marnold
July 3rd, 2009, 05:32 PM
Jackson DK2M
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OT7l0dXu4To/SjwX29H6IrI/AAAAAAAAAhs/2k05xS9fAgo/s400/img_2263.jpg
As mentioned elsewhere on here, on the 19th of last month I sold my old Fender and Floyd to get a Jackson DK2M. Am I happy with my choice, or do I wish for a do-over? Here are the specs on it:
Made-in-Japan
Dinky-style alder body with cutaways on the lower horn and on the back by the neck plate
Maple neck and fretboard with black delrin (read: plastic) inlays and a matte finish, thin neck (maybe a thin C-shape? not as thin as some but not as thick as a standard Fender), compound radius 12"-16", jumbo frets, standard Jackson pointy headstock
Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups
One volume, one tone, three-way switch
Jackson JT580LP Licensed Floyd Rose tremolo
One thing that struck me right away is how much better the construction is on this guitar than my Floyd. The paintjob is very nice. The neck sits tightly in the pocket. The control cavity is shielded. Nothing is cockeyed or otherwise out-of-spec. I had been warned that some DK2Ms have their necks slanted in the pocket (i.e. the low-E side is lower than the high-E), but mine doesn't do that. My only complaint is that for some reason the trem springs have this tarnish on them. I can't tell what the deal is with it. If it proves to be an issue, I can swap them out easily enough. There is also the tiniest little bit of fret sprout in places. Since the neck has black binding, I'm loathe to try to do anything about it. We'll see how I feel when winter comes back.
The alder body is much heavier than my old, basswood guitars. It's not Les Paul heavy, but more than I'm used too. It won't be an issue. I had to re-EQ my amp because this guitar is darker than my Floyd was (no surprise since my old Screamin' Demon and Area 61s were quite bright). A quick little treble boost and drop in bass and we're in business.
I really like the Duncans in this. The JB sounds just OK clean, but with any level of distortion it sounds clear and punchy. I thought I'd be itching for another Demon, but now I'm not so sure. The Jazz has been a revelation. I really like it for clean and/or bluesy stuff. I've heard people describe it as a humbucker with the soul of a single coil. I'd agree with that. I also understand now why Jimi likes the middle position on HH guitars so much. Despite the JB and Jazz being quite different in output and tonality, they come together nicely in the middle. I think I can see why Seymour Duncan himself calls this his favorite combination.
The thing that really struck me about this guitar is how low I can get the action without any buzzing. I hate fret buzz, so I usually set my guitars a bit higher than I might otherwise like. This one is set low, low, low. If I could only shred, I could do so on this guitar :)
The jury is still out on the trem. The GC goons sold the bar with a different guitar and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. It's got three springs with one in the middle and the other two in a V formation. When I had them put on 10s I should have had them put in a fourth spring instead of cranking down the claw. Oh well. I've pushed down on it with my palm and pulled up on it with my fingers and it's come back into tune, but I haven't had the chance to dive bomb with it yet. It certainly is not the quality of the Floyd that was on my Speedloader. There's some slop in the fine tuners--nothing awful, but still noticeable. The block looks somewhat crude and smallish. If it stays in tune, I won't worry about it. If it doesn't, an Original or Gotoh Floyd is a drop-in replacement.
The only mods I would consider doing soonish is adding a Floyd Rose trem stop (http://www.axcessories.com/proddetail.asp?prod=AXfrstp). Otherwise, restringing and intonating a Floyd Rose equipped guitar is a pain. I'd like to get some black Schaller strap-locks too.
So am I happy with my purchase? You bet! Do I have the slightest urge to have a do-over? Surprisingly, no. This is the nicest guitar I've ever owned by a good margin. Did I mention it's a little bit pointy too?
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OT7l0dXu4To/SjwX29H6IrI/AAAAAAAAAhs/2k05xS9fAgo/s400/img_2263.jpg
As mentioned elsewhere on here, on the 19th of last month I sold my old Fender and Floyd to get a Jackson DK2M. Am I happy with my choice, or do I wish for a do-over? Here are the specs on it:
Made-in-Japan
Dinky-style alder body with cutaways on the lower horn and on the back by the neck plate
Maple neck and fretboard with black delrin (read: plastic) inlays and a matte finish, thin neck (maybe a thin C-shape? not as thin as some but not as thick as a standard Fender), compound radius 12"-16", jumbo frets, standard Jackson pointy headstock
Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups
One volume, one tone, three-way switch
Jackson JT580LP Licensed Floyd Rose tremolo
One thing that struck me right away is how much better the construction is on this guitar than my Floyd. The paintjob is very nice. The neck sits tightly in the pocket. The control cavity is shielded. Nothing is cockeyed or otherwise out-of-spec. I had been warned that some DK2Ms have their necks slanted in the pocket (i.e. the low-E side is lower than the high-E), but mine doesn't do that. My only complaint is that for some reason the trem springs have this tarnish on them. I can't tell what the deal is with it. If it proves to be an issue, I can swap them out easily enough. There is also the tiniest little bit of fret sprout in places. Since the neck has black binding, I'm loathe to try to do anything about it. We'll see how I feel when winter comes back.
The alder body is much heavier than my old, basswood guitars. It's not Les Paul heavy, but more than I'm used too. It won't be an issue. I had to re-EQ my amp because this guitar is darker than my Floyd was (no surprise since my old Screamin' Demon and Area 61s were quite bright). A quick little treble boost and drop in bass and we're in business.
I really like the Duncans in this. The JB sounds just OK clean, but with any level of distortion it sounds clear and punchy. I thought I'd be itching for another Demon, but now I'm not so sure. The Jazz has been a revelation. I really like it for clean and/or bluesy stuff. I've heard people describe it as a humbucker with the soul of a single coil. I'd agree with that. I also understand now why Jimi likes the middle position on HH guitars so much. Despite the JB and Jazz being quite different in output and tonality, they come together nicely in the middle. I think I can see why Seymour Duncan himself calls this his favorite combination.
The thing that really struck me about this guitar is how low I can get the action without any buzzing. I hate fret buzz, so I usually set my guitars a bit higher than I might otherwise like. This one is set low, low, low. If I could only shred, I could do so on this guitar :)
The jury is still out on the trem. The GC goons sold the bar with a different guitar and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. It's got three springs with one in the middle and the other two in a V formation. When I had them put on 10s I should have had them put in a fourth spring instead of cranking down the claw. Oh well. I've pushed down on it with my palm and pulled up on it with my fingers and it's come back into tune, but I haven't had the chance to dive bomb with it yet. It certainly is not the quality of the Floyd that was on my Speedloader. There's some slop in the fine tuners--nothing awful, but still noticeable. The block looks somewhat crude and smallish. If it stays in tune, I won't worry about it. If it doesn't, an Original or Gotoh Floyd is a drop-in replacement.
The only mods I would consider doing soonish is adding a Floyd Rose trem stop (http://www.axcessories.com/proddetail.asp?prod=AXfrstp). Otherwise, restringing and intonating a Floyd Rose equipped guitar is a pain. I'd like to get some black Schaller strap-locks too.
So am I happy with my purchase? You bet! Do I have the slightest urge to have a do-over? Surprisingly, no. This is the nicest guitar I've ever owned by a good margin. Did I mention it's a little bit pointy too?