Another serial number question (Jackson to Fender crossover)

[Nelder17]

So i'm about to pull the trigger on a KV2 in Blue ghost flames, and its serial number is U12748. I'm unsure again on what year this guitar is, but i"m guessing early to mid 2000's. I was also wondering at what point roughly was the crossover from when the USA production guitars started coming out of the Corona facility exclusively after the buyout

Cheers!

[Number Of The Priest]

As soon as I saw "KV2 Blue Ghost Flames" and that serial number, I knew exactly which specimen it was.

I hope the repaired dings are the extent of the issues and there is nothing else more serious that is scaring away potential customers because that KV2 been listed at that good price for several weeks already and it makes me wonder why it's still available (aside from the repaired dings). I live halfway across the continent and don't play Vs, but if it was a USA Soloist or Dinky for the same price I might have ordered it, because the store chain only charges $10 to ship anything listed on their clearance page (and sometimes forgets to add that $10). I've ordered two guitars without cases (you pay nothing if it arrives damaged; they carry all responsibility so they take the effort to pack uncased guitars well) and one amp from several time zones away and wouldn't hesitate to do it again whenever the right product comes along.

I'm sorry I can't answer your questions but I really hope this works out for you!

[Nelder17]

Yeah, I'm hoping the only reason it's lasted this long is because most folks aren't interested in a guitar that has cosmetic damage, that and the covid likely slowing down sales a little. I've been going back and forth on it for about 3 weeks and decided worst case scenario I'm out a few bills and I have a parts guitar, but from what I can tell it should play well still, and i'm not above a re-finish if it comes down to it. I also have an entire black original floyd/nut/tuners that came off my RR1, and i'll be ripping out all the electronics too. I was told today that it will come with a case, but wasn't told if it's the original Jackson case or not, I'll confirm that tomorrow, as the V style Yorkville cases are absolute shite and are too big for the King V.

[Number Of The Priest]

Agreed about the Yorkville YEC-6HV oversize case being too large for the King V. It's also too large for the Rhoads and that has a longer upper horn than the King V. I have one for my WRXT and the guitar is swimming in it. I realize it's a generic oversize case so I shouldn't complain, but I hope the KV2 you want is accompanied by the original Jackson-branded SKB case.

I don't know if you've ordered anything from another city from their clearance page before, but having done it successfully three times recently, here are the pointers I can pass along:

Call or e-mail the store where the product is actually located and ask as many "dumb questions" as you want about the product. With both guitars I spotted and bought, cosmetic issues weren't evident in the tiny handful of photos they upload to the website, so I explicitly asked if there were any, and to send me photos of every little issue no matter how small or insignificant they were.

I also ask about neck twist, fret life, tremolo life (particularly about knife edges), and if it comes with a case (and what specific one, and for photos too) and the correct whammy bar. The store reps should know and openly relay this all this info to you because they're supposed to be intimately familiar with every piece of gear due to having performed maintenance and setups on every guitar they intend to list for sale.

If I notice components are missing in the photos, like a switch tip or a truss rod cover, I ask about those too.

If you decide you want it, I believe you have two payment options. You can pay now and then pick it up at your local store, or you can request it to be shipped to your local store with a 10% deposit, inspect the product, and you can still reject it if it. In that situation, you forfeit the 10% deposit and any shipping you've already paid. I haven't had to reject anything so far, but it's one method to protect the remaining 90% of your money if the product arrives as described but you decide you don't want it. Your deposit becomes their restocking fee. If it arrives with serious faults that were not described, such as shipping damage, I am under the impression that they accept responsibility. I haven't yet faced that scenario and I hope I never will.

Worst case scenario is you spend $120 deposit + $10 shipping, the guitar is structurally fine, but you decide for whatever reason that you don't want it, and you've only lost $130.

Best case scenario is you buy it and it has no further issues.

[Nelder17]

All good points, and thanks for the tips.

The only other time I bought without seeing/playing was my RR1, which worked out well. I am going to take the risk and just buy it, though. I have an entire extra Floyd, springs, block, R3 Nut, posts/studs and tuning machines, in case any of those are in need of replacing. I also have an entire solderless EMG wiring kit with pots here in case the electronics need some love, but those EMG's will be coming out anyway sooner or later. So basically as long as it's structurally sound and the frets aren't completely toast, I should be okay.

[Johnnyryche]

Based on my log, U12748 should have a production date around June/July 2003.

[Nelder17]

Based on my log, U12748 should have a production date around June/July 2003.

Thanks! So that puts it early into the fender years, good to know!

[Number Of The Priest]

The guitar is now gone from the store's website. I hope it's because you just bought it. Did the store reveal anything about the case, and any details about the guitar that weren't evident from the original photos?

[Nelder17]

The guitar is now gone from the store's website. I hope it's because you just bought it. Did the store reveal anything about the case, and any details about the guitar that weren't evident from the original photos?

Yup, I bought it. It did indeed come with the original Jackson case, and according to the employee it was great other than the obvious cosmetic stuff shown in the pictures. It is a near 17 year old guitar, but he said the fret wear wasn't bad, the neck was straight and it played well. Hopefully it get's here before the weekend, but as soon as it does i'll post up some pics and a video or two.

[Nelder17]

So, the guitar arrived on Friday.

First off the case is garbage, it's completely cracked on 2 corners and bent in on the side rail where the top and bottom attach. It made me nervous as hell to open it when I saw that, however...

Initial impressions are that the cosmetic damage that was "repaired" doesn't bother me at all. Otherwise it's in expected condition for a 17 year old V (some chips on the tips and headstock tip, nothing major).

It came with new some parts already installed on the Floyd and Nut (new saddles and string blocks, new saddle screws, new nut clamp screws). Whoever installed the EMG's did a piss poor job, especially considering it's the solderless kit. Every pot was loose, and so was the output jack. No big deal, took all of 3 minutes to fix. Otherwise the electronics work fine.

I did a complete tear down (everything out except the pickups and tuning machines) and re-assembly followed by a complete clean and condition of the fret board and fret polish, installed a 37mm brass L block and noiseless springs for the floyd, full set up (neck was arrow straight, 1/4 turn to loosen the truss rod was enough) and added shims to the floyd saddles to get the radius right. Plays really really well, and sounds okay but I remember now why I stopped using EMG's in high school.

It needs shims for the nut (already on the way) and a fret level/crown. Otherwise I gotta say, I'm super happy with the purchase. It was definitely a gamble, but it paid off for sure.

[Number Of The Priest]

Congrats! Glad to have followed this story and know there's a happy ending.

I'm surprised the original store staff didn't disclose the damaged case before you requested the guitar to be shipped to your local store, or the other minor dings on the guitar, or the need for fretwork.

Maybe the new Floyd parts balance the equation a bit because they will likely help extend the life of the trem AND you mentioned you have leftover trem parts from your RR1. How were you able to tell those were new? Were they a stark contrast with any original parts still on the guitar? I could not tell from the photos alone.

How bad are the big repaired dings? Are they smooth if you run your finger from the original finish to the repaired areas?

Curious, what's your final radius for your bridge after shimming your Floyd saddles? 20"? A few years ago, I had a big discussion about this (https://www.jcfonline.com/forum/equi...-saddle-radius) and would love your thoughts!

[Nelder17]

I'm still debating over calling about the damage to the case, but part of me thinks I likely wont get anywhere with it.

The new floyd parts came installed with the original ones in the packages for the new parts in the case. It was a pleasant surprise. It also had very fresh strings on it so part of me wonders if the parts were installed as soon as I bought the guitar when they put fresh strings on.

The repaired dings are a mess, being honest. Not sanded/smoothed/blended at all. Ugly AF, but at least it's on the bottom of the lower wing so they're never really noticeable, and being that I bought on it to play to hell out of, and the deal I got, I'll let that slide.

The frets aren't terrible by any stretch, and a less picky person may say they're completely fine. I just happen to have 2 brand new guitars (2019 Les Paul Standard 60's and an EBMM JP6 w/ stainless steel frets) so I have a very good reference for what brand new frets play and feel like. I'm going to play it as is for a few months anyway before I have any work done.

The radius I ended up at is somewhere between 17' - 20'. I don't have any 18' radius gauge, unfortunately. I think the maths have it come out to 18-18.5 if it was to be perfectly matched with the fretboard. Honestly I added 1 shim to the e/b and E/A strings each and play tested and loved how it felt on the RR, so I just went with that again on the KV. I got the action in at 2mm low E and about 1.8mm high E which is about where all my guitars are and it's perfect. The nut sitting too low in the neck is causing some buzzing on the open e and b strings, the rest are fine. I'll shim the entire nut to get some clearance at the first fret when holding down the third when my shims show up.