Jackson Stars SL-j2

This guitar is a lot more straight forward than some of the other guitars that Jackson's Japan division offers. One thing should be noted -- this guitar can come in both regular Seymour Duncan configuration or EMG configuration. This particular one had EMGs installed in it. The guitar features the following specs:

Alder Body
Maple Thru-Neck Design
Bound Rosewood Fretboard with Sharkfin Inlays
Schaller Floyd Rose
EMG 81 in the Neck and Bridge
One Volume
One Tone
Three Way Switch

UTILIZATION

The guitar had the perfect weight to it. It was very resonant, and it kinda played itself. I set up the action to be very low on this, and it was like playing on air. The necks on these are a little thicker than the normal Dinky models, but it's not too bad. Some people don't dig them, so it would be worth playing one before buying if you had the chance. The fretwork on this was good, build quality was good, and overall, it was a very solid guitar with only a few flaws that I could find.

SOUNDS

The guitar comes in two different pickup configurations, and this one had the dual EMG 81 configuration. The 81 in the bridge was bright, super tight and searing. It was great for those start and stop metal riffs, and it still is one of the tightest, most compressed pickups today. It's very clear under high gain, but it's kinda sterile in any other situation. It also lacks the dynamics that other pickups would have. The 81 in the neck is a bit too bright for me. I'm someone who likes very fat and smooth lead tones, so the 85 is more my thing than the 81. It all depends on your own persona style, though.

OVERALL OPINION

The guitar is great, and I liked the EMGs in this, despite me wanting the 85 in the neck instead of the 81. They're good guitars, but be sure to not overpay for one. Some people try to pull these off as American models when they're not, and they adjust the price accordingly. Be sure you're not paying the USA price for the Japanese model.