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Adrian Smith SDXQ

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  • Adrian Smith SDXQ

    So I’m now the proud owner of a Jackson SDXQ. Actually it’s my second, the first was sent back to the shop. The reason? The floyd was mounted off-center, which resulted in the bottom E being incredibly difficult to fret without falling off the fingerboard. First time in 30 years I’ve ever had to return a guitar.




    Second one arrived last night. Judging by the QA sticker(s) on the back, and if the S/N is sequential, this one was a later build. Luckily the Floyd was in the right place.




    Sadly though, performance out-of-the-box leaves a lot to be desired. In no particular order the Floyd was WAY too high, and tilted slightly backwards, the strings were rusted, and there appears to be an uneven/raised fret around the 20-22 (I think it’s 20) which is choking the high E. The book matched join is about 6-8mm off true, and for some bizarre reason I had two layers of plastic covering the scratchplate, not one.




    Also, the string tension bar is way too close to the bottom E tuner post, and drilling the screw hole for it appears to have split the lacquer on the headstock. And another minor gripe is the Jackson logo on the rear of one of the tuners is skewed. I’ll probably replace them with locking gotohs at some point (purely because it speeds up string changes!).




    Oh and when plugged in it buzzes as though there’s an earth issue. Opening the back cavity verifies the earth cable is attached to the string claw, so I guess it’s just poor shielding in the body cavity. The back cavity groove for the screws was routed through the paint to bare wood, but the rest of the cavity is painted. Bad job!




    It’s a nice guitar to play, but I wouldn’t expect this sort of quality control issues on a £500 guitar. I also fully accept that some of my issues (strings for example) are due to setup not being performed by The retailer etc. I just thought I’d share my experience with you all
    Currently own...

    *PRS USA CU24 97
    *ESP E2 Horizon
    *Squier Trohman Telecaster
    *Jackson SDXQ

  • #2
    I got lucky with my SDX. No E string issues. I someone dump one for $250 shipped (missing single coils) because of the E string issue. I was tempted to buy it just for parts.

    Comment


    • #3
      When I got mine a few years back, the arm barrel for the floyd was pinched to an oval (Probably been held by pliers to lock it down) and the B/E clamp didn't fit and I had to widen the nut
      Luckily no issues with the nut being the wrong spec

      I can't say I was surprised by this, once a guitar says MiC or MiI, I expect issues, these aren't countries that are known for quality work
      (Craftsmanship? I'm sure you can find it there, but I don't expect a Craftsman in low paid/educated Mass production plants)
      "There's nothing taking away from the pure masculinity I possess"

      -"You like Anime"

      "....crap!"

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Nightbat View Post
        When I got mine a few years back, the arm barrel for the floyd was pinched to an oval (Probably been held by pliers to lock it down) and the B/E clamp didn't fit and I had to widen the nut
        Luckily no issues with the nut being the wrong spec

        I can't say I was surprised by this, once a guitar says MiC or MiI, I expect issues, these aren't countries that are known for quality work
        (Craftsmanship? I'm sure you can find it there, but I don't expect a Craftsman in low paid/educated Mass production plants)
        I guess having owned a couple Jackson’s in the past, and always got on with them I’m just really surprised by how bad this guitar really is. It’s going to take a lot for me
        to knock it into shape....
        Currently own...

        *PRS USA CU24 97
        *ESP E2 Horizon
        *Squier Trohman Telecaster
        *Jackson SDXQ

        Comment


        • #5
          Just had the neck off. Managed to get the relief half decent, and found a thick piece of sandpaper in the neck pocket whilst I was at it! So taken that out. Waiting for some of the StewMac shims to arrive from the states to angle the neck properly so I can get the action where I want it to be now the neck isn’t like a banana any more!

          Also moved the string retainer bar. It was so close to the bottom E post it was actually fouling it!

          its not a half-bad guitar, but it’s needed a decent set-up and some work!

          the trem wasn’t staying in tune very well. So I tried the claw angle trick which seems to have helped massively (or it’s just my imagination!)

          Currently own...

          *PRS USA CU24 97
          *ESP E2 Horizon
          *Squier Trohman Telecaster
          *Jackson SDXQ

          Comment


          • #6
            +1 to that. Mine played a lot better after a setup. I currently have the floyd set low until I decide either to get a shim or route the neck pocket. I've routed in the past.

            Comment


            • #7
              I got a white sdx adrian smith. I changed out the pickguard to a pearl white one and added a seymour duncan yngwie malmsteen yjm fury pickup set. Then a sanded and polyurethaned the neck. I love this guitar.
              subscribe to my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/deathmetal44
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P-TymW-84g
              www.soundclick.com/gothmetalshredder

              Comment


              • #8
                Love my SDX... great guitars to hot rod.

                The only thing original left on mine is the neck and body.
                Everything else has been replaced.
                Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 8.17.19 PM.png
                -Rick

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hello, this is my first post :-)
                  I bought Jackson SDXQ crafted in Indonesia (2018).
                  In my guitar is mounted nut R4 but I won't replace it because I can play with it.
                  Lot of users replace pickups especially single coils because are weak. I measured out resistance on the jack.
                  neck = 12,6 kOhm
                  middle = 12,8 kOhm
                  bridge = 13,5 kOhm

                  Single coil noiseless pickups have 4 wires and are connected like humbuckers.

                  Jackson SDXQ:

                  Nut R4: https://imgur.com/WfNWedA
                  Ohm:

                  Stock pickups:

                  Pickups disassembled:



                  Replaced neck pickup to humbucker hot rails:
                  Last edited by Mark Bether; 02-13-2020, 06:23 PM.

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