you consider this a good deal ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/90s-Jackson-...item20bc4f7614

[manu80]

Wish they had done some elite version with ebony board

[jdr94]

Yes and I think the std,xl, and xlr shared the same profile.

[jdr94]

Milchy- No thats not a good deal. There was one for $225. I paid $500 for my xlr and thats cause it was in great shape and hard to find.

[jdr94]

I know you know me, but if you found one in the US id ship it out for you. You cover all costs of course.

Edit- for shipping purposes though, you should look for one w/o a case so that I can unbolt it and ship in a smaller box then try to pick up a case there.

[Milchy]

There are a fair amount of kellys here http://used.guitarcenter.com/usedgear/index.cfm seach jackson kelly, but its kinda hard to identify them with those 'high' quality pics.

[jdr94]

Item 106404716 looks pretty cool. It says somethin on the headstock. Probably a ke3 professional
The problem w gc is most wont ship it anywhere wo a case.