Jackson DKMG Dinky

I bought this guitar from Musician's Friend. I paid approximately $600 for this guitar.

The guitar is a bolt on, made in Japan, maple fretboard, two EMG's, 20 dB boost and Floyd Rose tremelo. The guitar I have has a beautiful black forest finish. The EMG pickups sound good, the neck is fast for shredders, and it is very well made. I got the guitar and started playing without a setup. I did adjust the pickups very little but overall the guitar arrived in great shape and I have yet to get a setup for it. It is a guitar built to last for metal and hard rock players.

The 20 dB boost is nothing to get stoked about. It really doesn't do much.

Very well made even for metal players that abuse more than other musicians.

I am very happy with this guitar. I play mostly metal and I like to shred from time to time. This guitar is perfect for that especially if you don't have enough dough to spend on a domestic Jackson. I love the looks of the guitar and I love the sound of the stock pickups. What a bargain.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is part of the higher quality overseas series that Jackson has been releasing. It has fairly high quality parts all around, especially for the price that you're getting this guitar at. This guitar has the following specs:

Carved top alder body
Maple neck with a bound rosewood fretboard
24 jumbo frets with shark tooth inlays
EMG 81 and 85 pickups
Licensed floyd rose bridge
One volume, one tone
Three way switch

UTILIZATION

I'll start off with the bad as it's pretty small. The licensed floyd on this isn't that great. I find that it sucks some tone. If you can, replace it with an original floyd rose. It'll be a nice improvement in terms of stability and tone. That aside, the guitar is pretty much up there with a lot of other very nice guitars. The fret work on this is very nice, and I was able to get some low action without much of an issue. The ends were nice and properly rounded so I didn't have any issues cutting my hand when moving up and down the neck. Inlay work was also consistent.

SOUNDS

The EMGs in this really gave this guitar some life. The EMG 81 in the bridge is great for that high gain cutting tone. With the alder body, this thing cuts through the densest mix without any issues at all. It's a bit bland for midgain, and the cleans are sterile, but the high gain sounds are top notch. The EMG 85 in the neck is awesome. It's a super fat pickup that is very direct. You can get all kinds of crazy legato sounds with this thing, and it can get pretty smooth if you're looking for that tone. Cleans are decent, and so are mid gain tones. However, it's not the best for those who are wanting to play stuff like classic rock.

OVERALL OPINION

These guitars are very solid, and you can get them at a great price. Some have fretwork issues, but they're few and far between. The biggest issue with this guitar is the licensed floyd, but an original floyd rose should drop right in. If you can get one at a good price, jump on it. It might even become your main guitar.

This is part of the higher quality overseas series that Jackson has been releasing. It has fairly high quality parts all around, especially for the price that you're getting this guitar at. This guitar has the following specs:

Carved top alder body
Maple neck with a bound rosewood fretboard
24 jumbo frets with shark tooth inlays
EMG 81 and 85 pickups
Licensed floyd rose bridge
One volume, one tone
Three way switch

UTILIZATION

I'll start off with the bad as it's pretty small. The licensed floyd on this isn't that great. I find that it sucks some tone. If you can, replace it with an original floyd rose. It'll be a nice improvement in terms of stability and tone. That aside, the guitar is pretty much up there with a lot of other very nice guitars. The fret work on this is very nice, and I was able to get some low action without much of an issue. The ends were nice and properly rounded so I didn't have any issues cutting my hand when moving up and down the neck. Inlay work was also consistent.

SOUNDS

The EMGs in this really gave this guitar some life. The EMG 81 in the bridge is great for that high gain cutting tone. With the alder body, this thing cuts through the densest mix without any issues at all. It's a bit bland for midgain, and the cleans are sterile, but the high gain sounds are top notch. The EMG 85 in the neck is awesome. It's a super fat pickup that is very direct. You can get all kinds of crazy legato sounds with this thing, and it can get pretty smooth if you're looking for that tone. Cleans are decent, and so are mid gain tones. However, it's not the best for those who are wanting to play stuff like classic rock.

OVERALL OPINION

These guitars are very solid, and you can get them at a great price. Some have fretwork issues, but they're few and far between. The biggest issue with this guitar is the licensed floyd, but an original floyd rose should drop right in. If you can get one at a good price, jump on it. It might even become your main guitar.

DKMGs have gone through a few different versions, but the Jackson I'm referring to has the following specs:

Alder body
Bolt-on maple neck with a rosewood fretboard and 24 jumbo frets
Unique piranha inlays
EMG pickups
A licensed floyd rose bridge
One volume, one tone and a three way switch

UTILIZATION

The DKMG wasn't too bad. The guitar was setup decently, but some of the frets should have been gone over better. This prevented some super low action that I like to run on guitars. The floyd on this thing is not that great, and it kinda robs the overall potential tone of this guitar. If you can, replace it with a real Floyd Rose. That'll both improve stability and tone. The neck joint isn't too bad, but there are better ones out there. The neck is decent in that it's not too thin, but it's just about right.

SOUNDS

The guitar sounded pretty good, especially for the price. The EMG 81 in the bridge gave it a nice bite, and it cuts through the mix like no tomorrow. This is great for lead players and extreme metal players where the drums get very dense. The EMG 85 in the neck gives a very fat and warm tone that's great for lead lines. This is actually my favorite EMG pickup combination, and it really does work well. Clean tones kinda suck, but what are you expecting from EMGs?

OVERALL OPINION

The guitar isn't too bad, and if you can find one used for a good price, pick it up. I recommend replacing the bridge if you can. Also, if you can save for a bit more, I think the ESP M-II stomps all over this, and the used price point is similar to the new price point of this one. It might be something worth considering. Overall, it's still worth checking out.