Jackson X Series Dinky DK2XR HH Limited-Edition Electric Guitar Cobalt Blue

Charvel Jackson, has it's niche and for some of us, it's the only brand we know. Charvel and Jackson use to be neck and neck and many of us own both. When comparing the Charvel to this guitar, The Dinky doesn't measure up. The Floyd is licensed and some think it is the same quality as the Floyd Rose special but I'm not sure about that. "licensed from Floyd Rose and built by Jackson" Jackson didn't make the special. By just replacing the saddles and string blocks on the special with 1000 series you have a solid Trem. The Fretboard is laurel, which some compare to Rosewood but this is debatable. The pickups are "in House". Jackson branded pickups are to save money. They are not going to sound like Duncans, EMGs or Dimarzios. While there isn't anything wrong with poplar wood for the body, Alder will edge it out when there is a choice between the two. i didn't take the backplate off of either guitars but I suspect the quality of electronics is cheaper on the dinky. If you absolutely do not have the extra cash to get the Charvel, this is still a good guitar. If you are a beginner you can't miss what you never had. If you upgrade this guitar with a Floyd and pickups, you have already went into Charvel Territory and you are stuck with a lesser quality of guitar. Jackson has a guitar for every price point, and if you think you are getting anywhere close to a DK1, you will be disappointed

I pulled every guitar with a Floyd Rose in the store (on the lower levels) and tested how well they stayed in tune after dive bombs and bar abuse; this was the winner. It plays well too, and again regarding the Floyd, the notes do not fret out anywhere when the bar is raised. So the neck, the action, the bridge, all of these are top notch. The tuners are a bit wretched. Fortunately this is not very relevant because the double-locking trem is excellent. The electronics were awful in the sense that the bridge pickup came wired backwards! The hot was mixed up with the ground. I fixed that. This particular unit had had its price reduced on the shelf, likely due to this issue. Another QC issue is that the back plates don't fit right. They are too large for the cavities. The sound of the pickups isn't bad. They are warm-sounding, with high output. I'd be in no hurry to switch them out if installing custom electronics were not one of my favorite things to do.

I bought 2 of these from Guitar Center (1 Blue, 1 Black), via online order; they both came in perfect. I own many Jacksons, as well as dozens of other guitars from most brands, so I believe I can offer accurate comparisons. What is absolutely fantastic about these DK2XRs is their combination of balanced weight plus exceptionally fast feel. The bodies are a little heavier than most of the China factory Jacksons (not sure, but they seem bit thicker too); they are ultra-comfy and well balanced. The more-recent rounding of the bolt on heel is genius - major upgrade to older DKs. The necks are the finest feature on these - beyond-wonderful satin finish - equal to the fastest feel of anything I've ever played or owned, and I've owned a lot! I've played for decades, but I've never enjoyed such rapid advances with legato as I have after practicing with these; they are a true joy to play, shred and build skill with. I think the no-binding, natural fretboard sides look cool because they did a perfect job of bonding these to the maple - ultra-smooth, enhancing the fast feel. The Jackson Floyds work great - stay in tune flawlessly. Owning more than 20 Jacksons with those terms, they don't have the weight or smoothness of the Original/German or 1000 series Floyds, so they might not resonate quite as much, but the locks work perfect for tuning, and the saddle bolts don't slip or strip like frustrating Floyd Specials alloys do. They keep the guitar in tune perfect. Finally, the electronics - surprisingly good for the price; pickups are the easiest upgrade on any intermediate guitar if you're trying to match US models, but, in all truth, these deliver a warm Jackson-true growl for chords, plus bright tone for solos. The one area I would watch for on these is more of just a personal perforce re Jackson IND factory quality control. Thought the 2 I received are perfect, some of my comparable X Series guitars that came out of the same factory have pretty-careless grain-matching (or lack of) on the scarf joint - not a big deal to most, but I prefer when the grains are matched up nicer, so that's just something to look for with all Jackson X series - all are very nice, but there are diamonds above the rest coming out of that IND factory if you pick through a few, so find the one you want - when you do, which isn't hard 'cause most of them are great, these are amazing guitars! Ultimately, most buy a guitar to practice, play and build skill; these great feel/easy to play DK2XRs are amongst the finest guitars you will ever find for helping with that.

The best part about this guitar is the fast feeling neck that is more on the thinner side and it is a fast feeling neck for sure. The only setup it needed out of the box was a bit of truss rod adjustment and it was good to go. Awesome budget shred guitar and great guitar to get if you want to get your first Floyd Rose guitar without spending a lot.

In 2003 I bought a brand new MIJ Jackson DXMG Black. I loved that guitar, super well made, great value, etc. But the volume knob was right under the bridge pickup so I ended up not using it that much and eventually selling it. I have many guitars in my collection, several are high ones, modern and vintage Charvels and some are cool 80's and 90's vintage ones, but always missed my DXMG. A few weeks ago I saw this beautiful Cobalt guitar with hot pink pickups and I had to give it a try. This guitar is really well made! Solid and light body, perfect paint job, and a fantastic neck. The unfinished neck has rolled edges from the factory and no binding. The frets are shiny and well set, no sharp edges. The volume knob is where it should be!!! And those ceramic humbuckers really roar, by the way, the HH is my favorite configuration. This guitar wants to be play hard and fast. The heel access allows you to easily reach the highest frets. The heel itself is rounded and very comfortable. This is a Metal guitar that loves high gain amps and distortion, if you are looking for a very clean pristine sound, maybe this is not for you or you'll need to get different pickups, but if your think is fast picking, heavy distortion, palm mutting and abusing a Floyd Rose trem, this guitarbis for you.