What Is He Thinking??? (NGD)

Robert Herndon said:
I gotta say this...

Its effortless to play solos on. I raised the action to my SOP of .070" at the 12th and it's just amazing.

Don O recently played my 1987 Squire and commented on how low the action felt, and was surprised when it actually measured .080" at the 12th.

But the Fender neck has no finesse compared to the Jackson. It's really a night and day difference.

So far, I have only set the action and replaced the broken 'D' string. I'm going to play it a while before making big changes...

I've said this before...if I was traveling and my guitars were delayed, I would pull a Jackson - USA or import either one - off the rack and perform with it without hesitation.
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I was on a quest about 5 years ago to grab a Jackson Dinky, but it just never happened!
Now I am good with what I have!
Cheers Mitch
 
Robert Herndon said:
I do....

Of course, I see some room to improve the tonality, but zero fretwork is needed. That's a first for me.

I like the wide neck, and it differs from a Fender 'C' in that there is no point. The shoulders are wide and the point has been flattened.

The tuners feel like 22:1 or something. Just fabulous and even smoother than my preferred Gibson Green Keys. Very good tuners!!!

Controls are very sturdy feeling. The pots feel like the old, oversize CTS's with a super smooth, damped motion. I've yet to pull the pickguard and look.

Now, this Dimarzio DP100 is indeed hot, but again, Jackson blows me away with how damn quiet they are right out of the box, sitting right in front of the amp and my PC.

5 brand new Gibson's - purchased between September 2016 and June 2017 - and every one buzzed, hummed and transmitted radio stations.

C'mon Gibson...50's style construction was good in the 50's when we didnt have an atmosphere full of microwave signals. It's time to move into at least the 20th century for once.

Here's an interesting thing @esge, and I would like you to chime in on this as previous owner.

The DP100, while being very hot, doesn't have balls. Up to 4/32" from the strings, its loud and punchy, but the guitar has this very pronounced quack too, which we know is partially due to maple neck and 25.5" scale length.

In contrast, my 1987 Squire, with a Gibson 500T in the bridge, has had most of the quack removed and that pickup has a much thicker, fuller tone.

The DP100 sounds good, but a it's a very high end, upper mid range pickup, whereas I seek that thick bottom with a pronounced high end edge - that almost sounds like two guitars playing the same thing simultaneously, but in different registers.

No flame here, just trying to evaluate what I have and where I want to be...
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Not sure I found it to be plenty ballsie...............through a MESA!!!!!
BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
Robert Herndon said:
Despite having a huge affinity for 24.75" scale lengths, 12" radii and Les Paul style guitars, I have to admit our recent outdoor performance - in direct sunlight - really opened my eyes to the tuning issues with my 3 Les Paul's . All of them went flat to quite a degree - enough so that I could hear it - but my genuine 2016 Gibson Les Paul was by far the worst offender.

Shockingly, my 1987 Squirecaster - despite being uncomfortably hot to the touch - stayed in perfect tune. Even after several tremolo dives, sufficient to allow the strings to flop along the pickups, the damn thing was still in tune with a crappy, decked, 6 screw tremolo.

While I don't particularly care for the "twang" of a 25.5" scale guitar, I am such a stkicker for accurate tuning, intonation and reliability that it has caused me to re-evaluate my needs for our frequently out of doors performances.

I recall what Adrian Smith said about his tuning issues in high temps with his Les Paul and that while Kirk Hammett uses vintage Les Paul's in the studio, but considers them too unreliable for live work.

I've always been impressed with the Jackson's (both USA and Import) in terms of fretwork, neck rigidity, tuning stability and intonation, and I've had good experiences when I have played them, although I am not a fan of the 'Sharkfin' inlay.

When our TTR homie Esge ended up with a Jackson Adrian Smith model, I was somewhat intrigued. I liked the traditional headstock, and "normal" dot inlay, carbon fiber reinforced neck, a Jackson Super Distortion with a pair of singles, 5 way switching and simple master volume and tone.

I've been doing more tremolo work on recordings, so the idea of a more stable tremolo also appealed to me. Although I'm not a certified Floyd Rose operator, I have always admired Super Strat players like Gillis, DiMartini, and Lynch, But, I just kinda dispelled the notion altogether.

Last Szturday. when I found myself playing my 1987 Squirecaster and 6 screw tremolo with great results, I kind of reconsidered the notion.

No matter how much I love a guitar, it's a big deal breaker with me if I'm constantly retuning and especially when I hear my guitar change pitch during a song.

While I am very happy with my Paul's for studio use, I began to reconsider a Super Strat for live work.

Of interesting note, my solid mahogany double neck, with experimental tongue and groove neck joints by B.Hefner, has rock solid tuning, even in direct sunlight, but its weight makes it impractical for full- time use, as does the 20 fret neck.

One afternoon, Adrian made me an offer that I couldn't refuse...some dough was exchanged and the Jackson was bound for California.

Now, I have no idea how this will transpire, but Adrian speaks highly of the feel, setup and 'mojo' of this guitar and his suggestions have been spot-on in the past, so I'm both excited and nervous for it to arrive this coming week.

Here's a file photo:

View attachment 31352

I also have the option of a 24.75" conversion neck in the future should I find myself missing the Paul's too terribly.

Full report to follow...
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Having been out of town for a few days I have been out of touch with what has been going on around here.
BUT it never fails to amaze me the influence Adrian has over the amount of purchases that are made on this forum.
And now Rob is buying a Jackson, surly the sky is about to start falling.
 
ChasFred said:
Having been out of town for a few days I have been out of touch with what has been going on around here.
BUT it never fails to amaze me the influence Adrian has over the amount of purchases that are made on this forum.
And now Rob is buying a Jackson, surly the sky is about to start falling.
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That Jackson is top notch. Better overall intonation than any of my 5 brand new Gibson's.

Now, I will say that I cant beat the tone of my Les Paul's, but for sheer user friendliness, the Jackson is a fantastic guitar.

20190916_184457.jpg
 
ChasFred said:
Having been out of town for a few days I have been out of touch with what has been going on around here.
BUT it never fails to amaze me the influence Adrian has over the amount of purchases that are made on this forum.
And now Rob is buying a Jackson, surly the sky is about to start falling.
Click to expand...

I have to say that Adrian has a gift in determining what guitar will "fit" a player. He was right on with the Chibson. His description of the top, description of the ne k, I mean he was spot-on.

I've already turned down $1,500.00 for the Chibson and that was offered to me by a studio musician colleague that played it and didnt want to let go of it.

I couldn't get an offering over $350.00 on my 2016 Gibson SG with over $500.00 in upgrades and a TSA case.

I was happy to send it to Adrian for free as he really seems to dig it and I wanted rid of it.

But, yes...he's the pusher man, and you know what they say about the pusher man????
 
Here's the 1999 GFS Pickguard I used to have in my 1987 Squirecaster. 14kΩ double slug in the bridge, 10kΩ then experimental hum cancelling singe coil in the middle and 7kΩ in the neck.

This should drop right onto the Jackson...

1987 Squire H-S-S.jpg


Strat Pickguard GFS H-S-S.jpg
 
gball said:
I'm about to perform a little experiment. The wife and I are going to Palm Springs for the weekend and I am taking a guitar (not sure which one yet) so I have something to goof around with while we sit by the pool.

It's currently 73-degrees and 73% humidity in Hermosa Beach. I'll have the guitar in the back of the air conditioned car on the roughly 2.5 hour drive, so the temp will be about the same with probably a bit less humidity, but the guitar will be in its case. It's going to be 111-degrees in Palm Springs tomorrow, with 6% (yes SIX percent) humidity. I'll report back what the guitar does, both going and coming back. Should be interesting.
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Back from the desert, where it topped out at 112-degrees on Saturday. Ended up taking a 2015 non-reverse Firebird with me and spent some time with it on the patio of our retreat, in partial sun/partial shade, where I played it for about 40 minutes on Saturday and about 30 minutes on Sunday (95-degree heat/sun that day).

Verdict? The guitar was pretty stable in the heat/sun after tuning it up, but the finish hazed up a bit on Saturday (I think some Virtuoso will get it back to normal - hope so) . After two days out of the case the fretboard also seems like it needs to be oiled. I don't think being in the direct sunlight is doing the guitars any favors, but it didn't seem unusually reactive to the heat and I think I could have played through a set with only a normal amount of retuning. Thing is, a different guitar may have reacted differently, I can't say.
 
gball said:
Back from the desert, where it topped out at 112-degrees on Saturday. Ended up taking a 2015 non-reverse Firebird with me and spent some time with it on the patio of our retreat, in partial sun/partial shade, where I played it for about 40 minutes on Saturday and about 30 minutes on Sunday (95-degree heat/sun that day).

Verdict? The guitar was pretty stable in the heat/sun after tuning it up, but the finish hazed up a bit on Saturday (I think some Virtuoso will get it back to normal - hope so) . After two days out of the case the fretboard also seems like it needs to be oiled. I don't think being in the direct sunlight is doing the guitars any favors, but it didn't seem unusually reactive to the heat and I think I could have played through a set with only a normal amount of retuning. Thing is, a different guitar may have reacted differently, I can't say.
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I'd venture to say that Firebird is tougher then my Les Paul's too....that's neck-through???
 
Robert Herndon said:
I'd venture to say that Firebird is tougher then my Les Paul's too....that's neck-through???
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The non-reverse ones are set-neck, not neckthrough like the reverse guitars. This is it:

full


But the neck seems really stable on them, so I don't know for sure if it's this guitar or how another one would react to that kind of heat. One of my Les Pauls may have gone crazy out there for all I know. But the heat made the finish cloud up. I'm a bit bummed about the hazing in the finish (can't see it here) because I am actually planning to sell this guitar, and if the Viruoso doesn't bring it back to normal I'll take a huge hit on it.
 
gball said:
The non-reverse ones are set-neck, not neckthrough like the reverse guitars. This is it:

full


But the neck seems really stable on them, so I don't know for sure if it's this guitar or how another one would react to that kind of heat. One of my Les Pauls may have gone crazy out there for all I know. But the heat made the finish cloud up. I'm a bit bummed about the hazing in the finish (can't see it here) because I am actually planning to sell this guitar, and if the Viruoso doesn't bring it back to normal I'll take a huge hit on it.
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I was playing all three of my Les Paul's this morning through my two 40 watt tube amps...let me tell you, NOTHING beats the sound of a Les Paul...the Jackson is a great guitar and much more thermally stable, but there's no way I can replace my temperamental Les Paul's...

That's strange about the finish. Even in direct sunlight, no issues with any of the finishes on my three Paul's...
 
ChasFred said:
BUT it never fails to amaze me the influence Adrian has over the amount of purchases
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Dance my pretties ---- dance --- MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Robert Herndon said:
I have to say that Adrian has a gift in determining what guitar will "fit" a player. He was right on with the Chibson. His description of the top, description of the ne k, I mean he was spot-on.

I've already turned down $1,500.00 for the Chibson and that was offered to me by a studio musician colleague that played it and didnt want to let go of it.

I couldn't get an offering over $350.00 on my 2016 Gibson SG with over $500.00 in upgrades and a TSA case.

I was happy to send it to Adrian for free as he really seems to dig it and I wanted rid of it.

But, yes...he's the pusher man, and you know what they say about the pusher man????
Click to expand...

Thanks Robert actually it is a "GIFT" --I just have a knack --- ask HACKMASTER --HELL I got him to LOVE A STRAT!!! and a PEAVEY AT THAT!

I am glad your liking the JACKSON -- it is an EXCELLENT guitar for the $--

HOWEVER------ this pendulum swings BOTH WAYS----
HACK has RUINED me for all amps OTHER than a MESA ---
HE and Drummoid and I have swapped gear like hookers and blow at a Hells Angels Convention!
Chris and Ray -----constantly posting LOVELY strat kept me gassing till I found my 1 and only
Chris-- and Gball--I think(?) are responsible for this
epiphorincation2.jpg

Ray and I have passed a few back and forth as well........

that DAMN S5 and his GODIN this and GODIN that and Canuck Maple is best blah blah blah blah --- well
Godin Freeway 1.jpg

so......while I may "go my own way" with some of the ODD ball Gibson Norlin era "quirk" I buy--- yall influence me JUST as much as I you ;)

and Mr Chasfred.....need I remind you ...............
Blueshawk1.jpg





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