Jackson JS Series Dinky Arch Top JS34 DKA Electric Guitar - Silver Burst

Most Liked Positive Review

Even better than I had hoped for!

I am very impressed with this guitar. It was set up pretty good out of the box, but the stock strings were total garbage and had to be replaced immediately, which is expected. Once the new strings had settled I realized what a beast this thing is. It has that classic Jackson snarl and shreddability. Sounds and plays great! Frets could use a polish, no biggie. The HSS pickup configuration lets you get some Stratty tones out of it, but where it really shines is the full on metal fury from the bridge humbucker. For those worried about the tremolo, don't be. It's simply a Floyd Rose Special branded with a Jackson logo.. The fine tuners could be better, they are not as smooth as they could be, but they do work. I hammered on that trem for like 45 minutes doing flutters and dive bombs and pull ups with no problems. I was really surprised at how well it stayed in tune. Fretwork was really good. I wasn't really into the Silver Burst paint job at first, but turns out it looks sweet in person and I love it. It's like a dark frosty Norwegian winter night. Build quality is very good. 5 way switch is solid with no static and no static from knobs. Headstock tuners work well and feel smooth. The only criticisms I really have are the fine tuners on the trem as mentioned, the strap buttons are plastic instead of metal, which really come on Jackson they should be metal buttons! And also the fact that the back of the neck is gloss finished instead of a satin finish, I don't think that was mentioned in the description but I'm ok with it. I'll say this in conclusion, though: I had the Fender HM Strat reissue, a $1200 guitar, but sold it because while the fit and finish were excellent, I felt Fender really cheaped out on components for that price. This Jackson JS34 is a BETTER guitar overall and at 1/4 the price. It's so cheap and well built that it's perfect for modding. I do plan on upgrading the pickups to Seymour Duncans eventually, and I will upgrade the trem to a higher end Floyd Rose once I wear it out (FR Specials are known to have gritty feeling fine tuners and softer metal alloy saddles that wear out quicker.) Until then I couldn't be happier! 5 stars in spite of its few (very minor) flaws as I really don't think you could possibly do better at this price point, and it holds it's own with guitars costing much more.