Asher's Review of Jackson Electric Guitars

As a long time guitar player I have had many opportunities to play and practice with a lot of different types of guitar brands. I currently have a fun arsenal at hand for review.

I have had a long time relation with Jackson Guitars ever since I picked up my first six string. This manufacture has been around since November 10, 1978 when Wayne Charvel sold his company in the Charvel name to Grover Jackson. I did get the opportunity to play Charvel back in the hay days of the late 80s. I'm not quite sure if the guitar I was practicing with was pre-Jackson or after. I can tell you the quality and feel of the Charvel guitar was a true trend setting experience for me and many other players. In 2002 things did change when Jackson/Charvel was purchased by the Fender Musical Instrument Corp.

Loyal Charvel & Jackson players frowned on the new take over in fear of mass produced models. This caused problem with professionals who did play Jackson/Charvel, as they went on to get guitar sponsorship from different manufactures. The reason things went so sour for the Jackson/Charvel name is that Fender started mass manufacturing of the guitars and compromised its quality for quantity and things unravel quickly.

Things got pretty ugly for some time, Jackson started to get sued by Fender and caused huge set backs. Lucky both parties reached a happy median. Jackson/Charvel is back to making high quality professional guitars according to their own specifications while under the ownership of Fender Corp.

So without any further ado let me introduce to you my current collection. My first and most played guitar is my DK2M USA Dinky Pro black reverse head ripper. This Jackson guitar is a tone-ah-luscious ride that offers huge sound. This is what you should expect from such a work horse guitar. With its bolt-on maple neck and fast comfort maple fingerboard this guitar makes playing easy and smooth. My sound is loaded from the Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups. This guitar is known for it's sic tone and reliability. The tremolo is a Floyd Rose pro in black and can perform nasty string dives for any flavored lick. I purchased this guitar about 15 years ago and at the time its retail value was about $700 bucks. Today you can find a good sale for around $500.

My most aggressive style Jackson guitars is a California custom shop King V. This crazy guitar looks like something for another world. A wild unusual color of Absinthe Frost almost looks as if it's been dipped into a barrel of toxic radiation. Aside from the very hot looks, this killer guitar had no expenses spared on the craftsman ship and hardware. The super smooth 24 fret fingerboard with neck-thru body makes playing very comfortable.
This guitar really has some hot tones! If you're in need of heavy sustain, this guitar dishes it out in unreal form with the humbucking pickups on the neck and bridge from Seymour Duncan.

The only thing I would like to mention to someone who has never play a V style guitar is that it's not such a practical guitar to practice with. If you are a common strat player the V shape makes it some what difficult to play while sitting down and practicing. This is a small sacrifice to mention because you can always sling it up with the guitar strap without and drawbacks. My overall opinion on the Jackson King V is it's all worth it! If you are a Jackson guitar enthusiast you must have a King V in the lineup no questions asked.

My next axe is not in my collection yet, but it's defiantly going to be in the near future. The guitar I'm talking about is well worth mentioning to you here because it's a staple in the new world of Jackson guitars. I'm talking about the Mark Morton Dominion signature series Jackson. Normally I do not go for the hype on any signature brand guitars, but this is an exceptional guitar. The new body on this guitar is a nice new addition to the Jackson brand. Very high quality materials have been used on the pro model and the sound is warm and full of tone. Don't overlook this guitar, give it a try next time you are the local music store. Two versions are offered to fit into your budget. One is the D2 an entry level bolt on neck that is price nicely at $499. And the pro model is the signature at $1,300. I will give you the full review on this Jackson as soon as I have the opportunity to purchase this beauty.

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