Hatsubai « Fretboard is crazy gaudy »
Published on 07/18/11 at 06:35This is yet another average guitar in the lineup of Jacksons. Its main feature that separates it from the rest of the models is the crazy fretboard inlay. The guitar has the following specs:
Alder body
Bolt-on maple neck
Rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo frets
Hard tail bridge
Two humbuckers
One volume control, one tone control, an EMG TurboCharber booster and a three way switch
UTILIZATION
The first thing that really gets to me is the overall fretboard. It's just not my thing. It's way too flashy for me, and I find that it can make remembering positions on the fretboard a touch more difficult than if it weren't there at all. Accessing the pickup selector switches on Jacksons has never been that great, but this one is especially annoying. It's almost like it's being guarded by the three knobs, so fast switching is a real pain. The neck joint had no issues, thankfully. The fretwork on this model also wasn't too bad. There were a few low frets, but it was nothing that would be normally noticed unless you run your action somewhere around 1/32'' at the 12th fret.
SOUNDS
I'm not a huge fan of the EMG HZ pickups, and I really wish Jackson would just start making all these guitars with real EMGs. The HZs sound average at best. They try to get that active sound with a passive feel, but they never manage to completely pull it off. The bridge was a bit bright, and it had some nice gain. It lacked the "oomph" I usually go for, but that's the nature of these pickups. The neck pickup was a bit too bright for me. There's a booster on here which really sends these pickups into overdrive. I find that the EMG booster is a bit too much, personally.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar itself is decent, and if you decide to keep it, I recommend replacing the pickups with some real EMGs. Be sure to play a few and find the most resonant one. Fretwork and nut issues can generally be fixed, so I try to pay more attention to tone than minor details like sharp fret ends. The flame on the fretboard is just too gaudy for me to ever consider buying this guitar, personally, but some people might enjoy it.
Alder body
Bolt-on maple neck
Rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo frets
Hard tail bridge
Two humbuckers
One volume control, one tone control, an EMG TurboCharber booster and a three way switch
UTILIZATION
The first thing that really gets to me is the overall fretboard. It's just not my thing. It's way too flashy for me, and I find that it can make remembering positions on the fretboard a touch more difficult than if it weren't there at all. Accessing the pickup selector switches on Jacksons has never been that great, but this one is especially annoying. It's almost like it's being guarded by the three knobs, so fast switching is a real pain. The neck joint had no issues, thankfully. The fretwork on this model also wasn't too bad. There were a few low frets, but it was nothing that would be normally noticed unless you run your action somewhere around 1/32'' at the 12th fret.
SOUNDS
I'm not a huge fan of the EMG HZ pickups, and I really wish Jackson would just start making all these guitars with real EMGs. The HZs sound average at best. They try to get that active sound with a passive feel, but they never manage to completely pull it off. The bridge was a bit bright, and it had some nice gain. It lacked the "oomph" I usually go for, but that's the nature of these pickups. The neck pickup was a bit too bright for me. There's a booster on here which really sends these pickups into overdrive. I find that the EMG booster is a bit too much, personally.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar itself is decent, and if you decide to keep it, I recommend replacing the pickups with some real EMGs. Be sure to play a few and find the most resonant one. Fretwork and nut issues can generally be fixed, so I try to pay more attention to tone than minor details like sharp fret ends. The flame on the fretboard is just too gaudy for me to ever consider buying this guitar, personally, but some people might enjoy it.