Jackson JS Series King V JS32 - Matte Army Drab

I have wanted to purchased a Flying V for a while now, but being a traditional shape guy (LP / Eclipse style being my main jam) I didn't want to go too deep on a V just in case I didn't exactly like it or the way it played / felt.I love to build my own guitars, and have done so for a while now, and the reason I mention this is because when I saw this guitar I read that it came with Jackson branded PUPS, Licensed Floyd, cheap tuners, etc... so knowing that I am probably getting into this guitar and preparing to upgrade hardware at a later date I know that I am beyond capable of doing this...So first of all, I have to say, if you set this guitar up (which mine wasn't in need of much out of the box) it's going to treat you right and be a great guitar in the process.To start, all I did was tune up, and play.. and WOW! For what I would consider cheap PUPs this thing sounded great! But of course I had tuning stability issues, but I was ready for that, so here is what I did...I removed the factory strings (as I do with any new guitar I buy) and replaced them with my favorite brand of 10 - 46's.. That was step 1Step 2, I used a Trem Setter style device from a popular inexpensive Chinese company on here. I stretched my new strings, leveled the bridge where I wanted it after going up a size in strings, then installed / set up the Trem setter / stabilizer device and that was all I did....WOW!!! Is all I can say after these small modifications. Is this equivalent to a $5000 ESP, JACKSON, or other high end guitar? No, I paid like $360, so I wasn't expecting it to be equivalent to anything custom shop.... Do I have a MORE than playable guitar that now does NOT go out of tune no matter how hard I dive or pull up on the whammy and actually sounds really, really good that I didn't pay a lot of money for? ABSOLUTELY!My recommendation? Buy this if you are on the fence about it, or if you are looking for an inexpensive Flying V, do the very few things I listed above, and enjoy your cool new Flying V from Jackson!

The Jackson JS guitars blow me away every time I pick one up. This feels and sounds great and especially looks the part for metal. I do intend on swapping the pickups, but keep in mind - you don't NEED to swap them. These pickups are very high output and they sound very well. The humbuckers can handle a ton of gain, as they work just fine for the music I play, that being Pantera style music and any kind of high gain groove metal. The only gripe I have with this guitar is that pulling up on the whammy bar results in the guitar going out of tune. However this is not too much of an issue, for I don't pull up on my floyd roses normally. This guitar can be difficult to use, especially if it's your first time owning a V shaped guitar. You will get used to it and once you get used to it, the guitar feels very nice both sitting and standing.

I bought this because I didn't have a proper guitar for playing hardcore and thrash with. I was expecting to get something halfway decent but inexpensive I could mod. I imagined I would have to replace the pickups right away and maybe get an official Floyd Rose for it too. Much to my pleasant surprise the pickups sound great through my setup, and I have had no issues with the tremolo holding tune. I understand that replacing a couple of pieces on the tremolo can make a difference, but I'm in no hurry. I'm very happy with the quality all around. I did move the strap button to the neck plate, this thing has serious neck dive in the original spot, but once I moved it, no more issues. A really solid guitar in my opinion.

Feet board still had dust from sanding. Had to oil repeatedly. Tremelo saddles cross threaded, blocks upside down and bent saddle screws.

This guitar is a beast. With it's Floyd Rose tremolo system and humbucking pickups, the guitar sounds like any expensive metal guitar with a proper amp and effects chain.I see people complaining about the tremolo system causing the guitar to go out of tune. You have to set up the trem and nuts and fine tuners by yourself (or professionally) to really stabilize the tuning, and follow proper steps when doing the setup (e.g., loading middle strings and tuning them first, adjusting trem tension, adjusting fine tuners, stabilizing the expansion/compression cycles of the strings etc. etc.). Took me around an hour before the tuning stabilized even after abusing the trem system. It's not the job for beginners who just want a guitar out of the box, which is a little unfortunate because the thing really is a good value for money.

For the price, this is a great guitar. Amazing build quality, and sound. The pick-ups are surprisingly good.My only qualms are with the ground wire that attaches to the claw (by the springs) wasn't soldered well and came unattached almost immediately. I stuck it back on with a piece of gum which worked fine until I was able to resolder it on.The other problem is the neck dive. The guitar's balanced fine, but the strap lock (the front one) is in the wrong place! You'll need to move it to the top right truss rod screw on the back of the neck to eliminate the neck dive, but to do that you'll either need to route out the strap lock or get one that fits a bigger screw.

While this instrument is certainly cool from a design point, the quality control at jackson completely dropped the ball. Fret ends were so sharp that it shredded my fretting hand in just a few minutes of playing. This made the guitar immediately unusable, they seriously should have caught this.Guitar was also not setup in the slightest. Terrible intonation, and what looked to be worn corroded strings.Grounding wire was also a joke - installed so haphazardly that I guarantee it would have snapped off after just a few dive-bombs.Again, I'm just disappointed. This could have been an insanely cool budget/mod axe, but it's not worth the initial headache of an instrument not being built with proper care.