View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « Flame top SLSMG »
Published on 07/18/11 at 06:51This is the limited edition guitar. I've actually only seen one of these in the shop, personally. They're fairly rare from what I've seen. The biggest difference between this and the normal one is that this has a flame top. I think the flame is a veneer instead of an actual carved top. The guitar has the following specs:
Mahogany body with a flame maple top
Neck-thru mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard and 24 jumbo frets
String-thru-body bridge
Two EMG pickups
One volume, one tone and a three way switch
MOTO piranha tooth position inlays
Ivoroid binding on neck and headstock
UTILIZATION
The guitar won't have any neck joint issues thanks to it being a neck-thru guitar. You also get some better upper fret access thanks to that. The fretwork on this guitar was very nice. I was able to get some low action without any issues. The nut was also cut nicely, and I didn't experience any tuning issues during bending. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm fairly sure this flame is a veneer. The flame itself was your typical "grill" type flame that was book matched on the body.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded very fat. This is either good or bad, depending. The EMG 81 in the bridge can sometimes get a bit bright, but I found that this all mahogany construction made it very dark. It had tons of mids, and that can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you like midrange. Mahogany is actually a very midrange heavy wood, and that's why people sometimes confuse it with being dark. The 85 in the neck was almost too fat for me, and I like super fat neck pickups. I think an 81 in the neck might have suited this a bit better. If not an 81, then maybe a 60 or 60A. It all depends on what you're going for.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar can be fairly hard to find on the used market thanks to it being a fairly limited guitar. It's no longer made, so you can't buy it new anyway. I've only ever had one in the shop, and we're an authorized Jackson dealer. If you can get it at a good price, I recommend jumping on it. They're very solid guitars and put together well.
Mahogany body with a flame maple top
Neck-thru mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard and 24 jumbo frets
String-thru-body bridge
Two EMG pickups
One volume, one tone and a three way switch
MOTO piranha tooth position inlays
Ivoroid binding on neck and headstock
UTILIZATION
The guitar won't have any neck joint issues thanks to it being a neck-thru guitar. You also get some better upper fret access thanks to that. The fretwork on this guitar was very nice. I was able to get some low action without any issues. The nut was also cut nicely, and I didn't experience any tuning issues during bending. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm fairly sure this flame is a veneer. The flame itself was your typical "grill" type flame that was book matched on the body.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded very fat. This is either good or bad, depending. The EMG 81 in the bridge can sometimes get a bit bright, but I found that this all mahogany construction made it very dark. It had tons of mids, and that can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you like midrange. Mahogany is actually a very midrange heavy wood, and that's why people sometimes confuse it with being dark. The 85 in the neck was almost too fat for me, and I like super fat neck pickups. I think an 81 in the neck might have suited this a bit better. If not an 81, then maybe a 60 or 60A. It all depends on what you're going for.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar can be fairly hard to find on the used market thanks to it being a fairly limited guitar. It's no longer made, so you can't buy it new anyway. I've only ever had one in the shop, and we're an authorized Jackson dealer. If you can get it at a good price, I recommend jumping on it. They're very solid guitars and put together well.