I still want one of those, I get notified every time one goes up on ebay etc. but I refuse to spend more than like 750€ As much as I love Fender they have no idea how to price their shit
The worst thing about that was the fact that actual vintage ones were going for a couple hundred LESS than the reissue. I love Fender but what were they thinking?
@@sixstringtv1 Nah, they know EXACTLY what they're doing with their prices. The Player Series guitars have steadily gone up in price by nearly $300 since launch and people *still* buy them.
If you really really have to have an original floyd rose then go out and buy one and put it in. I have original floyds in ESPs and I can guarantee you cannot tell the difference between them and a 1500 other than the 1500 being a pop in arm (which I prefer).
It has no stainless steel frets, not german floyd, Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge (definitely not shooting for a modern audience), no binding on the neck, AND NO BINDING ON THE HEADSTOCK! Its shocking how terrible Jackson is at creating spec sheets.
The JB is a classic recipe for a soloist, its been like that for decades, and this isn't mean to be a departure.. not to mention very replaceable. Binding on the other hand has come and gone, and I prefer it without. The korean floyd is quite good, and the stainless inserts on the screw locations make it even better, there's really nothing wrong with a korean floyd, although in the price range I agree a lot of competitors are using gotoh and things that are marginally better, but its cheaper than Japanese caparisons that are using german floyds by a large margin. The only thing you are right on is stainless frets, it seems lazy to leave them out, especially when this fender shop has examples of guitars with them, but at the same time we live in a world where PRS and ESP originals 2x the cost of this are using nickel frets because they think it sounds different, so maybe its a choice.
For it to be worth that money it would need an OFR, a proper hard case, stainless steel frets, neck binding, a black fretboard, an MOP Jackson logo and "made in USA" on the front of the headstock. Then I would want one. They are trying to charge a grand more than an Ibanez Prestige, it's a joke.
Ebony = black lol?! And the sharkfin inlays being flip-flopped are the "Made in Corona, Cali, USA" instead of a headstock logo. I won't even bother on the OFR as that is such a lost cause... Keep hating, this line is going to do well. It's a very smart move by FMIC.
1. OFR: Material is the same as the 1000 just a different country of origin, weird decision but the price discrepancy buying them retail is small, but at scale for FMIC its notable. 2. Hardcase: Don't really understand the obsession, you can probably get a dealer to include it to get the sale, and I only use these at home, I always use bags otherwise. 3. SS Frets: Plenty of more expensive guitars guitars (core PRS, ESP original, Ibanez J. Custom, and more) choose not to use them. 4. A black fretboard: "Black" ebony is less prevalent in the world today than it once was and not sustainable, many manufacturers dye their fretboards its not actually natural 5. Logo/MIA badge: You don't really see inlayed logos on Suhr/Anderson and many other competition north of this price, and the reasoning is sort of fickle because the logo is really only for others, personally I think the MOP logo is a little gaudy.
Wow. Ummmmm - ok. So, I have two new SL3's - Green one is the main, blue for backup. I play an average of 3-4 gigs PER WEEK, primarily in the Tri State area of NY, and greater London. I am not Steve Vai, so I do not use my Floyd that much - but these new Jacksons just DO IT for me. I am not sure you can analyze specs from a laptop and make a proclamation. Get one, get on the road, and bang on it every gig for almost a year and then get back to me about how your Floys does not cut it. My guitar tech is in heaven - these things are built like tanks. For me, the price is a bargain next to some of the ESPs I used to play. I also have two Kiesel guitars (Vader and Osiris) that really do not come out that much anymore. I have seen other vids titles on UA-cam that say these are "Rip Offs" etc..Really? Again, join me on the road and bring your guitar and let's see how much I am getting ripped off. Clickbait does not an honest opinion make. Everyone is like "Well, buy one if you really want to"...You know what? If you do, and you feel riped off, THEN SEND THE THING TO ME. You can Reply below and I will gladly send you my address. Too expensive? News flash - since C19, EVERYTHING has gone up in price. Read the excellent book "Delivered To Your Front Door" to find out why. Meanwhile - go off noodling in your bedroom with your Dad guitar or whatever, while serious musicians are getting on with it. I make my living with these things - so yeah - they better be the goods. And they are. Ooooooo -a Korean Floyd!!! Oh No!!!!! What an effing joke this guy is......
This is the future of guitars unfortunately. 10 years ago we were seeing guitars with Seymour Duncan’s, dimarzios or EMGs, neck through body construction, and authentic quality bridges and tremolo systems for £700. Nowadays that’s impossible to find
The Charvel DK24 Hss FR has the same shape (Dinky), same color, Seymour Duncan pickups, fancier pots, and all for $1099. Use the $1800 you save and buy the Floyd Original and you have spare to buy almost any other guitar with better specs.
I have that guitar, its not great. bad mexican quality with a hole in the back cause they used a screw that was too long in neck pickup. frets need to be crowned as well, as one is really high. The difference between a 1500 fr and an og FR is german taxes. they are the exact same trim exact same metal. I prefer the og jackson JT-6 trem but they arent going to bring those back out.
I enjoyed the mexican charvels, but there was a drastic difference in feel on the USA jackson I had years ago, and the MJ dinky I played recently was clearly to a higher standard. Guitars are more than the spec sheet, whether that difference is worth it to you is another story.
Keep in mind that those single coils the DK24 has aren't noiseless, which is disappointing. Also the Full-Shred on the bridge is very very bright so if you want to play metal and stuff you might wanna replace that too
I have 2 good Floyd Rose equipped guitars, ones Jackson and the other EVH Wolfgang and they both are top notch Floyd rose special units I believe and both are perfectly operating and have no flaws, great units that get crapped on for no reason.
I just compared the American SL3 to the Korean-made mahogany/walnut concept guitar in the store yesterday after months of hearing mixed opinions on the SL3 online. Comparing them side by side, they are very different guitars. Gloss vs. finish (extending to the necks, too). Slightly different neck profiles. The concept guitar has a bound neck. One is an HSS, the other an HS. Both were finished great and played wonderfully. The hardware on the concept guitar was not as advertised, so much so, I actually think Jackson has a misprint on their website. The tuners on the concept were not locking, not Gotohs, and the Floyd Rose felt like a special, not an Original or even a 1000 series. Maybe it was just that particular guitar, but it was a huge turnoff. I'm not spending another $500 on a $2000 guitar to fix lousy hardware. The SL3 hardware was immaculate, Floyd Rose 1500 or not. Actualy Gotoh-branded locking tuners. It was setup and intonated perfectly. I agree it should come with an original for $2500, but keep in mind the 1000, 1500, and OFR share the same baseplate--don't take my word for it, that's straight from Floyd Rose's customer reps. The 1500 fixes the worst issue with the 1000 by upgrading the long locking screws to steel. It's perfectly fine, regardless of people who don't own an SL3 complaining (not insulting you, just summarizing the comments here).
So to say the Korean and the German floyds share the same base plate is 100% fake news, it actually one of the things that is a glairing difference. This isnt going to be a bashing rant but currently own 8 guitars with Floyds on them, 2 of which are Japan ESP's, a custom shop KH2 and a 2019ish E-II M-II in urban camo. The others are 2 LTD M-1000's (an M-1000 SE & an MH-1000fr) one Jeff Loomis Jackson Kelly with the Floyd 1500, two Charvel DK24 with Floyd 1000's a USA San Dimas with an original Floyd Rose annnd one PRE SE 39th anny custom 24 with floyd 1000. Aside from the 2 DK 24's the Korean floyds are 88% satisfaction and are not deal breakers in any way, with the Jackson 1500 Kelly the jury is still out, if you asked me 4 months ago id say it was 93% (a German floyd would be 100% on my scale). The first physical difference between the 1000's and the OFR IS the baseplate, there are 2 bends on any Floyd base plate, now either the OFR are milled are produced with those bends in place where as any 1000 series the base plates are literally bent, there are no creases in an OFR plate, not saying bend steel isnt going to work but its 100% different production method, and second and one of the most important is the thread tolerances for the fine tuners and possibly its the cheaper metal in the screws themselves but its a tighter tolerance and smoother. Again I am happy with most of my1000's Floyds but they do not stay in tune as well an OFR and the intonation is also better on the OFR, the tone could be better because theyre Japan made guitars but I do all the setups on my guitars and its not like i dont want the 1000's to be as good as the ofr but I cant get them to 100%, Hell, ive got an LTD MH-1000 Evertune and im not being sarcastic, the OFR on the ESP's stays in tune better. The ET do get effected by humidity and theyre hard to describe. I had high hopes for the Loomis Kelly with the 1500 and its slightly better than the 1000's but the fine tuners are really imprecise and frustrating. And the locking nut has an issue, look up SNAPPING sound with 1500 Floyds, especially on Jacksons, i have this issue, thought i fixed it but it came back last week and i needed to repair it, a lot of people cant fix it by just tightening the screws.
Apparently you don't know how much a usa Jackson was costing all these years.. Normal soloists with the white binding n stuff was costing 3.500$ and more.. this series now come about 2.500€ on Thoman "I've no idea were you saw that price" and we have crazy inflation too! To bring these guitars 1.000€ less they had to cut down on some things that cost a lot to make and it's just visual like the mother of pearl logo or the white binding and the Floyd n stuff. Are you trying to be funny or just annoying? Don't you know that American made products or European are more expensive than Indonesian and Chinese? Ending by saying that my USA Jackson is the best guitar I've played with and the more stable neck I've seen. Now if it was worth the price it depends... I would prefer have 2 premium guitars than 7 medium to cheap.. depends on the person. And something last you can't just read the spec sheet and know if it's a good guitar or not... you should know this thing by now!
I've also noticed price increases and much longer lead times with the aftermarket parts companies. Granted, it started during the lockdowns when everybody was sitting at home buying gear but, it hasn't gotten much better, if any, in most cases. I think the increase in demand for necks, bodies and such is at least in part due to Companies like Fender raising prices and lowering quality. More people realize they can build a better quality guitar spec'ed out exactly the way they want it for about the same, and in some cases less, than they can buy a new guitar that may not have the fingerboard radius or type of tuners or pickups, etc., available as an option. It sucks because the price of a really good quality neck or body from most of the better custom companies was already pretty high.
Even Fender and Gibson try to catch up with other manufacturera from time to time, even if they overcharge for that, but this is an absolute regression to early 2000s with a 2040 pricetag
Opposite for me. I owned an Indonesian RG that cramped my chording hand. I tested a soloist at the store and immediately felt how buttery it was. It was hard to put it down.
@@keithveloso2822 i agree the soloist neck cant be beat for me its perfect for my hand. personally i will buy a usa soloist eventually, i do think the price is steep but ive owned many guitars and ive found none i prefer over the soloist
Just a tip. Fender and Fender subsidiaries like Jackson are always advertised at inflated prices. You can negotiate the prices WAY down. Just think of an offer that would offend them, within reason, and a lot of stores will sell it to you. Not kidding. 15% off the asking price is a good starting point.
Correct me if I'm wrong: but aren't the 1000/1500 series made of the same materials as the originals? Only difference being the original is handmade in Germany.
@@sixstringtv1 Very true, and nearly 3 grand for a 1500 is a joke, but I'd still say it's better than when fender put a FR Special in the $1200 HM strat a few years ago
I think the difference is that the American Series is built in the USA and the Concept is built in Indonesia. Building in the USA is more expansive, that said a guitar in that price range should always get the best components and include a hardshell case. But to be honest, buying a non custom shop guitar over 2K is a waste of money. For example: you can get a Dunable custom shop guitar, Made in the USA, for that price.
I played guitar since i was 19 either with bands or freelance, and am now due for senior citizen status. The shredders of the 80s--Charvels, Jacksons, EPS, Ibanez etc...were the best of their kind. Making them now the way they were made then would cost 6k-7k or more in today's money. Those days will not come again.
I'm sorry but there is NO WAY that two pieces of wood with some metal on it would cost the equivalent of 7k USD unless it had some historical significance to it.
Tell me then, how Harley Benton, Schecter, and some other companies can offer much more expensive hardware and at least same quality for 4-5 times lower price? These instruments made at exact same fabrics.
@@glroman91 i always ask the exact same question! i saw a video talking about the usa soloist saying they will never get stainless frets because its too expensive????wtf?! there are sub 1000$ guitars with stainless frets! how can they offer stainless frets under 1000$ but at 2600$ jackson cant? to be clear i am a jackson fan but rly this guitar should have had stainless frets and binding at this price. im not bothered by the floyd 1500, to me i couldnt care less between the two i own floyd 1500 floyd origional and floyd pro bridges and they are all fine and ive never had issues with any so to me the issue is either this guitar should have been way cheaper like 2000$ with the same features(still expensive for no stainless frets on a brand new guitar)or have stainless frets and neck binding at 2600. i get it they want this to be a premium guitar and im certain it is an excellent instrument but dam guys it seems to me the only reason for not putting neck binding and stainless frets on this guitar is to make it inferior to their 4000$+ custom shop models
You dont need to play something to price out components and realize they cheaped out lol. Its well known that the cheaper floyds have stability issues and the cheaper metal used is more prone to being damaged. Common sense says this is just another example of a company pinching pennies rather than using the money you give them to produce a quality product . The way you got so defensive makes me think you might have been unfortunate enough to have bought one loool.
@ManIsAFourLetterWord LOL or they are just very happy with their jackson guitar and don't like the idea of people putting the entire brand down. Because people are followers and if one person says something is bad like parrots all the people say it.These things he is complaining about are with all the big brand guitar companies.Gibson, fender,Ibanez,schecter,esp, Ltd etc. They are all guilty of charging us to much money and cheapning their product at the same time. True right
I have a USA KV2 which I bought used for less than what they're asking for. Amazing guitar and I do love Jackson Guitars(Pro Japan and USAs for the most part, don't care about Indo Pro and anything lower). I just hate how Fender are making some of the worst pricings ever. They were doing decent when they bought them back in 2002, but it feels like from the mid 2010s onwards, they're must making bad pricing decision after another.
absolutely true! Ive owned a Marty Friedman & a Loomis signature models and they had so many QC issues so I had to return them to GC. The Friedman one had the crappiest tuners and the loomis one had a stripped floyd rose so you couldn’t tighten up the new strings lol… and they were expensive!
Damn, I'm surprised your experience was that. I've tried a few of the Friedman models and always loved them, which is part of why this video hurt so bad to make 😂
@@sixstringtv1 The guitar and the pickups were fantastic, sadly the hardware they use is so poorly made. What’s funny is that people buy those guitars and you see them back in the store the next week lol those particular ones are pretty bad😅
Why does everyone jump on the bandwagon of slagging FR1000? The company says they're built to identical specification, using identical materials to the Original German made. The only difference is country of manufacture. The FR1500 has upgraded stainless parts and push in arm (exclusively for Schecter and a handful of Jacksons) so surely superior to the Original with "made in Germany" stamped on it? If people played them without a preconceived bias, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Thank you for your real comments. All the other youtubers received a guitar and did a paid promotion and say nothing but good things about a crappy tier. Beware!! The real intention is to keep prices high for the "real" made in USA
@@BassWhoopinFishingTeam I feel like the idea of parts all being made in America = superior parts is ridiculous and so out of touch, maybe in the 70s but that hasn’t been true for decades
I've had nothing but good experience with the Floyd 1000, they always stayed in tune so well on guitars I've owned with them. That's because they're made from the same materials as the Original but just made overseas, and the upgrades of the 1500 series over the 1000 (push in trem arm and stainless steel screws) should be standard on all Floyds. I'm pretty sure Musicman and PRS also put Floyd 1000s on 2k+ US made guitars I think the main issue is that their imports are not on par with what's on the market, so making an American production line should be at the bottom of their priority list. It's like they're saying "We know our imports for 1000-1500$ are not good enough, that's why you should get the American for 2600$ instead". I can't wait to see you prove my theory on the Jackson episode :)
The cheaper Floyds are made with different metals, PLUS the Soloist for 3K doesn't even have stainless steel frets. Ridiculous. Looking forward to a dedicated videk about Jackson.
@@sixstringtv1 the only string break I remember is when I played too much on my Mexican Charvel the day I got it lol But yeah that's probably the only problem with the 1000
@@sixstringtv1 the thousand series are NOT, they are the same metals as the German made. The Specials are cheap. I have emails from Floyd Rose themselves stating this.
I mean you're *not* gonna find an American made neck-thru guitar for less than $2000 ever, but I am still completely confused about why they didn't go with the Original Floyd Rose, that just seems... odd
@@sixstringtv1 i disagree when it comes to the frets, imo nickel vs SS frets is a traditional vs modern spec, not a low-end vs high-end. The floyd part is just weird. Also when it comes to Godin, A) They're Canadian and B) they pretty music exclusively use in-house parts, so they're not sourcing anything out-of-house
Now the walnut Concept Series MIJ is 1700-1600 euro, thats a nice price and the only guitar in that range with an Original FR, and I can tell you I have scanned all superstrats in the world. But stainless steel frets should be an option, but its a great guitar indeed, I would prefer Dimarzios but nothing is perfect.
Thank you, a lot of channels are propping these up as good. They're a rip off, Jackson specs are all over the place. Neck binding on sub $1000 guitars, Floyd 1500 series on a $2500 guitar. Can't even give you a hard case anymore for that $2500. I used to love this company but they're a mess anymore.
I got a KV1 Dave Mustaine signature back in 2005 for $2000 + $534 shipping (was shipped from Argentina of all places & cost a boatload to get it out of there). I will never sell it.
For this much wonga I want a quarter sawn neck and tru-oil type finish, and the frets must be flawless. Pls tell me these specs are correct for this price point. If it at least has these specs, I would consider forking out the extra expense for an original FR to fit myself.
No stainless steel frets, baseline SD pickups (nothing against the JB but it's a generic baseline go-to pickup), an upgraded mid-tier FR, and a foam case. The most expensive part of this guitar is the 'Made in the USA' stamp. This was always gonna happen though since they gouged the prices of their recent MJ series and then the Concept series to make the US prices make sense when you view them through that narrow lens. You're better off buying an LTD M-1000 (FR 1000 or 1500 trem but more than half the price of the USA Jackson) or an RG565/550 tbh (Ibanez Original Edge trem). You can upgrade whatever you want with the money you'd save and still plenty left over.
I bought a Soloist USA in 1993 (back before Grover left the company). It’s got the errie dess paint job and Jackson active pickups (probably made by EMG) as well as the German-made FR bridge. It’s still a great guitar. I paid $1,175 no tax or shipping. Last time I checked (2012) the same guitar would cost about $2,499 and the paint job would be $500 extra.
I've never played a US made Jackson, but I do own an Indonesian made Soloist which I love to death. Granted it came with a Floyd Rose Special, but I haven't had any problems with it staying in tune or snapping strings, atleast not yet. 😁Do we get a video on the funky looking guitar you have hanging in the background? Looks sicc. 😮
I got my JS32 about a year ago for around $400, for a cheap guitar (cheap compared to the models in this video 😳) it’s awesome and it has a FR(Jackson’s version of the FR…). The one thing I don’t really like about it compared to my other guitars is the size of the freaking frets man. These frets are so big they almost send shocks through my fingers when I slide
I got one of these. The neck finish was splotchy and I had to take a scotchbrite to it. Locking nut sucked, dry cracking fingerboard, paint underspray, all kinds of weird stuff. It does sound awesome, I'll give it that. The neck itself has an awesome profile so the poor finish work really bummed me out.
i love jackson guitars but the one thing i cant stand about them is how they always cheap out on the bridges the rrx24 i got is normally 900 and still comes with a floyd rose special (i want to point out i bought it for almost half off for a refurbished floor model with a brand new special put on it)
@@JnJsw18 They still do - the crackle finishes on the Soloist X series have Jackson pickups. This is similar to say, the BC Rich Stranger Things crackle warlock which has BC Rich pickups. Other X-series with simple paintjobs like the RRX24 or KVXMG come with Seymour Duncan Blackouts/EMGs at a similar price to the Soloist X crackle series. As for the bridge, you can probably find a better deal out there in some scenarios, but ESP LTD M-400, EMGs with Floyd Rose Special - $900, same with the import BC Rich Stranger Things Warlock, Floyd Rose Special, $899 (before it was price gouged by resellers). Bigger manufacturers clearly are protecting their bottom line and all following in each others footsteps, so nothing out of the ordinary from Jackson for the X-series.
My 2017 Indonesian Jackson SL7 has the 1500 on it and it works really good. It has high end features, except the glow in the dark dots. It cost me 1100. Thanks for pointing this out. I thought I was taking crazy pills.
PRS CU24 in a standard finish non-10 top is like 4-5k with no SS frets, ESP original series is 4-6k no SS frets, Ibanez J. Custom costs more than these with no SS frets, the list goes on.
@@IMPULSOESTATICO I said esp original (japan), ESP USA doesn't negate the premise that many high end guitars don't have SS frets by choice not because they can't. Also Ibanez LACS is only available to artists, the highest standard offering from Ibanez for regular buyers has no SS frets.
Everyone criticizing the Floyd Rose 1000 and 1500 doesn't know what they are talking about. The OG and 1000 are both made from grade 8 steel whereas the Floyd Rose Special uses grade 5 steel in the saddles. The 1500 is actually better than the original because of the stainless steel retainer screws. I bought a Floyd Rose original for my LTD and after 4 years of being a workhorse guitar in humid Florida weather, the screws are rusty and parts of the black finish have faded. The only difference is that the 1000 is made in Korea whereas the Original is made in Germany. I am wondering if the 1000 is made from recycled parts because it is not available to buy by itself and only is installed on production model guitars that usually cost around 900 to 2000 dollars. Im tired of this stupid debate.
It seems like this series is like the American performer fenders, USA made at a low price. And the actual DK1, SL1, etc. Moved up to team built custom shop like the fender American custom line.
I like Korean made Ibanez rg's from the 90's but never thought Would have to pay that much for a guitar from there. Good thing I have stainless steel frets, my guitars should last me.
It's not a Jackson anymore it's a Fender and with that comes crap quality and components at a ridiculous price. This is why I bought an Eart Strat and upgraded the pickups. I know if I buy a Fender it needs fret leveling and nut work from the factory so I probably will never buy another Fender unless it's a great deal because again repairs will need to be made which is a joke. For that money I would buy a Suhr or something comparable.
@@sixstringtv1 From my experience with Fender yes it's entirely true. I've had 15 strats that all needed fret leveling as well as anyone I know with a Fender. My Eart strat has a Mahogany body, bone nut, roasted maple neck, stainless steel frets, a huge bridge block, and decent tuners. I put some alnico's in there and I now have the best playing strat I've ever had. Believe me when I tell you I wish the value was there with Fender but they have a knack for continuing to give less guitar for the money with less than stellar QC and Gibson is as bad or worse. Like I said if you're going to pay thousands look at Suhr or even G&l.
Ok my wolfgang has an “Evh branded Floyd rose special” bridge, it’s not …… the greatest, remarkably it stays in tune well, but I have given thought to going to that fu-tone site and maybe doing small upgrades to it! Like brass insert blocks, maybe better locking screws, knowing you can’t polish a turd, what are your thoughts on doing small upgrades that would equal out to make it at least a mediocre bridge, vs just paying the almost $300.00 or more, to replace the whole setup?
I will say this, over the past couple of years, I've been more impressed with squier than fender. See, fender is in California, and not that absolutely everyone over there has lost their mind, but almost everyone has. Unless you're a company that started in California because you're from here, you can almost bank that any company in California is ultra liberal, and that's not good. They cut corners to cheat the customers so they can make more money, they become more about the brand than the actual product, they'll endorse anyone on camera whether they play guitar or not, people like that just don't run businesses very well. Not to mention it's a very common practice in California to actually make your products to where they'll only last for so long, so you have to keep spending money. Whether it's something like the guitars themselves or just parts. Of course, as a guitar builder myself, it does get expensive, however, if something is coming out of California at this point in time, you can almost bank that you'll be paying some kind of a greed tax. Honestly, I'm probably just gonna go with squiers from now on if I'm gonna get a new fender. Some of the new models and colors are just too fun to pass up anyway. I just got a blue sparkle supersonic not very long ago and I absolutely love that thing. I gotta upgrade a few parts, but it looks cool, it actually sounds good too, it's just a blast to play. A stratocaster just isn't as fun after a certain price point unless it's from a different time period
I've had several Stingray basses by Sterling (ones I have are made in Indonesia) and bought a used Ernie Ball one (made in California). My excitement over finally having an American-made Stingray quickly came to an end. It wasn't terrible per se, but the quality was far lower than the foreign-made counterparts. The strings weren't even centered over the neck correctly, and it felt odd to play. It's not a problem with American manufacturing; it's socialist California that's the issue. For another fine example of socialist engineering, there's the Yugo.
What I find interesting is that the price in the US is much lower than the price in the EU. The Euro and the USD are worth the same amount these days, but I don't think shipping would raise the price of the American series guitars to $400 more in the EU than in the US. I've found this to be really weird with made in Indonesia/Korean made guitars that American brands such as Schecter, and Jackson have made costing so much more money in Europe than in the US, even though the guitars are made overseas. On the topic of a floyd rose original vs 1500/1000 series, the guitar definitely needs to have a fr original at that price point, but we also need to remember that the cost of producing an American made guitar vs the concept series which is made in Korea, is that Jackson can charge more for American made guitars, since the cost of making a guitar in the US is greater than overseas, mainly with respect to employees salaries. The country that pays it's employees more to make guitars = more expensive prices for worse specs. I also have owned a Jackson, and played my friend's old MIJ Jackson, the American QC is not even comparable to MIJ guitars, and Jackson hasn't had a great reputation as of late with it's QC issues (Especially on custom shop orders)
This video would have made sense 5 or 7 years ago, but 2300 street is a mid priced guitar in 2023. I think the SL3 is a fair value, considering what an SL1 costs, its already at least 80% of the way there.
I mean the market for these are for people who wants 80s Spec US Soloists and don't want 30+ year old guitars, also good luck finding one for under $3k. $2500 for a US superstar is the same price point with E-IIs and most of those also use nickel frets. The FR 1000/1500 are found on the $5k Loomis sig, Music Man Petrucci with the FR, and the $2800 PRS Dustie Waring so it's common on $2k+ models. I bet all the people who NEED SS frets are the only who serial flip their gear on reverb as well, not to mention it's a throwback spec so SS frets aren't super necessary. I just got the SL3 and it's up there with anything else in that price point and definitely a step above the Korean/Indo/etc which I've had a lot of. You can't say $2500 is too much because stuff back then costs less since it's just inflation, there's LTDs and import Schecters going in the $2k range nowadays, it's just how things are and it's super foolish to expect a US neck-thru superstar to cost $1500 these days, it ain't gonna happen.
After seeing the recent price of Jackson (both MJ series and this USA), Ibanez Prestige is immediately the way to go for me. And it's the best decision I've ever made so far for buying a guitar.
@@gainonten4031 2008 Shecter C-1 Hellraiser (Made in Korea) is my first Electric Guitar and I still have her till now. Nice guitar but I feel more comfortable with the shape of Ibanez Wizard HP neck.
I think these series have potential but they have some things to improve. Regarding the 1500 series, I don't mind at all. It is a really good bridge. Even it is mounted on the +5000 Custom Shop Loomis Kelly because the man itself prefer it over the original (for the push in trem arm). The price could be lower, but it seems to be an overall really good instrument, and I think it is fairly priced for the current times. The X series prices are a lot more offensive in my opinion. And the USA Select prices went through the roof so now an used American Series will be an interesting option for the Jackson enthusiasts. I will be waiting for more models to be available (a Kelly would be amazing). BTW, love your channel man!
As far as the push in arm goes, you can buy a replacement arm and socket of better quality and convert any Floyd style to push in. One of the main issues I have with the cheaper stuff is the quality of metal. It's too soft. The pivot blades and posts dull and flatten far to easily. That starts throwing the whole thing out of sync and balance. They begin having increasingly more Audible clicks and pops that can also be felt. Of course most bridges have a similar pivot design which is nothing short of a terrible idea. The SuperVee Bladerunner solves that issue completely but, it's not a double locking system and some understandably don't like that.
@@johnpearson4899 I wonder why they (anybody) don't just take the blade concept of the SuperVee or rail concept of that Floyd Rose rail-tail bridge and incorporate it into the traditional FR double locking design. Shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.
@@NghilifaI believe parts of the original Floyd Rose design was under patent for years. I think that patent may have now expired. They may also have a patent on the pivot design of the Floyd Rose Rail. I don't know. As far as the SuperVee Bladerunner goes, I think it would actually be considered "pivotless" since it has no moving parts but flexes instead and, therefore a completely different thing and patentable. So, I would guess that the owners would likely have some type of patent in place by now for the blade part of the design. The rest of the bridge, I would say is public domain. Supervee would have to grant a license to or agree to collaborate with anyone else to use it. I've left comments all over the web telling both them and Vegatrem that they should consider some type of collaboration. The smaller size and impeccable machining of the Vegatrem coupled with the blade feature of the Supervee would, in my opinion, be unbeatable. At least for the foreseeable future. The Vegatrem is overpriced as is but, if they did a collaboration and keot it sensibly priced, I don't think they could keep them in stock at first. If I were them, I would try to get with a few of the moderatly priced mid sized semi custom builders and do a somewhat limited run only available on those guitars to start. Then, after a time, come back and offer the bridges for sale to anyone. But, it's not up to me. Lol
Honestly anything over 1.2k should have top-of-the-line specs. I can't see any reasonable excuse for why anything of that price or even higher shouldn't have that at the very least.
My new Schecter SVSS Exotic has all the features of these new Jacksons, plus nicer woods and finish, and it cost less than 2000 CAD, about 1500 euro. I switched from Jackson to Schecter several years ago, the quality and features for the pricepoint cant be beat IMO.
one thing about the floyd : the original german floyds are getting discontinued so it kinda makes sens that theyre changing, still shoudlnt be on a guitar that price
I recently bought an Ibanez J.custom with SS frets made to perfection, luminlay sidedots, beautiful flame top and neck. Awesome lo-pro edge trem. The thing has rock solid tuning. And oh yeah I bought it for the same price as the new Jacksons🤔
J. Custom guitars, as far as I know, still do not have stainless frets. Which model did you get? Edit: I just saw your page, that looks like the axepalace run of RGAs, and I can't find evidence of them having SS frets.
@@progpogs I looked at the certificate and it states nothing about SS frets. So you're right but when I looked closer to the frets when I did a string change they certainly looked spectacular and close to the Jescar EVO's. On the other hand I own a lot of 5000 series prestiges with SS frets and they all feel awesome and similar. But because of you I am in doubt what the frets are made off😂
The FR 1500 is not the problem. As a matter of fact, it is great. Jeff Loomis prefers the FR 1500 to the original FR because of the push-in tremolo arm and the stainless-steel components, although I get the point of wanting the more expensive FR on an expensive guitar. The thing that bothers me is the fact that there are no stainless-steel frets, the case is a joke in that price range and it would have not hurt them to offer EMG-s or Fluence Fishman pickups. Just one of those things would help to justify the price tag, but it seems that the only thing we should care about in this case is the "Made in Corona, California" label. It is a shame, because I would really like the blue one. 😔
My first electric was a Squier Strat made in Korea. That guitar was awesome. Koreans made excellent product in the 90s. Don't know if that's still true.
Lol. That's why when i ask a guitar store about Jackson, they said Jackson is a legendary guitar at guitar store. Bcs it stays in the store for too long since only one person buying it per year or less.
I don’t think it’s Jackson’s fault, it’s worth mentioning that Floyd rose have recently jacked up their prices massively too, especially in other countries like the U.K., to the point where even the floyd rose special system costs the same price as a whole secondhand guitar with a floyd rose special.
Or get the SL2-MAH which is at the 1k price point which has a 1500 series which is far less than 3 grand. In fact, all of the 1x00 series are the same, the different models just differentiate finish whether chrome, gold, gunmetal etc. Maybe the Concept series is the best band for the buck after all if you MUST have an OFR.
Thanks a lot for this video, I was torn between the Camo Concept RR24-7 which was always a dream of mine, and the new "American Series".. another dream of owning a real American made Jackson. But after your video.. no way man! I will go with the Concept RR24-7 ! Thanks a lot for your helpful video !!!
I have been saying the same thing for years now. I see so many companies put out artist signature models and they only have one pickup or no trem but because they have a person's name on the headstock it costs like 4,000 dollars. You can just buy another model with better stuff and pay less. I guess they think people are just stupid.
Their pricings for the past year have been absolutely ridiculous. Someone's trippin. Bought a Pro Series Dinky for 1k 3 years ago (came with a case too) and it probably sounds and (maybe) plays better w/ better tuning stability, and it looks better.
This is actually not bad for a US built guitar, look at the other Jackson USA models pushing 5k, music mans (music men?) are 3-6k, ESP USA are >4k, etc. This price is what USA Jacksons cost over a decade ago.
@@progpogs I'm not necessarily talking about this guitar in specific, and I don't think it's a USA. I'm talking about the discrepancies between models, where some are 2.2k with shit/mid specs and others are 1.6k with decent specs. Also they're entire catalogue from JS to Pro and maybe even up to USA needs some readjusting. There's horrible blending between the different series. They just need to readjust what they're doing and get their head in the game. They have some killer deals, but overall the catalogue is just messy.
Concept Series are Korean, these are American-made. That's why the Concept series have better specs at a slightly lower price. Even some MIJs are more expensive than this but have better specs. American labour is ridiculously expensive and that's why for the past 2 years, all the American made ones were super high end and came out of the custom shop, the margins were probably not enough for an offshoot metal focussed brand under the Fender umbrella for budget metal ones. I think the Floyd Rose 1500 i.e. a 1000 but with a lot of stainless steel upgrades is a fair compromise, since now the only difference is whether it's Korean or German made like the OFR. If you're fine with your guitar being Korean (Concept series), surely you would be fine with a Korean made FR? The main draw of these is American made with branded components, and other shapes are to follow. I honestly don't really care whether my guitar is American-made, just whether that they feel great to me and have good QC, so I'd go for those high end Concept series guitars. For those people for whom guitars start and end with Made in USA (with the imports/Jap is crap mentality), this is a preferred option I guess. Different strokes for different folks.
Nobody talks about the wood in these types of reviews there are different grades also they don’t talk about the build and labour costs or Qc.An original Floyd would of been nice but obviously wasn’t doable at this price point
The 2021 wildcard series included an original Floyd rose for two of the three models even though the guitars were made in Korea. It’s as if they’re purposely trying to sell MIK Jacksons instead of the USA Jacksons
I love the negative publicity these guitars get because it drives the price down. I was able to grab one of these for $1600. And for that price these are amazing!!!
I noticed that Jackson also has their MIJ series soloists that are the exact same price, the only difference being that they got a Gotoh bridge instead of a Floyd Rose. Idk how Gotoh floating bridges act compared to floyd roses but still, with how Jackson cheaped out on the American series it feels like it isn't nearly as much as a rip off as the American series.
The thing that weirds me out about some recent Jackson guitars is that they aren't actually Jackson guitars, but Charvel guitars that say Jackson. Why does Jackson sell a San Dimas? The San Dimas is a Charvel model, not Jackson.
To be fair, in the US, these are $2599 at Sweetwater. Also this is just something bringing a production USA soloist to the line. You can find an original Floyd for a couple hundred, or even a Gotoh trem for under $150. The concept model looks great, except the reverse headstock. Also, back in the old days, the radius wan't compound, but 16" I think.
@@sixstringtv1 Maybe. I know people who buy Les Pauls and change the bridge and tailpiece out to TonePros or swap pickups. The point was just that you could do that and still be under $3k for a US made guitar that's not a custom order. Or you could go for a 1987 Jackson on Reverb for $2500-3500.
To every one that hates their Jacksons. Feel free to send them to me. I wont complain
Real
right 😂
Right😂 me too😂😂
Nope because my USAs from the 80s and 90s have great Floyds. 😝😂
Maybe come up with some new material …. heard that one a thousand times before 🙄
I love Jackson guitars, but any guitar that cost over $1500 should have a Floyd Rose Original.
Big agree with both.
@@sixstringtv1 It's not hard math: up to 300 Licensed, 400 to 600 Special, 700 to 1000 1000 series, 1000 to 1500 1500 series, 1500 and up Original
True
@@d.vengeance1897 Would be into that, but I'm not the biggest fan of LP shapes.
Or AT LEAST a Gotoh!!
Reminds me of a couple years ago when Fender came out with the HM Strat reissue. €1200 with a Floyd Rose Special!
I still want one of those, I get notified every time one goes up on ebay etc. but I refuse to spend more than like 750€
As much as I love Fender they have no idea how to price their shit
But that’s $1200 (not much more than their Mexican models now), NOT $3000!
The worst thing about that was the fact that actual vintage ones were going for a couple hundred LESS than the reissue. I love Fender but what were they thinking?
yeah
but that guitar rocks
and you can get it dirty cheap now
@@sixstringtv1 Nah, they know EXACTLY what they're doing with their prices. The Player Series guitars have steadily gone up in price by nearly $300 since launch and people *still* buy them.
If you really really have to have an original floyd rose then go out and buy one and put it in. I have original floyds in ESPs and I can guarantee you cannot tell the difference between them and a 1500 other than the 1500 being a pop in arm (which I prefer).
It has no stainless steel frets, not german floyd, Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge (definitely not shooting for a modern audience), no binding on the neck, AND NO BINDING ON THE HEADSTOCK! Its shocking how terrible Jackson is at creating spec sheets.
No stainless steel??? I must've missed that 💀💀
Even a $1800 Kiesel has stainless steel these days
Tbh I think it looks better without binding
The JB is a classic recipe for a soloist, its been like that for decades, and this isn't mean to be a departure.. not to mention very replaceable. Binding on the other hand has come and gone, and I prefer it without. The korean floyd is quite good, and the stainless inserts on the screw locations make it even better, there's really nothing wrong with a korean floyd, although in the price range I agree a lot of competitors are using gotoh and things that are marginally better, but its cheaper than Japanese caparisons that are using german floyds by a large margin. The only thing you are right on is stainless frets, it seems lazy to leave them out, especially when this fender shop has examples of guitars with them, but at the same time we live in a world where PRS and ESP originals 2x the cost of this are using nickel frets because they think it sounds different, so maybe its a choice.
@@sixstringtv1 you can get a harley benton fusion 3 for less than $400 and it has stainless steel frets
Dude, If CORT can put stainless steel frets on a guitar for less than half the price they have zero excuse.
For it to be worth that money it would need an OFR, a proper hard case, stainless steel frets, neck binding, a black fretboard, an MOP Jackson logo and "made in USA" on the front of the headstock. Then I would want one.
They are trying to charge a grand more than an Ibanez Prestige, it's a joke.
Ebony = black lol?! And the sharkfin inlays being flip-flopped are the "Made in Corona, Cali, USA" instead of a headstock logo. I won't even bother on the OFR as that is such a lost cause... Keep hating, this line is going to do well. It's a very smart move by FMIC.
1. OFR: Material is the same as the 1000 just a different country of origin, weird decision but the price discrepancy buying them retail is small, but at scale for FMIC its notable.
2. Hardcase: Don't really understand the obsession, you can probably get a dealer to include it to get the sale, and I only use these at home, I always use bags otherwise.
3. SS Frets: Plenty of more expensive guitars guitars (core PRS, ESP original, Ibanez J. Custom, and more) choose not to use them.
4. A black fretboard: "Black" ebony is less prevalent in the world today than it once was and not sustainable, many manufacturers dye their fretboards its not actually natural
5. Logo/MIA badge: You don't really see inlayed logos on Suhr/Anderson and many other competition north of this price, and the reasoning is sort of fickle because the logo is really only for others, personally I think the MOP logo is a little gaudy.
At this price they should also include a roasted maple neck too!
oh god i know
and the prestige and premium series are amazing
For me its better th Ibanez RG 1070 pbz
Wow. Ummmmm - ok. So, I have two new SL3's - Green one is the main, blue for backup. I play an average of 3-4 gigs PER WEEK, primarily in the Tri State area of NY, and greater London. I am not Steve Vai, so I do not use my Floyd that much - but these new Jacksons just DO IT for me. I am not sure you can analyze specs from a laptop and make a proclamation. Get one, get on the road, and bang on it every gig for almost a year and then get back to me about how your Floys does not cut it. My guitar tech is in heaven - these things are built like tanks. For me, the price is a bargain next to some of the ESPs I used to play. I also have two Kiesel guitars (Vader and Osiris) that really do not come out that much anymore. I have seen other vids titles on UA-cam that say these are "Rip Offs" etc..Really? Again, join me on the road and bring your guitar and let's see how much I am getting ripped off. Clickbait does not an honest opinion make. Everyone is like "Well, buy one if you really want to"...You know what? If you do, and you feel riped off, THEN SEND THE THING TO ME. You can Reply below and I will gladly send you my address. Too expensive? News flash - since C19, EVERYTHING has gone up in price. Read the excellent book "Delivered To Your Front Door" to find out why. Meanwhile - go off noodling in your bedroom with your Dad guitar or whatever, while serious musicians are getting on with it. I make my living with these things - so yeah - they better be the goods. And they are. Ooooooo -a Korean Floyd!!! Oh No!!!!! What an effing joke this guy is......
Everyone has an opinion, even if marketing is to blame for the wrong one. But I want a New Jackson, hell yea 😎👍
This is the future of guitars unfortunately. 10 years ago we were seeing guitars with Seymour Duncan’s, dimarzios or EMGs, neck through body construction, and authentic quality bridges and tremolo systems for £700. Nowadays that’s impossible to find
The Charvel DK24 Hss FR has the same shape (Dinky), same color, Seymour Duncan pickups, fancier pots, and all for $1099. Use the $1800 you save and buy the Floyd Original and you have spare to buy almost any other guitar with better specs.
Listen to him ☝️☝️
I have that guitar, its not great. bad mexican quality with a hole in the back cause they used a screw that was too long in neck pickup. frets need to be crowned as well, as one is really high. The difference between a 1500 fr and an og FR is german taxes. they are the exact same trim exact same metal. I prefer the og jackson JT-6 trem but they arent going to bring those back out.
I enjoyed the mexican charvels, but there was a drastic difference in feel on the USA jackson I had years ago, and the MJ dinky I played recently was clearly to a higher standard. Guitars are more than the spec sheet, whether that difference is worth it to you is another story.
Keep in mind that those single coils the DK24 has aren't noiseless, which is disappointing. Also the Full-Shred on the bridge is very very bright so if you want to play metal and stuff you might wanna replace that too
I don't know why bright supposedly isn't good for metal. Ever heard anything from the 80s?
I have 2 good Floyd Rose equipped guitars, ones Jackson and the other EVH Wolfgang and they both are top notch Floyd rose special units I believe and both are perfectly operating and have no flaws, great units that get crapped on for no reason.
I just compared the American SL3 to the Korean-made mahogany/walnut concept guitar in the store yesterday after months of hearing mixed opinions on the SL3 online. Comparing them side by side, they are very different guitars. Gloss vs. finish (extending to the necks, too). Slightly different neck profiles. The concept guitar has a bound neck. One is an HSS, the other an HS. Both were finished great and played wonderfully.
The hardware on the concept guitar was not as advertised, so much so, I actually think Jackson has a misprint on their website. The tuners on the concept were not locking, not Gotohs, and the Floyd Rose felt like a special, not an Original or even a 1000 series. Maybe it was just that particular guitar, but it was a huge turnoff. I'm not spending another $500 on a $2000 guitar to fix lousy hardware.
The SL3 hardware was immaculate, Floyd Rose 1500 or not. Actualy Gotoh-branded locking tuners. It was setup and intonated perfectly.
I agree it should come with an original for $2500, but keep in mind the 1000, 1500, and OFR share the same baseplate--don't take my word for it, that's straight from Floyd Rose's customer reps. The 1500 fixes the worst issue with the 1000 by upgrading the long locking screws to steel. It's perfectly fine, regardless of people who don't own an SL3 complaining (not insulting you, just summarizing the comments here).
The 1500 has features the ofr lacks like the push in trem arm.
So to say the Korean and the German floyds share the same base plate is 100% fake news, it actually one of the things that is a glairing difference. This isnt going to be a bashing rant but currently own 8 guitars with Floyds on them, 2 of which are Japan ESP's, a custom shop KH2 and a 2019ish E-II M-II in urban camo. The others are 2 LTD M-1000's (an M-1000 SE & an MH-1000fr) one Jeff Loomis Jackson Kelly with the Floyd 1500, two Charvel DK24 with Floyd 1000's a USA San Dimas with an original Floyd Rose annnd one PRE SE 39th anny custom 24 with floyd 1000. Aside from the 2 DK 24's the Korean floyds are 88% satisfaction and are not deal breakers in any way, with the Jackson 1500 Kelly the jury is still out, if you asked me 4 months ago id say it was 93% (a German floyd would be 100% on my scale). The first physical difference between the 1000's and the OFR IS the baseplate, there are 2 bends on any Floyd base plate, now either the OFR are milled are produced with those bends in place where as any 1000 series the base plates are literally bent, there are no creases in an OFR plate, not saying bend steel isnt going to work but its 100% different production method, and second and one of the most important is the thread tolerances for the fine tuners and possibly its the cheaper metal in the screws themselves but its a tighter tolerance and smoother. Again I am happy with most of my1000's Floyds but they do not stay in tune as well an OFR and the intonation is also better on the OFR, the tone could be better because theyre Japan made guitars but I do all the setups on my guitars and its not like i dont want the 1000's to be as good as the ofr but I cant get them to 100%, Hell, ive got an LTD MH-1000 Evertune and im not being sarcastic, the OFR on the ESP's stays in tune better. The ET do get effected by humidity and theyre hard to describe. I had high hopes for the Loomis Kelly with the 1500 and its slightly better than the 1000's but the fine tuners are really imprecise and frustrating. And the locking nut has an issue, look up SNAPPING sound with 1500 Floyds, especially on Jacksons, i have this issue, thought i fixed it but it came back last week and i needed to repair it, a lot of people cant fix it by just tightening the screws.
Apparently you don't know how much a usa Jackson was costing all these years..
Normal soloists with the white binding n stuff was costing 3.500$ and more.. this series now come about 2.500€ on Thoman "I've no idea were you saw that price" and we have crazy inflation too!
To bring these guitars 1.000€ less they had to cut down on some things that cost a lot to make and it's just visual like the mother of pearl logo or the white binding and the Floyd n stuff. Are you trying to be funny or just annoying? Don't you know that American made products or European are more expensive than Indonesian and Chinese?
Ending by saying that my USA Jackson is the best guitar I've played with and the more stable neck I've seen. Now if it was worth the price it depends... I would prefer have 2 premium guitars than 7 medium to cheap.. depends on the person. And something last you can't just read the spec sheet and know if it's a good guitar or not... you should know this thing by now!
Exactly my thoughts. Well said.
You could get an ESP E-II (Made In Japan as well) with an Original German Floyd Rose for less than those €2900 Jacksons.
I've also noticed price increases and much longer lead times with the aftermarket parts companies. Granted, it started during the lockdowns when everybody was sitting at home buying gear but, it hasn't gotten much better, if any, in most cases. I think the increase in demand for necks, bodies and such is at least in part due to Companies like Fender raising prices and lowering quality. More people realize they can build a better quality guitar spec'ed out exactly the way they want it for about the same, and in some cases less, than they can buy a new guitar that may not have the fingerboard radius or type of tuners or pickups, etc., available as an option. It sucks because the price of a really good quality neck or body from most of the better custom companies was already pretty high.
It's like Glenn Fricker but without all the yelling.
Edit
Those guitars aren't worth more than 1300€, not kidding.
Already chugging water constantly when im using my "inside voice", I don't know how Glenn does it 😂
Even Fender and Gibson try to catch up with other manufacturera from time to time, even if they overcharge for that, but this is an absolute regression to early 2000s with a 2040 pricetag
Fender is Jackson… same building same management
Fender owns Jackson. They also own Charvel.
Fair price for USA Quality. I am aware of the differences in Original FL and FL 1000. The FL 1000 is fine, Cmon!
Fair??? You're nuts
@@sixstringtv1 A USA made guitar will last you your entire life.
I used to want a Jackson soloist until I got a Ibanez RG. Now I want more Ibanez RGs
I got both and want more of both
I picked up my first Ibanez last week after playing nothing but Fenders and Gibsons for 20 years, I feel like an ass for not getting one sooner!
@@TheDeroncain i went the opposite way. Played nothing but ibanez for 20 years. Now I’m almost all gibson and fender.
Opposite for me. I owned an Indonesian RG that cramped my chording hand. I tested a soloist at the store and immediately felt how buttery it was. It was hard to put it down.
@@keithveloso2822 i agree the soloist neck cant be beat for me its perfect for my hand. personally i will buy a usa soloist eventually, i do think the price is steep but ive owned many guitars and ive found none i prefer over the soloist
What is the name of this very ergonomic mouse? I've been looking for the name for a while now.
It's just a vertical mouse from Amazon Basics. Eliminated all the wrist pain I had that I originally thought came from playing guitar
@@sixstringtv1 Amazon basics noted
Thanks
this is very unrelated to jackson but will you ever buy a custom shop strat?
Probably. I've always wanted one
Just a tip. Fender and Fender subsidiaries like Jackson are always advertised at inflated prices. You can negotiate the prices WAY down. Just think of an offer that would offend them, within reason, and a lot of stores will sell it to you. Not kidding. 15% off the asking price is a good starting point.
Correct me if I'm wrong: but aren't the 1000/1500 series made of the same materials as the originals? Only difference being the original is handmade in Germany.
Even if, they're just made... not as good
@@sixstringtv1 Very true, and nearly 3 grand for a 1500 is a joke, but I'd still say it's better than when fender put a FR Special in the $1200 HM strat a few years ago
I think the difference is that the American Series is built in the USA and the Concept is built in Indonesia. Building in the USA is more expansive, that said a guitar in that price range should always get the best components and include a hardshell case.
But to be honest, buying a non custom shop guitar over 2K is a waste of money. For example: you can get a Dunable custom shop guitar, Made in the USA, for that price.
I played guitar since i was 19 either with bands or freelance, and am now due for senior citizen status. The shredders of the 80s--Charvels, Jacksons, EPS, Ibanez etc...were the best of their kind. Making them now the way they were made then would cost 6k-7k or more in today's money. Those days will not come again.
I'm sorry but there is NO WAY that two pieces of wood with some metal on it would cost the equivalent of 7k USD unless it had some historical significance to it.
Guitar builders think they are automobile manufacturers nowadays.
@@FortressofShredregulations prevent cars from being as stagnant in technology as cars lmao
Tell me then, how Harley Benton, Schecter, and some other companies can offer much more expensive hardware and at least same quality for 4-5 times lower price? These instruments made at exact same fabrics.
@@glroman91 i always ask the exact same question! i saw a video talking about the usa soloist saying they will never get stainless frets because its too expensive????wtf?! there are sub 1000$ guitars with stainless frets! how can they offer stainless frets under 1000$ but at 2600$ jackson cant? to be clear i am a jackson fan but rly this guitar should have had stainless frets and binding at this price. im not bothered by the floyd 1500, to me i couldnt care less between the two i own floyd 1500 floyd origional and floyd pro bridges and they are all fine and ive never had issues with any so to me the issue is either this guitar should have been way cheaper like 2000$ with the same features(still expensive for no stainless frets on a brand new guitar)or have stainless frets and neck binding at 2600. i get it they want this to be a premium guitar and im certain it is an excellent instrument but dam guys it seems to me the only reason for not putting neck binding and stainless frets on this guitar is to make it inferior to their 4000$+ custom shop models
You’re telling us how bad these guitars are without ever having one in your hands. Have you tried reviewing books you’ve never read?
If it's a book with three pages, and it costs $50, then I think reviewing it without reading it is just fine.
You dont need to play something to price out components and realize they cheaped out lol. Its well known that the cheaper floyds have stability issues and the cheaper metal used is more prone to being damaged. Common sense says this is just another example of a company pinching pennies rather than using the money you give them to produce a quality product . The way you got so defensive makes me think you might have been unfortunate enough to have bought one loool.
@ManIsAFourLetterWord LOL or they are just very happy with their jackson guitar and don't like the idea of people putting the entire brand down. Because people are followers and if one person says something is bad like parrots all the people say it.These things he is complaining about are with all the big brand guitar companies.Gibson, fender,Ibanez,schecter,esp, Ltd etc. They are all guilty of charging us to much money and cheapning their product at the same time. True right
I have a USA KV2 which I bought used for less than what they're asking for. Amazing guitar and I do love Jackson Guitars(Pro Japan and USAs for the most part, don't care about Indo Pro and anything lower). I just hate how Fender are making some of the worst pricings ever. They were doing decent when they bought them back in 2002, but it feels like from the mid 2010s onwards, they're must making bad pricing decision after another.
There are so many other better guitars you can get for that amount of money...
absolutely true! Ive owned a Marty Friedman & a Loomis signature models and they had so many QC issues so I had to return them to GC. The Friedman one had the crappiest tuners and the loomis one had a stripped floyd rose so you couldn’t tighten up the new strings lol… and they were expensive!
Damn, I'm surprised your experience was that. I've tried a few of the Friedman models and always loved them, which is part of why this video hurt so bad to make 😂
@@sixstringtv1 The guitar and the pickups were fantastic, sadly the hardware they use is so poorly made. What’s funny is that people buy those guitars and you see them back in the store the next week lol those particular ones are pretty bad😅
Indonesian models so I'm not surprised, but also has no relevance to this line.
1:07 I had the same reaction when 1st saw it on their web page.
So... I'll better buy one more MIJ Ibanez
Why does everyone jump on the bandwagon of slagging FR1000? The company says they're built to identical specification, using identical materials to the Original German made. The only difference is country of manufacture. The FR1500 has upgraded stainless parts and push in arm (exclusively for Schecter and a handful of Jacksons) so surely superior to the Original with "made in Germany" stamped on it? If people played them without a preconceived bias, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Thank you for your real comments. All the other youtubers received a guitar and did a paid promotion and say nothing but good things about a crappy tier. Beware!! The real intention is to keep prices high for the "real" made in USA
No nonsense here!
USA fenders are made with 15% of their parts coming from overseas. They aren’t 100% USA made anymore. Im sure the same applies to these Jacksons.
@@BassWhoopinFishingTeam I feel like the idea of parts all being made in America = superior parts is ridiculous and so out of touch, maybe in the 70s but that hasn’t been true for decades
If you think those guitars are a "joke" why are you playing a JCM 2000?😅
I've had nothing but good experience with the Floyd 1000, they always stayed in tune so well on guitars I've owned with them. That's because they're made from the same materials as the Original but just made overseas, and the upgrades of the 1500 series over the 1000 (push in trem arm and stainless steel screws) should be standard on all Floyds.
I'm pretty sure Musicman and PRS also put Floyd 1000s on 2k+ US made guitars
I think the main issue is that their imports are not on par with what's on the market, so making an American production line should be at the bottom of their priority list. It's like they're saying "We know our imports for 1000-1500$ are not good enough, that's why you should get the American for 2600$ instead".
I can't wait to see you prove my theory on the Jackson episode :)
The cheaper Floyds are made with different metals, PLUS the Soloist for 3K doesn't even have stainless steel frets. Ridiculous. Looking forward to a dedicated videk about Jackson.
@@sixstringtv1 the saddles might be made of cheaper materials but the plate is the same steel, which is the main factor in the stability
But the saddle material can snap your strings easily, which is why many players opt for silky graphite saddles
@@sixstringtv1 the only string break I remember is when I played too much on my Mexican Charvel the day I got it lol
But yeah that's probably the only problem with the 1000
@@sixstringtv1 the thousand series are NOT, they are the same metals as the German made. The Specials are cheap. I have emails from Floyd Rose themselves stating this.
I’ll take a white mick Thompson soloist, stainless frets, Seymour active pickups, glow dots, fake Floyd for feel….$899
The fake FR irritated me at first but it is indeed quite comfy
I mean you're *not* gonna find an American made neck-thru guitar for less than $2000 ever, but I am still completely confused about why they didn't go with the Original Floyd Rose, that just seems... odd
Paying 2K and getting an original Floyd is fine. Paying 3K and getting no stainless steel frets and a Korean Floyd isn't
Godin makes a few under $2k...
Oh 👀
@@sixstringtv1 i disagree when it comes to the frets, imo nickel vs SS frets is a traditional vs modern spec, not a low-end vs high-end.
The floyd part is just weird.
Also when it comes to Godin, A) They're Canadian and B) they pretty music exclusively use in-house parts, so they're not sourcing anything out-of-house
Stainless steel doesn't wear down. It most certainly is a spec relating to price
Now the walnut Concept Series MIJ is 1700-1600 euro, thats a nice price and the only guitar in that range with an Original FR, and I can tell you I have scanned all superstrats in the world. But stainless steel frets should be an option, but its a great guitar indeed, I would prefer Dimarzios but nothing is perfect.
Thank you, a lot of channels are propping these up as good. They're a rip off, Jackson specs are all over the place.
Neck binding on sub $1000 guitars, Floyd 1500 series on a $2500 guitar. Can't even give you a hard case anymore for that $2500.
I used to love this company but they're a mess anymore.
I got a used KV2 with the smallest blemish ever for $2400 in 2019, completely insane to think about when looking at prices for Jacksons now
I got a KV1 Dave Mustaine signature back in 2005 for $2000 + $534 shipping (was shipped from Argentina of all places & cost a boatload to get it out of there). I will never sell it.
For this much wonga I want a quarter sawn neck and tru-oil type finish, and the frets must be flawless. Pls tell me these specs are correct for this price point. If it at least has these specs, I would consider forking out the extra expense for an original FR to fit myself.
No stainless steel frets, baseline SD pickups (nothing against the JB but it's a generic baseline go-to pickup), an upgraded mid-tier FR, and a foam case. The most expensive part of this guitar is the 'Made in the USA' stamp. This was always gonna happen though since they gouged the prices of their recent MJ series and then the Concept series to make the US prices make sense when you view them through that narrow lens.
You're better off buying an LTD M-1000 (FR 1000 or 1500 trem but more than half the price of the USA Jackson) or an RG565/550 tbh (Ibanez Original Edge trem). You can upgrade whatever you want with the money you'd save and still plenty left over.
I bought a Soloist USA in 1993 (back before Grover left the company). It’s got the errie dess paint job and Jackson active pickups (probably made by EMG) as well as the German-made FR bridge. It’s still a great guitar. I paid $1,175 no tax or shipping. Last time I checked (2012) the same guitar would cost about $2,499 and the paint job would be $500 extra.
Grover left around 1990.
He left in 1989
@@JacksonAxe but close enough😁..who knows
I had 2 SL1 Soloists in mid 80's..each one cost $2300.00
@@TimesBTough I mail ordered mine from Thoroughbred music in Florida (bought out by Sam Ash)
You're paying the premium for the made in USA, not far off Gibson prices
Bro the legator in the back probably costs less 💀💀
I could buy two of the Legators for that
I cant believe how little SS frets models are out there. This should be a standard for a pricey guitar.
Charvels Mexican guitars are the hidden gem. I like mine much better than Jackson.
I rarely ever comment on videos but this was hilarious to listen to and worth watching. (Wonder what your opinion is on the charvel dk24-2pt blue?)
Another plus (IMHO) on the cheaper Jackson with the German FR is reverse headstock.
Facts!!
Yeah ! Jackson has been slacking lately too give it to them!
I've never played a US made Jackson, but I do own an Indonesian made Soloist which I love to death. Granted it came with a Floyd Rose Special, but I haven't had any problems with it staying in tune or snapping strings, atleast not yet. 😁Do we get a video on the funky looking guitar you have hanging in the background? Looks sicc. 😮
Legator video this Saturday
They are every different. My usa ke2 is top notch compared to the pro
This is why I have a Japanese made DK2 with an upgraded OFR for way cheaper
I got my JS32 about a year ago for around $400, for a cheap guitar (cheap compared to the models in this video 😳) it’s awesome and it has a FR(Jackson’s version of the FR…). The one thing I don’t really like about it compared to my other guitars is the size of the freaking frets man. These frets are so big they almost send shocks through my fingers when I slide
I got one of these. The neck finish was splotchy and I had to take a scotchbrite to it. Locking nut sucked, dry cracking fingerboard, paint underspray, all kinds of weird stuff. It does sound awesome, I'll give it that. The neck itself has an awesome profile so the poor finish work really bummed me out.
@@wisteriahill7584 dude the locking nut is ass on this. The top two strings are never in tune. Saving up for a replacement
@@justgivenofox9543 absolutely! *ping* *ping*
I got my js32 kelly in 2020 for 299, I barely think it’s quality enough to be worth that let alone the 370 they want now
i love jackson guitars but the one thing i cant stand about them is how they always cheap out on the bridges the rrx24 i got is normally 900 and still comes with a floyd rose special (i want to point out i bought it for almost half off for a refurbished floor model with a brand new special put on it)
At least they improved recently as far as pickups go. I remember not too long ago when most Jacksons under 1K had Jackson brand pickups
@@sixstringtv1 lol wow that's ridiculous don't get me wrong Jackson in house pickups aren't bad but that's just sad
@@JnJsw18 They still do - the crackle finishes on the Soloist X series have Jackson pickups. This is similar to say, the BC Rich Stranger Things crackle warlock which has BC Rich pickups. Other X-series with simple paintjobs like the RRX24 or KVXMG come with Seymour Duncan Blackouts/EMGs at a similar price to the Soloist X crackle series.
As for the bridge, you can probably find a better deal out there in some scenarios, but ESP LTD M-400, EMGs with Floyd Rose Special - $900, same with the import BC Rich Stranger Things Warlock, Floyd Rose Special, $899 (before it was price gouged by resellers). Bigger manufacturers clearly are protecting their bottom line and all following in each others footsteps, so nothing out of the ordinary from Jackson for the X-series.
My 2017 Indonesian Jackson SL7 has the 1500 on it and it works really good. It has high end features, except the glow in the dark dots. It cost me 1100. Thanks for pointing this out. I thought I was taking crazy pills.
No SS frets and no original floyd at that price, what a joke.
PRS CU24 in a standard finish non-10 top is like 4-5k with no SS frets, ESP original series is 4-6k no SS frets, Ibanez J. Custom costs more than these with no SS frets, the list goes on.
@@progpogs wrong. Anything post 2017 ESP USA is SS frets, same for Ibanez LACS if you wanna go upscale.
@@IMPULSOESTATICO I said esp original (japan), ESP USA doesn't negate the premise that many high end guitars don't have SS frets by choice not because they can't. Also Ibanez LACS is only available to artists, the highest standard offering from Ibanez for regular buyers has no SS frets.
@@progpogs sure go ahead, promote mediocre crafted guitars at high end user cost. Boomers will be satisfied.
@@IMPULSOESTATICOIf you think PRS is a mediocre guitar, you've likely never played one.
Everyone criticizing the Floyd Rose 1000 and 1500 doesn't know what they are talking about. The OG and 1000 are both made from grade 8 steel whereas the Floyd Rose Special uses grade 5 steel in the saddles. The 1500 is actually better than the original because of the stainless steel retainer screws. I bought a Floyd Rose original for my LTD and after 4 years of being a workhorse guitar in humid Florida weather, the screws are rusty and parts of the black finish have faded. The only difference is that the 1000 is made in Korea whereas the Original is made in Germany. I am wondering if the 1000 is made from recycled parts because it is not available to buy by itself and only is installed on production model guitars that usually cost around 900 to 2000 dollars. Im tired of this stupid debate.
It seems like this series is like the American performer fenders, USA made at a low price.
And the actual DK1, SL1, etc. Moved up to team built custom shop like the fender American custom line.
I like Korean made Ibanez rg's from the 90's but never thought Would have to pay that much for a guitar from there. Good thing I have stainless steel frets, my guitars should last me.
Guys. Jackson. Guys. You accidentally put the US name on lower end models by mistake! Whoops! Ctrl+Z!
😂
It's not a Jackson anymore it's a Fender and with that comes crap quality and components at a ridiculous price. This is why I bought an Eart Strat and upgraded the pickups. I know if I buy a Fender it needs fret leveling and nut work from the factory so I probably will never buy another Fender unless it's a great deal because again repairs will need to be made which is a joke. For that money I would buy a Suhr or something comparable.
Now that's not entirely true is it
@@sixstringtv1 From my experience with Fender yes it's entirely true. I've had 15 strats that all needed fret leveling as well as anyone I know with a Fender. My Eart strat has a Mahogany body, bone nut, roasted maple neck, stainless steel frets, a huge bridge block, and decent tuners. I put some alnico's in there and I now have the best playing strat I've ever had. Believe me when I tell you I wish the value was there with Fender but they have a knack for continuing to give less guitar for the money with less than stellar QC and Gibson is as bad or worse. Like I said if you're going to pay thousands look at Suhr or even G&l.
I saw a couple reviews for those guitars, and thought the same thing. Your additional points confirmed that.
Ok my wolfgang has an “Evh branded Floyd rose special” bridge, it’s not …… the greatest, remarkably it stays in tune well, but I have given thought to going to that fu-tone site and maybe doing small upgrades to it! Like brass insert blocks, maybe better locking screws, knowing you can’t polish a turd, what are your thoughts on doing small upgrades that would equal out to make it at least a mediocre bridge, vs just paying the almost $300.00 or more, to replace the whole setup?
Just buy a whole new GOTOH GE1996T bridge. Just as good as a real Floyd, should be about 140 dollars.
@@BlazinLow305 thanks I didn’t know about that option!
Hahaha
And what do u think of the even newer ones now.
They seem amazing. By all accounts they play better than the other ones and they're 1000€ cheaper with a FR1500 tremolo. I'd love to have one.
I will say this, over the past couple of years, I've been more impressed with squier than fender. See, fender is in California, and not that absolutely everyone over there has lost their mind, but almost everyone has. Unless you're a company that started in California because you're from here, you can almost bank that any company in California is ultra liberal, and that's not good. They cut corners to cheat the customers so they can make more money, they become more about the brand than the actual product, they'll endorse anyone on camera whether they play guitar or not, people like that just don't run businesses very well. Not to mention it's a very common practice in California to actually make your products to where they'll only last for so long, so you have to keep spending money. Whether it's something like the guitars themselves or just parts. Of course, as a guitar builder myself, it does get expensive, however, if something is coming out of California at this point in time, you can almost bank that you'll be paying some kind of a greed tax. Honestly, I'm probably just gonna go with squiers from now on if I'm gonna get a new fender. Some of the new models and colors are just too fun to pass up anyway. I just got a blue sparkle supersonic not very long ago and I absolutely love that thing. I gotta upgrade a few parts, but it looks cool, it actually sounds good too, it's just a blast to play. A stratocaster just isn't as fun after a certain price point unless it's from a different time period
I've had several Stingray basses by Sterling (ones I have are made in Indonesia) and bought a used Ernie Ball one (made in California). My excitement over finally having an American-made Stingray quickly came to an end. It wasn't terrible per se, but the quality was far lower than the foreign-made counterparts. The strings weren't even centered over the neck correctly, and it felt odd to play. It's not a problem with American manufacturing; it's socialist California that's the issue. For another fine example of socialist engineering, there's the Yugo.
Ah yes ... the woke is ruining your guitar.
What I find interesting is that the price in the US is much lower than the price in the EU. The Euro and the USD are worth the same amount these days, but I don't think shipping would raise the price of the American series guitars to $400 more in the EU than in the US. I've found this to be really weird with made in Indonesia/Korean made guitars that American brands such as Schecter, and Jackson have made costing so much more money in Europe than in the US, even though the guitars are made overseas. On the topic of a floyd rose original vs 1500/1000 series, the guitar definitely needs to have a fr original at that price point, but we also need to remember that the cost of producing an American made guitar vs the concept series which is made in Korea, is that Jackson can charge more for American made guitars, since the cost of making a guitar in the US is greater than overseas, mainly with respect to employees salaries. The country that pays it's employees more to make guitars = more expensive prices for worse specs. I also have owned a Jackson, and played my friend's old MIJ Jackson, the American QC is not even comparable to MIJ guitars, and Jackson hasn't had a great reputation as of late with it's QC issues (Especially on custom shop orders)
I demand to know what shoes were constipated for. Please
You're hilarious
@@sixstringtv1 that didn’t answer my question unfortunately
@@sixstringtv1 lol what were you trying to say?
I love Jackson guitars, but their reputation is dropping and they seem to have quite a lot of cost cutting things
Any of the new 2024 Concept Series now come with a 1000 series Floyd. WTF? Glad I got my Concept Series 7 string RR when I did.
This video would have made sense 5 or 7 years ago, but 2300 street is a mid priced guitar in 2023. I think the SL3 is a fair value, considering what an SL1 costs, its already at least 80% of the way there.
I mean the market for these are for people who wants 80s Spec US Soloists and don't want 30+ year old guitars, also good luck finding one for under $3k. $2500 for a US superstar is the same price point with E-IIs and most of those also use nickel frets. The FR 1000/1500 are found on the $5k Loomis sig, Music Man Petrucci with the FR, and the $2800 PRS Dustie Waring so it's common on $2k+ models. I bet all the people who NEED SS frets are the only who serial flip their gear on reverb as well, not to mention it's a throwback spec so SS frets aren't super necessary. I just got the SL3 and it's up there with anything else in that price point and definitely a step above the Korean/Indo/etc which I've had a lot of. You can't say $2500 is too much because stuff back then costs less since it's just inflation, there's LTDs and import Schecters going in the $2k range nowadays, it's just how things are and it's super foolish to expect a US neck-thru superstar to cost $1500 these days, it ain't gonna happen.
After seeing the recent price of Jackson (both MJ series and this USA), Ibanez Prestige is immediately the way to go for me.
And it's the best decision I've ever made so far for buying a guitar.
For the price, absolutely. I’d consider a Charvel too. PRS makes killer options between $600 and $1000
Try the schecters, amazing guitars
@@gainonten4031 2008 Shecter C-1 Hellraiser (Made in Korea) is my first Electric Guitar and I still have her till now.
Nice guitar but I feel more comfortable with the shape of Ibanez Wizard HP neck.
The mij Metallic Jackson dkr and Jackson SL27 are both pretty badass. Check ‘em out
I think these series have potential but they have some things to improve. Regarding the 1500 series, I don't mind at all. It is a really good bridge. Even it is mounted on the +5000 Custom Shop Loomis Kelly because the man itself prefer it over the original (for the push in trem arm). The price could be lower, but it seems to be an overall really good instrument, and I think it is fairly priced for the current times. The X series prices are a lot more offensive in my opinion. And the USA Select prices went through the roof so now an used American Series will be an interesting option for the Jackson enthusiasts. I will be waiting for more models to be available (a Kelly would be amazing). BTW, love your channel man!
The fact that the cheaper Floyd Rose js mounted on that many expensive guitars is honestly an insult. I wouldn't buy it just out of spite
As far as the push in arm goes, you can buy a replacement arm and socket of better quality and convert any Floyd style to push in. One of the main issues I have with the cheaper stuff is the quality of metal. It's too soft. The pivot blades and posts dull and flatten far to easily. That starts throwing the whole thing out of sync and balance. They begin having increasingly more Audible clicks and pops that can also be felt. Of course most bridges have a similar pivot design which is nothing short of a terrible idea. The SuperVee Bladerunner solves that issue completely but, it's not a double locking system and some understandably don't like that.
@@johnpearson4899 I wonder why they (anybody) don't just take the blade concept of the SuperVee or rail concept of that Floyd Rose rail-tail bridge and incorporate it into the traditional FR double locking design. Shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.
@@NghilifaI believe parts of the original Floyd Rose design was under patent for years. I think that patent may have now expired. They may also have a patent on the pivot design of the Floyd Rose Rail. I don't know. As far as the SuperVee Bladerunner goes, I think it would actually be considered "pivotless" since it has no moving parts but flexes instead and, therefore a completely different thing and patentable. So, I would guess that the owners would likely have some type of patent in place by now for the blade part of the design. The rest of the bridge, I would say is public domain. Supervee would have to grant a license to or agree to collaborate with anyone else to use it. I've left comments all over the web telling both them and Vegatrem that they should consider some type of collaboration. The smaller size and impeccable machining of the Vegatrem coupled with the blade feature of the Supervee would, in my opinion, be unbeatable. At least for the foreseeable future. The Vegatrem is overpriced as is but, if they did a collaboration and keot it sensibly priced, I don't think they could keep them in stock at first. If I were them, I would try to get with a few of the moderatly priced mid sized semi custom builders and do a somewhat limited run only available on those guitars to start. Then, after a time, come back and offer the bridges for sale to anyone. But, it's not up to me. Lol
Honestly anything over 1.2k should have top-of-the-line specs. I can't see any reasonable excuse for why anything of that price or even higher shouldn't have that at the very least.
My new Schecter SVSS Exotic has all the features of these new Jacksons, plus nicer woods and finish, and it cost less than 2000 CAD, about 1500 euro. I switched from Jackson to Schecter several years ago, the quality and features for the pricepoint cant be beat IMO.
Does this explain why Fender cut loose their second shift? Prices too high and customer demand too low?
Lets not forget about the USA Select. I'm not talking about Custom Shop. A Jackson USA Select Soloist SL1 - Black, lists for $4,499.99 on sweetwater.
Doesn’t soloists come with bound fingerboards usually ? Did I miss that lol idk
So, my pre-Fender SL-1 is now worth what, $3500?
one thing about the floyd : the original german floyds are getting discontinued so it kinda makes sens that theyre changing, still shoudlnt be on a guitar that price
Who said they're being discontinued?
Damn, not even a real Floyd Rose Original.
What. WHAT.
Bummer right
To be fair, I'm not an idiot, ordered mine two days ago. Paid 1500 after using my cc and getting 200 back. For 1500 I'm super excited!!!
I recently bought an Ibanez J.custom with SS frets made to perfection, luminlay sidedots, beautiful flame top and neck. Awesome lo-pro edge trem. The thing has rock solid tuning. And oh yeah I bought it for the same price as the new Jacksons🤔
J. Custom guitars, as far as I know, still do not have stainless frets. Which model did you get?
Edit: I just saw your page, that looks like the axepalace run of RGAs, and I can't find evidence of them having SS frets.
@@progpogs I looked at the certificate and it states nothing about SS frets. So you're right but when I looked closer to the frets when I did a string change they certainly looked spectacular and close to the Jescar EVO's. On the other hand I own a lot of 5000 series prestiges with SS frets and they all feel awesome and similar. But because of you I am in doubt what the frets are made off😂
@@johnnysguitarcorner5510 Just wait a couple of weeks. SS will keep that "just polished" shine, but nickel frets tend to dull out pretty fast.
The FR 1500 is not the problem. As a matter of fact, it is great. Jeff Loomis prefers the FR 1500 to the original FR because of the push-in tremolo arm and the stainless-steel components, although I get the point of wanting the more expensive FR on an expensive guitar. The thing that bothers me is the fact that there are no stainless-steel frets, the case is a joke in that price range and it would have not hurt them to offer EMG-s or Fluence Fishman pickups. Just one of those things would help to justify the price tag, but it seems that the only thing we should care about in this case is the "Made in Corona, California" label. It is a shame, because I would really like the blue one. 😔
I agree. A $3,000 guitar without stainless steel frets is ridiculous.
I just emailed Jackson because I saw a lot of conflicting information in interviews, and they confirmed they are actually stainless steel frets.
Talking about the arm, Jackson should put 1984 original floyd rose. The mechanism prevent the arm from coming loose unlike like the push in type.
EMG's don't belong on guitars north of $1000.
@@progpogs fr?
My first electric was a Squier Strat made in Korea. That guitar was awesome. Koreans made excellent product in the 90s. Don't know if that's still true.
Dude, you're a funny guy. 😂. This is me looking at all modern guitar sites. Shit is gotten nuts.
Lol. That's why when i ask a guitar store about Jackson, they said Jackson is a legendary guitar at guitar store.
Bcs it stays in the store for too long since only one person buying it per year or less.
Probably an insane return rate too
I don’t think it’s Jackson’s fault, it’s worth mentioning that Floyd rose have recently jacked up their prices massively too, especially in other countries like the U.K., to the point where even the floyd rose special system costs the same price as a whole secondhand guitar with a floyd rose special.
The 1000 and 1500 are good bridges. It wouldn't put me off if I was in the market for a new Jackson.
Or get the SL2-MAH which is at the 1k price point which has a 1500 series which is far less than 3 grand. In fact, all of the 1x00 series are the same, the different models just differentiate finish whether chrome, gold, gunmetal etc. Maybe the Concept series is the best band for the buck after all if you MUST have an OFR.
Music Man JP 16/PRS DW/Jeff Loomis US are all over $2k and use the 1000/1500 it's really not that uncommon.
How about some non trem instruments Jackson? Or at least an evertune
They are £1999 over here I think the floyds have Steel parts but I know what you mean I expected an original
And I expected stainless steel frets
@@sixstringtv1 would of been nice Jackson seem to be holding back on putting them on
Thanks a lot for this video, I was torn between the Camo Concept RR24-7 which was always a dream of mine, and the new "American Series".. another dream of owning a real American made Jackson. But after your video.. no way man! I will go with the Concept RR24-7 ! Thanks a lot for your helpful video !!!
I have been saying the same thing for years now. I see so many companies put out artist signature models and they only have one pickup or no trem but because they have a person's name on the headstock it costs like 4,000 dollars. You can just buy another model with better stuff and pay less. I guess they think people are just stupid.
Their pricings for the past year have been absolutely ridiculous. Someone's trippin. Bought a Pro Series Dinky for 1k 3 years ago (came with a case too) and it probably sounds and (maybe) plays better w/ better tuning stability, and it looks better.
This is actually not bad for a US built guitar, look at the other Jackson USA models pushing 5k, music mans (music men?) are 3-6k, ESP USA are >4k, etc. This price is what USA Jacksons cost over a decade ago.
@@progpogs I'm not necessarily talking about this guitar in specific, and I don't think it's a USA. I'm talking about the discrepancies between models, where some are 2.2k with shit/mid specs and others are 1.6k with decent specs. Also they're entire catalogue from JS to Pro and maybe even up to USA needs some readjusting. There's horrible blending between the different series. They just need to readjust what they're doing and get their head in the game. They have some killer deals, but overall the catalogue is just messy.
Concept Series are Korean, these are American-made. That's why the Concept series have better specs at a slightly lower price. Even some MIJs are more expensive than this but have better specs. American labour is ridiculously expensive and that's why for the past 2 years, all the American made ones were super high end and came out of the custom shop, the margins were probably not enough for an offshoot metal focussed brand under the Fender umbrella for budget metal ones. I think the Floyd Rose 1500 i.e. a 1000 but with a lot of stainless steel upgrades is a fair compromise, since now the only difference is whether it's Korean or German made like the OFR. If you're fine with your guitar being Korean (Concept series), surely you would be fine with a Korean made FR?
The main draw of these is American made with branded components, and other shapes are to follow. I honestly don't really care whether my guitar is American-made, just whether that they feel great to me and have good QC, so I'd go for those high end Concept series guitars. For those people for whom guitars start and end with Made in USA (with the imports/Jap is crap mentality), this is a preferred option I guess. Different strokes for different folks.
Nobody talks about the wood in these types of reviews there are different grades also they don’t talk about the build and labour costs or Qc.An original Floyd would of been nice but obviously wasn’t doable at this price point
Yup imagine how much those higher end import Schecters would be if they were made in USA. They'd be $5k a pop. All the uncharge goes to US labor.
The 2021 wildcard series included an original Floyd rose for two of the three models even though the guitars were made in Korea.
It’s as if they’re purposely trying to sell MIK Jacksons instead of the USA Jacksons
PRICE BREAKDOWN PLEASE!!
Body £300
Floyd £100
Pickups £300
hardware £150
TOTAL = 850
Any more than 1200-1500 for that guitar is ridiculous
This is a $999 guitar all day.
I love the negative publicity these guitars get because it drives the price down. I was able to grab one of these for $1600. And for that price these are amazing!!!
You're welcome 🤣
That's a MUCH better deal hahah. You sure it wasn't the Virtuoso series that's around $1800 as is? 🤔
@@sixstringtv1 It is the SL3 in Platinum Pearl. Neck through body. Great guitar.
I noticed that Jackson also has their MIJ series soloists that are the exact same price, the only difference being that they got a Gotoh bridge instead of a Floyd Rose. Idk how Gotoh floating bridges act compared to floyd roses but still, with how Jackson cheaped out on the American series it feels like it isn't nearly as much as a rip off as the American series.
I’ve got a guitar with a Gotoh Floyd and it has not needed adjustment or anything in 30 years. They are brilliant.
The thing that weirds me out about some recent Jackson guitars is that they aren't actually Jackson guitars, but Charvel guitars that say Jackson. Why does Jackson sell a San Dimas? The San Dimas is a Charvel model, not Jackson.
It silly but people will pay more because the guitar is made in US. the new jackson is made in the USA and that Concept Series is made in Korea
Korean made with good specs >>> USA made with garbage specs
what are the garbage specs?
To be fair, in the US, these are $2599 at Sweetwater. Also this is just something bringing a production USA soloist to the line.
You can find an original Floyd for a couple hundred, or even a Gotoh trem for under $150. The concept model looks great, except the reverse headstock.
Also, back in the old days, the radius wan't compound, but 16" I think.
Excuse me, you're telling me I'm supposed to buy a guitar for 3K AND I have to upgrade it? 💀
@@sixstringtv1 Maybe. I know people who buy Les Pauls and change the bridge and tailpiece out to TonePros or swap pickups.
The point was just that you could do that and still be under $3k for a US made guitar that's not a custom order. Or you could go for a 1987 Jackson on Reverb for $2500-3500.
@@sixstringtv1 he said “to be fair” 😂