New to the Forum -- First Jackson coming up and looking for advice.

[Rich#6]

Lastly, and I hope I don't get flamed on this one (seeing as it's a Jackson forum), I played a Washburn X50FE and thought it was a FANTASTIC value. Great looking plain flamed maple top, EMG 81/85, set neck (which was a lot faster than I expected), and really felt great for $479. This guy:

I have an older one I put emgs into. Great bang for the money. It's on par with any of the Jackson imports I have/had

[stevoc]

EDIT: One other thing about the Washburn. It would up my amp budget to about ~$400 range and I know many people express how an amp is more important than a guitar. Opinions? Opinions on amps in that range? Sorry for all the questions.

I will disagree with that part....the guitar (to me) needs to feel good when you play it, which I believe will improve your playing. When I went to buy my dk2m, I tried a Jackson DX model, but put it right back on the rack because it didn't feel the same as the DK model.

I think an amp can be adjusted with effects and such to taylor your sound.

[sk8boardbob2]

"buy a Schecter" I would get over at the UG forums.

If the Washburn plays and sounds good by all means buy it. Make sure you try it out through whatever amp you're gonna get though. As far as Ibanez sucking did you get to try out a S series? They cost about the same as the Washburn and come with a sexy ZR trem.

[jeffcon0]

If the Washburn plays and sounds good by all means buy it. Make sure you try it out through whatever amp you're gonna get though. As far as Ibanez sucking did you get to try out a S series? They cost about the same as the Washburn and come with a sexy ZR trem.

That's exactly what I tried. I played a S520EX and really want to like it. I love the body and I know the ZR gets rave reviews. I just didn't think it sounded as good as some of the other guitars I've tried. Maybe I am jumping the gun on my opinion, though. Like I said I only had a few minutes to tinker with everything yesterday so I definitly didn't have a chance to adjust knobs and really try everything out thoroughly. I've owned Ibanez's in the past and really liked them so maybe I just need to give them another look. One other thing about the S520EX: I HATE the "claw scratch" inlays in that thing. I just am not a fan of these "extreme" inlays. Although the jackson inlays could probably be considered "extreme" as well I think they look classic.

Ultimately I am not going to rule anything out. I actually took a day off of work next friday when I am buying and plan on spending the entire day playing everything with every amp and try to start with a fresh pair of eyes hopefully unclouded by my weeks of internet research. Hell, I'll probably even pick up a Strat and an LP just to check it out.

My budget seems to be continually inching upwards as well and if I can justify spending a bit more I don't want to short sell myself if it comes down to a matter of a couple hundred bucks. Whatever I end up with I can guarantee some gear porn!

As of right now I still think the DK2M is the frontrunner but we shall see.

And finally a question:
When I am trying out guitars can someone recommend some steps to put a guitar through the paces? What should I check?
Anyone have a routine they go through when they are testing potential gear?

[thetroy]

Everyone is different. I find that I am picky about my amp but don't care at all about my guitars. Right now I have 2 shitty Chinese guitars that I play all of the time and they cost $100 new. With a good amp they sound just fine.

I'd say that the "feel" of a guitar is the least important feature to me. Your hands will adjust to anything, but if it doesn't look or sound decent that won't change much.

[straycat]

I have 2 1/2 stacks 1 SS and 1 tube and play thru the POD 90% of the time.I have all brands and love them all just the Jacksons the best.

[Spivonious]

One thing I noticed about the Washburn: no clean access to the upper frets.

I can also vouch for the Vox being the best modeling amp for the price. I had the AD50VT. The gain doesn't quite hit that over-the-top death metal grind stuff, but the versatility of the other sounds makes up for it.

[Rich#6]

One thing I noticed about the Washburn: no clean access to the upper frets

No fret access with a set neck? It is better then the Jackson dinky - no heal, it may or may not be better then the Ibanez though. I have not tried that model.

[jeffcon0]

No matter what I play I just keep coming back to the Jacksons. I went to my friendly neighborhood GC yesterday and played some more guitars and kept coming back to the DK2M and DKMG. Wondering what your preferences are out of those two and maybe why you prefer one or another? What are they good for, etc? The DKMG has active pups (and looks awesome in transparent red to boot!) but I'm not sure if I would get the benefits of active pups playing mostly low volume through a solid state amp. Not to mention that it's about $150 more than the DK2M. Which route would you guys go?

[Spivonious]

No fret access with a set neck? It is better then the Jackson dinky - no heal, it may or may not be better then the Ibanez though. I have not tried that model.

It's not the heel. Look at the cutaway. It only goes to the 19th fret. I agree with the comment though. It's the one thing that stops me from getting a DK2M. My hand always bangs into that monster heel when going for the upper frets.

[Rich#6]

It only goes to the 19th fret.

22nd on mine. Same as the ibanez and a jackson soloist.

[ozzuk1]

Lots of people have only truely had gripes with the arm which si easy adn cheap to swap for a shcaller made arm socket....

As for a little amp you cannot go wrng wit teh vox stuff I recently bought the vox da5 for practise at college and it kicked butt great tones can be ahd from those voxes....

However I would think the AD series sound better as it ahs the valve reactor thingy in it....

Best modelers i've come accross, the Spider III's are a huge improvement over the II's but it's not as sweet sounding as the vox but will have a lot more options....

Why not include a DK2T in the equation a cross betweene the DK2M and the Dk2 with string through and the traditional jackson appearance..

Ozz

[stevoc]

No matter what I play I just keep coming back to the Jacksons. I went to my friendly neighborhood GC yesterday and played some more guitars and kept coming back to the DK2M and DKMG. Wondering what your preferences are out of those two and maybe why you prefer one or another? What are they good for, etc? The DKMG has active pups (and looks awesome in transparent red to boot!) but I'm not sure if I would get the benefits of active pups playing mostly low volume through a solid state amp. Not to mention that it's about $150 more than the DK2M. Which route would you guys go?

I made some comments a little while back in this thread regarding my comparison of a DK2M and DKMG, and the biggest difference was the sound output. The DK2M had a brighter sound to it, I am believing because of the maple fretboard. This is why I went with it. Truly though, both felt great to play. One other difference was the DK2M had a cutout or fade on the top of the body for your right arm to rest on, the DKMG was straight. The 2M felt a tad more comfortable to play because of this.

I recently went to my (somewhat) local GC and played around on a DKMG again, and totally loved the feel. I am considering picking one up sometime in the future.

[cabram]

I think that you are making a good choice on the DK2M. I know that you are on a budget for your amp, but have you tried a Fender Cyber Champ? I really liek all of the features and I have seen them at low cost on e-bay. I use mine just sitting around the porch. You would not want this thing in a club situation but for practice by yourself or just dickin' around we have been very pleased with the little Fender.