Hatsubai « Rosewood equipped Dinky »
Published on 11/11/11 at 15:23Way back when Jackson was starting out, they had two different lineups for those who were looking to buy a guitar. The one was the Custom and the other was the Student. The differences were very minor, in reality, as you could get these in various different configurations. The main differences was that the guitar had a rosewood fretboard, dot inlays and no binding. The guitar has the following specs:
Alder body
Maple neck with rosewood fretboard
24 extra jumbo frets with dot inlays
Original floyd rose
A single humbucker in the bridge
One volume
UTILIZATION
The guitar was worn pretty hardcore. The finish itself on this was starting to flake, especially on the back of the guitar. The previous owner must have worn a studded belt the entire time to get this kind of wear pattern going on. The guitar has been refretted a few times in the past, and the guitar needed to be fret leveled yet again due to all the playing. It was definitely a player's guitar. The bridge on this was still in fairly good condition, but it was starting to rust and pit. The knife edges, however, were nice and sharp without any strong knicks, dings or extreme wear. This was actually a flush mount floyd, so you couldn't pull up on it like the later Jacksons.
SOUNDS
The guitar had a Duncan Custom 5 installed in the bridge, which leads me to believe the previous owner swapped it out at one point in time. The most popular pickup to come in these guitars was the JB, and I'm not even sure the Custom 5 was around when these things were being solid. The Custom 5 is great for those who are looking for a thicker JB. It's pretty much just like a JB but with a bit more body. When compared to a Custom, the Custom 5 is not quite as tight, but it's a bit more organic. It's also a bit rounder. When compared to the Custom Custom, the Custom 5 is a little brighter, but that's mainly because the Custom Custom is a very dark sounding pickup. There was no neck pickup, and as someone who does a lot of legato/leads, that was a bit of a disappointment.
OVERALL OPINION
If you happen to run across one of these, I recommend giving it a solid consideration. The guitars are really good and every bit as solid as the Custom counterparts of the time. The problem is that they came in so many different configurations that you might need to hunt a bit to find the one you're looking for.
Alder body
Maple neck with rosewood fretboard
24 extra jumbo frets with dot inlays
Original floyd rose
A single humbucker in the bridge
One volume
UTILIZATION
The guitar was worn pretty hardcore. The finish itself on this was starting to flake, especially on the back of the guitar. The previous owner must have worn a studded belt the entire time to get this kind of wear pattern going on. The guitar has been refretted a few times in the past, and the guitar needed to be fret leveled yet again due to all the playing. It was definitely a player's guitar. The bridge on this was still in fairly good condition, but it was starting to rust and pit. The knife edges, however, were nice and sharp without any strong knicks, dings or extreme wear. This was actually a flush mount floyd, so you couldn't pull up on it like the later Jacksons.
SOUNDS
The guitar had a Duncan Custom 5 installed in the bridge, which leads me to believe the previous owner swapped it out at one point in time. The most popular pickup to come in these guitars was the JB, and I'm not even sure the Custom 5 was around when these things were being solid. The Custom 5 is great for those who are looking for a thicker JB. It's pretty much just like a JB but with a bit more body. When compared to a Custom, the Custom 5 is not quite as tight, but it's a bit more organic. It's also a bit rounder. When compared to the Custom Custom, the Custom 5 is a little brighter, but that's mainly because the Custom Custom is a very dark sounding pickup. There was no neck pickup, and as someone who does a lot of legato/leads, that was a bit of a disappointment.
OVERALL OPINION
If you happen to run across one of these, I recommend giving it a solid consideration. The guitars are really good and every bit as solid as the Custom counterparts of the time. The problem is that they came in so many different configurations that you might need to hunt a bit to find the one you're looking for.