View other reviews for this product:
tjon901 « King of the V's »
Published on 09/04/11 at 09:54The King V is the most metal version of the classic Flying V shape. This model was first created in the 80s for the Ratt guitar player. It has slightly different back then. It has a larger body because it was really a double Rhodes. It has two horns the size of the top horn on a Jackon RR. They dialed back the size a bit and the King V was born. This guitar has an alder body with a maple neck through neck. You get locking tuners up top to go with the Original Floyd Rose bridge. The neck has an ebony fretboard with 24 jumbo frets and a compound radius design. The pickup set in this guitar is pretty unusual. I cant think of any other guitar that games with Seymour Duncan JB's in the neck and bridge position. The controls are pretty normal with two volumes and a master tone with a 3 way blade switch.
UTILIZATION
The V shape is pretty big and unforgiving. A lot of people dont like having to play in the classical position when sitting down. I always play in the classical position so it doesnt bother me. The construction on USA Jacksons is always good. The neck-through design is a feature I love and wish more guitar makers would use. The wood for the neck goes all the way through the body and the top and bottom of the body are glued to the side of the neck piece. With this construction there is virtually no neck joint which makes playing up at even the highest frets as easy as playing at the middle of the neck. Not only does this construction let you not have a bulky neck joint it also increases sustain as the pickups are mounted directly to the same piece of wood as the neck. The compound radius makes playability a dream. The 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 original Floyd Rose is the original double locking tremolo system and its still the best. When properly setup this system will never go out of tune.
SOUNDS
The JB's in the neck and bridge is pretty weird. The pickup is not really a neck pickup. This combined with the natural brightness of the guitar means the neck position tone on this guitar is pretty harsh and biting. A 59 or Jazz would be a lot better in the neck and that is usually what a Jb is paired with. The 59 and the Jazz are much smoother and provide much better neck position tones. The JB in the bridge however is very nice. Many guitars use the JB in the bridge. It can do anything from rock to metal. It is just tight enough for tight riffs but still has some sag for bluesy stuff. This pickup combined with the natural brightness of this guitar means it can really cu through the mix.
OVERALL OPINION
You dont see many people playing these guitars any more. Their image proceeds them. If you see someone playing a King V you can expect some crazy thrash metal or something. It is a modern classic and still retains the great playability that came with guitars in the 80s. If you are looking for a heavy metal flying V that plays like butter this is your V.
UTILIZATION
The V shape is pretty big and unforgiving. A lot of people dont like having to play in the classical position when sitting down. I always play in the classical position so it doesnt bother me. The construction on USA Jacksons is always good. The neck-through design is a feature I love and wish more guitar makers would use. The wood for the neck goes all the way through the body and the top and bottom of the body are glued to the side of the neck piece. With this construction there is virtually no neck joint which makes playing up at even the highest frets as easy as playing at the middle of the neck. Not only does this construction let you not have a bulky neck joint it also increases sustain as the pickups are mounted directly to the same piece of wood as the neck. The compound radius makes playability a dream. The 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 original Floyd Rose is the original double locking tremolo system and its still the best. When properly setup this system will never go out of tune.
SOUNDS
The JB's in the neck and bridge is pretty weird. The pickup is not really a neck pickup. This combined with the natural brightness of the guitar means the neck position tone on this guitar is pretty harsh and biting. A 59 or Jazz would be a lot better in the neck and that is usually what a Jb is paired with. The 59 and the Jazz are much smoother and provide much better neck position tones. The JB in the bridge however is very nice. Many guitars use the JB in the bridge. It can do anything from rock to metal. It is just tight enough for tight riffs but still has some sag for bluesy stuff. This pickup combined with the natural brightness of this guitar means it can really cu through the mix.
OVERALL OPINION
You dont see many people playing these guitars any more. Their image proceeds them. If you see someone playing a King V you can expect some crazy thrash metal or something. It is a modern classic and still retains the great playability that came with guitars in the 80s. If you are looking for a heavy metal flying V that plays like butter this is your V.