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Hatsubai « Bolt-on USA Jackson superstrat »
Published on 04/27/11 at 16:04The Jackson DK1 is one of the more iconic guitars that Jackson offers. This guitar is part of the Dinky series which features a slightly smaller body than the normal Soloist body. This is actually the guitar that inspired the ESP M-II, if I recall correctly. It has an alder body, maple neck with ebony fretboard and sharkfin inlays, 24 jumbo frets, original Floyd Rose, EMG pickups, volume knob, tone knob and 3 way switch.
UTILIZATION
This is probably one of the most comfortable guitars to play. The neck on this guitar is thin, so it's set up more to do shredding. One cool thing about this guitar is that it has a compound radius that starts at 12'' at the nut and works it way to being 16'' at the end. This makes chording easy in the lower registers and bending easier in the higher registers. The higher frets, while not quite as easy to get to as the Soloist, are still a breeze to play. The neck joint isn't a huge issue for me, but then again, they never really have been. One problem I do have with the guitar is the controls. I tend to have issues selecting pickups really fast. Fretwork on the newer guitars is very nice, and I was able to get low action without a problem.
SOUNDS
This guitar is really a metal machine thanks to the EMGs. EMGs aren't the most versatile pickups, but they do metal awesome. The 81 in the bridge gives it a nice searing, tight and bitey attack while the 85 in the neck gives it a very cool fat and huge lead sound. The alder body gives the body a fairly neutral tone, and the ebony fretboard gives it some nice top end presence. Clean and mid gain tones are a bit iffy, but that's simply due to the pickups.
OVERALL OPINION
This is one of my favorite Jacksons, and I highly recommend anybody interested in Jacksons to check this guitar out. The body feels more comfortable to me than the Soloist, and I also prefer the tone of the bolt-on neck to the neck-thru Soloist. Some people mention that Fender owned Jacksons aren't as good, and while I did experience some hiccups during the first few runs, they seem to have gotten their act together lately.
UTILIZATION
This is probably one of the most comfortable guitars to play. The neck on this guitar is thin, so it's set up more to do shredding. One cool thing about this guitar is that it has a compound radius that starts at 12'' at the nut and works it way to being 16'' at the end. This makes chording easy in the lower registers and bending easier in the higher registers. The higher frets, while not quite as easy to get to as the Soloist, are still a breeze to play. The neck joint isn't a huge issue for me, but then again, they never really have been. One problem I do have with the guitar is the controls. I tend to have issues selecting pickups really fast. Fretwork on the newer guitars is very nice, and I was able to get low action without a problem.
SOUNDS
This guitar is really a metal machine thanks to the EMGs. EMGs aren't the most versatile pickups, but they do metal awesome. The 81 in the bridge gives it a nice searing, tight and bitey attack while the 85 in the neck gives it a very cool fat and huge lead sound. The alder body gives the body a fairly neutral tone, and the ebony fretboard gives it some nice top end presence. Clean and mid gain tones are a bit iffy, but that's simply due to the pickups.
OVERALL OPINION
This is one of my favorite Jacksons, and I highly recommend anybody interested in Jacksons to check this guitar out. The body feels more comfortable to me than the Soloist, and I also prefer the tone of the bolt-on neck to the neck-thru Soloist. Some people mention that Fender owned Jacksons aren't as good, and while I did experience some hiccups during the first few runs, they seem to have gotten their act together lately.