« Dinky with a maple fretboard! » «  Dinky avec un manche érable! »

These guitars hit the scene like a hurricane. When they first came out everyone was freaking out over the clean looks the maple fretboard with black inlays gave. The alpine white finish gave a touch of class also. These guitars were flying off the shelf and with good reason. They had the great Jackson playability with a new Jackson look. Jackson does not put out many guitars with maple fretboards and this guitar started a craze. Today it is still one of the hottest selling import Jacksons. The guitar features an Alder body with a rock maple bolt on neck. The fretboard is unfinished maple with jumbo frets and Jacksons famous compound radius fretboard and Jacksons trademark sharkfin inlays. he compound radius allows the for great playability on both ends of the neck. Near the headstock on the low end the radius is 12 inches which means the fretboard is slightly more curved up there to make playing chord shapes more comfortable. Near the high end the radius is 16 inches which makes shredding and lead playing effortless. The guitar comes with two Seymour Duncan pickups from the factory. It has a TB-4 in the bridge and a SH-2N in the bridge. The pickups are switched by a 3 way blade switch and there is a master volume and master tone knob. To finish it off there is a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo.

UTILIZATION

The unfinished maple fretboard feels great under your fingers. Because the guitar is bolt on construction it will have a heel at the neck joint unlike the higher end Jacksons that are neck through. Jackson has done their best to make sure the heel does not get in the way. They have recessed the heel and the back of the guitar. The jumbo frets let you get a nice action and the compound radius fretboard means that you can comfortably play on both ends of the neck. Unlike on the neck through Jacksons this guitars bolt on neck means you get a bare neck. Many people prefer the feel of bare wood to a finished neck. A finished neck can sometimes get sticky as you play the guitar and sweat. The licensed Floyd Rose tremolo is okay and will work fine with a proper setup.

SOUNDS

These guitars are very versatile in their sound. They can do any type of music. Coming with quality Seymour Duncan pickups from the factory put its ahead of most companies guitars which just come with in-house pickups. The TB4 in the bridge is a total machine and rips for metal and heavy rock. It is clear and defined and can handle the heaviest gain and lowest tunings. It has a nice high output so it will push your amp hard and give you a good tone. The SH2N fills the role of neck position perfectly. It gives you a nice smooth tone for your lead playing and can clean up really well for clean passages. It is great Jackson is putting in name brand pickups into their even reasonably priced guitars.

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar is great for the money. It has really great looks and playability. Maple fretboards are coming back in a big way. Jackson is starting to make other guitars with maple fretboards. Jackson really had a hit when they designed this guitar. You can really fall in love with the looks of it.